The Online Doctor of Philosophy in Petroleum Engineering is a research degree awarded to students after the exhibition of significant and valuable contributions in a specific field of petroleum engineering. This degree is designed for professionals aiming to become leaders and innovators in the energy sector.

Oklahoma State University's Petroleum Engineering program is geographically well positioned in one of the most active exploration areas in the country. The College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology has strong support from local and national oil and gas operators and service companies giving our students the expertise they need to be successful in their careers.

The petroleum industry is organized into four major sectors: exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas; transportation; refining and marketing and distribution.

The petroleum industry is organized into four major sectors: exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas; transportation; refining and marketing and distribution. This research program should identify a balance between the technical, environmental, economic, and social aspects of the several fields of petroleum industry management. Furthermore, the research shall provide a roadmap for managing any type of project related to oil and gas production and markets. This program uses the A.P.E.L. (Accreditation Prior Experiential Learning) system. It is addressed to 30 years old Managers, Entrepreneurs, Professionals having at least 5 years of industry experience. A Master's degree or equivalent is required to access the program. The entire course is carried out in Distance Learning.

The PhD program in Petroleum Engineering, fully taught in English, is designed to provide a sophisticated knowledge base and advanced skills at the expert level for individuals planning a career in academia, industry and research settings in any of the subfields of the Petroleum Engineering discipline

The predecessor of the Mechanical Engineering in China University of Petroleum is the original discipline of petroleum mechanical engineering founded in 1952 at the department of petroleum engineering in Tsinghua University, which is the earliest established oil field mechanical discipline.