Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Advising

Author: Katie Torrey

I transfered to Tech, but the rules have changed! Can anything be done?

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The rules that apply to determine if any student has met graduation requirements are enshrined in what is called the “catalog year.”  If you are a traditional student who enrolls directly after high school in the fall, your catalog year is yyyy08, where yyyy is the year that you started at Michigan Tech.  Your catalog year is listed in Banweb when you look at your unofficial transcript.  You need to know your catalog year when you look up the general education rules and the rules for your major.

A transfer student who looks up Michigan Tech’s requirements but then transfers two years later may have some difficulty in matching up the courses taken to the rules in force when he/she arrives at Tech–the rules may have changed.

In April 2016, the Michigan Tech University Senate amended the catalog policy to allow for some leeway for such students and for students who leave Tech for a year or more before returning.  The complete policy is in the current catalog and also archived as Senate Proposal 26-16.

Please see the current catalog for the most up-to-date phrasing.  The basics of the policy are here:

  • The University catalog expires after seven years. Students may not graduate using a catalog that is more than seven years old.
  • Students maintaining continuous enrollment at Michigan Tech may expect to graduate under the degree requirements in effect at the time that they became a degree-seeking student at Michigan Tech.
  • Students changing majors will follow the degree requirements in effect at the time of the change of major.
  • Students adding a major or minor will follow the requirements for the additional curriculum in effect at the time it is added.
  • Students who have been absent from the University for three or more consecutive semesters (including summer) will follow the degree requirements in effect at the time of re-enrollment.
  • With approval from the academic department, students may follow the degree requirements from an earlier catalog. The catalog selected must be within seven years prior to the student’s graduation or the first term the student was enrolled as a degree-seeking student at a regionally accredited institution, whichever is shortest.

The final bullet provides flexibility for transfer students.  If you graduate from high school and enroll at a regionally accredited institution as a degree-seeking student, you may petition your academic department at Tech to request to be placed on the catalog year that corresponds to the semester you started at your transfer institution.  Note that you must obtain departmental permission for this change in catalog year (it is not automatic).  Note also that students who are dual enrolled or doing a “13th year” are not eligible for this flexibility, since they would not be enrolled as degree seeking during their dual/13th year status.

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I got “major restriction” when I tried to register for organic lab; why is that?

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For organic lab CH 2411 you will need to choose a lab section that is not L07 or L09. These two sections are reserved for chemistry major (not chemical engineering). Any seats available in these classes will open up after the initial registration period is over, so if there are still seats, you can try later to register for those restricted sections.

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How do I plan out my chemical engineering degree at Michigan Tech?

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The CM degree at Michigan Tech requires 131 credits plus 3 credits of co-curricular classes (physical education).  What classes are required for you depends on when you started at Michigan Tech, known as your catalog year.  The requirements are all posted on our advising webpages, and we made a video walking you through the process for planning out your degree.

Here’s the basic process.

  1. Go to our advising webpage and select Undergraduate — Advising — Plan Your Schedule
  2. Print out the course requirements (4 year plan or 5 year plan), the General Education Requirements, the co-curricular requirements, and the Technical Elective requirements that go with your catalog year.
  3. On your 4 (0r 5) year plan, cross off any courses for which you already have credit.
  4. Print out a blank Academic Plan worksheet.
  5. Fill in the Academic Plan worksheet with all the remaining courses.

There is a great deal that goes into that step “5” up there, and we’ve made some videos to help you find your way through the process.  Once you have a good rough plan, you may wish to make an appointment with a CM advisor to make sure that you’ve got all the details right.

That’s it!  Welcome to Michigan Tech Chemical Engineering–We’re glad you’re here.

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Do you have any videos for ChemE Advising?

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Yes!  We are working on making videos to make it convenient for you to obtain the advice you need to plan your degree.  Here’s what we have so far:

If you have any suggestions for more videos, email your ideas to cmadvise@mtu.edu.

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I am a transfer student; do I have to take the first-year engineering courses?

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The first-year engineering courses are required for graduation with a B.S. in chemical engineering.  If you have not yet transferred to Michigan Tech, we recommend that you take courses at your home institution that transfer as ENG 1101 and ENG 1102.  The transfer equivalent for ENG 1101 is a computer programming class using an objected-oriented programming language, such as Java or C++.  The transfer equivalent for ENG 1102 is a 3-D solid modeling class using software, such as Solid Works, Unigraphics, or 3-D Autocad.

For transfer students who have not transferred in ENG 1101 and ENG 1102, you may take ENG 1101 and ENG 1102 at Michigan Tech or it is sometimes preferable to substitute courses more appropriate to your experience and educational level.  For more information on this see the policy for when substitutions are allowed for ENG 1101, and ENG 1102.

CM 1000 is not required for graduation (per Departmental vote 10Feb2016) but it is recommended for first-year students, and it counts as a core engineering technical elective.  If you do not take CM 1000 then you must take an additional credit of core engineering technical elective.

 

 

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Dow Chemical and MIT ACCESS program: Encouraging graduate study

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This looks like a cool program; and we have an alum of this program in the Michigan Tech Chem Eng graduate program!  Spread the word.

