Tag: minors

What do I need to know to plan out a polymer science and engineering minor?

Here is some additional scheduling information to help you plan. Go to the Registrar’s Office minor page for the most current list of requirements.

Introduction to Polymers Course

Select one course below:

  • BE 4300 Polymeric Biomaterials is usually offered spring of odd years, such as Spring ’23, Spring ’25, etc.
  • CM/CH 4610 Introduction to Polymer Science is usually offered every fall.
  • MSE 4110 Introduction to Polymer Engineering is usually offered every fall.

Chemistry or Engineering Courses

Check with the department offering the course for the expected planned schedule.

Elective Courses

Select remaining credits below:

  • BE 3300 Biomechanics I or MEEM 2150 Mechanics of Materials is usually offered every year.
  • BE 4335 Smart Polymers is usually offered fall of odd years, such as Fall ’21, Fall ’23, etc.
  • CH/CM 4620 Polymer Chemistry is usually offered every spring.
  • CH 4710 Biomolecular Chemistry is usually offered every fall but has a time conflict with CM 4855, which is required for senior chemical engineering students.
  • CM 4060 Undergraduate Research in Polymer Engineering is offered on demand. If you are interested in doing undergraduate research in the chemical engineering department then you will need to talk to the faculty who are doing research in the polymer engineering area to see if they have a project that you can work on with them. The faculty currently doing research in this area are Dr. Liu and Dr. Ong.
  • CM 4650 Polymer Rheology is no longer offered because the faculty retired.
  • ENG 4515 Introduction to Sustainability and Resilience is usually offered every fall. To use this class towards the minor you will need to complete a polymer-related term project. Email your topic to the chemical engineering advisor for approval.
  • ENT Enterprise Project Work. Up to 3 credits of Enterprise project work in the polymer science or engineering area may be approved. Email a brief description of your project to the chemical engineering for approval.
  • MEEM 4170 Failure of Materials in Mechanics is usually offered every spring.
  • MEEM 4635 Design with Plastics has not been offered recently. You will need to check with the Mechanical Engineering Department to see when it will be available next.
  • MSE 4430 Composite Materials is usually offered every spring.
  • Undergraduate Research in the polymer science and engineering area from other departments may be approved. Email a brief description of your research to the chemical engineering advisor for approval. Several students have done polymer chemistry research with Dr. Heiden in the Chemistry Department, as one example.

Which linear algebra and differential equations classes should I take?

You have three options for linear algebra:  MA 2320, MA 2321, and MA 2330.

You have four options for differential equations:  MA 3520, MA 3521, MA 3530, and MA 3560.

If you plan to take linear algebra and differential equations in the same semester, then you must take the accelerated (7 week) versions of these classes:  MA 2321 (2 cr) and MA 3521 (2 cr).  MA 2321 is offered track A and MA 3521 is offered track B during the fall and spring semesters.  The advantage with the accelerated classes is that they allow you to complete both classes in one semester.  This is important if you plan to start junior CM classes in the next semester, as you must be done with all of your math to start taking junior CM classes.  The disadvantage with the accelerated classes is that the course material comes very quickly, and for this reason we do not recommend the accelerated classes to students who have struggled with math classes in the past or who feel they need more time to grasp math concepts.

If you plan to take linear algebra and differential equations in different semesters, then you can take either MA 2320 (2 cr) or MA 2330 (3 cr) in the first semester and then either MA 3520 (2 cr) or MA 3530 (3 cr, fall semester) or MA 3560 (3 cr, spring semester) in the second semester. There is additional course material in the three credit versions.  You may read the course descriptions by clicking on the CRN when doing a class search in Banweb or searching for course descriptions on the Registrar’s Office webpage.

If you have struggled in your previous math classes then we recommend the semester long, two credit classes (MA 2320 and MA 3520).

If you are interested in a math minor and/or pursuing an engineering graduate degree then we recommend the semester long, three credit classes (MA 2330 and MA 3530/3560).  The extra credits from the three credit math classes can be used towards your technical electives or free electives.  See the ChE advisor for more information on applying these additional credit towards either of these areas of your degree audit.