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Masters Degree Requirements

  1. General Requirements
    The general requirements for admission to the M.S. program and completion of the M.S. degree are specified in Table for Core Courses below. Admission to the M.S. program requires satisfactory passing of the GRE and Toefl. The Advisor may specify additional requirements deemed necessary for completion of the M.S. degree. The M.S. degree program in PTE is designed such that most students with a B.S. PTE may complete all requirements within three semester (1 ½ years). Although completion within one calendar year (2 academic semesters plus 1 summer semester) is possible in some cases.
  2. Course Requirements
    Currently there are several Petroleum Engineering courses listed. The core courses are listed in Table for Core Courses below. Minimum of 6 core courses are required. Of the 27 units required for the M.S. degree, 9 units may be credited towards electives courses (including directed research). Two options are available for a program leading to the M.S. degree: (A) Coursework route, (B) Thesis route. The latter involves the preparation of a M.S. Thesis written in acceptable format and approved by the advisor. Option B or Option A with a Directed Research course is required of all KOC M.S. candidates planning to pursue their educations towards a PhD degree.
  3. Core Courses

    PTE507 – Engineering and Economic Evaluation of Subsurface Reservoirs
    PTE508 – Numerical Simulation of Subsurface Flow and Transport Processes
    PTE517 – Testing of Wells and Aquifers
    PTE582 – Fluid Flow and Transport Processes in Porous Media
    PTE 531 – Enhanced Oil Recovery
    PTE 555 – Well Completion and Stimulation
  4. Elective Courses (Select 9)

    542 – Carbonate Rocks
    545 – Corrosion Control in Petroleum Production
    572 – Geostatistics
    578 – Advanced Production Engineering
    581 – Environmental Technology in the Petroleum Industry
    586 – Intelligent and Collaborative Oilfield Systems Characterization and Management
    587 – Smart Completions, Oilfield Sensors and Sensor Technology
    588 – Smart Oilfield Data Mining
    589-Advanced Oilfield Operations with Remote Immersive Visualization and Control

    For the M.S. degree, obtained through completion of the required course work, three areas of emphasis are currently offered:

    • MS Degree in Petroleum Engineering
    • MS Degree in Petroleum Engineering with Emphasis on Smart Oilfield Technologies
    • MS Degree in Petroleum Engineering with Emphasis in Geoscience Technologies
    • MS Degree in Petroleum Engineering/Engineering Management

    Petroleum Deficiency Course Descriptions

    For non majors, certain deficiency courses will be required. Deficiency coursers will be assigned.  Besides the petroleum engineering deficiency courses, additional requirement in Mathematics, geology or other subject may be assigned on a case by case basis.

    Students without a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering must complete the prerequisite courses listed below before beginning the M.S. program. Units from these courses cannot be applied towards the degree. Other prerequisite courses are to be decided on a case-by-case basis upon consultation with the Department Advisor.

    • PTE411 – Introduction to Transport Processes in Porous Media
    • PTE412x – Petroleum Reservoir Engineering
    • PTE461 – Formation Evaluation
    • PTE466 – Petroleum Geology
    • PTE500 – Computational Reservoir Modeling
University of Southern California