This program offers an opportunity for undergraduate majors with a GPA of 3.5 or higher to undertake research at an advanced level with a faculty mentor, graduate students, and other undergraduates. This three-quarter sequential program involves (1) submission of a research proposal for faculty review, (2) appropriate faculty approvals, (3) enrollment in the undergraduate honors seminar CHEMENG 191H opens in a new tab, (4) in-depth research over a minimum of three quarters, (5) completion of a faculty-approved thesis, and (6) participation in the Chemical Engineering Honors Symposium held annually during the Mason Lecture Series, Spring Quarter. The last requirement may also be fulfilled through an alternative, public, oral presentation with the approval of the department chair. Work should begin a minimum of four quarters prior to graduation.
Chemical engineering majors who wish to be considered for the honors program should see departmental student services in Shriram Center, room 129, no later than the beginning of Winter Quarter of their junior year for more information about the application process, for a research proposal template, and for other assistance. The 2026-2027 deadline is March 05, 2027. (Winter Quarter of the junior year), and must include a proposal describing the research project, a transcript of courses taken at Stanford, and endorsement by both the student’s research thesis adviser and a faculty reader. The research adviser or the reader or, alternatively, a faculty sponsor, must be a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering. A faculty review committee will select the successful candidates. To qualify for departmental recommendation for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with Honors, degree students must:
Maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher as calculated on the unofficial transcript.
Complete at least three quarters of research with a minimum of 10 hours per week for 3 total quarters of research in Chemical Engineering as either CHEMENG 190H opens in a new tab enrollment (9 units total) or as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the discretion of the sponsoring faculty member. All quarters must focus on the same topic. Maintain the same faculty advisor and faculty reader throughout, if feasible.
Enroll in CHEMENG 191H opens in a new tab, Undergraduate Honors Seminar
Participate with a poster and oral presentation of thesis work at the Chemical Engineering Honors Poster Session held during the Mason Lectures week, Spring Quarter, or, at the Undergraduate Program Committee’s discretion, at a comparable public event. Submit at the same time to student services one copy of the poster in electronic format.
Submit final drafts of a thesis simultaneously to both the advisor and the reader and, if appropriate, to the Chemical Engineering faculty sponsor, no later than April 5, 2027 (or the first school day of the second week of the quarter in which the degree is to be conferred).
Complete all work and thesis revisions and obtain indicated faculty approvals on the Certificate of Final Reading of Thesis forms by April 30, 2027, or end of the first month of the graduation quarter.
Submit to departmental student services the final copy of the honors thesis in electronic format, as approved by the appropriate faculty. Include an original, completed, faculty signature sheet immediately following the title page. The 2026-2027 deadline is May 3, 2027.
All requirements for the honors program are in addition to the normal undergraduate program requirements.
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