New Professional Science Master's Degree at the University of Toledo

[ACSGCI]

Contributed by Mark R. Mason, Dept of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and G. Glenn Lipscomb, Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, University of Toledo

The University of Toledo (UT) School of Green Chemistry and Engineering (SGCE) continues to develop interdisciplinary academic programs that incorporate the principles of green chemistry, green engineering, and green business.  We are accomplishing this through collaboration of faculty in the Colleges of Natural Science and Mathematics, Engineering, and Business and Innovation, using the guiding principles provided in The Green Chemistry Commitment and the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council’s Policy Statement on Green Chemistry in Higher Education.

An example of our approach is the new Professional Science Master’s (PSM) Degree in Green Chemistry and Engineering.  In addition to a minimum of 12 credit hours of graduate coursework in traditional areas of chemistry and/or chemical engineering, students are required to take graduate courses in Green Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Green Engineering Principles for Chemical Processes, and Green Engineering Applications in Chemical Industries.  Embedded in these courses is coverage of toxicology, chemical hazards assessment, sustainability analysis, and pertinent legislation and policy.  The Green Engineering Principles course also serves as a bridge course, allowing chemistry and science students to learn the basics of chemical engineering and enabling them to enroll in pertinent electives in chemical and environmental engineering, bypassing numerous prerequisites.  The business content for the PSM degree is provided by courses in Supply Chain Management, Technology Commercialization, and New Venture Creation.  Students must take a minimum of two business courses, which are also required of students in UT’s PSM in Photovoltaics.   Professional skills, a trademark of PSM programs, are further developed during the mandatory industrial internship.  Relevance of course content and internship experiences will be assured by an industrial advisory board, a requirement for all PSM degree programs.

Although we have much to do, the SGCE is extending this interdisciplinary approach to an undergraduate minor and an accelerated B.S./M.S. degree in green chemistry and engineering.  All pertinent courses for these new programs are currently offered at UT, including elective courses such as Biofuels, Chemistry of Sustainable Energy Resources, Environmental Policy, Environmental Economics, and Hazardous Waste Management.

Student recruitment for admission to the PSM Degree in Green Chemistry and Engineering will begin in January, 2015.  Further details on academic programs of the SGCE

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