The Universidad Veracruzana is committed to training professionals in the field of chemical engineering, capable of proposing and executing programs that demonstrate a balance between economic development, the quality of life of the population, the rational use of resources and environmental conservation. For this reason, this program aims to develop the capacity of graduates to identify, propose, analyze, develop and adapt new sustainable, clean and environmentally friendly processes and technologies. Likewise, it contributes to the training of professionals with solid theoretical foundations, with the ability to generate knowledge, apply, innovate and develop technology in processes in the area of chemical engineering. The above is based on the principle of sustainable development that implies the efficient use of energy in an environmentally friendly scheme. That is, the master’s degree in engineering aims at training human resources with analytical, creative, leadership and human quality skills and the ability to integrate into inter and multidisciplinary teams.
Thus, the curriculum for the Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering has been designed taking into account the needs of regional growth, considering both the industrial processes themselves and their biological aspects, without neglecting the needs for professional development and the characteristics that a chemical engineer must have for a transnational industry.
The curricular structure was established for the training of professionals capable of generating and applying knowledge to solve problems in the different fields of chemical engineering, considering the needs of the industry and the social environment. The curricular map handles a sequential structure due to the content of the educational experiences. It is worth mentioning that attention to each student is personalized from the moment of admission, for this purpose three academics will be assigned to accompany him/her in the development of the thesis work. The functions of each one are described below:
- Thesis Director: is the student’s guide, who supports in the completion of the thesis work, from the proposal to the oral dissertation of the written work. The assignment of the thesis director will be in the first semester.
- Advisor: is the one who provides additional guidance to the student in the completion of the thesis work. The assignment of the thesis advisor will be in the first semester, if necessary for the development of the project.
- Academic Tutor: provides academic support and guidance to the student from the moment of admission to the postgraduate program, and may also serve as thesis director or advisor.
The curriculum map of the master’s degree in chemical engineering includes five training subjects (applied mathematics, advanced transport phenomena, advanced thermodynamics, reactor engineering and process engineering) that will provide the student with the theoretical-conceptual basis of the principles of chemical engineering for the solution of current problems. For these courses, 45 credits will be assigned, distributed in 300 theoretical hours and 75 practical hours. It is worth mentioning that the practical hours are intended for the solution of problems through the support of specialized computer programs such as Aspen Plus, Comsol Multiphysics, UniSim and Matlab. After the training courses, the student must cover 3 elective subjects that have the purpose of providing the specialized knowledge for the adequate development of his/her research work. According to the theme of the work to be developed, the student will select the elective courses that contribute most to his/her academic training.
The chemical engineering program includes 10 elective courses, and the student may also take his/her courses in the different departments of the 5 regions of the Universidad Veracruzana, or in institutions outside the UV, with prior authorization from the Technical Council of the postgraduate program. In addition, with the purpose of strengthening the skills of presentation and communication of results, the master’s program in chemical engineering includes 3 research seminars, where the student will acquire the knowledge of scientific work. For this, each course will be taught in 30 hours: 30 theoretical hours and 45 practical hours (10 credits). In addition, the three seminars will consecutively cover the function of monitoring the progress of the thesis work, which consists of the evaluation of the research proposal, progress and conclusion of the research project, respectively.
