The mission of the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering is to prepare students for professional practice, graduate study, and life long learning, and to advance the scientific and technological basis for chemical and environmental engineering practice.

Plan I (Thesis)?requires completion of a minimum of 36 units of approved course work including the core courses and submission of an acceptable M.S. thesis. At least 24 of the units must be in regular lecture graduate courses (200 series courses). No more than 4 units of CEE 290 or CEE 297 combined and 6 units of CEE 286 or special topics courses (CEE 250 or CEE 260 series) may apply toward the 36 units.

Plan II (Comprehensive Examination)?requires completion of a minimum of 36 units of approved course work including the core courses and successful passage of a comprehensive examination. At least 28 of these units must be in regular lecture graduate courses (200-series courses), and none may be in courses numberCed CEE 286, CEE 290, CEE 297, CEE 299, or CEE 302. Typically, the examination is a six-hour written, closed-book examination emphasizing fundamental knowledge and breadth of the study area rather than specifics covered in individual courses. An oral follow-up session may be requested by the examination committee following its evaluation of the written exam. No more than two attempts to pass the exam are allowed. Students who fail the exam once and then want to switch to the thesis plan should contact the graduate advisor. Students who fail the exam twice may not switch to the thesis plan.

For the M.S. degree, students must complete a minimum of three quarters in residence in the UC with a GPA of 3.00 or better in all 100- and 200-level course work related to the degree.