UC Berkeley Product Development Program

Within 9 months, Product Development Program graduates will gain exposure to real-world product development practices in a range of chemical process-intensive industries such as alternative energy, biotechnology, consumer products, microelectronics, nanoscience, and new ventures. As a professional degree program in chemical engineering aimed at preparing its graduates for their careers, the PDP does not require a research thesis, but students find completing the extensive coursework and team-based field-project study assignment with a local company challenging. Students who successfully complete the program's graduation requirements will be awarded a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with a concentration in Product Development. Over 300 graduate alumni have gone on to exciting new career opportunities in a diverse range of industries and companies such as: Abbott Laboratories, Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Apple, Applied Materials, Baxter, Bloomberg, Dow, Facebook, Flextronics, Foxconn, Gilead Sciences, Illumina, Intel, Schlumberger, and many more. Several of our graduates have also launched successful start-up ventures that received substantial funding from the venture capital community. The PDP is a proven alternative graduate school experience for those students with backgrounds in the chemical sciences who want to take a non-traditional path to building a fulfilling career.