What can I do after my undergrad degree?

If you are considering graduate school, you should first consider whether a master's degree or a doctorate is right for you. To determine your personal goal, ask yourself why you want a graduate degree. The information here should be viewed as a guide to help you answer that question. Students thinking of graduate school should meet with their advisor or another faculty member.

Most often, a master's degree (usually the MS degree) will allow you to gain more in-depth knowledge of chemical engineering fundamentals through coursework which may or may not be complemented by a research project. A master's degree typically is completed in one and a half or two years, depending on the university.

Many students pursue the MS in chemical engineering degree, but some universities offer highly specialized MS programs that admit students from a variety of engineering or science backgrounds and provide in-depth exposure to a particular topic (such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or nanomaterials, for example). Some chemical engineers pursue a master's degree in biomedical engineering, whether or not they have completed the additional major in biomedical engineering. Current Carnegie Mellon chemical engineering students may also choose the Integrated Master's and Bachelor's program for a coursework-based degree.

The master's degree is intended for students whose goal is to subsequently enter industry with deeper or more specialized knowledge than they have with the BS degree. The master's degree is not a research-intensive degree in the manner of a Ph.D. Some master's programs are entirely based on coursework, and when research is involved, it is a less comprehensive experience than Ph.D. research. In chemical engineering, it is common for companies to recruit BS and MS students for similar job categories.

Financial aid is not common for master's degrees. Most often, students must pay for a master's degree, and they receive no stipend.

Please note that a master's degree is not a requirement for entry to a Ph.D. program, so you should not consider a master's program if you are sure you intend to pursue a Ph.D. An exception to this would be if you intend to change fields entirely. If you feel your undergraduate record is not as strong as needed to enter your desired Ph.D. program, then you may consider a master's degree to build your credentials and make yourself more competitive for a subsequent Ph.D. application.

If your goal is to pursue a career in research and development, either in industry or in academia, then you should consider a Ph.D. The goal of a Ph.D. program is to prepare students to become independent researchers. Whereas MS research (if a program includes research) typically prepares students to successfully conduct a well-defined research project, an independent researcher who emerges from a Ph.D. program not only is able to conduct research but also is able to critically evaluate the state of a field, identify important new research questions, formulate approaches to answering those questions, and make critical decisions to successfully complete a project. Ph.D. research is conducted in close collaboration with a student's research advisor, who will serve as a mentor throughout the program.

Since a Ph.D. program prioritizes research, you should consider a Ph.D. program only if your goal is to do research. Most students who pursue the Ph.D. have enjoyed some prior research experience and have decided that is the career they want. Students who are unsure about their commitment to research may wish to seek a master's program that includes some research to see whether or not they like it. Students work very hard in a Ph.D. program, and research becomes their full-time activity. If they do not enjoy research, they do not enjoy their Ph.D. experience. It is almost always a mistake to view a Ph.D. program as a means to delay making a decision about what to do after the BS! Being successful and enjoying a Ph.D. program typically happens when a student is highly motivated to do research.

Finally, note that almost every student who pursues a Ph.D. will not have to pay for it. Departments that admit students to a Ph.D. program will normally offer full financial support, which covers tuition and expenses and also provides a stipend that is sufficient to cover living expenses in the location. These stipends are not competitive with entry-level industrial chemical engineering salaries, but they normally allow a student to cover ordinary living expenses. If you are admitted to a Ph.D. program that does not offer this full financial support, hopefully you will also have an offer from another department that will support you so you can decline the unsupported offer.

No, you do not need to bring your own research project idea with you to graduate school. Sometimes this misconception keeps people from applying to Ph.D. programs.

As a Ph.D. student, you will have a research advisor. Your research advisor will generally assign a project, which you then take control of and make your own as you progress through the program.

Typically, a Ph.D. program will require a set of courses that are completed in the early stages of the program, with the majority of the time devoted to an independent research project. Often a student's first semester in residence is devoted to taking courses while also learning about potential research opportunities with different faculty and ultimately being assigned a research advisor. The second semester will involve more courses and the startup of the research project. Most programs will involve just a couple more courses that are taken when convenient. The emphasis is on the research project, and most of a Ph.D. student's time after the first two semesters is devoted to research.

A Ph.D. program in chemical engineering will typically take four and a half to five years to complete. This varies from one institution to another.

Students who pursue chemical engineering with an additional major (or minor) in biomedical engineering and are interested in bioengineering may be wondering about which graduate school path to follow: chemical engineering or biomedical engineering. Bioengineering research is common in chemical engineering departments, and interested students should investigate graduate school opportunities in both BME and ChemE departments. There is a wide range of research emphases in these departments. Bioengineering research may be focused on human health with the intent to bring a therapy or diagnostic tool to the clinic, or it may be focused on bioprocessing to produce biopharmaceuticals or develop a biosensor, or it may apply fundamental engineering principles to understand biological systems. These types of research are found in both chemical engineering and biomedical engineering departments, and Carnegie Mellon chemical engineering students would be competitive in applications to either type of department.

Your sophomore or junior year is the best time to get involved in undergraduate research if you are thinking about graduate school. This will help you discover whether or not you like research, and it will give you the chance to work closely with a faculty member on topics you will not likely see in a regular class. It also gives you access to a good reference letter for any activity you pursue afterwards—your faculty research advisor will become well acquainted with your strengths, which always makes for a better reference letter! If the idea of a research-based career appeals to you, it is wise to get involved in undergraduate research your sophomore or junior year. Starting in your senior year may be too late.

The summer after your junior year is a good time to start thinking about where to apply for graduate schools. At Carnegie Mellon, we will admit our own students who meet program qualifications for the Integrated Master's and Bachelor's program, but we generally do not admit our own students to the Ph.D. program. It is in your best interest to get out and explore how other universities do chemical engineering, gaining access to the professional networks of both CMU and your Ph.D. university in the process!

You should explore the websites of chemical engineering departments. Your academic advisor, research advisor, or any faculty member with whom you have established a rapport can help guide you to departments that suit you. When you apply for graduate school, you apply directly to the department—it is quite different from applying to your undergraduate school. Faculty are your best guides. Your goal should be to have a final, or nearly final, list of schools by the start of the senior fall semester.

The fall of your senior year is the time to apply. Most graduate programs, both MS and Ph.D., have application deadlines in November or December. Completing applications is time-consuming, especially when you are carrying the heavy course load of the senior fall, so you should know where you want to apply by the start of the semester. (If you don't, there is no need to panic! Just be sure to get an early start in the fall.) You will also want to secure recommendation letter writers.

Students often apply to about six programs. Most departments charge an application fee, which can influence the choice of how many applications to submit (besides the time commitment needed for each application). If an application fee is a financial hardship for you, some departments will entertain petitions to waive it.

Just as with undergraduate school applications, you will want to apply to a couple of "safe schools" and several for which you feel confident about your chances. You may also wish to apply to one or two "stretch schools" that appeal to you but for which you are not as confident about your chances.

Most chemical engineering graduate programs no longer require the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), but you should check the application requirements for every school that makes your final list. If one of your schools requires the GRE, make sure you sign up for the exam.

You may also consider applying for a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). These are highly selective and take an earnest effort to prepare a competitive application. Our top chemical engineering students are well qualified for this honor. Students who hold an NSF GRFP may find it promotes their access to the research advisor of their choice in their Ph.D. program.

Most departments will begin notifying applicants of their decisions by late winter or early spring (the spring of your senior year).

For Ph.D. programs, it is common for the department to invite admitted students to visit the department, with the department covering travel costs. These visits give you the opportunity to get better acquainted with the program by meeting the faculty and students. It is wise to take advantage of these visits for each department that you are still interested in (if you have ruled out some school based on the offers you have received, it is fine to decline the invitation). Ask all the questions you need to ask. This is your chance to determine whether a place truly is the good match you thought it might be when you decided to apply. Sometimes people like a place more than they expected, and sometimes they realize it may not be the best match after all.

