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stanford university petroleum engineering undergraduate

Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering

The objective is to prepare the student for professional work in the energy industry through completion of fundamental courses in the major field and in related sciences as well as independent research.

Students entering the graduate program are expected to have an undergraduate-level energy resources engineering background. Competence in computer programming in a high-level language (CS 106X or the equivalent) and knowledge of energy resources engineering and geological fundamentals (ENERGY 120, 130, and GES 151) are prerequisites for taking most graduate courses.

The candidate must fulfill the following requirements:

Register as a graduate student for at least 45 units.

Submit a program proposal for the Master’s degree approved by the adviser during the first quarter of enrollment.

Complete 45 units with at least a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0. This requirement is satisfied by taking the core sequence, selecting one of the seven elective sequences, an appropriate number of additional courses from the list of technical electives, and completing 6 units of master’s level research. Students electing the course work only M.S. degree are strongly encouraged to select an additional elective sequence in place of the research requirement. Students interested in continuing for a Ph.D. are expected to choose the research option and enroll in 6 units of ENERGY 361. All courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Students entering without an undergraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering must make up deficiencies in previous training. Not more than 10 units of such work may be counted as part of the minimum total of 45 units toward the M.S. degree. Research subjects include certain groundwater hydrology and environmental problems, energy industry management, flow of non-Newtonian fluids, geothermal energy, natural gas engineering, oil and gas recovery, pipeline transportation, production optimization, reservoir characterization and modeling, carbon sequestration, reservoir engineering, reservoir simulation, and transient well test analysis.

We train future leaders in the science and engineering of Earth’s energy resources. We combine theory, experiments, and computation to understand and influence the global energy resources landscape. We are committed to leading the way to provide the people, methods, and tools for sustainable management of the Earth’s energy resources.

The Ph.D. degree is conferred upon demonstration of high achievement in independent research and by presentation of the research results in a written dissertation and oral defense.

In addition to University and the Department of Energy Resources Engineering basic requirements for the doctorate, the Petroleum Engineering Ph.D. and Energy Resources Engineering Ph.D. degrees have the following requirements:

Students must complete a minimum of 36 course units and 54 research units (a total of 90 units) beyond the M.S. degree. At least half of the classes must be at a 200 level or higher and all must be taken for a letter grade. Students with an M.S. degree or other specialized training from outside ERE are generally expected to include ENERGY 221, 223, and 240, or their equivalents. The number and distribution of courses to be taken is determined with input from the research advisers and department graduate program committee.

To achieve candidacy (usually during or at the end of the first year of enrollment), the student must complete 24 units of letter-graded course work beyond the M.S. degree, develop a written Ph.D. research proposal, and choose a dissertation committee.

The research adviser(s) and two other faculty members comprise the dissertation reading committee. Upon completion of the dissertation, the student must pass a University oral examination in defense of the dissertation.

Complete 135 units of total graduate work (usually 90 units beyond the M.S. degree).

Act as a teaching assistant at least once, and enroll in ENERGY 359.

36 units of course work is a minimum; in some cases the research adviser may specify additional requirements to strengthen the student’s expertise in particular areas. The 36 units of course work does not include required teaching experience (ENERGY 359) nor required research seminars. Courses must be taken for a letter grade, and a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.25 must be maintained.

The dissertation must be submitted in its final form within five calendar years from the date of admission to candidacy. Candidates who fail to meet this deadline must submit an Application for Extension of Candidacy for approval by the department chair if they wish to continue in the program.

Ph.D. students entering the department are required to hold an M.S. degree in a relevant science or engineering discipline. Students wishing to follow the Ph.D. program in Petroleum Engineering must hold an M.S. degree (or equivalent) in Petroleum Engineering. Students following the Ph.D. program in Energy Resources Engineering must hold an M.S. degree (or equivalent), although it need not be in Energy Resources Engineering.

