Graduate Programs

The graduate program in our department offers the Master of Science in Chemical Engineering (M.S.Ch.E.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) with a concentration in Chemical Engineering. The Master of Science program is offered with a thesis and without a thesis. The most commonly-asked questions about the program are addressed below. You can download the department’s Graduate Student Handbook which is a complete guide to applying to the program, the coursework requirements, and details funding.

View the Catalog of Studies

Back to the Department Page

Program Contact

Dr. Christa Hestekin
Professor and Graduate Studies Director
Email: cheggrad@uark.edu
Phone: 479-575-3416

Why Choose this Degree

The graduate program allows the student to specialize in an area of interest while also broadening the graduate’s intellectual abilities and enhancing career opportunities in research, teaching, management, and general engineering practice. More reasons to choose this degree include:

New Ph.D. graduate students are typically placed with a research faculty member after their first semester of courses.
100% of Ph.D. students are fully funded.
55+ Publications & Patents Annually
$4.9M in new research awards in CY23
100% Ph.D. Placement: 66% Industry, 33% Academia
Carneige R1 Classification

"The support from mentors and colleagues at the University of Arkansas's Chemical Engineering graduate program was amazing. The diverse culture made me feel at home, and learned something valuable from everyone. The deparment consistently supports students' growth and development. I will truly miss the beautiful campus and NWA area."

Homa Ghaiedi, Ph.D., 2024

I joined the department in the fall of 2021. I immediately felt welcomed by both the faculty and staff and the other graduate students. Throughout my PhD. degree, there has been an enduring sense of community, collaboration, and support within the deparment. In addition to the curriculum and research areas, the department offered multiple networking events and career development workshops that helped me enhance my 'soft skills' in addition to my dissertation work. I am incredibly grateful for my time in this department.

Kayla Foley, Ph.D., 2024

Seminar Series

Each semester, the faculty organize a series of guest speakers from other universities, national labs, industry, and the UofA to give a seminar to chemical engineering graduate students. Here is a look at some of our recent seminars.

2025-2026

Marie-Eve Langevin, Director of Applications Development & Support at Ameridia, September 4, 2025

Gosia Chwatko, Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky, October 2, 2025

Alberto Fernandez de las Nieves, Professor at University of Barcelona, October 16, 2025

Chinedum Osuji, Professor and Department Chair, University of Pennsylvania, October 30, 2025

Sibani Lisa Biswal, Chair and Professor, Rice University, November 13, 2025

Sarah Wilson, Associate Professor, Rowan University, November 20, 2025

Chris Wirth, Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, December 4, 2025

Bill Schneider, Professor and Department Chair, University of Notre Dame, April 2, 2026

Anand Agrawal, Director, R&D Business Excellence Strategy and Operations, AbbVie, April 9, 2026

Haiqing Lin, Professor & Director of Graduate Studies, University of Buffalo, April 16, 2026

2024-2025

Jonathan Claussen, Associate Professor at Iowa State University, August, 8, 2024

Jindal Shah, Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University, September 5, 2024

Jenai Sampath, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the University of Florida, September 19, 2024

Jonathan Whitmer, Associate Professor at University of Notre Dame, September 26, 2025

Lisa Bullard, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies at NC State University, October 3, 2025

Patrice Storey, Assistant Director of Community and Engagement for the College of Engineering, University of Arkansas, October 10, 2025

Isabel Escobar, Chellgren Chair Endow Professor at the University of Kentucky, October 17, 2024

Raja Ghosh, Professor at McMaster University, October 24, 2025

Maryam R-Sarmazdeh, Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, November 7, 2024

Steven Weinman, Assistant Professor at The University of Alabama, November 21, 2024

Dimitrios V. Papavassiliou, Professor & Director of the School of Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering at The University of Oklahoma, December 5, 2024

Piran Kidambi, Piran Kidambi, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Vanderbilt University, January 23, 2025

Oded Nir, Associate Professor at Ben-Gurion University , February 6, 2025

Bishnupada Mandal Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, February 13, 2025

Hyunjin Moon, Post-Doctoral Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, February 25, 2025

Steven Wilson, Postdoctoral Fellow at the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy at Arizona State University, March 6, 2025

Davood Pourkargar, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University, March 11, 2025

Cristiana Boi, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Italy and an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University, April 10, 2025

Michael Koehler, Principal Scientist and Managing Partner with Professional Analysis and Consulting, Inc., April 17

Hank Ashbaugh, Herman and George R Brown Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the Interim Department Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Tulane University, April 24

Joshua Lequieu, Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Drexel University, May 1, 2025

Paying for Your Graduate Degree

Graduate Assistantships & Fellowships

Connect with Graduate Student Support Offices

Graduate Admissions and Recruitment

340 N. Campus Drive
Gearhart Hall 213

1-866-234-3957
gradinfo@uark.edu

Graduate Fellowships and Program Support

340 N. Campus Drive
Gearhart Hall 273

479-575-5869
gradfunding@uark.edu

Graduate Student Support

340 N. Campus Drive
Gearhart Hall 272

479-387-3841
gradsupport@uark.edu

Additional Degree Information

Admissions Requirements

All Requirements and deadlines apply to PhD and MS programs

GRE

Not required

GPA

3.0 GPA

*When entering without a chemical engineering degree, student needs to earned BS in Chemistry, Math, Physics or related scientific field and complete at minimum 2 semesters of calculus, 2 semesters of calculus-based physics, 2 semesters of general chemistry, 1 semester of organic chemistry and at least 6 hours of upper-level chemistry or physics.

Accelerated program: 3.5 GPA

English Requirements (for students who didn’t complete degree from a U.S. university whose first language is not English)

English proficiency exam taken within 2 years of application, for list of approved exams and required scores click here.

Other materials

Statement of Purpose, CV/Resume, Three letters of recommendation

Deadlines

Priority Deadline: Fall admission: January 15, Spring admission: September 15

Regular Deadline: Fall admission: July 1, Spring admission: December 1

Regular Deadline for International students: Fall admission: April 1, Spring admission: October 1

Graduate Program Coordinator: Dr. Christa Hestekin, E-mail: chesteki@uark.edu

Apply Here

Courses

Outcomes and Objective

The program goal, or educational objective, of the Chemical Engineering graduate program is to prepare students for advanced roles in the profession through a combination of planned coursework and research activities so that graduates are equipped to address present and future challenges in such areas as research, teaching, management, and commercialization.
The educational outcomes of our graduate program are to assure that each student has had an opportunity to:

Critically analyze meaningful and technologically relevant data, and for thesis students, plan and safely conduct research;
Demonstrate proficiency in fundamental mathematics and chemical engineering problem solving;
Understand professional and ethical responsibility; and
Develop and use effective written and oral communication skills.