Drilling for oil may be a running joke about how people strike it rich, but the actual process of drilling, preparing land and testing materials is a complicated practice performed by petroleum engineers. Far less common than electrical engineers or computer software engineers, petroleum engineers study for their profession at the bachelor's level and have the option to move up through master's programs as desired.
Petroleum Engineering Schools
Although thousands of colleges and universities in America offer programs in engineering, the petroleum engineering field is considered a much smaller segment. The Accrediting Board of Engineering Technology accredits only 17 institutions in the country for petroleum engineering, including Marietta College in Ohio, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, The University of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania State University, West Virginia University and the University of Wyoming. The minimum requirement to a career in petroleum engineering is a bachelor's degree, though many of these schools offer master's degrees for students who wish to further their education in the field.
Enrollment
Students just starting on their path towards becoming petroleum engineers enroll in a bachelor's degree program. Options may be a single petroleum engineering degree or in the cases like The University of Tulsa McDougall School of Petroleum Engineering, multiple choices, including a bachelor of science in petroleum engineering, bachelor of science in petroleum engineering with geosciences, bachelor of science in petroleum engineering with mechanical engineering and bachelor of science in petroleum engineering with chemical engineering.
Core Classes
Prospective petroleum engineers enrolled in a bachelor's program will find a slate of courses similar to those from the Kansas University School of Engineering: basic engineering thermodynamics, reservoir engineering, introduction to petroleum engineering profession, energy in the modern world, momentum transfer, introduction to petroleum drilling engineering, plant and environmental safety, petroleum production, petroleum engineering design, biocatalysis, drilling and well completion, methods of chemical and petroleum calculations, environmental assessment of chemical processes and polymer science and technology.
General Education Courses
Petroleum engineering programs require students to take several non-engineering-related courses to build a general education foundation. These include technical writing, literature, social science, humanities, art history, music, psychology, math and foreign language, which are part of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology petroleum engineering course load.
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