PH.D. DEGREE QUALIFICATION

The procedure for the Ph.D. qualification differs depending upon whether the student entered the department as an M.S. or Ph.D. student. In either case, previous written and oral exams have been replaced by a written Ph.D. proposal followed by a proposal defense.

For students who complete an M.S. in the Energy Resources Engineering Department at Stanford—In the second year of the M.S. degree program, the student formally applies to the Ph.D. program. The student is considered for admission to the Ph.D. program along with external applicants. The admission decision is based upon course work and research progress. During or before the third quarter as a Ph.D. student, generally corresponding to Spring Quarter in the third year at Stanford, the student must pass a Qualifying Examination by presenting a Ph.D. proposal to a committee of three faculty members. This entails a written document, including material such as a literature review and proposed work outline, and an oral presentation. Following the presentation, the student is questioned on the research topic and general field of study. The student can pass, pass with qualifications requiring more classes or teaching assistantships, or fail. A student who substantially changes topics between the M.S. and Ph.D. may ask his/her advisor to petition for an extra quarter before presenting the Ph.D. proposal.

For students who enter directly into the Ph.D. program after receiving an M.S. from another university—After the second quarter at Stanford, a faculty committee evaluates the student’s progress. If a student is found to be deficient in course work and/or research, a written warning is issued. After the third quarter, the faculty committee decides whether or not funding should be continued for the student. Students denied funding after the third quarter are advised against proceeding with the Ph.D. proposal, though the student may choose to proceed under personal funding. Direct entry Ph.D. students must present their Ph.D. proposal (qualifying exam) before the end of their fourth quarter at Stanford (not counting Summer Quarter).

COURSE WORK

The 36 units of course work may include graduate courses in Energy Resources Engineering (numbered 200 and above) and courses chosen from the following list. Other courses may be substituted with prior approval of the adviser. In general, non-technical courses are not approved.

Students who enter directly into the Ph.D. program after receiving an M.S. degree from another university are expected to show expertise in the core courses required for Stanford’s M.S. degree in Energy Resources Engineering, either by including those courses in their Ph.D. degree or by showing that they have taken equivalent courses during their M.S. degree.

For a Ph.D. in Energy Resources Engineering, 12 of the 36 required course units must be completed from the following list of courses. If the student has not taken ENERGY 293A,B or their equivalent during the M.S., then these courses must be taken during the Ph.D. (they will satisfy 6 of the required 12 units).

• ENERGY 104. Technology in the Greenhouse
• ENERGY 252. Chemical Kinetics Modeling
• ENERGY 253. Carbon Capture and Sequestration
• ENERGY 260. Modeling Uncertainty in the Earth Sciences
• ENERGY 269. Geothermal Reservoir Engineering
• ENERGY 291. Optimization of Energy Systems
• ENERGY 293A. Fundamentals of Energy Processes
• ENERGY 239B. Fundamentals of Energy Processes
• ENERGY 301. The Energy Seminar (may be repeated for credit no more than 3 times)
• CEE 176A. Energy Efficient Buildings
• CEE 176B. Electric Power: Renewables and Efficiency
• CEE 272P. Distributed Generation and Grid Integration of Renewables
• CEE 268. Groundwater Flow
• EESS 221/CEE 260C. Contaminant Hydrogeology
• CHEMENG 130. Separation Processes
• CHEMENG 340. Molecular Thermodynamics
• EARTHSYS 247. Controlling Climate Change in the 21st Century
• ECON 250. Environmental Economics
• ECON 251. Natural Resource and Energy Economics
• GES170. Environmental Geochemistry
• GES 171. Geochemical Thermodynamics
• GES 217. Faults, Fractures, and Fluid Flow
• ME 131A. Heat Transfer
• ME 150. Internal Combustion Engines
• ME 260. Fuel Cell Technology
• ME 370A. Energy Systems I: Thermodynamics
• ME 370B. Energy Systems II: Modeling and Advanced Concepts
• MATSCI 156. Solar Cells, Fuel Cells, and Batteries
• MATSCI 316. Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology
• MS&E 248. Economics of Natural Resources

