I’m from California, interested in pursuing Petroleum engineering. However, there are only two schools that offer petroleum engineering (USC and Stanford) which are reach schools for me. I would gladly leave out of state, but most schools have expensive out of state tuition. This brings me to my question, which engineering major is best for me to be able to pursue petroleum engineering. I’ve heard that chemical and mechanical are good, but is there any better? I would most likely want to pursue a master’s degree in petroleum.
Cal State Bakersfield offers a “BS in Engineering Sciences with Emphasis in Petroleum Engineering”. My understanding is that they are a candidate for ABET accreditation, but don’t have it yet.
http://www.csub.edu/physics/_files/ENGS_PETR_Roadmap.pdf
http://www.csub.edu/physics/ABET/index.html
Schools like U of Alaska, New Mexico Tech, U of North Dakota, U of Wyoming, and Montana Tech all have PetE, and they participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program, which discounts out-of-state tuition for California residents. The cost to attend these schools can be very competitive with California in-state rates.
At New Mexico Tech, for example, in-state tuition is $3885 and total cost of attendance is $10853. The WUE rate is 150% of in-state tuition, so the tuition would go up to $5828 and total cost of attendance to $12,796. That’s still cheap by California in-state standards.
You need a 3.0 GPA and 23 ACT or 1130 SAT to get the WUE rate. If you can get a 3.25 GPA and 27 ACT or 1170 SAT, then you could qualify for a “competitive scholarship” that is even better: you would pay tuition at the resident rate and they’ll give you a $700 stipend as well. See “Tuition Reduction Scholarships for Non-Residents” at:
https://www.nmt.edu/finaid/nonresident.php
https://www.nmt.edu/finaid/tuition.php
There may be good deals at the other WUE schools listed above as well.
One final thought: the oil industry is noted for boom and bust cycles. If you had a BS in ME or ChemE, and an MS in PetE, it might help insulate you against those cycles.
When oil is booming, you could use your MS to work as a PetE. When it busts, and when PetEs are laid off in droves, you could still find work by using your BS to work as an ME or ChemE.
Some schools offer a petroleum concentration within chemical engineering.
Does anyone know by any chance which (if any) Californian schools offer Chemical engineering majors with petroleum emphasis (apart from CSB). If not, which Californian school is recommended for me to pursue petroleum engineering? Thanks!
Why the heavy focus on Pet E?
To my knowledge, the only schools in CA that have any PetE focus are Stanford, USC, and CSUB. And my guess would be that Stanford and USC primarily enroll graduate students in this field. At this time, there are zero ABET-accredited PetE programs in CA.
My guess would be that the vast majority of CA students who want undergraduate PetE degrees go out-of-state. For example, the total out-of-state cost of attendance at New Mexico Tech is only $18,102, which is probably less than your in-state cost at a UC or even a CSU. And merit scholarships and WUE can easily bring that down even further, to the $10,000-$13,000 range, as noted above. Furthermore, NMT can deliver a fully ABET-accredited BS in PetE, which no CA school can do. For some, this would be a no-brainer. Note that NMT is just an example; I would check the deals at other out-of-state schools as well.
If you stay in CA, then you will have to major in another engineering discipline. It may not matter where you go, because there may not be any schools (besides the three noted above) that have any PetE focus. But you should probably research the offerings of other schools to check this.
If you are interested in the “upstream” end of the oil business (pumping oil out of the ground), then major in ME (fluids) or maybe CivE (water systems). If you are interested in the “downstream” end (refining oil), then major in ChemE. If you eventually enroll in a PetE MS program, you will probably have to make up some deficiencies, so it may take longer to get the graduate degree. On the other hand, an undergraduate degree in a different engineering discipline may be helpful when the oil industry goes bust, as noted above.
Cal Poly SLO has three “upstream” courses in the ME Dept (ME 434, 435, 436), which is probably more than most UC/CSU ME departments will have. Note, however, that Cal Poly ME has very competitive admissions.
http://catalog.calpoly.edu/coursesaz/me/
WUE schools with ABET accredited petroleum engineering:
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Montana Tech of the University of Montana
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
University of North Dakota
University of Wyoming
There are about 20 schools with ABET accredited petroleum engineering. Some of the non-WUE schools may not be that expensive to begin with.
