The University of Houston

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Chemical Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
I earned my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston - Main Campus. Over the 5 years of doctoral program, I had a number of experiences, that I can see in positive light nearly couple of years after my gad-walk. While not everything was easy and straightforward (good Ph.D. programs are not supposed to be easy), it was worth all the efforts it took. Doctoral program was fully supported financially by TA/RA duties. The Professors were very approachable and there to help you when you needed them. Most of all, I and my peers were focusing on research without much of running from pillar to post in order to get things done. The resources for computational and experimental research were phenomenal and available to graduate students easily. A great number of faculty members have NSF CAREER awards and other prestigious faculty awards to ensure plenty of funding available to graduate students. Some of the courses had actually higher difficulty levels than I expected them to be, but in the end it was all manageable with the help of Professors and TAs.

After my experience at UH-ChBE, I can definitely say that US News rankings of this program don't reflect the program quality. The NRC rankings (that put this doctoral program in top 20) do a better job at accessing the real potential that this program has. While landing a suitable job requires some effort, most of the doctoral candidates have an offer or two before walking at the commencement ceremony. If you have a background in Chemical Engineering, I don't have to explain you why Houston is the best place to be. I myself had a summer internship at an Oil & Gas super-major, and later on found R&D position in Houston.

Ph.D. life isn't easy… I guess that's how it's supposed to be. Ask any graduate student nearing graduation and you might hear a lost of reasons why you should not be doing Ph.D., but that feeling does go away. What really matters is the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment you get when you look back at all that you did during those years. I really feel proud for all the publications and research that I have done and for that I am thankful to the support provided by the UH ChBE Professors and peers.

The UH-ChBE doctoral program is an underdog, usually rated much lower than it actually deserves to be. If you are considering doctoral studies in Chemical Engineering, I'll unequivocally recommend you considering University of Houston - Main Campus.