Student in a lab at a standing desk

Source: Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering

Objectives

The object to this degree is to provide the opportunity for qualified undergraduate students to obtain a Master's degree in chemical engineering in one academic year. The goal is to produce skilled engineers who will have a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of chemical engineering as well as a broader set of professional skills and exposure to other technical disciplines.

Scope

The College of Engineering Integrated Master's/Bachelor's (IMB) Degree program is aimed primarily at undergraduate students from Carnegie Mellon, although candidates with strong credentials from other universities are welcome. No financial support is available. Students are required to have a minimum of five semesters completed and an overall GPA of 3.0 to be eligible. For Carnegie Mellon students, the degree would be typically completed in their fifth year. Depending on the number of advanced placement courses and semester overloads, however, the degree might be completed at the time of their BS graduation or with one additional semester as a full-time graduate student. Students must spend at least one semester as a full-time graduate student. For the fifth year, Carnegie Mellon students register as graduate students.

Carnegie Mellon students, upon graduating from this program, seek industrial positions or placement in graduate programs at other universities. Students from other universities in the MChE IMB program may apply for the Ph.D. program at Carnegie Mellon if they show exceptional promise. GRE scores and letters of recommendation are not required for this program, and the application fee is waived for currently enrolled chemical engineering undergraduate students. The IMB program differs from the MS program because the IMB program does not require a project or thesis.

IMB students looking to pursue their Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon will be asked to follow the normal application process and be considered alongside all the other applicants for that year. If a student is accepted into the Ph.D. program, they will begin their Ph.D. after completing the IMB degree.

Program

The IMB degree requires the completion of at least eight courses and 96 units with a cumulative QPA of 3.0 or higher.

  • 48 units minimum

    Four core graduate level courses in Chemical Engineering

    • 06-623 Mathematical Modeling of Chemical Engineering Processes
    • 06-625 Chemical and Reactive Systems
    • 06-663 Analysis and Modeling of Transport Phenomena
    • 06-665 Process Systems Modeling

Ph.D. core courses will be considered, but only if there are scheduling conflicts with the IMB core courses while completing the BS degree.

  • One technical elective (minimum 9 units)

    Students must take at least one advanced level course in chemical engineering (06-600 level or higher) or a technical course outside the department (xx-Nxx where N≥3).

    Examples:
    • 06-607 Physical Chemistry of Colloids and Surfaces
    • 06-619 Semiconductor Processing Technology
    • 06-716 Electrochemical Engineering
    • 03-620 Techniques in Electron Microscopy
    • 09-510 Intro to Green Chemistry
    • 33-755 Quantum Mechanics I
    • 21-660 Intro to Numerical Analysis I
    • 15-413 Software Engineering Practicum
    • 47-834 Linear Programming
    • 36-707 Regression Analysis
  • Breadth, Depth, and Skill coursework (minimum 36 units)

    Students in the IMB program must take a minimum 36 units of elective courses (300 level or higher) in any other discipline. A maximum of 12 units of individual research (06-600) that receive a letter grade can count towards this requirement.

    Examples:
    • 09-441 Nuclear and Radiochemistry
    • 33-348 Introduction to Solid State Physics
    • 70-371 Production I
    • 70-391 Finance

Students can consult the graduate academic advisor (Heather Costello) for help with course selection and timing of courses, especially if the student wants to start satisfying the degree requirements before graduating with the BS. Guidance is also provided formally at the Graduate Student Orientation usually held two weeks before the beginning of the fall semester classes.

Admission for current Carnegie Mellon students

If interested, it is recommended to apply by your junior year. Please use our Secure Application Form to apply. Before submitting this form, please review the College's policies.

A minimum of five completed semesters in residence as an undergraduate student and an overall QPA of 3.0 are required for eligibility. Taking the GRE and recommendation letters are not required. The application fee is waived for currently-enrolled undergraduate chemical engineering students.


** A "technical course" is defined as any course with significant mathematical, engineering, or scientific content. Please consult the graduate academic advisor, Heather Costello, to determine if courses meet these requirements.