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 department chair 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 department chair.
- 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.
- Twelve credit hours of the 60 credits must be dissertation research.
| 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 |
| Polymer Engineering 600-level Electives | ||
| Select ten credits of the following: | 10 | |
| PLYE 601 | Seminar in Polymer Engineering 1 | |
| PLYE 622 | Analysis & Design of Polymer Processing Operations I 2 | |
| PLYE 623 | Analysis & Design of Polymer Processing Operations II | |
| PLYE 631 | Engineering Properties of Solid Polymers | |
| PLYE 651 | Polymer Engineering Laboratory 3 | |
| PLYE 661 | Polymerization Reactor Engineering | |
| PLYE 675 | Carbon-Polymer Nanotechnology | |
| PLYE 680 | Polymer Coatings | |
| Mathematics Electives | ||
| Select three credits of the following: | 3 | |
| MATH 532 | Introduction to Partial Differential Equations | |
| MATH 535 | Systems of Ordinary Differential Equations | |
| MATH 538 | Advanced Engineering Mathematics | |
| MATH 539 | Applied Analysis and PDEs | |
| MATH 627 | Advanced Numerical Analysis I | |
| MATH 628 | Advanced Numerical Analysis II | |
| Technical Electives | ||
| Select two credits of the following: | 2 | |
| CIVE 681 | Advanced Engineering Materials | |
| MECE 622 | Continuum Mechanics | |
| PLYS 613 | Polymer Science Laboratory | |
| PLYS 674 | Polymer Characterization | |
| PLYE:xxx | Approved Elective Course in Polymer Engineering | |
| Polymer Engineering 700-level Electives | ||
| Select nine credits of the following: | 9 | |
| PLYE 712 | Rheo-Optics of Polymers | |
| PLYE 715 | Advanced Characterization of Functional Polymers | |
| PLYE 720 | Molecular Aspects of Polymer Rheology | |
| PLYE 723 | Rheology & Processing of Elastomers | |
| PLYE 724 | Advanced Extrusion & Compounding | |
| PLYE 725 | Chemorheology & Processing of Thermosets | |
| PLYE 727 | Advanced Polymer Rheology | |
| PLYE 728 | Numerical Methods in Polymer Engineering | |
| PLYE 731 | Stress Analysis of Polymers & Composites | |
| PLYE 745 | Liquid Crystals | |
| PLYE 747 | Polymer Colloids | |
| PLYE 749 | Phase Transitions in Polymer Blends and Alloys | |
| PLYE 761 | Injection and Compression Molding Fundamentals | |
| PLYE 770 | Polymer Nanocomposites | |
| PLYE 773 | Advanced Polymer Coating Technology | |
| PLYE 777 | Modeling of Nanoscale Materials | |
| PLYE 778 | Advanced Functional Polymers | |
| PLYE 797 | Advanced Topics in Polymer Engineering | |
| Total Hours | 36 | |
- 1
Doctoral students are also required to take PLYE 601 two times to earn two credits.
- 2
PLYE 622 is a prerequisite for PLYE 651.
- 3
PLYE 651 is a required elective class for doctoral students.
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.
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 12 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 be given 18 credit hours toward the lecture course requirement.