bmark357

Also, will I not be able to take the FE or PE exam due to the fact I do not have an undergraduate degree in engineering?

xraymancs

A graduate degree should qualify you for these exams. As for your question about research in alternative energy, that is not just the purview of chemical engineers. Researchers in physics, materials engineering and science, and chemistry are often involved in such research too.

bmark357

i know but to my knowledge it is mostly chemical engineers that are the most involved in the specialization as opposed to other engineers. my main concern is whether im at an extreme disadvatage when applying to grad school as opposed to students currently in chemE for undergrad

HiPolymer

I was in the same boat as you. I got my undergraduate degree in Chemistry and was very skeptical at my chances of getting admitted to a ChemE doctorate program. Department websites state that Physics and Chemistry majors are always welcome to apply, but don't explicitly tell you that you are at a disadvantage. However, there are a good number of people who get admitted to top/decent ChemE departments with a non-engineering undergraduate degree. This is a recent trend that developed from the fact that ChemE research has become extremely interdisciplinary.

Hopefully, you are hoping to make this transition with a pretty decent profile (high GPA, GREs, good letters of rec, etc). Getting into a Top 10 school is possible if you are a STELLAR student. I've talked to a professor in the admissions committee of my school and was told that you can greatly strengthen your application by emphasizing why you are capable and qualified to make the Physics>>>ChemE transition. You can do this by stating why you took or will take certain courses and by fluently connecting your prior research experience to the research taking place in the specific department.

Also, it is not the end of the world to attend a mediocre school (to me, those are in the ranks 25-50). This is especially true if you plan to work in industry. I was thinking about taking a year or two after graduating in order to strengthen my application/resume somehow, but I didn't think it would have been worth it to delay obtaining my PhD.

bmark357

thank you for your response HiPolymer.

I have a feeling that if I am applying to graduate school for an advanced degree in chemical engineering I should be okay with an undergraduate in physics (especially if I were to pursue Alternative Energy R&D). I've spoken to a lot of rep's from different schools with Alternative Energy/Chemical Engineering graduate programs and they said I'm still welcome to apply. Yes I will be at a disadvantage but not by too much. Alternative Energy research can be approached by both Mechanical and Chemical Engineers. If I were to approach is with a strong Physics background AND a chemical engineering background I may even have somewhat of a different advantage. I'm only a freshman and already applying for research positions in Energy related projects. If I just keep up with grades and what not I should still be in a good place when it comes time to apply to grad school. I just need to pick the appropriate program that best suites my needs.

Catria

What kind of graduate program do you want to do, a thesis program or a non-thesis program?

Polytechnique (Montreal) accepts physics majors for ChemE graduate programs, both thesis and non-thesis, plus it is GRE-optional. I even got into an IndE thesis MSc program as a physics major... although grad school apps aren't over for me.