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.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Polymer Engineering Core | ||
| PLYE 611 | Fundamentals of Polymer Structure Characterization | 3 |
| PLYE 621 | Rheology of Polymer Fluids | 3 |
| PLYE 641 | Polymer Chem & Thermodynamics | 3 |
| PLYE 650 | Introduction to Polymer Engineering | 3 |
| 12 credits of required Polymer Engineering 600-level Electives | ||
| 1 credit courses | ||
| PLYE 601 | Seminar in Polymer Engineering 1 | 3 |
| 3 credit courses | ||
| PLYE 610 | Polymer Engineering Analysis | 3 |
| PLYE 622 | Analysis & Design of Polymer Processing Operations I 2 | 3 |
| PLYE 651 | Polymer Engineering Laboratory 3 | 3 |
| 600-level Polymer Engineering Electives | 6 | |
| 700-level Polymer Engineering Electives | 6 | |
| Research - 60 credits | ||
| PLYE 899 | Doctoral Dissertation | 16 |
| PLYE 898 | Preliminary Research | 44 |
| or PLYE 899 | Doctoral Dissertation | |
| Total Hours | 96 | |
- 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.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PLYS 613 | Polymer Science Laboratory | |
| PLYE 623 | Analysis & Design of Polymer Processing Operations II | 3 |
| PLYE 631 | Engineering Properties of Solid Polymers | 2 |
| PLYE 661 | Polymerization Reactor Engineering | 3 |
| PLYS 674 | Polymer Characterization | 2 |
| PLYE 675 | Carbon-Polymer Nanotechnology | 3 |
| PLYE 680 | Polymer Coatings | 3 |
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.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PLYE 712 | Rheo-Optics of Polymers | 2 |
| PLYE 715 | Advanced Characterization of Functional Polymers | 3 |
| PLYE 720 | Molecular Aspects of Polymer Rheology | 2 |
| PLYE 723 | Rheology & Processing of Elastomers | 2 |
| PLYE 724 | Advanced Extrusion & Compounding | 2 |
| PLYE 725 | Chemorheology & Processing of Thermosets | 2 |
| PLYE 727 | Advanced Polymer Rheology | 2 |
| PLYE 728 | Numerical Methods in Polymer Engineering | 3 |
| PLYE 731 | Stress Analysis of Polymers & Composites | 2 |
| PLYE 745 | Liquid Crystals | 2 |
| PLYE 747 | Polymer Colloids | 3 |
| PLYE 749 | Phase Transitions in Polymer Blends and Alloys | 3 |
| PLYE 761 | Injection and Compression Molding Fundamentals | 2 |
| PLYE 770 | Polymer Nanocomposites | 3 |
| PLYE 773 | Advanced Polymer Coating Technology | 2 |
| PLYE 777 | Modeling of Nanoscale Materials | 3 |
| PLYE 778 | Advanced Functional Polymers | 2 |
| PLYE 797 | Advanced Topics in Polymer Engineering | 2-3 |
| 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
- present his/her research proposal and
- 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.