The Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department offers both a thesis and non-thesis option for obtaining a master’s degree. Graduate students receiving financial support as research or teaching assistants can earn a M.S. degree only with the approval of Department Chair and SSE Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, and in general, a written thesis is required.
Tenure is five years, although completion of all requirements for the degree for full-time students in two years is strongly encouraged.

For the thesis option, the student must complete 24 hours of graduate course work plus conduct a research investigation under the guidance of a faculty member. Typically, two years are required to finish the course work and thesis. Upon completion, the student must defend a thesis before a faculty committee, which is chosen as described for PhD. students. For the non-thesis option, a total of 30 hours of course work is required. For both degree options, three core graduate chemical engineering courses are required: CENG 7110 (Modern Thermodynamics); CENG 7320 (Advanced Transport Phenomena); and either CENG 7150 (Advanced Reactor Design) or CENG 6870 (Biomolecular and Cellular Engineering), with up to six independent study credits toward the 24/30 credit requirement. The remainder of the credits must be made with course work.