First of Its Kind Dual Degree Program in the World
Graduate students interested in the related fields of Petroleum Engineering and Subsea Engineering can combine their studies in a Dual Petroleum/Subsea Master’s degree program. The dual degree program allows students to obtain both a master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering and a master’s degree in Subsea Engineering completing 45 credit hours of relevant graduate coursework. Hence, with the appropriate selection of graduate course within the Petroleum Engineering department and Subsea Engineering program, students can be awarded both degrees, thereby significantly reducing the total number of credit hours needed if the two degrees were pursued separately. This dual degree potentially broaden students’ horizons by studying in the two programs. It will also enhance their network and the chances of landing a successful job.
Admission to the Program
New students may apply to the Petroleum or Subsea Engineering graduate program for admission and indicate their interest to pursue the dual Petroleum/Subsea MS degree. To be unconditionally admitted to the Dual M.S. program, an applicant should have:
- A Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering or in a related engineering field.
- A grade point average of at least 3.00 out of 4.00 exclusive of grades received for activities such as seminars, physical education, industrial internships, etc.
- An adequate score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
- A minimum score of 6.5 on the IELTS or 79 on the TOEFL iBT examination for students who do not meet the UH English Language policy.
- Three letters of recommendation attesting to the student’s capacity to perform in the classroom. A minimum of two letters should be from faculty members who have observed the academic performance of the applicant, and one can come from an engineering industry supervisor.
- A statement of purpose that is consistent with the areas of instruction.
Acceptance to the program is based on a competitive combination of academic background, GRE scores, recommendation letters and the statement of purpose.
Students may begin their graduate studies in one program and apply for admission to the dual degree program at a later date. However, the decision by a student to pursue the dual degree should be made prior to the completion of 18 hours of coursework or a maximum of one year into one of the degree programs.
Program of Study
Within the 45 completed credit hours, students must fulfill the program requirements for each separate degree, and leveling and pre-requisite courses, if applicable. Hence, the course selections should simultaneously comply with the course requirements of the Petroleum Engineering M.S. program and the core area course requirements of the Subsea Engineering M.S. program.
Petroleum and Subsea engineering are closely related fields as many of the subsea oil and gas processes and systems overlap with petroleum engineering disciplines. There is a need to understand the concepts of petroleum engineering in designing the subsea systems and hence sharing courses makes the student understand many basics of the subjects. For example, reservoir engineering, drilling, production operations, etc. are shared by both engineering disciplines. Hence many of the courses can be shared that are mutually related to each program. Outside the program elective is an optional course between both the programs and that can be shared.
Program of Study for the Dual M.S. Program without Thesis
- Minimum twenty one hours of approved coursework from PETR required courses and advanced elective courses, excluding leveling courses, if applicable.
- Minimum twenty one hours of coursework from the approved Subsea Engineering courses excluding pre-requisite courses, if any.
- Three hours of approved relevant coursework (optional elective) at the 6000-level or above can be from within the College of Engineering with prior approval from the Program Directors.
Graduation Requirements
In order to meet the graduation requirements for this dual-degree program, students in addition to earning at least a 3.00/4.00 overall GPA, must also earn 3.00/4.00 GPA in a) all PETR courses, and b) all SUBS courses.
The students enrolled in the Dual Degree program will be continuously monitored and underperforming students will be carefully advised. The students should do well in both programs. The students will have to be qualified to get admission into individual programs (PETR and SUBS) and those who qualify will be given admission to Dual Master’s program.
In a rare case, if the students underperforms in one of the programs but does well in the other program, then the student has to withdraw from the program where he/she is performing poor but can continue in the other program as if it is an individual program and has to meet the separate program requirements.
Approved Courses
Approved PETR Courses:
Required Courses (4 courses)
- PETR 6302 - Reservoir Engineering II
- PETR 6312 - Well Logging: Evaluation of Petroleum Formations
- PETR 6368 - Well Drilling & Completion I
- PETR 6372 - Petroleum Production Operations
Elective Courses (minimum 3 courses~)
- PETR 6308 - Advanced Petroleum Production Operations
- PETR 6310 - Petroleum Production Economics
- PETR 6304 - Core Analysis: Evaluation of Petroleum Formations
- PETR 6314 - Pressure Transient Testing
- PETR 6316 - Well Drilling & Completion II: Well Logging
- PETR 6320 - Enhanced Oil Recovery
- PETR 6325 - Integrated Reservoir Characterization
- PETR 6326 - Applied Reservoir Simulation
- PETR 6330 - Fundamentals of Hydraulic Fracturing
- PETR 6332 - Reserves Estimation I: Deterministic
- PETR 6336 - Petroleum Energy Markets
- PETR 6350 - Natural Gas Engineering
- PETR 6318 - Horizontal Drilling
- PETR 6374 - Artificial Lift
- Or any new PETR course approved by the Program Director
Approved SUBS Courses:
Required Courses (3 courses)
- SUBS 6305 - Mathematics for Subsea Engineers (or Equivalent Course~)
- MECE 6334 - Convection Heat Transfer (or Equivalent Course~)
- SUBS 6310 - Flow Assurance
Elective Courses (minimum 4 courses~)
- SUBS 6320 - Riser Design
- SUBS 6330 - Pipeline Design
- SUBS 6340 - Subsea Process and Artificial Lift
- SUBS 6350 - Subsea Controls and System Engineering
- SUBS 6351 - Design of Subsea Blowout Preventers
- SUBS 6360 - Subsea Materials and Corrosion
- SUBS 6370 - Computational Methods & Design Experiments
- SUBS 6380 - Subsea Systems
- SUBS 6397 - Design for Oil and Gas
- SUBS 6397 - Advanced Flow Assurance
- SUBS 6397 - Selected Topics
- Or any new SUBS course approved by the Program Director
~ approved by the program director
Sample Schedule
Schedule-1: Fast Paced: less than 2 years (5 semesters)
| Fall-1 | Spring-1 | Summer-1 | Fall-2 | Spring-2 |
| 12 SCH | 12 SCH | 6 SCH | 9 SCH | 6 SCH |
Schedule-2: Normal Paced: 2 years (6 semesters)
| Fall-1 | Spring-1 | Summer-1 | Fall-2 | Spring-2 | Summer-2 |
| 9 SCH | 9 SCH | 6 SCH | 9 SCH | 9 SCH | 3 SCH |
Schedule-3: Slow Paced: 3 years (9 semesters)
| Fall-1 | Spring-1 | Summer-1 | Fall-2 | Spring-2 | Summer-2 | Fall-3 | Spring-3 | Summer-3 |
| 6 SCH | 6 SCH | 3 SCH | 6 SCH | 6 SCH | 3 SCH | 6 SCH | 6 SCH | 3 SCH |