The Polymer Specialty Certificate is designed to provide a strong interdisciplinary educational program for undergraduate/graduate engineering students and suitably prepared science students interested in pursuing a polymer career. The certificate will also reduce the training time required to turn Texas A&M University students into productive members of the industrial workforce. This program is the first of its kind offered in the state of Texas. Despite the significant role the polymer industry plays in the state's economy, no schools in Texas offer a formal polymer curriculum.
The Polymer Specialty Certificate consists of four (4) three-hour courses for a total of 12 credit hours. Students can choose from the following list of required courses: AERO 406, AERO 606, BMEN 482/682, CHEN 451, CHEN 641, MEEN 455, MEEN 458, MEEN 607, MEEN 635, CHEM 466. In addition, the remaining six hours are to be selected from a list of approved courses of which three hours can be substituted with an approved individual research experience. Completion of the certificate will be recorded on the student's university transcript.
Guideline
Students should complete and submit certificate applications to msen-ug-advising@tamu.edu prior to registering for any of the certificate courses.
Requirements
- Students must be in good academic standing within the major department.
- Students must obtain a "C" or better in each course taken towards the certificate program.
- Students must achieve an overall GPR of 3.0 in approved certificate program coursework.
- Students must meet all requirements for admission to upper-division in the student's major department.
- Students must submit the completed certificate worksheet to msen-ug-advising@tamu.edu upon registering for the final course(s) to complete certificate requirements.
- It is recommended that students take 6 hours of coursework above what is required for their degree program.
- Students must consult with an academic advisor prior to submitting an application for the certificate.
Course Requirement Summary
| Credit | Course |
|---|---|
| 3 | BMEN 482 - Polymeric Biomaterials |
| 3 | CHEM 466 - Polymer Chemistry |
| 3 | CHEN 451 - Introduction to Polymer Engineering |
| 3 | MEEN 455 - Engineering with Plastics |
| 3 | MEEN 458 - Processing and Characterization of Polymers |
| 3 | MSEN 250 - Soft Matter |
| 3 | MSEN 420 - Polymer Science |
Approved Additional Courses
- BAEN 427 Engineering Aspects of Packaging (Credit - 3)
- BMEN 482 Polymeric Biomaterials (Credit - 3)
- BMEN 483 Polymeric Biomaterial Synthesis (Credit - 3)
- CHEM 466 Polymer Chemistry (Credit - 3)
- CHEN 451 Introduction to Polymer Engineering (Credit - 3)
- MEEN 455 Engineering with Plastics (Credit - 3)
- MEEN 458 Processing and Characterization of Polymers (Credit - 3)
- MSEN 250 Soft Matter (Credit - 3)
- MSEN 418 Composites Processing and Performance (Credit - 3)
- MSEN 420 Polymer Science (Credit - 3)
- MSEN 426 Polymer Laboratories (Credit - 3)
- MSEN 485 Directed Studies
or MSEN 491 or Research
*Up to 3 hours of credit can be substituted with research emphasizing polymers (provided polymer coursework has been initiated). Research must be approved by the Director of the Polymer Technology Center.
Certificate Courses Accepted by Major
- Some or all courses may be accepted as technical electives with approval from the respective department.
- The civil and environmental engineering department will accept these courses as technical elective for some majors.
- The aerospace engineering department will accept 485/491 courses and/or ENGR 281 and 381 towards degree plans if they are honors. Students can petition for a 400-level or 600-level course in AERO or another department to count for an AERO technical elective.
- The biological and agricultural engineering department has one 3-hour technical elective and one 3-hour engineering elective which could be fulfilled by appropriate courses used toward a certificate program.
- The electrical and computer engineering department has several 400-level courses which could be used as technical electives for ELEN. Each is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
- The engineering technology and industrial distribution department accepts most any upper level (3xx or 4xx) engineering courses as a technical elective. Students should submit a written request explaining why and how it applies to the program.
Certificate Application and Worksheet
Students may obtain a certificate application and worksheet by emailing the program coordinator listed below.
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