MS in Chemical Engineering

The M.S. in Chemical Engineering at Tufts University combines advanced chemical engineering coursework with opportunities for applied research, laboratory work, computational modeling, and industry experience. Students can choose a non-thesis pathway focused on advanced technical preparation or a thesis pathway involving individual research, a research committee, and a thesis defense; the program’s research areas include green energy, sustainable catalysis, smart polymers, membranes and separations, nanostructured electronics, tissue and metabolic engineering, and nanobiofabrication.

Students also benefit from Tufts’ engineering research infrastructure, including specialized materials-characterization, microscopy, micro/nanofabrication, and computational facilities. For master’s students seeking direct industry exposure, Tufts offers a Graduate Cooperative Education Program that allows engineering master’s students to apply coursework to real-world engineering projects in a company environment.

Practical learning opportunities and resources include:

• Thesis research: Students choosing the thesis track complete 9 credits of thesis research, participate in research committee meetings, conduct an individual research project, and defend their thesis.
• Research laboratories: Chemical and Biological Engineering research includes the Green Energy and Novel Electrolytes Lab, Eagan Sustainable Catalysis Laboratory, Leverick Lab, and Smart Polymers, Membranes, and Separations Laboratory, providing research environments directly aligned with the MS curriculum.
• Graduate research groups: Tufts graduate students can participate in research groups and laboratories, publish and present research with faculty and other students, and participate in the Graduate Student Research Symposium.
• Computational tools: The School of Engineering’s Engineering Lab VDI provides access to engineering software including COMSOL, MATLAB, SOLIDWORKS, Autodesk products, and other engineering applications from computers or tablets.
• Engineering software: Tufts’ engineering computing facilities also provide software such as Ansys, with engineering software accessible through dedicated laboratories and virtual infrastructure.
• Materials characterization: The Tufts Materials Characterization Facility provides nanoscale and microscale characterization of chemical composition, mechanical properties, surface imaging, and fluorescent properties, including a WITec integrated Raman-AFM-SNOM-TERS-Lifetime system and an iNano Nanoindenter.
• Advanced microscopy: The Tufts Advanced Microscopic Imaging Center (TAMIC) provides optical and spectral quantitative imaging techniques for chemical and structural characterization of materials at submicron scales.
• Micro/nanofabrication: The Tufts Micro and Nano Fabrication Facility is a Class 1000 cleanroom offering photolithography, electron-beam lithography, PVD thin-film deposition, atomic layer deposition, rapid thermal processing, plasma processing, dicing, wire bonding, wet chemical processing, and metrology.
• Industry projects: The Graduate Co-Op Program enables engineering master’s students to apply theoretical principles from their coursework to real-world engineering projects, gain experience in company environments, and connect their academic preparation with career development.
• Laboratory equipment: Tufts’ Chemical and Biological Engineering teaching laboratory includes equipment such as gas chromatographs, spectrophotometers, fume hoods, incubators, ovens, micro-balances, centrifuges, hydrogen fuel cells, adsorption columns, and distillation apparatus; the university specifically describes this facility for undergraduate laboratory teaching, so it should not be assumed that every listed instrument is dedicated to MS Chemical Engineering students.
• Interdisciplinary facilities: The School of Engineering’s research-core infrastructure supports work spanning materials, energy, chemical characterization, micro/nanofabrication, and imaging, allowing Chemical Engineering students to connect their research with related engineering and scientific disciplines. 

The MS in Chemical Engineering at Tufts prepares graduates for advanced roles in chemical processing, energy, materials, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and related industries. The program’s coursework and optional thesis research support pathways into roles such as Chemical Engineer, Process Engineer, R&D Engineer, and Materials/Manufacturing Engineer, while also providing preparation for doctoral study.

Career development: Tufts provides dedicated graduate career support and employer connections:

• Career advising: Graduate students can receive guidance on career decisions, job-search strategies, networking, resumes, CVs, cover letters, and interview preparation through the Tufts Career Center.
• Handshake: Tufts Handshake connects graduate students with thousands of internships, jobs, fellowships, career events, employer interviews, and networking opportunities; alumni can continue using Handshake after graduation.
• Employer engagement: Tufts hosts career fairs, employer information sessions, on-campus and virtual interviews, and employer networking opportunities for Engineering students.
• Industry opportunities: Current Tufts Career Center listings demonstrate chemical-engineering opportunities such as Chemical Process Engineer Intern/Co-op positions involving process calculations, equipment sizing, P&IDs, and process-flow diagrams.
• Employment statistics: A program-specific employment rate and graduate salary dataset for the MS in Chemical Engineering is not stated on the official Tufts program pages reviewed, so no unsupported percentage or salary figure is provided. Tufts does, however, publish individual employer-posted salary ranges through its Career Center; for example, a current Continuous Improvement Engineer listing shows $77,000–$100,000, but this is an employer-specific job posting rather than a Tufts graduate salary statistic.
• Industry connections: Tufts School of Engineering places students close to the Boston and Cambridge engineering hubs, while the Chemical and Biological Engineering department works across industry-relevant areas including energy, sustainability, biotechnology, materials, and process engineering.
• Industry-supported research: The Tufts Epsilon Materials Institute was established through an $11.5 million sponsorship from Epsilon Group, bringing academic and industry leaders together around advanced battery materials, sustainable manufacturing, clean energy, and the circular economy.
• Research and innovation: Students can engage with research in clean-energy materials, catalysis, polymer membranes, separations, biotechnology, tissue engineering, process modeling, carbon-dioxide capture, and biologics production through Chemical and Biological Engineering laboratories and research groups.
• Accreditation value: Tufts’ BS in Chemical Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, but the university does not state that the MS in Chemical Engineering itself is ABET-accredited. Therefore, the ABET accreditation should not be presented as accreditation of this master’s degree.
• Graduation outcomes: The MS is explicitly designed for students seeking advanced preparation for industry, research, or further graduate study. Graduates can use either the non-thesis pathway for advanced coursework or the thesis pathway to develop deeper research experience and prepare for research-oriented careers or doctoral study.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the MS, students can apply for a PhD in Chemical Engineering or a PhD in Biotechnology Engineering at Tufts, subject to the separate doctoral admission process. Tufts also offers a Joint PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, providing another route for students whose interests develop toward advanced materials research. Current MS students may apply to the Chemical Engineering or Biotechnology Engineering PhD programs with support from a potential faculty research advisor and a new official graduate application.