Future Trends in Petroleum Engineering Education
Authors: Brown Kermit 
Published: December 2007

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

The purpose of this Paper is to discuss future trends in Petroleum Engineering Education with particular emphasis on (a) pressure to drop Petroleum particular emphasis on (a) pressure to drop Petroleum Engineering as a separate discipline, (b) funding problems, (c) faculty staffing problems, and (d) problems, (c) faculty staffing problems, and (d) education of international students.

It is impossible to separate trends in Petroleum Engineering education from supply and demand Petroleum Engineering education from supply and demand of Petroleum Engineers. Petroleum Engineering Departments have gone from the largest to the smallest departments in most universities and presently are showing an increase in enrollment. During the low enrollments, there has been pressure to drop Petroleum Engineering as a separate discipline. One of Petroleum Engineering as a separate discipline. One of the most serious problems is the obtaining of adequate faculty and, in turn, the necessary funds to pay them. Most graduate departments are heavily pay them. Most graduate departments are heavily populated with foreign students and no change populated with foreign students and no change appears probable in the next several years. The education of international students continues to be a point of controversy. point of controversy.

1.0 Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to discuss future trends in Petroleum Engineering Education with particular emphasis on (a) pressure to drop Petroleum particular emphasis on (a) pressure to drop Petroleum Engineering as a separate discipline, (b) funding problems, (c) faculty staffing problems, and (d) problems, (c) faculty staffing problems, and (d) education of international students.

Two previous papers on (1) Future Trends for Petroleum Engineering Manpower and (2) Future Trends in Supply of Petroleum Engineering Manpower have given you various statistics on supply and demand of Petroleum Engineers. However, it is impossible to separate trends in Petroleum Engineering education from supply and demand of Petroleum Engineers. In 1955, I started teaching in the Petroleum Engineering Department at The University of Petroleum Engineering Department at The University of Texas. From 1955 until about 1958, that department was one of the largest disciplines in the College of Engineering (probably averaging 600 students each year. Starting in 1958 until about 1962, the enrollment dropped to the smallest department in the College (by a factor of 10 to 60–70 students). There was no demand for PE's; layoffs were common; and PE's were looking for any type of work.

Except for the dedication of a few people, there would be no PE Departments today. Many individuals from various Petroleum schools decided "to hang in there." There was a lot of pressure from Colleges to abandon PE Departments or make them an option in other departments. Many of the Educators (realizing the need to have PE Departments) started scholarship programs patterned after the program that John Campbell started at The University of Oklahoma.