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 I | |
| MATH:539 | Advanced Engineering Mathematics II | |
| 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.