The University of Chicago’s Council of the University Senate has approved the Institute for Molecular Engineering’s PhD program proposal. This marks a historical milestone for the University of Chicago where an engineering degree will be awarded for the very first time.
The institute will begin accepting applications this autumn. The first directly admitted class will enroll in the 2014 Autumn Quarter. The institute is in the process of developing an innovative curriculum that would bring in the elements of engineering education to the University of Chicago that are complementary to the strong existing science curriculums in sister divisions. The newly created molecular engineering courses will be open to all students in other PhD programs at the University.
“Unlike the curriculum you might find in a typical engineering school, we are developing an innovative program here that would transcend traditional engineering disciplines. Our educational objective is to provide our graduate students with interdisciplinary expertise and skill sets that would enable them to tackle big technological challenges facing society in areas such as health care, energy and water resource management, and information technology,” said Matthew Tirrell, the institute’s Pritzker director.
Today the institute comprises four faculty members. Tirrell expects the faculty to achieve a target size of 25 over the next decade. Once at full strength, the faculty could collectively work with somewhere between 180 and 240 PhD students.
“We will recruit doctoral students from all science and engineering fields. We are looking for people who are excited and passionate about developing technological solutions with high societal impacts,” Tirrell said.