The department also offers a nonthesis master's program that requires a minimum of 33 graduate credit hours approved by the graduate advisor (excluding seminar). The graduate program for nonthesis master's candidate is specifically tailored for that candidate's educational background, industry experience, and individual interest. Petroleum Engineering is the practical application of the basic and physical sciences of mathematics, geology, physics, chemistry, and all of the engineering sciences to the discovery, development, production, and transportation of petroleum. Petroleum is the most widely used form of mobile energy and now supplies approximately three-fourths of the total energy used in the United States. It is also a major raw material from which a wide variety of products are manufactured. The Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering is staffed with industry-experienced faculty who have an average of more than 15 years of experience per faculty member. This experience is combined with sound engineering and scientific principles in the classroom and made an integral part of the candidate's educational challenge.