It is unlikely that a student who completes an internship or co-op following the sophomore year of their chemical engineering curriculum could write an appropriate thesis. Multiple internships, with one at least at the junior level or senior level with the same or different companies, are likely required. No formal page number requirements are set, but similar technical reports are often 30 pages or more of double-spaced writing, including figures, tables, and references. Students have the responsibility to establish with prospective internship providers whether they can write up a thorough technical report before they approach the Undergraduate Committee to seek to take this course to satisfy their EPSEL requirement. Further, students have the responsibility to explore, clear, and receive permission from their employer concerning what they may write relative to any intellectual property and/or proprietary information involved in their project. Members of the Chemical Engineering Department’s Undergraduate Committee will review the thesis, assist the student with necessary revisions, and ultimately will assign the grade for the course
Following a significant industrial internship or co-op experience, an undergraduate may be prepared to document their project contributions in a thesis. Such students may consider taking ChEn 496 to fulfill their Engineering Problem Solving through Experiential Learning (EPSEL) technical elective requirement by writing a technical report that documents their internship/co-op project. The student should consult with and receive approval from the Chemical Engineering Department’s Undergraduate Committee before registering for ChEn 496, as not all internship or co-op experiences (e.g., tracing lines or cataloging pressure relief valve set-points) will be suitable to produce this thesis document. Some aspects of suitable projects follow.
- The project has a well-stated objective with identified deliverables.
- The intern provides unique input for the pathway that was used to fulfill the objective.
- The student performs most of the work to fulfil the objective.
- Project deliverables include some metric of success in fulfilling the objective.
- The project requires significant engineering contributions by the student.
It is unlikely that a student who completes an internship or co-op following the sophomore year of their chemical engineering curriculum could write an appropriate thesis. Multiple internships, with one at least at the junior level or senior level with the same or different companies, are likely required. No formal page number requirements are set, but similar technical reports are often 30 pages or more of double-spaced writing, including figures, tables, and references. Students have the responsibility to establish with prospective internship providers whether they can write up a thorough technical report before they approach the Undergraduate Committee to seek to take this course to satisfy their EPSEL requirement. Further, students have the responsibility to explore, clear, and receive permission from their employer concerning what they may write relative to any intellectual property and/or proprietary information involved in their project. Members of the Chemical Engineering Department’s Undergraduate Committee will review the thesis, assist the student with necessary revisions, and ultimately will assign the grade for the course.