GRADUATE PROGRAM:

The Energy Resources Engineering department offers two distinct degree programs at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels.  One program leads to the degrees of M.S. or Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering, and the other leads to the degrees of M.S. or Ph.D. in Energy Resources Engineering.  The Engineer degree, which may be offered in either Petroleum Engineering or Energy Resources Engineering, is an extended form of the M.S. degree with additional coursework and research.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY - Petroleum Engineering

The Ph.D. degree is conferred upon demonstration of high achievement in independent research and by presentation of the research results in a written dissertation and oral defense.
Basic requirements include a minimum of 135 units of satisfactorily completed graduate study. Students must take at least 90 units beyond the 45 units required for the master’s degree. The 90 units are composed of 54 units of research and 36 units of course work. The student’s record must indicate outstanding scholarship. The student must pass the department’s qualifying examination, submit an approved research proposal, fulfill the requirements of the minor department if a minor is elected, and pass the University oral examination, which is a defense of the dissertation. The student must prepare a dissertation based on independent research and that makes a significant contribution to the field.

The specification of 36 units of course work is a minimum; in some cases the research adviser may specify additional requirements to strengthen the student’s expertise in particular areas. The 36 units of course work does not include teaching experience (ENERGY 359), which is a requirement for the Ph.D. degree, nor any units in research seminars, which students are required to attend. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, with an average grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.25 in the 36 units of course work. Incoming Ph.D. students who earned their master’s degree at another institution are required to take at least 36 units of course work. No more than four of the eight courses that make up the strategic requirements for the Ph.D. qualifying exams are included in these 36 units (ENERGY 175, 221, 222, 223, 227, 240, 251, 281). The 36 units of course work may include graduate courses in Energy Resources Engineering (numbered 200 and above) and courses selected from the following list. Other courses may be substituted with prior approval by the adviser. In general, non-technical courses are not approved.

MATH AND APPLIED MATH
AA 210A. Fundamentals of Compressible Flow (3 units)
AA 214A. Numerical Methods in Fluid Mechanics (3 units)
AA 214B. Numerical Computation of Compressible Flow (3 units)
CHEMENG 300. Applied Mathematics in Chemical Engineering (3 units)
CEE 268. Groundwater Flow (3-4 units)
CME 108. Introduction to Scientific Computing (3-4 units)
CME 302. Numerical Linear Algebra (3 units)
CME 306. Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations (3 units)
CS 106X. Programming Methodology and Abstractions (5 units)
CS 193D. Professional Software Development with C++ (3 units)
MATH 106 Functions of a Complex Variable (3 units)
MATH 113. Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory (3 units)
MATH 114. Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory (3 units)
MATH 115. Functions of a Real Variable (3 units)
MATH 131. Partial Differential Equations I (3 units)
MATH 132. Partial Differential Equations II (3 units)
MATH 220A,B,C. Partial Differential Equations of Applied Mathematics (3 units ea.)
CME 200. Linear Algebra with Application toEngineering Computations (3 units)
CME 204. Partial Differential Equations in Engineering (3 units)
CME 206. Introduction to Numerical Methodsfor Engineering (3 units)
ME 331A,B. Classical Dynamics (3 units ea.)
ME335A,B,C. Finite Element Analysis (3 units ea.)
STATS 110. Statistical Methods in Engineering and Physical Sciences (4 units)
STATS 116. Theory of Probability (4 units)
STATS 200. Introduction to Statistical Inference (3 units)
STATS 202. Data Analysis (3 units)

SCIENCE
GES 231. Contaminant Hydrogeology (4 units)
GES 253. Petroleum Geology and Exploration (3 units)
GEOPHYS 182. Reflection Seismology (3 units)
GEOPHYS 190. Near Surface Geophysics (3 units)
GEOPHYS 262. Rock Physics (3 units)

ENGINEERING
CHEMENG 110. Equilibrium Thermodynamics (3 units)
CHEMENG 120A. Fluid Mechanics (3 units)
CHEMENG 120B. Energy and Mass Transport (3 units)
CHEMENG 310A. Microscale Transport in Chemical Engineering (3 units)
ENGR 298. Seminar in Fluid Mechanics (1 unit)

Ph.D. students are required to take the doctoral qualifying examination at the beginning of the second year of study. Students receiving a master’s degree from the Department of Energy Resources Engineering and continuing on for a Ph.D. are required to take the qualifying examination at the first opportunity after the completion of the requirements for the master’s degree.

The qualifying examination consists of both a written and an oral section. The written part consists of three or four three-hour examinations on different subjects. The oral part is a three-hour examination in which members of the department faculty question the student. Students are required to apply for candidacy for the Ph.D. degree after passing the department’s qualifying examination.

Within a year of passing the qualifying examination, the student must prepare a short written report that contains a literature review and a research proposal. This proposal must be approved after oral examination by a committee made up of the student’s adviser and two other faculty, at least one of whom must be from the department.

The dissertation must be submitted in its final form within five calendar years from the date of admission to candidacy. Candidates who fail to meet this deadline must submit an Application for Extension of Candidacy for approval by the department chair if they wish to continue in the program.

Ph.D. MINOR

To be recommended for a Ph.D. degree with Petroleum Engineering as a minor subject, a student must take 20 units of selected graduate-level lecture courses in the department. These courses must include ENERGY 221 and 222. The remaining courses should be selected from ENERGY 175, 223, 224, 225, 227, 240, 241, 251, 280, 281, and 284.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY - Energy Resources Engineering

In addition to the University’s basic requirements for the doctorate, the Energy Resources Engineering PhD has the following requirements:

1. Students must complete a minimum of 36 course units and 54 research units. At least half of the classes must be at a 200 level or higher and all must be taken for a letter grade. Students with an M.S. degree or other specialized training from outside ERE will generally be expected to include the classes ENERGY 221, ENERGY 223 and ENERGY 240 or their equivalents. The number and distribution of courses to be taken is to be determined with input from the research advisers and department graduate program committee.
2. Prior to taking the oral qualifying examination at or before the end of their 3rd academic quarter, the student must have completed 24 units of letter-graded course work, developed a written PhD research proposal, and selected a thesis committee.
3. To be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, the student must pass a qualifying examination. During the exam, students must present and defend their proposed thesis research work; the exam generally takes the form of a 20-30 minute presentation by the student, followed by 1-2 hours of questioning.  Candidates will be questioned on their research proposal as well as on their academic skill sets, as appropriate for the area they are working in.
4. The research advisers and two other faculty members comprise the dissertation reading committee. Upon completion of the thesis, the student must pass a University Oral Examination in defense of the dissertation.

The specification of 36 units of course work is a minimum; in some cases the research adviser may specify additional requirements to strengthen the student’s expertise in particular areas. The 36 units of course work does not include teaching experience (ENERGY 359), which is a requirement for the Ph.D. degree, nor any units in research seminars, which students are required to attend. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, with an average grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.25 in the 36 units of course work.

PhD students entering ERE are required to hold a MS degree in a relevant science or engineering discipline, although it need not be in ERE.