Online Master’s in Petroleum Engineering
Advance Your Career with an Online Petroleum Engineering Master’s
KU’s online master’s in petroleum engineering is designed for engineers seeking to deepen their expertise and expand their impact in the energy industry. The program builds advanced knowledge in reservoir engineering, drilling, and production while emphasizing real-world application.
You’ll learn from faculty in a top-tier School of Engineering at the University of Kansas, an AAU member and Carnegie R1 research university. The curriculum combines academic rigor with industry-relevant coursework to prepare you for advanced roles in energy production, reservoir management, and drilling systems.
Delivered fully online, this program allows you to continue working while earning your degree. You’ll study with the same faculty who teach on campus and engage with content shaped by current industry practices.
Whether you are advancing in oil and gas, transitioning into broader energy systems, or strengthening your technical foundation, this degree prepares you to take the next step with confidence.
Why choose KU’s online master’s in Petroleum Engineering?
Earning your degree from the University of Kansas positions you within a respected School of Engineering at an AAU member and Carnegie R1 research university, combining academic rigor with practical, industry-aligned learning in a flexible, fully online, asynchronous format. Courses are designed specifically for online learning, with clear weekly structure, high-quality instructional materials and consistent faculty engagement. The program emphasizes practice-focused learning using industry-relevant workflows, datasets and tools so you can connect advanced theory to real-world engineering work.
Top-tier engineering education: Study within KU’s School of Engineering, where rigorous academics and applied research prepare engineers for real-world challenges in energy production and resource management.
Industry-relevant curriculum: Build expertise in reservoir engineering, drilling, and production systems aligned with current energy sector practices.
Designed for working professionals: Complete your degree fully online with the flexibility to balance your career and education.
Faculty with practical expertise: Learn from instructors engaged in research and industry partnerships across the energy sector.
Career-focused outcomes: Prepare for advanced roles in petroleum engineering and the broader energy industry.
What you’ll learn
Build advanced expertise in the core areas that drive petroleum engineering, from reservoir behavior to drilling and production systems.
- Strengthen advanced petroleum engineering fundamentals in reservoir, drilling and production
- Apply engineering analysis to subsurface systems and field development challenges
- Evaluate reservoir performance and production behavior using modern engineering approaches
- Understand flow in porous media and its impact on reservoir modeling and recovery
- Apply enhanced recovery concepts and techniques to improve performance outcomes
- Use data-driven methods to support engineering decisions and optimization
Coursework emphasizes applied learning through assignments and projects that reflect industry expectations and real engineering workflows.
Learn more about this online program
Designed for working professionals, this program is delivered 100% online and asynchronously, so you can strengthen advanced petroleum engineering skills without relocating or stepping away from your career.
Careers in petroleum engineering
Petroleum engineers are among the highest-paid engineering professionals, reflecting the technical expertise and demand for advanced skills in the energy sector. Common career paths include:
- Reservoir engineer
- Production engineer
- Drilling engineer
- Field development engineer
- Petroleum engineering specialist
- Senior engineer or technical lead
This degree is well suited for professionals seeking to deepen their technical expertise, expand their responsibilities and position themselves for advancement into higher-level engineering roles.
Skills you’ll build
Through this online master’s program, you will strengthen in-demand skills such as:
- Reservoir engineering and performance evaluation
- Production engineering and optimization
- Drilling and field development fundamentals
- Engineering analysis and technical decision-making
- Data-informed problem solving and systems thinking
- Technical communication and cross-team collaboration
These skills are valuable across a wide range of subsurface and energy-related engineering roles.