CEE Grad Guide 2023-24

This app features schools that offer graduate education programs in chemical engineering and related fields. By advertising their programs in this annual graduate education issue, on our website, and in this app these schools have financially supported CEE’s ability to continue serving the needs of the international community of educators in chemical engineering. CEE (Chemical Engineering Education) is the premier archival journal for chemical engineering educators. Any chemical engineering student considering graduatestudies should consult two valuable resources that are found in Chemical Engineering Education. In the introduction to the 2021 Graduate Guide, Visco provided perspective, guidance, and information about engineeringgraduate studies. Aided by the journal editorial team, Visco contemplated, “How was graduate school different from your undergraduate experience?” and five related questions. Along similar lines, in 2019 Wankat presented a detailed analysis of the question “Is Graduate School Next?” Professor Wankat discussed reasons for attending (or not attending) graduate school and provided details regarding the structure of different types of engineering graduate programs. For those who answered, “Yes, graduate school is next,” he illustrated use of Kepner-Tregoe decision analysis to select the best graduate programs to apply to. To use the Kepner-Tregoe approach, a student identifies key factors that they desire in a graduate program, weights these factors accordingto their importance, and rates prospective programs for each factor. Addition of the weighted scores results in a cumulative score for each program. The Kepner-Tregoe approachis a rigorous method of selecting the graduate programs that best match each student’s interests and motivations. Professor Wankat provided advice on a number of high level considerations about the application process, including applying to more than one program, but limiting the number of programs you apply to; however, he didn’t go into the details of how to effectively prepare the required components of a successful graduate school application. Graduate engineering programs have limited space available, meaning that reviewers can be very selective regarding acceptance into their programs. In particular, PhD programs,which require considerable research and associated funding, can be highly competitive. As such, the application process should not be rushed through or taken lightly, as acceptance depends upon your ability to highlight your previous accomplishments and demonstrate your potential for successful completion of a graduate engineering degree.