Graduate Program
Mines Petroleum Engineering
Petroleum Engineering Graduate Program Description
Are you looking to advance your education and boost your career potential?
If so, look no further. Our petroleum engineering graduate program at Colorado School of Mines will provide you with the foundational knowledge, hands-on learning and confidence to thrive in the world of petroleum engineering.
Our graduate program will prepare you to join the evolving energy industry that, in addition to petroleum and natural gas, also includes hydrogen, geothermal and other forms of subsurface engineering. Skills in this field of engineering are needed more than ever to ensure successful energy extraction and to address environmental issues, such as carbon dioxide sequestration.
In addition to a petroleum engineering and earth science background, successful petroleum engineers require a solid understanding of basic engineering, mathematics and the natural sciences. That’s why our unique program emphasizes integrated, multidisciplinary teamwork in both the classroom and our research partnerships with other departments.
Our mission is to educate engineers for the worldwide petroleum industry, perform research that enhances the state-of-the-art in petroleum technology and to serve the industry and public good through professional societies and public service.
Degree Options
A Comprehensive Approach to Petroleum Engineering
Our graduate program addresses the core concepts of petroleum engineering, including drilling, production and reservoir engineering, as well as all subsets.
Additionally, the comprehensive scope of our program allows our students to focus on specific areas of interest within petroleum engineering, such as:
- Fluid and rock behavior
- Well design and construction
- Well completion and stimulation
- Formation evaluation
- Well testing
- Reservoir characterization
- Production operations and artificial lift
- Reservoir engineering and management
- Supplemental recovery
- Economic evaluation of petroleum projects
- Unconventional oil and gas reservoirs
Current Students
Our department prides itself on supporting our students throughout their entire experience at Mines If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
More Information
Application Requirements
The department requires that all applicants have taken core engineering, science and math courses before applying to the petroleum engineering graduate program. These classes are: three courses of calculus, two courses of chemistry with quantitative lab, two courses of physics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, mechanics of materials, statics and differential equations.
Minimum scores required for applications to be reviewed are:
GRE
- Masters: Verbal 139, Quantitative 155, Analytical 3.0
- PhD: Verbal 139, Quantitative 159, Analytical 3.5
- GPA: 3.0 on 4.0 scale
- TOEFL: 79 out of 120
- Reading 20, Listening 21, Writing 17, Speaking 21
Applicants with a weak background in petroleum engineering will be reviewed if their undergraduate record (geophysics, chemical, civil, electrical or mechanical engineering) is satisfactory and if their GRE scores and the TOEFL scores (for international applicants) are satisfactory.
Provisionally admitted students will be required to take up to seven PE undergraduate courses to complete any deficiencies and demonstrate their ability before being fully admitted to the graduate program. An advisor would sit down with you once you are on campus to go over your transcripts and work history to determine if all the deficiency courses would be required. You would need to pass them with a GPA of 3.0 or better to be fully accepted into the graduate program.
Exchange Programs
To truly expand your educational experience, our undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to participate in study abroad programs with the following institutions:
- King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran Saudi Arabia
- IFP-Petroleum Economics and Management, Rueil-Malmaison, France
- Montanuniversitat, Leoben Austria
- Khalifa Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- University of Nicosia, Cyprus
- University of Aberdeen, Scotland
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
Interested students, please contact the Office of Global Education about specifics for each program.
Professional Organizations
To help our students take that next step in their careers, our petroleum engineering department partners with various professional organizations. These partnerships help students learn more about the professional industry of petroleum engineering and offer important networking opportunities.
The Petroleum Engineering Department encourages involvement with the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the American Association of Drilling Engineers, and the American Rock Mechanics Association. The department provides some financial support for students attending the annual technical conferences for these professional societies.
Local Chapters:
Career Paths
The petroleum and energy industries offer wide ranges of employment opportunities for Mines petroleum engineering students during summer breaks and after graduation. Opportunities range from the oil and natural gas industry to other subsurface engineering positions in areas like geothermal and carbon management. Whether you enjoy working outside in the field or being indoors in an office, there is a position waiting for you! Worldwide travel and overseas assignments are often available for interested students.
One of our objectives in the Petroleum Engineering Department is to prepare students to succeed in an energy ¬industry that is evolving into an industry working with many energy sources. Besides developing technical competence in petroleum engineering, you will learn how your education can help you contribute to the development of alternative ¬energy sources. In addition to exciting careers in the world of subsurface engineering, many of our graduates find rewarding careers in the environmental arena, law, medicine, business and many other walks of life.
Facilities
Marquez Hall, the state-of-the-art home of the Petroleum Engineering Department on Mines campus, includes numerous laboratories and classrooms equipped with the technology needed to keep our students and research on the cutting edge.
Marquez Hall facilities include:
Petroleum Engineering Graduate Program
Preparing students for success!