PHD Requirements

The program requires satisfactory completion of at least 42 hours of dissertation and 42 course credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree for a total of 90 credit hours. The course credit hours shall consist of:

• at least 24 hours of advanced engineering graduate courses at the 5000 level or higher as determined by the student's Doctoral Advisory Conference
• at least 6 hours of graduate-level math-related and science course work*, of which 3 hours are to be in math-related course work.
• a maximum of 9 credit hours of Special Projects, Guided Individual Studies, or other non-competitively graded courses including 6 credit hours of MS thesis.

Within these limitations, the student can include up to 42 credit hours from previous graduate work as follows:

• all of M.S. degree up to 30 hours but including no more than 6 thesis hours
• all of M.S. non-thesis degree up to 36 hours
• up to 12 hours of post-master's work

The dissertation advisory committee should be formed and the advisory conference should be held no later than the student’s second semester of enrollment. The graduate liaison should be alerted to this conference.

In AME, the Qualifying Exam is combined with the General Exam.

• At least two weeks prior to taking the General Exam, the Graduate College's Application for General Examination must be completed and signed by the student, the members of the Doctoral Committee, and the AME Graduate Liaison. It is then submitted to the Graduate College Dean for approval. This authorization for the exam must be obtained before taking the exam.
• It is suggested that the student take the General Exam during either their last semester of graduate coursework or the following semester. Students must be in good academic standing during the semester the General Examination is taken and must be enrolled in at least two graduate credit hours.
• The General Exam is administered by the student's advisory committee by adhering to the following rules:
  • The exam will be conducted in two parts: (1) a written part that should provide the evidence of the student's capabilities to pursue independent research. A written research report should be submitted to the committee at least one week prior to the date of the exam; (2) an oral part that includes a research presentation and an examination of student's in-depth understanding of his/her graduate course work.
• A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on the General Exam may be permitted, at the discretion of the faculty, to retake the examination one time.

The Dissertation Defense takes place after the completion of the research work. The Graduate College's process for defending the dissertation and filing a copy with the library should be followed and is described in their dissertation instructions.

Please obtain the AME exit survey from Samarpita and complete it before obtaining authorization for required examinations.

For additional details regarding current policies and procedures related to graduate studies, please visit the Graduate College Bulletin.