Most graduate programs will have a deadline for students to respond to an offer of admission. For Ph.D. programs, this is usually close to April 15.

First, explore departmental websites at other universities to find departments that may be good matches for you. The Carnegie Mellon faculty members that you discuss graduate school with will be your best source of advice for finding a good match for your interests and for calibrating your chances of admission. Admission to some Ph.D. programs may be highly selective. They will examine your grades, especially in chemical engineering, math, and science classes, your reference letters, your statement of purpose, and your overall university experience ("your resume").

Here are three important factors to consider in choosing departments.

Research interests. First and foremost, if you are applying to a Ph.D. program, be sure the research interests of some fraction of the faculty in that department appeal to you. Your CMU professors can help you choose where to start looking, but this search will rely heavily on perusing websites. It takes time. Each department's website will highlight research themes that are prominent in that department, and each faculty member will explain their particular research interests. There can be a lot of variation in the research foci of different departments; it is what makes departments unique.

Be sure you find the research of at least two faculty members to be interesting to you. If it is a large department (with a correspondingly large number of students also seeking research advisors), you may want to be sure that at least three faculty are of interest. Since you will be assigned an advisor after you start in the program, you will want to minimize the risk of not being assigned to a research advisor whose work interests you. If your interests are highly specific and firmly established, such as catalysis for renewable energy, you probably should not apply to a department that has only one faculty member working in that area. As you scan research portfolios of different departments, keep an open mind. It is common for students to initially think of one particular research area, only to discover some other topic that is even more interesting. Avoid thinking that you should remain in the research specialty of your undergraduate research. This is the time to be open to new interests.

Size of the program. Chemical engineering departments vary widely in the number of faculty (from about ten to forty or more) and therefore in the number of students. Think about your preferences. Do you want a smaller department where you will have the chance to get to know everybody quite well but with a smaller number of opportunities, or would you prefer a large number of opportunities with the possibility that you may not get to know most of the people in the department. It's a matter of personal taste.

Location. Perhaps you would like to stay close to home or in familiar terrain. Perhaps you would like to go far away and experience someplace entirely different. These factors might affect the way you feel in graduate school, or maybe you do not care about them. In any case, it is good to spend some time thinking about this up front.

Most graduate schools require letters of recommendation from people who can evaluate your chances of success in their program. This is one of the reasons why you should get involved in research early so you have established relationships with people who will write you letters. Ideally, the people writing letters are faculty members who have good knowledge of your strengths. The best will be research advisors or faculty who have had a good opportunity to observe your work habits and problem solving skills in action. This is another good reason to get to know your faculty, at least by attending their office hours; if you got a great grade in some class but never spoke to the professor, it will be difficult for that professor to write a compelling letter. People who read these letters look for details that give insights into a candidate.

You should always ask your intended letter writers if they are willing to write a letter for you before you list them as letter writers on your application. You can ask them in person or by email.

Once a faculty member agrees to write a letter for you, it is helpful to provide them with information they may need, particularly if you do not know the writer very well. At a minimum, you need to tell them what the letter is for, when the letter is due, and how it should be submitted. Most recommendation letters are submitted electronically.

It is courtesy to give them at least one to two weeks to write your letter, and you should waive the right to view their letter in the application.

Finally, keep in touch with your letter writers. Let them know if you get accepted and where you decide to go. (Similar guidelines apply when requesting recommendation letters for scholarships, awards, etc.)

This template will help you prepare the information your letter writers will need. Be proactive, and have this ready to email to them after they agree to write a letter for you.

1. Your name
2. Purpose of recommendation letter
3. List of all departments to which you are applying, with deadlines and any special instructions
4. Explain at least two things (preferably in paragraph form) you would like to highlight that the letter writer might not be aware of. These can be special strengths, unique experiences, your role in extracurricular activities—anything that makes you a highly qualified candidate. This information may help the letter writer prepare the best letter for you.
5. Attach a copy of your resume.
6. Attach any other documents you think may help, such as essays you have written for the application.