The CEMS Department offers two types of master's degrees: the MSChE (Plan A or C) and the MChE degree, also known as the professional master's. The MSChE Plan A degree is a thesis-based master's and is generally reserved only for current graduate students who choose not to seek a PhD. Working professionals who are interested in obtaining a master's degree part time should follow the requirements for the MChE degree, which requires a design project, or the MSChE Plan C, which is coursework only. Research activities in CEMS focus on the development of renewable energy technologies, the solution of important medical and biological engineering challenges, the development of advanced materials, and the application of sophisticated mathematical and theoretical models. Graduate courses offered cover core areas of chemical engineering (fluid mechanics, applied mathematics: linear and nonlinear analysis, transport, chemical thermodynamics, statistical thermodynamics and kinetics, and analysis of chemical reactors) and core areas of materials science (structure and symmetry of materials, thermodynamics and kinetics, electronic properties of materials, and mechanical properties of materials). In addition, several specialized topics are offered, including biochemical engineering, biological transport processes, food processing technology, colloids, principles of mass transfer in engineering and biological engineering, rheology, coating process fundamentals, process control, finite elements methods of computer-aided analysis, ceramics, polymers, materials design and performance, materials processing, corrosion, introduction to polymer chemistry, polymer laboratory, contact and fracture properties of materials, electron microscopy, thin films and interfaces, composites, electrochemical engineering, physical chemistry of polymers, solid state reaction kinetics, electronic structure of materials, electronic properties and applications of organic materials, electronic ceramics, dislocations and interfaces, epitaxial thin film growth, and science of porous media.