Petroleum Engineering Program
Mission Statement
The overall program mission for the B.S. degree in chemical or petroleum engineering is to provide a modern chemical or petroleum engineering education with proper balance between theory and practice. Graduates are prepared for professional practice in industry or government and for post-undergraduate training in chemical or petroleum engineering, medicine, etc. In addition to scientific and engineering training, students receive training in educational skills and in the humanities and social sciences.
Program Statement
The principal objective of our program is to prepare graduates for professional practice in industry or government, and for post-undergraduate training in chemical engineering, medicine, and other related disciplines.
Program Objectives
- Graduates must have demonstrated thorough grounding
in geology including structural and sedimentary geology, chemistry,
mathematics and physics; thorough grounding in the basic engineering
sciences including statistics and dynamics, circuits, strength of materials,
thermodynamics, material and energy balances, heat transfer, and fluid
mechanics; working knowledge of reservoir engineering, production and
well completion engineering, modern drilling practices, well logging,
economic analysis, water flooding and reservoir simulation, and appropriate
modern experimental and computing techniques.
- Graduates must be able to function on multi-disciplinary
teams and communicate effectively through active listening and verbal,
written, and graphic expression.
- Graduates must understand the importance of professional
responsibility and high ethical standards; must have a knowledge of
contemporary issues; must possess a broad education necessary to understand
the impact of engineering solutions in a global/societal context; and
must have a recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in
life-long learning.
Program Outcomes (goals)
- Students must develop the ability to apply basic
and engineering sciences to identity, formulate, and solve petroleum
engineering problems.
- Students must display an ability to integrate and
apply knowledge to solve complex problems, including the design of experiments
and processes, interpretation of data/results and modification of the
design based upon interpretation of data/results.
- Students must be able to develop responsible solutions
to the professional and ethical situations in which they may find themselves
in practice.
- Students must be able to evaluate the potential
risks, i.e. consequences and probabilities of engineering solutions
which may affect society and the environment.
- Students must demonstrate proficiency in the use
of computer software such as spreadsheets, mathematics packages, word
processors, and graphics in solution of engineering problems.
- Students must develop effective oral, written, and
interpersonal communication skills.
- Students must learn how to work and interact effectively
in groups/teams which have diverse personalities, cultures, and backgrounds.
- Students must demonstrate the ability to learn independently
and be introduced to the necessity for life-long learning.
- Students must demonstrate competency in mathematics
through differential equations, probability, and statistics; fluid mechanics;
strength of materials; and thermodynamics.
- Students must demonstrate competency in petroleum
engineering including design and analysis of well systems, procedures
for drilling and completing wells, characterization and evaluation of
subsurface geological formations, design and analysis of systems for
producing, injecting and handling fluids; application of reservoir engineering
principles and practices for optimizing resource development and management;
use of project economics and resource valuation methods for design and
decision making under conditions of risk and uncertainty.
Achievement of Outcomes and Assesment Tools
Student Course Surveys
CPE students are requested to do two evaluations for each course, one
for the instructor and one for the outcomes. Faculty are also required
to provide brief written comments of their views on the extent to which
the course outcomes were met in their courses. In addition to assigning
numerical scores for various criteria, space is provided on the forms
for students to make any additional comments. The results of the course
evaluations are tabulated and statistically analyzed for each course.
Numerical statistics (e.g., mean, standard deviation) are compiled for
each question. The results of the student evaluation of the course outcomes
and faculty comments are placed in the folder prepared for each course.
Evaluation statistics and associated student comments are
integral parts of the CPE department’s annual faculty performance
evaluation process.
Senior Exit Interviews
Each student completing the baccalaureate program is asked to complete
a senior exit survey. Each student is also asked to schedule an interview
time with a member of the CPE Advisory Board during the Board’s spring
meeting. The student is asked to complete the survey ahead of time and
either turn the survey in or bring it to the interview. The interviewers
are asked to follow the guidelines of the survey, following up on the
answers given by the students.
Design Performance
The performance in the senior level capstone design course is assessed
by the design instructor and other petroleum engineering faculty members.
The students are requested to make a presentation in a class session to
which faculty members have been invited. The faculty members present make
a formal assessment which is given to the design instructor. As another
assessment measure, starting in May 2000, selected students are asked
to make a presentation of their design solution to members of the Advisory
Board at the Spring Meeting.
FE-Exam
Job/Graduate School Placement
Placement data are maintained by the School of Engineering Placement Office.
These data are an indication of the demand for students and the perception
of industry and graduate programs relative to the quality of the program.
Alumni Surveys
The School of Engineering regularly surveys alumni relative to the quality
of their undergraduate education and their preparedness for professional
careers. Most of the data gathered are qualitative in nature and not quantitative,
but the surveys do provide a general indication of the quality of the
program.
The Petroleum Engineering Program is accredited by the Engineering
Accreditation Commision of ABET, Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD
21202-4012 - telephone: (410) 347-7700.