CSU Bakersfield is seeking ABET accreditation but does not have it yet: http://www.csub.edu/physics/ABET/index.html
Pay attention to the comments about oil boom and bust cycles and consider the alternate majors (e.g. mechanical or chemical) that may offer better job opportunities during bust cycles, as well as be available more widely.
@eyemgh I’m trying to see all my options for Pet E, because I already have a complete list of schools for Aerospace (which is another interest of mine). I’m simply trying my best to see all my options for Pet E, and determine if I should pursue it (Note that I’m currently more interested in Pet E as of now). Thanks.
Mississippi State has petroleum engineering as well as chemical and aerospace. If you have good stats you might get some good merit money there as well. I have a cousin who got his petroleum engineering degree from there and has been very successful, his youngest daughter also chose that field though I believe she got her degree in Texas.
Cal Poly has both the petroleum ME concentration and AE. They admit by a numerical algorithm, where GPA accounts for almost 50%. I’m afraid a 3.5, even rounded up with the mild CSU weighting for up to 8 semesters of AP/IB/honors, won’t be competitive for either.
@eyemgh
Is Cal Poly Pomona a good school as well for both AE and CE (with a plan to obtain a master’s in Pet E)? or any other CSU schools stack up better? Maybe the UC’s which favor weighted GPA’s? or none of the above?
The current Cal Poly SLO catalog shows some PetE courses in the ME dept., as noted previously, but no petroleum ME concentration. The available ME concentrations appear to be General, HVAC, Mechatronics, and Manufacturing.
http://catalog.calpoly.edu/collegesandprograms/collegeofengineering/mechanicalengineering/bsmechanicalengineering/
Cal Poly Pomona has a perfectly good reputation for engineering in general, but no special resources for PetE that I know of.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers website shows four student chapters in CA. Three of them are at Stanford, USC, and Cal State Bakersfield, which is not surprising. The fourth is at Long Beach State, so apparently there is interest in PetE there, although I’m not aware of any PetE program. Could be something to look into. Search for “California” here: https://www.spe.org/chapters/?list
@Corbett, you are absolutely correct. I misspoke. Concentration, as you know, means something specific. I should know better. My son got his ME at Cal Poly with a concentration in Mechatronics. 
I should have said something like “a series of upper level classes focusing on Pet E.”
@rigig123, there’s weighting and there’s weighting. Both the CSUs and the UCs use weighted GPA in admissions. They use THEIR weighting system though. For example, the max GPA in the Cal Poly weighting system, which is different than the rest of the CSUs because they use 9th grade, is right at 4.3. The average GPA for all engineers last year was 4.13.
As for CPP, it’s a good school, but you’d have to play the ME undergrad, Pet E MS game.
I’d look at the WUE schools others have mentioned here and that I mentioned in your other thread.
Yes, some applicants may be overconfident with the 4.5 or whatever weighted GPAs issued by their high schools, perhaps not realizing that their UC/CSU weighted-capped GPAs may be significantly lower.
So some of the initial assignments that my friends sons have had working in petroleum engineering.
Chad - had to understand the emergency evacuation procedures in case they were overrun by insurgents.
Newfoundland - short helicopter ride to one of the roughest parts of the Atlantic on a floating drill platform.
Northern Canada, repeat Northern Canada - didn’t know there was civilization that far north, because there isn’t.
They don’t give the new hires the choicest assignments and granted they are usually 30 days on, 30 days off so at least you get that to remind you of your real life. This is not a job for weak of heart.
@CU123
was it fairly easy for them to obtain a job after college? and did they major directly into petroleum engineering, or a related major (like chemical or mechanical)?
Yes it was easy, but two went to Texas A&M, and one to Colorado School of Mines. All majored in petroleum engineering and their timing was relatively good in relation to hiring.
They all started at $100k+ and of course both schools are considered top programs for petroleum engineering in states that produce oil.