GRADUATE: Doctor of Philosophy Degrees

Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering

The Doctor of Philosophy degree should be pursued by outstanding students with an intense interest in independent study and research. The program consists of advance coursework beyond that taken for the Master's degree, a written and oral comprehensive Preliminary Examination, extended and in-depth research, a written research Dissertation, and a final oral defense of the research.

A Ph.D. student is required to complete a minimum of fifty-four (54) semester-hours beyond the Master's degree. In the 54 semester-hour Ph.D. program, at least twenty-four (24) credit hours must be for dissertation research. Eighteen hours of graduate credit taken while classified as a MS student are countable toward the 72 hour requirement by the Graduate School. 

No earlier than the end of the second year of graduate study and not later than one semester (four months) before the final oral examination, each doctoral student is required to take a preliminary comprehensive examination, consisting of a written examination and an oral examination. This examination is conducted by the student's advisory committee. The oral examination is designed to test the student's ability to relate factual knowledge to specific circumstances, to use this knowledge with accuracy and promptness and to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the field of specialization and related areas. A doctoral student is admitted to candidacy by the Graduate School upon passing the preliminary examinations. The preliminary exam results must be transmitted to the Graduate School at least six (6) months before the anticipated date of graduation. Thus, it is expected that each student will be engaged in active full-time research for at least six months after admission to Candidacy. 

The dissertation should be an original contribution to the literature in the field of Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering. The final oral defense is the examination of the candidate's methodology used and the conclusions reached in the research, as reported in the dissertation.

A Ph.D. student should be able to complete this degree in six (6) semesters.