Graduate Program: Doctor of Philosphy (Ph.D.)

The Ph.D. is the highest degree conferred by any American university, and is the degree objective of the vast majority of our department's graduate students. The core of the program is original research, culminating in the Ph.D. dissertation; coursework and individual study provide breadth. A highly competitive admissions process ensures both a top-notch body of graduate students and the modest research group size which is the hallmark of the department; each faculty member typically advises only a half-dozen graduate students at any given time, maximizing student-faculty interaction throughout each student's Ph.D. program. Approximately 1/3 of our Ph.D. projects are jointly advised, with other faculty within Chemical Engineering, or with faculty in other departments such as Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Physics, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Ph.D. candidates must demonstrate a broad grasp of chemical engineering through a written general examination, and through approval of a proposal outlining the plan for dissertation research. Students with a particular interest in materials science and engineering may elect to pursue the Ph.D. in Chemical and Materials Engineering, which incorporates the graduate curriculum developed by the Princeton Materials Institute. For either Ph.D. degree, satisfactory completion of 12 courses, including five core courses in Chemical Engineering, is required; a listing of the graduate courses offered by the Department of Chemical Engineering is available here. An introductory teaching experience is provided to each Ph.D. candidate through a semester's service as a teaching assistant. Financial support is extended to all Ph.D. students, through the payment of tuition charges and a competitive stipend extending for up to five years of study.

Dissertations are defended in final public oral examinations. Ph.D. candidates must demonstrate creativity in research not only in the dissertation, but also through an independent research proposition in an area of engineering or science different from that addressed in the dissertation. This "Second Proposition" is a distinctive aspect of Princeton's Ph.D. program in chemical engineering: it aims to assist students in developing original research ideas in new areas, and in presenting these in such a way as to persuade a critical reviewer of both the merit of the research and the soundness of the method. Several students have successfully pursued ideas initiated in their Second Propositions during their post-Princeton careers.

Detailed descriptions of the program requirements for the Ph.D. degree may be found in the department's Graduate Student Handbook.