The University of Wyoming’s petroleum engineering degree has been nationally accredited.
UW revived its petroleum engineering major in 2006. Since then, the program has grown tremendously. This fall, UW has seen more petroleum engineering students enrolled than ever before. A total of 219 students are majoring in petroleum engineering, up 50 percent from last year’s 144 enrolled.
Now could not be a better time for this surge in enrollment with the current oil and gas production problems. There has been an increase in domestic oil and gas production, and an increase in the number of oil and gas drilling experts approaching retirement age.
For petroleum engineers, UW is one of few options to receive a degree.
“There are only 17 accredited petroleum engineering programs in the country,” Brian Francis Towler, Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, said.
While enrolling in the program might be fairly straightforward, graduating is not an easy feat. Like other engineering programs, about 60 to 70 percent of students majoring in petroleum engineering receive their degree.
Petroleum engineering students take difficult courses including calculus, chemistry, physics, geology, and thermodynamics. Though obtaining the degree is high risk, it can still be rewarding.
UW was accredited by Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, a national organization that accredits higher education institutions in applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.
“It’s more respected to have graduated from an accredited program. For instance, when you go for your professional engineer’s license, if you’ve graduated from an accredited petroleum engineering program, they accept that and let you sit for the exam after you’ve been practicing for five years,” Towler said.
“But if you haven’t earned an accredited degree program, they have to investigate whether the program you graduated from is of sufficient quality to allow you to sit for the exam.”
Students who receive a petroleum engineering degree are gifted with plenty of job opportunities that can pay up to $100,000 annually and the chance to live abroad.
Current, past and future students who will or have already received a petroleum engineering degree will be recognized as to have received one from an accredited university.
