Texas Tech University Petroleum Engineering Department
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Introduction to the Undergraduate Program

The Department is uniquely located in the Permian Basin, where approximately 22 percent of the nation’s petroleum resources and 68 percent of Texas’ petroleum resources lie within a 175-mile radius. The department fulfills an obligation to the people of the State of Texas and the nation in the making available the technical expertise for the safe and efficient development, production, and management of petroleum resources.

Petroleum engineering is the practical application of the basic and physical sciences of mathematics, geology, physics, and chemistry and all of the engineering sciences to the discovery, development, production, and transportation of petroleum. Petroleum is the most widely used form of mobile energy and now supplies approximately three-fourths of the total energy used in the United States. It is also a major raw material from which a wide variety of products are manufactured.

Students applying for transfer into this program from another institution or from another department at Texas Tech must have a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA. Transfer applicants must also have earned a grade of C or better in all courses related to the degree.

Petroleum engineering applies the curriculum management of the college. Phase I includes the first three semesters. Phase II the fourth semester; and Phase III includes the final two years of study. Progress from one phase to the next requires a satisfactory GPA, designated course completion, and departmental consent. To graduate, the student must complete the specified minimum number of hours in each area of the curriculum and have a minimum GPA of 2.00 and earn a grade of C or better in all courses. Changes in the degree plan or exceptions to the above stated conditions require a written approval of the chairperson of the Petroleum Engineering Department.

The Department has observed that students with access to a personal computer at home are more successful in their college endeavors. At a minimum, the computer should support high level programming languages and application packages such as e-mail, Internet access, presentations, spreadsheets, and word processors.

The Petroleum Engineering curriculum is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.