Chemical and Biological Engineering
Graduate program at Colorado School of Mines
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Select a program type below to learn more. What’s the difference? Read more about program types.
Chemical and Biological Engineering Master’s Non-Thesis
The Master’s Non-Thesis (MS-NT) degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering requires students with an acceptable undergraduate degree in chemical engineering to take a minimum of 30 credits of coursework.
Students may complete an acceptable engineering report for up to 6 credits. Full-time master’s students must enroll in the graduate colloquium (CBEN605) each semester. A maximum of 3 credits of CBEN605 can be counted toward the degree requirements.
Application Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- GRE: Not Required
- Letters of Recommendation (2 letters)
- Letters are not required for current Mines students.
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Statement of Purpose
- Transcripts
- International students please review the English proficiency requirements
Chemical and Biological Master’s Thesis
Students interested in the Chemical and Biological Master’s Thesis program with an acceptable undergraduate degree in chemical engineering must take a minimum of 18 credits of coursework.
Students must also take a minimum of 6 research credits, complete and defend an acceptable master’s dissertation. Between coursework and research credits, a student must earn a minimum of 30 total credits. Full-time master’s students must enroll in the graduate colloquium (CBEN605) each semester. A maximum of 3 credits of CBEN605 can be counted towards the degree requirements.
Application Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- GRE: Not Required
- Letters of Recommendation (3 letters).
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Statement of Purpose
- Transcripts
- International students please review the English proficiency requirements
Chemical and Biological Engineering Doctorate
The PhD degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering requires a minimum of 30 credits of coursework.
In addition, students must complete and defend an acceptable doctoral dissertation. Full-time PhD students must enroll in the graduate colloquium (CBEN605) each semester. A maximum of 3 credits of CBEN605 can be counted toward the degree requirements.
Students in the PhD program are required to pass both a qualifying exam and the PhD proposal defense.
Application Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- GRE: Not Required
- Letters of Recommendation (3 letters).
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Statement of Purpose
- Transcripts
- International students please review the English proficiency requirements
Chemical Engineering Processes in Energy Transitions Certificate
This certificate program in Chemical Engineering Processes in Energy Transitions provides students with working knowledge to address energy production, storage, and associated environmental remediation challenges. Some of the areas of focus include oil and gas, electrochemical and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). This unique program is designed to provide students with both enhanced understanding of the industry and a variety of new career opportunities.
By bringing salient aspects of energy and environment under one umbrella, students develop the expertise necessary to address technological problems, make economic decisions, or formulate government policies. This program is designed for professionals and recent graduates who want to acquire new skills for career advancement or get a head start on an advanced graduate degree. The certificate program requires three 3-credit graduate courses.
Application Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- GRE: Not Required
- Letters of Recommendation
- Statement of Purpose
- Suggested if GPA is less than 3.0/4.0
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Transcripts
- International students please review the English proficiency requirements
- Basic algebra, chemistry and physics knowledge
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Modern curriculum, program flexibility and award-winning faculty help make the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at Mines the exceptional choice for completing an advanced degree.
Research opportunities abound in areas such as biochemical and biomedical engineering, renewable energy, materials science, transport processes, thermodynamics, computational methods and atomistic simulation. Plus, partnerships and collaborations with NREL, Children’s Hospital Colorado and NIST provide opportunities to work together on research with far-reaching societal applications.
A Top Tier University and Program
15:1 student-to-faculty ratio facilitates strong mentorship
Awarded over $7M per year in research funds
Top ranked university for best return on investment
Credits and Deadlines
View the academic catalog to see the courses and credit requirements for this program.
Master's Thesis & Doctorate (PhD) Program Deadlines
Select a Term:
Spring 2025 Deadlines | Fall 2025 Deadlines
Spring Deadlines
Fall Deadlines
| Degree Program | Priority | International* | Domestic* | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Energy Systems | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Applied Chemistry | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Applied Mathematics & Statistics | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Applied Physics | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Chemical Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Chemistry | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Civil & Environmental Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Computer Science | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Earth Resources Development Engineering | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Electrical Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Engineering & Technology Management | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Environmental Engineering Science | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Geochemistry | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Geological Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Geology | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Geophysical Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Geophysics | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Humanitarian Engineering & Science | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Hydrology | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Materials Science | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Metallurgical and Materials Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Mineral & Energy Economics | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Mining Engineering | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Nuclear Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Operations Research with Engineering | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Petroleum Engineering | March 1 | March 1 | ||
| Physics | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Quantitative Biosciences & Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Quantum Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Robotics | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Space Resources | March 1 (International on-campus) | July 1 (Domestic on-campus) | August 1 | |
| Underground Construction & Tunnel Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 |
Residential (on-campus) Master's Non-Thesis & Graduate Certificates Deadlines
| Spring Deadlines | Fall Deadlines | |
|---|---|---|
| International Students* | October 1, 2024 | March 1, 2025 |
| Domestic U.S. Students | December 15, 2024 | August 1, 2025 |
| International students are not eligible to apply for residential certificate programs. We encourage you to check out our online certificate options | ||
Online Master's Non-Thesis & Graduate Certificates Deadlines
| The following deadlines apply to online master's non-thesis and graduate certificate programs for domestic U.S. and International students. | |
| Spring I & II (January 6 start) | January 2, 2025 |
| Spring III*** (March 10 start) | February 17, 2025 |
| Fall I & II (August 19 start) | August 1, 2025 |
| Fall III*** (March 10 start) | October 22, 2025 |
| **The Fall III deadline is only available for the following programs: Additive Manufacturing; Business Analytics; Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage; Chemical Engineering Processes in Energy Transitions; Data Science: Computer Science; Data Science: Earth Resources; Electrical Engineering (Professional Master and Certificate Only); Engineering and Technology Management; GIS & Geoinformatics; Mechanical Engineering; Underground Construction and Tunnel Engineering | |
| ***The Spring III deadline is only available for the following programs: Additive Manufacturing; Business Analytics; Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage; Electrical Engineering (Professional Master and Certificate Only); Engineering and Technology Management; GIS & Geoinformatics; Mechanical Engineering; Product Management (Offered for only session III in spring); Underground Construction and Tunnel Engineering | |
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Department Head
Nanette Boyle
The main goal of our research group is to use genome engineering approaches (synthetic biology, systems biology, and metabolic engineering) to design photosynthetic organisms capable of producing fuels, feedstocks, and fine chemicals in a sustainable way. We focus on i) developing larger and more sophisticated molecular toolkits for cyanobacteria and optimizing those tools to ensure high recombineering efficiencies, ii) using genome-wide engineering techniques to identify genes which increase performance of cyanobacteria under stress conditions (salt, nutrient limitation, high/low light, etc) and iii) designing production strains capable of using CO2 and sunlight to produce molecules of interest.
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Contact Us
(303) 273-3247
grad-admissions@mines.edu
Career Connections
At Mines, your career goals are the focus. You will connect with world-class faculty and industry experts in your field, all while enhancing your knowledge through hands-on learning and research.
Chemical and Biological Engineering Career Types
- Biochemist
- Project manager
- Industrial R&D researcher
- Professor
- National lab scientist
- Consultant
- Chemical engineer
- Analytical chemist
- Rehabilitation engineer
- Cellular, tissue and genetic engineer
- Quality control engineer
- Biological engineer
Where to find our alumni
- Exxon
- Dow
- NovoNordisk
- Motorola
- Carnegie Mellon
- Intel
- Stanford
- New Terrain
- ORNL
Engineer Your Future Today
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Innovation with impact
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