Overview of program

The mission of the ACCESS program is to increase the diversity of qualified applicants to PHD programs in chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science throughout the United States. ACCESS is a weekend of educational and informative events that will introduce talented sophomores, juniors and seniors to the benefits of a graduate education in chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science. The goal of ACCESS is not to prepare students for graduate school at MIT specifically, but rather to introduce them to the advantages of choosing a graduate career path at an institution that best meets each participant’s individual needs.

The weekend-long program offers students an overview of graduate education through seminars, faculty talks, and interactive sessions, all designed to give a greater understanding of the application process and an insight into the doors a graduate career can open.

ACCESS will give participants:

A broad exposure to the opportunities that can be gained from a graduate education in chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science;

  • An introduction to the various career paths that can result from a graduate education in chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science;
  • An opportunity to hear directly from faculty and students their reasons for choosing a graduate career;
  • An explanation of the funding structure for graduate education and information on graduate fellowships;
  • A chance to meet and socialize with fellow undergraduates from around the nation who are pursuing similar goals;
  • And a fun Cambridge/Boston experience!

Contact Info:

For more information about the ACCESS program, email mit-access@mit.edu.

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How can I prepare for registration?

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Registration is always right around the corner, and before it arrives, it’s best to get prepared. Those of you who have tried to make an appointment with Katie near registration time know that her schedule fills up. She has “walk-in” office hours weeks 9-11, so you will not need an appointment, but you may face some lines. With this post I reach out to you with some advice to ensure that you have a good registration season.

Katie’s walk-in office hours schedule is posted here: blogs.mtu.edu/chem-eng-undergrad/

If you are uncertain what classes you need to take, please take a look at our video on Planning your Schedule.

Planning your schedule begins with the planning handout at this link (http://www.chem.mtu.edu/~fmorriso/advising/2015MoreAdvisingInfoHandout4SemPlanFAM.pdf), which shows a 4-year plan of how the Chemical Engineering curriculum maps out. I have indicated the classes that cause a bottleneck–these are the classes that are only offered one time per year. Up until the spring of junior year you have flexibility in when you can take classes. The three spring junior classes, however, (transport 2, kinetics, controls) are only offered in the spring. The senior chemical engineering classes (unit and plant operations, plant design, safety and the environment) are only offered once per year as well. This means that you need to be ready for those spring junior classes during the spring that you plan to take them.

The pre-requisites for our classes are summarized on this handout:  www.mtu.edu/chemical/undergraduate/advising/pdfs/prerequisite-map.pdf

To plan out your schedule you should map out which semester you intend to take the fixed classes (spring junior classes, senior classes) and then back-calculate when you will take the pre-requisites for those courses.

On the planning handout I have also indicated when classes are offered on-line, and I’ve highlighted some General Education (GenEd) rules that you should be mindful of as you plan out your GenEd choices.

Finally, once things get close to graduation, every requirement must be met and this can get confusing sometimes. For checking or auditing your compliance with your degree requirements Michigan Tech uses DARS: Degree Audit Reporting System. Go to your Banweb account, log in, and look for Degree audit. You can run your own degree audit. It takes a minute or two for the computer to slot all your courses into the various bins or “buckets” where they satisfy requirements. When it’s finished, you can take a look. Green is good; red is bad. You will see all kinds of lists and requirements that are checked. It is a computer program and online, so hopefully you can poke around a bit and figure out how it’s working. If you are a transfer student or if you transferred in courses, it is very helpful for sorting out what credits count for what.

Please take a look at your DARS and see how your credits earned are stacking up towards getting your CM degree. If you look over the attached sheet, consult the pre-req map, look at your degree audit, and make use of the handouts for minors and technical electives that are on the Advising web page, you will see that registration is a snap.

Thanks for your patience during registration season. We will endeavor to answer all your questions and hopefully we can find a solution that will lead to a smooth path towards your BS in chemical engineering.

More helpful links:

best wishes,

Dr. Morrison

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What does a “Linked Course Required” error mean?

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There are a number of classes that have multiple parts (a lecture, recitation, and/or lab), and you must enroll in all of the parts to register for the class.  If you only register for one part you will get a registration error that says “Linked Course Required”.  If you look at the section column when you search for classes (labeled “Sec”), the lecture sections are lettered (0A, 0B, etc.), the recitation sections start with an R (R01, R02, etc.), and the lab sections start with an L (L01, L02, etc.).  All of the parts of a single course will have the same course number.

For example to enroll in CM 3215, Transport Lab, you must register for both the lecture and lab portions:

CM 3215 0A (lecture)

CM 3215 L01 or L02 or etc. (lab)

Classes with multiple parts include:  MA 1160, MA 1161, MA 2160, MA 3160, CM 3215, CM 3310, CM 4110, CM 4120, and CM 4855.

Some classes instead require a “co-requisite”.  This means that you must sign up for both classes (different course numbers) or you will get a “Linked Course Required” error.  Classes that require co-requisites include:  CH 1150/CH 1151, CH 1160/CH 1161, and MA 2321/MA 3521.

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