The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Chemical Engineering at the UPRM requires an intense program of study and research. As such, the Department requires:
- Approval of a minimum of 58 / as specified by the program with a GPA of 3.0 (out of 4.0) or more.
- Approval of written qualifying exams.
- Approval of a research proposal.
- Perform a research project as outlined on the proposal.
- Approval of dissertation’s oral defense exam.
- Prepare a doctoral dissertation document.

A minimum of 31 / to complete the degree, which are divided as follows: 12 / in chemical engineering core subjects; 1 credit in masters seminar, 6 / in master’s thesis, 6 / in non-core chemical engineering subjects, and 6 / in non-chemical engineering subjects. A maximum of 6 / in advanced undergraduate (i.e., 5000-level) courses is allowed. The discipline of Chemical Engineering covers many diverse areas and, therefore, the Department provides graduate-level subjects to cover those of most relevance. The philosophy of the Department is to encourage students to develop an in-depth understanding of the fundamental concepts of Chemical Engineering and, at the same time, broaden their perspective by sampling other, more specialized subjects. To this end, the following four subjects have been designated as core:
Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering (InQu 6001)
Reactor Design (InQu 6005)
Advanced Transport Phenomena (InQu 6016)
Advanced Thermodynamics (InQu 6019)
It is expected that masters students will complete these four core subjects within the first two years of their tenure at the UPRM. The list of core subjects will be periodically reviewed to accommodate modern developments in the discipline. In addition to these core courses, master’s students must enroll each semester in Graduate Seminar (InQu 6029) and after the first year in Master’s Thesis (InQu 6037). A maximum of 6 / of Master’s Thesis (InQu 6037) may be applied to the fulfillment of the master’s credit requirements. To ensure the student’s academic and professional development, the Department requires a minimum of 6 / (typically two courses) in non-core chemical engineering subjects and a minimum of 6 / (typically two courses) in other departments or disciplines, which should be related to the student’s thesis research. These courses should be selected by the student in consultation with his/her thesis advisor.