Skip to main content

From the desk of Dr. Richard Phillips

“..Online education is ready to roll”

When you departed the  “Pulp and Paper” program, you were among the best prepared new employees at your company.  Time marches on, and our most recent graduates are now without question, the best prepared, and are ready to make a difference. Our curriculum has traditionally focused on basics of pulp and paper, and our hiring rates are the best in the 16-campus UNC system.

We want to do more, and I want to let you know we are ready to do it for you now, for your colleagues and for anyone you know that wants to be the “go to” person in the company (even if they are not NC State alums).

Online Education started in our department 20 years ago, focused on a Masters’ Degree, attracting about 5 students a year.  Dr. Hou-Min Chang and I were asked by our department head to look at the global market for advanced education, and design a program using our faculty resources that would attract 100 students per year.

The faculty proposed a three tiered system:

(1) for those that want to take a single course – say process control and nothing else

(2) for those that are attracted to more, four 3-credit hour courses can results in a certificate from NCSU

(3) the existing Masters’ Degree with 24- credit hours is still available. 

Further, our research and discussions with major companies confirmed their willingness to reimburse the student who earns a “B” or better. I’m pleased to report that our efforts successfully brought in 12 new students who enrolled in the spring of 2020.

Help us spread the word by forwarding this to all your colleagues!

  • Learn more: go.ncsu.edu/biomaterialsonline.
  • Explore the roster of 20+ course opportunities.
  • Enroll and see all your favorite professors again in high quality video!