MATH AND APPLIED MATH

Subject and Catalog Number	Units
AA 210A. Fundamentals of Compressible Flow	3
AA 214A. Numerical Methods in Fluid Mechanics	3
AA 214B. Numerical Computation of Compressible Flow	3
CHEMENG 300. Applied Mathematics in Chemical Engineering	3
CEE 268. Groundwater Flow	3-4
CME 108. Introduction to Scientific Computing	3-4
CME 200. Linear Algebra with Application to Engineering Computations	3
CME 204. Partial Differential Equations in Engineering	3
CME 206. Introduction to Numerical Methods for Engineering	3
CME 302. Numerical Linear Algebra	3
CME 306. Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations	3
CS 106X. Programming Methodology and Abstractions	5
CS 193D. Professional Software Development with C++	3
MATH 106. Functions of a Complex Variable	3
MATH 113. Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory	3
MATH 114. Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory II	3
MATH 115. Functions of a Real Variable	3
MATH 131. Partial Differential Equations I	3
MATH 132. Partial Differential Equations II	3
MATH 220A,B,C. Partial Differential Equations of Applied Mathematics	3 ea.
ME 331A,B. Classical Dynamics	3 ea.
ME 335A,B,C. Finite Element Analysis	3 ea.
STATS 110. Statistical Methods in Engineering and Physical Sciences	4
STATS 116. Theory of Probability	4
STATS 200. Introduction to Statistical Inference	3
STATS 202. Data Analysis	3

SCIENCE

GES 231. Contaminant Hydrogeology	4
GES 253. Petroleum Geology and Exploration	3
GEOPHYS 182. Reflection Seismology	3
GEOPHYS 190. Near Surface Geophysics	3
GEOPHYS 262. Rock Physics	3

ENGINEERING

CHEMENG 110. Equilibrium Thermodynamics	3
CHEMENG 120A. Fluid Mechanics	3
CHEMENG 120B. Energy and Mass Transport	3
CHEMENG 310A. Microscale Transport in Chemical Engineering	3
ENGR 298. Seminar in Fluid Mechanics	1

ERE Admissions
Graduate students are admitted by the department of Energy Resources Engineering. All undergraduates are admitted by Stanford University Undergraduate Admissions regardless of their major interest. Our department admits graduate students on the basis of their academic achievements, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, work experience and Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores. There are no minimum grade point averages or GRE scores: the admissions committee reviews each application carefully to determine the overall demonstrated and potential ability.

Application Deadline
Applications to Energy Resources Engineering graduate programs must be received by the deadline of Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time in order to be considered for 2022-23 admission cycle.

The Knight-Hennessy Scholars receive funding for up to three years of graduate study at Stanford. Two applications must be submitted separately; one to Knight-Hennessy and one to the Stanford graduate degree program. Please visit kh.stanford.edu for specific and earlier deadlines for both Knight-Hennessy and graduate applications.

NOTE for applications in Fall 2021 for the 2022-2023 application cycle: In accordance with Stanford University’s Winter Closure, the department will be closed starting December 18, 2021- January 2, 2022. We highly recommend you complete you application in advance to avoid any potential delays. There are no exceptions for late applications.

Application Procedure
Prospective Undergraduate Applicants should visit the Stanford Undergraduate Admissions for information.
Prospective Graduate Applicants should visit Stanford Graduate Admissions for additional information. The online application is also available on the Graduate Admissions website.
Current Stanford MS students interested in applying to the Department of Energy Resources Engineering should contact the ERE Student Services for more information on application procedure.
Specific information on the course of study for all undergraduate and graduate programs offered by the Department of Energy Resources Engineering can be found in the Stanford Registrar’s Bulletin in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences section.

Please note that all PhD applicants must have a MS in order to be considered for the PhD program in Energy Resources Engineering and Petroleum Engineering. All PhD applicants for Petroleum Engineering must have a MS in Petroleum Engineering.

The following items must be received in the electronic application:

General Graduate Admissions information

Statement of purpose

Three letters of recommendation

Official GRE scores

Official TOEFL scores (if applicable)

Academic transcripts for both undergraduate and graduate institutions

Supplemental Form

The research-related questions on the Supplemental Form are as follows:

(1) Designate up to three ERE faculty members with whom you would like to work. These should correspond to the Academic Interests selected in the drop-down menu in your online application.

(2) Describe why you selected the faculty member(s) you did, and how your research/technical interests align with theirs. Feel free to point to specific projects and/or papers in your response, as appropriate. Please keep your response to a maximum of 300 words.

You can see a list of ERE faculty and a brief description of their research.

Transcripts

Please upload one scanned version of your transcript(s) in the online application. Please read the Applying section of central Graduate Admissions website for important information on submitting transcripts.

**The University reserves the right to request additional information.

GRE and TOEFL
Be sure to schedule your GRE and TOEFL (if needed) exam dates to give you enough time to meet the application deadline. The GRE exam is required of all applicants, while the TOEFL is required of most international applicants whose first language is not English. You can check the Graduate Admissions FAQ for more information. There can be no substitutions for these two exams.

GRE scores can be no older than 5 years prior to your application. Strong quantitative skills are essential for successful completion of all programs, therefore the admissions committee expects a high quantitative score. Please note that because most GRE testing sites are closed we are now allowing the GRE to be taken at home.

TOEFL scores must be no older than 18 months prior to your application. Please check requirements on the Graduate Admissions website.

The Stanford score recipient code for ETS is 4704 (no department code is needed for ERE). Please include a copy of your GRE scores with your application or note your scores in the electronic application. Official ETS scores for both GRE and TOEFL must be received by the application deadline.

Requirements for Stanford University’s Petroleum Engineering

Stanford University‘s petroleum engineering program, which they call Energy Resources Engineering, is one of the best in the U.S. Admission to the undergraduate Bachelor of Science program is highly competitive, and accepted students must complete rigorous coursework in a variety of areas to receive a degree.

Getting Accepted to Stanford

The first step toward getting a petroleum engineering degree from Stanford is to earn admission to the university. With an acceptance rate of only about 7 percent, winning a spot at Stanford is tough. Most Stanford undergraduate students score between 2040 and 2330 on the SAT. Even students at the lower end of that range scored better than 90 percent of all test-takers. For those lucky enough to secure a spot at Stanford, the journey toward a degree has just begun.

General Education Requirements

All Stanford undergraduate students must take a series of general education courses, regardless of their major. The required subjects include humanities classes like philosophy and literature, social science classes like sociology and psychology and foreign language classes. All students at Stanford are also required to take mathematics courses, but petroleum engineering majors will fulfill their math requirements in their degree program.

Mathematics Courses

Petroleum engineering is a mathematics-intensive field. Stanford undergraduates hoping to earn a B.S. in the subject must take at least 23 credit hours in mathematics. Classes include several different levels of calculus, linear algebra and differential equations. Many of these courses are prerequisites for engineering classes, meaning that students must complete their math courses before they can begin to study petroleum engineering.

Engineering Courses

Petroleum engineering majors at Stanford must complete at least 20 credit hours of engineering classes to graduate. These include classes in applied mechanics, engineering thermodynamics and fluids engineering. To make sure students understand the business-related dimensions of engineering, students are also required to take a course in engineering economics.

Science Courses

A basic understanding of scientific principles is essential for petroleum engineers, so Stanford requires a series of courses in physics and chemistry. Future petroleum engineers must complete courses in mechanics, electricity and magnetism and light and heat in the physics department. From the chemistry department, students take two introductory courses. They also must complete a foundational geology course.

Earth and Energy Courses

Courses in science and math are intended to give students a strong foundation in engineering for any field. Petroleum engineering majors have to take more specific classes in earth and energy science to complete their degree. These classes include topics such as subsurface modelling, sedimentary geology and well-log analysis. These courses allow students to specialize in solving problems common in the petroleum industry.