Graduate Research
Current areas of Ph.D. research in the Department of Chemical Engineering receive support at a level of over $4 million per year through external research grants. Examples of research areas include, but are not limited to, the following:
Bioengineering: cellular engineering; metabolic engineering ; targeted bacteriolytic cancer therapy; assembly of biochemical pathways for synthesis of small molecules; systems biology; genetic circuit design...
Biofuels and Sustainable Energy: catalysis, catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass; catalytic microwave engineering; fuel cells; energy engineering.
Fluid Mechanics and Transport Phenomena: biofluid dynamics and blood flow; hydrodynamics of microencapsulation; mechanics of cells, capsules, and suspensions; modeling microscale flows and transport phenomena; hydrodynamic stability and pattern formation; interfacial flows; gas-particle flows.
Materials Science and Engineering: design and characterization of new catalytic materials; thin film and nanostructured materials for microelectronics and photonics; colloids and biomaterials; rheology and phase behavior of associative polymer solutions; polymeric materials processing.
Molecular and Multi-scale Modeling & Simulation: computational quantum chemistry and kinetics; molecular modeling for nanotechnology; molecular- level behavior of fluids confined in porous materials; molecular-to-reactor scale modeling of transport and reaction processes in materials synthesis; atomistic-to-continuum scale modeling of thin films and nanostructured materials; systems-level analysis using deterministic and stochastic atomic-scale simulators; modeling and control of biochemical reactors; nonlinear process control theory.
Facilities
How to Apply
The Department welcomes applications from prospective graduate students for Fall admission only. The deadline for applications is January 15.
An online application form can be found by visiting the website of the Graduate School: http://www.umass.edu/gradschool/
All additional materials should be sent to the Admissions Office at the Graduate School, NOT the Department. No exceptions.
Graduate Admissions Office
Mailing Address:
534 Goodell Building
University of Massachusetts
140 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9333
Phone:
(413)-545-0722 (8:30 AM-5:00PM M-F)
Fax for Application Materials:
(413)-577-0010
EMail for Admissions:
gradadm@grad.umass.edu
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
The focus of our Graduate Program is on training Ph.D. students. All admitted Ph.D. candidates receive full financial support that includes a tuition scholarship and a competitive stipend that covers living expenses. Outstanding Masters applicants may be admitted to our program on rare occasions, but Ph.D. candidates will have priority for receiving financial support. Students do not need to complete a Masters degree before pursuing a PhD degree in our Department.
Admission to our Graduate Program is competitive and decisions are made by the department's Graduate Committee. Students request a research advisor during the first two months of their studies after attending research presentations by the faculty. Not all faculty take on new students each year, and placement with a specific faculty member is not guaranteed. Individual faculty members cannot admit students to our Graduate Program and may not respond to such inquiries.
Applications are submitted online, and all additional materials for your application must be submitted through the Admissions Office at the Graduate School. Students are accepted once a year in March/April, to begin in the fall semester.
Foreign applicants: please note that it's possible to waive your TOEFL if you've earned a degree in the U.S. Here is the Graduate School's FAQ:
"The TOEFL requirement is waived for anyone who has earned a college or university degree in the United States or in one of the following countries: Australia, Botswana, Canada, Caribbean English speaking countries, Dominica, Gambia, Ghana, Great Britain, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe."
