Degree Requirements
Admission Requirements
Entering students should hold an undergraduate degree in a science or engineering discipline, with a minimum 3.00 junior/senior grade-point average on a scale of 4.00. Exceptions to the 3.00 grade-point average may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities and interests. During the course of their graduate studies, students are expected to demonstrate background competency in engineering physics and chemistry, or in the specialty option areas of petroleum and natural gas engineering, mining and mineral process engineering, and industrial health and safety.
Student's Thesis Committee
The student's program of study is guided by his/her advisor in consultation with the Thesis Committee. Following an initial period on campus, the student selects a research supervisor (thesis advisor). Incoming students may already have been in contact with a professor on the program faculty, and may work with that person as a thesis advisor. Once selected, the thesis advisor and the student will select a Thesis Committee, which is then approved by the Program Chair. This should normally take place within the student's first year on campus. For M.S. students, it is recommended for this to be done in the student's first semester to enable completion of requirements in two years.
The committee meets with the student by the end of the student's first year in the program and approves the outline of the proposed research project prepared by the student in consultation with the thesis advisor. Throughout the course of the graduate study, the student is encouraged to schedule meetings with individual members of the Thesis Committee to report progress and seek advice, as needed. Regular reviews of student progress are conducted with the advisor at the end of each semester.
Core Competencies
Both M.S. and Ph.D. students are required to demonstrate competency in core areas, to undertake additional relevant coursework, and to complete a research thesis. PME graduate students are encouraged to design a course of study that suits their individual backgrounds, interests, and needs in consultation with their advisors. Therefore, the PME Graduate Program has 10 credits of compulsory (common core) courses. The compulsory courses in PME include Energy and Mineral Project Investment Evaluation [PME 500], Occupational Health and Safety Engineering [PME 510], Multiphase Systems Analysis [PME 520], and the program Colloquium [PME 590].
M.S. Degree Requirements
The required minimum number of course credits for the PME M.S. degree is 30, including 6 credits of research. In addition to the 10 credits of core competency courses, all students are required to choose a specialty option from the three options available and take a minimum of 14 course credits from the list of specialty option courses for that particular option (i.e. Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Mining and Mineral Process Engineering or Industrial Health and Safety). At least 12 of the required course credits for the graduate program must be at the 500 level.
The candidate must write a thesis on independent research and defend that thesis.
Ph.D. Requirements
30 additional credits of course work beyond the M.S. are needed for graduation. This makes the required minimum number of course credits for the PME Ph.D. degree 42, including 12 credits of research beyond the MS.
A Candidacy Examination is required for formal admission into the Ph.D. program. All Ph.D. students in the program must take the Candidacy Exam at the end of the student's first year of Ph.D. studies. Part of the Candidacy Exam involves the writing of a detailed research proposal. The student chooses a topic for the proposal from three provided by a candidacy sub-committee (chosen to reflect the interest area(s) of each individual candidate). The examination involves a formal presentation and defense of the research proposal before the Candidacy Examination Committee (made up of faculty in the specialty option area and at least one member from another specialty option area in the program).
Students in the PME M.S. program who are planning to pursue a Ph.D. degree in PME should inform their advisor and the Graduate Staff Assistant at their earliest convenience. In such a case, their M.S. program may be tailored for an effective transition into the Ph.D. program. For students seeking admission into the Ph.D. program, the M.S. thesis defense may serve as the Candidacy Examination, and it will be structured as such.