Ph.D students may choose to add a designated emphasis to their program. A designated emphasis is a specialization, such as a new method of inquiry or an important field of application, which is relevant to two or more existing doctoral degree programs.
Student's attention is directed to the designated emphases, such as those in:
- Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NSE)
- Energy Sciences and Technology (DEEST)
- Communication, Computation and Statistics
- Computational and Genomic Biology
- New Media
Adding a Designated Emphasis (DE) as a program of study
After admission by the Designated Emphasis, students must complete a "Change of Major or Degree Goal" petition signed by the DE's Head Graduate Adviser. Before submitting the form to Graduate Services Degrees, 318 Sproul Hall, please leave a copy of the form with the ChemE Graduate Office (201 Gilman).
Students are required to be admitted to the DE before taking the qualifying examination since the student must have on the examination committee a representative of the DE and be examined in that area of study. Also, when students enrolled in a DE are advanced to candidacy, the advancement application must include the signature of the Head Graduate Adviser for the DE to signify that the dissertation committee has an appropriate representative of the DE in its membership. Prior to filing for the degree, a Final Report for the Designated Emphasis, verifying that all of the requirements for the DE have been met, must be submitted.