CHEME-PHD - Chemical Engineering (PhD)

Current research and teaching activities cover a number of advanced topics in chemical engineering, including applied statistical mechanics, biocatalysis, biochemical engineering, bioengineering, biophysics, computational materials science, colloid science, dynamics of complex fluids, energy conversion, functional genomics, hydrodynamic stability, kinetics and catalysis, microrheology, molecular assemblies, nanoscience and technology, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, polymer physics, protein biotechnology, renewable fuels, semiconductor processing, soft materials science, solar utilization, surface and interface science, and transport mechanics.

Transfer courses are evaluated on an individual basis by the Department Chair and Director of Graduate Studies.

The Department of Chemical Engineering is committed to providing academic advising in support of doctoral student scholarly and professional development. When most effective, this advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by both the adviser and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the adviser and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity. 

Faculty advisers guide students in key areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing of teaching pedagogy, navigating policies and degree requirements, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways. The department’s graduate handbook provides information and suggested timelines for advising meetings in the different stages of the doctoral program.

Ph.D. students are initially assigned a program adviser at the outset of their matriculation at Stanford. This faculty member will provide initial guidance in course selection, in exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways, and in identifying doctoral research opportunities. The department does require formal lab rotations during two quarters prior to selecting a doctoral research/thesis adviser. 

Graduate students are expected to select a thesis adviser before the end of the first year of the program. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively with their adviser to establish a dissertation project and form a Dissertation Reading Committee. Advancement to doctoral candidacy is expected to occur prior to the end of the fourth quarter of the program. The process and timing of adviser selection is described in the Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures (GAP). The research supervisor assumes primary responsibility for the future direction of the student, taking on the roles previously filled by the program adviser, and will ultimately direct the student’s dissertation. Most students find an adviser from among the primary faculty members of our department. However, the research adviser may be a faculty member from another Stanford department who is familiar with supervising doctoral students and able to provide both advising and funding for the duration of the doctoral program. When the research adviser is from outside our department, the student will also identify a program adviser from our primary faculty, to provide guidance on departmental requirements and opportunities.  Thesis advisers are expected to meet with graduate students at least once each year to discuss and help develop the student's program plan. Additionally, advisers and students should meet on a regular basis throughout the year to discuss the student's professional development in key areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing teaching pedagogy, navigating policies and degree requirements, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways.

The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) meets with all the doctoral students at the start of the first year, and is available during the academic year by email and during office hours. Our department’s student services office is also an important part of the doctoral advising team: they inform students and advisers about university and department requirements, procedures, and opportunities, and they maintain the official records of advising assignments and approvals. Students are encouraged to talk with the DGS and the student services office as they consider adviser selection, or for guidance in working with their adviser(s).

Our doctoral students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program.

Additionally, the program adheres to the advising guidelines and responsibilities listed by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE) and in the Graduate Academic Policies (GAP).

The Ph.D. is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research. Through course work and guided research, the program prepares students to make original contributions in Chemical Engineering and related fields.