UQ Dow Centre

Enrol in your thesis project

Chemical Engineering students are eligible to enrol in a Research Project/Research Thesis course as part of 3rd, 4th and 5th year.

If you are interested in conducting a Research Project/Research Thesis, please follow these instructions for selecting your project and learn more about the research conducted in the School of Chemical Engineering.

Why do a Research Project/Research Thesis?

Conducting a Research Project/Research Thesis is a fantastic opportunity to pursue a piece of work that is your own. It allows you to go a little bit more in-depth into a topic, helping you to stand out in job applications within a very competitive market. Students often list their project on their CV and it has helped many get the jobs they seek. Several graduate engineers have highlighted how this course actually got them job-ready and into a position where they could deliver to their new employer.

During the course, you will have the opportunity to develop valuable research skills, which may include: reviewing scientific literature, using advanced scientific equipment, performing experiments and engineering processes. 

It will also allow you to develop and demonstrate your critical thinking; a key skill requirement in the engineering profession. It provides a great opportunity to demonstrate your job readiness to potential employers.

Students completing a four-unit project can also claim hours for their professional practice.

To find a project, please see the project selection guidelines below. Once you find a project and supervisor, please fill in the Assignment of Topic Form (DOCX, 31.3 KB), and send to Professor Lianzhou Wang at l.wang@uq.edu.au by email. Once your form has been approved, the School will provide you with permission to enrol.

Project selection

You have three options when selecting a project:

  1. Choose from listed projects on the EAIT Student website and email potential supervisor. (Note, this is not a complete list of projects available and academics may continue uploading projects)
  2. If none of the listed projects are of interest, then consult School web pages and approach individual academics in research areas you are interested in. Should you be interested in any particular academic's research, you should enquire directly to them if they have a project.
  3. You may also create your own project, but must approach an academic to supervise you.

For a guide on the research covered by UQ Chemical Engineering, including relevant contacts for particular areas that may interest you, go to the Research page of the School website.

Another useful source to discover the research at UQ and the School of Chemical Engineering is UQ Researchers database. This can be searched with keywords of areas of interest, or with a researcher's name to get more information on their research.

It is possible to do projects led out of different Schools at the University with permission from the coordinator.

How to apply

For any project, you must gain permission from the supervising academic and complete an Assignment of Topic Form (DOCX, 31.3 KB) - prior to the beginning of semester (submission by email is acceptable).

Read guidelines in course profile (referring to the version in the previous course profile is acceptable before the new one is published)

  • 4006 – 2 unit thesis (Sem 1 only)
  • 4007 – 2 unit thesis (Sem 2 only)
  • 4026 – 4 unit across year (starting Sem 1)
  • 4027 – 4 unit across year (starting Sem 2)

Submit your Assignment of Topic Form to Professor Lianzhou Wang at l.wang@uq.edu.au by email.

Confidentiality

If your thesis is to remain confidential for a period of time, include an accompanying Confidentiality Submission Letter cover page (DOCX, 22.5 KB) in your final report. This letter is normally located in the report immediately after the title page and before the abstract.

If your thesis does not need to remain confidential, use the Non-Confidential Submission Letter cover page (DOCX, 24.3 KB).

Any queries, please contact: