Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Engineering

The Molecular Engineering (MolE) PhD program at the University of Washington is an interdisciplinary graduate program housed in the Graduate School, supported by the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute, and administered by a committee comprised of representatives from Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Materials Sciences & Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. The program offers students the opportunity to work with roughly 130 faculty members from over 20 different departments and great flexibility in structuring their degree around interests in Biotech or CleanTech. Molecular engineering is a dynamic and evolving field that takes a rational approach to engineering highly-complex, multifunctional molecular systems, drawing on fundamental principles shared across various fields of engineering and sciences that develop materials with organic, biological or inorganic/organic hybrid molecular architecture. Through this training program, students gain a broad understanding of fundamental molecular descriptions of matter (including synthesis, modeling and characterization) and deep knowledge of molecular systems. Trainees are taught to design and characterize molecules and systems of molecules, model molecular system behaviors and inspire new molecular designs, and recognize and exploit molecular and nanoscale system constraints that impact system functionalities.

To be considered for the MolE program, an applicant must:

Possess a B.S. or B.A. degree from an engineering or natural sciences discipline

Have passed at least one course in thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, or physical chemistry (or a course with comparable topic coverage).

English Language Proficiency

Applicants whose native language is not English, and who have not received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution (a master’s degree does not satisfy this requirement), are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), receiving a minimum cumulative score of 92 with at least 26 points earned specifically from the speaking section.