Polymer Engineering, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy in Polymer Engineering

The School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering administers a graduate program in which students, with primarily engineering backgrounds, are guided through a course of study and research under the supervision of a faculty member. Students may be admitted directly to the Ph.D. program upon screening of their qualifications and recommendation by the school director and dean.

Students will earn the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Polymer Engineering.

Requirements in the interdisciplinary field of Polymer Engineering for that degree are as follows:

  • Complete courses as developed in a plan of study approved by the student’s advisor and the school director.
  • A minimum of 96 credits of graduate work must be earned.
  • A total of 36 credit hours of lecture courses and 60 credit hours of research must be completed.
  • 16 credit hours of the 60 credits must be dissertation research PLYE.
Polymer Engineering Core
PLYE 611Fundamentals of Polymer Structure Characterization3
PLYE 621Rheology of Polymer Fluids3
PLYE 641Polymer Chem & Thermodynamics3
PLYE 650Introduction to Polymer Engineering3
12 credits of required Polymer Engineering 600-level Electives
1 credit courses
PLYE 601Seminar in Polymer Engineering 13
3 credit courses
PLYE 610Polymer Engineering Analysis3
PLYE 622Analysis & Design of Polymer Processing Operations I 23
PLYE 651Polymer Engineering Laboratory 33
600-level Polymer Engineering Electives6
700-level Polymer Engineering Electives6
Research - 60 credits
PLYE 899Doctoral Dissertation16
PLYE 898Preliminary Research44
or PLYE 899 Doctoral Dissertation
Total Hours96
1

Doctoral students are required to take PLYE 601 three times to earn three credits.

2

PLYE 621 is a prerequisite for PLYE 622.

3

PLYE 622 is a prerequisite for PLYE 651.

600-level Polymer Engineering Electives

A Plan of Study needs six credits from the following list.  Electives may be taken from other departments such as polymer science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or other engineering departments with the adviser’s approval.

PLYS 613Polymer Science Laboratory
PLYE 623Analysis & Design of Polymer Processing Operations II3
PLYE 631Engineering Properties of Solid Polymers2
PLYE 661Polymerization Reactor Engineering3
PLYS 674Polymer Characterization2
PLYE 675Carbon-Polymer Nanotechnology3
PLYE 680Polymer Coatings3

700-level Polymer Engineering Electives

A Plan of Study needs six credits from the following list.  Electives may be taken from other departments such as polymer science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or other engineering departments with the adviser’s approval.

PLYE 712Rheo-Optics of Polymers2
PLYE 715Advanced Characterization of Functional Polymers3
PLYE 720Molecular Aspects of Polymer Rheology2
PLYE 723Rheology & Processing of Elastomers2
PLYE 724Advanced Extrusion & Compounding2
PLYE 725Chemorheology & Processing of Thermosets2
PLYE 727Advanced Polymer Rheology2
PLYE 728Numerical Methods in Polymer Engineering3
PLYE 731Stress Analysis of Polymers & Composites2
PLYE 745Liquid Crystals2
PLYE 747Polymer Colloids3
PLYE 749Phase Transitions in Polymer Blends and Alloys3
PLYE 761Injection and Compression Molding Fundamentals2
PLYE 770Polymer Nanocomposites3
PLYE 773Advanced Polymer Coating Technology2
PLYE 777Modeling of Nanoscale Materials3
PLYE 778Advanced Functional Polymers2
PLYE 797Advanced Topics in Polymer Engineering2-3
PLYE 780 (NEW COURSE)3

Research - 60 Credits

Students may take a combination of PLYE 898 Preliminary Research and PLYE 899 Doctoral Dissertation to meet this requirement, however, a minimum of 16 credits of the total 60 required must be of PLYE 899.  

Research Proposal

Each doctoral student must

  1. present his/her research proposal and
  2. pass an oral examination of basic knowledge of polymer engineering during his/her proposal defense to be held within 18 months of entry into the program.

Dissertation and Oral Defense

Each candidate must pass an oral examination in defense of the dissertation.

Submit the written Doctoral Dissertation to the Graduate School by the required deadlines.

Transfer of Credits from Master's Degree

A student receiving a Master of Science degree from The University of Akron in Polymer Engineering may use all lecture course credits toward the 36 lecture course credit requirement.

A student entering with a master’s degree or graduate credits from another institution may request approval for up to 18 credit hours toward the lecture course requirement.