The program leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is intended for those exceptional individuals who plan to pursue a career in fundamental applied research. The program requires course work and the successful completion of a research dissertation, which is an original and significant contribution to knowledge in the discipline.
 
The Ph.D. Program consists of 30 credit hours of course work beyond the M.S. Degree in addition to the dissertation. In addition to successfully passing an entrance examination (ENEX), a Ph.D. student is also required to pass a comprehensive examination (COEX) covering his area of study, a preliminary dissertation proposal defense (PDPD), and presentation and defense of the dissertation. The student must declare a major area and a minor area by the end of the first semester of enrollment in the Ph.D. program.
 
The ENEX is required of all Ph.D. Candidates. It is a two part written examination. Part I of the Entrance Examination is based on undergraduate courses.  Part II of the Entrance Examination is based on graduate courses.  The Entrance Examination is administered every semester unless the Graduate Program Committee decides to postpone it.  It is intended to evaluate a student’s qualifications and aptitude for Electrical Engineering, and to determine areas of weakness. The department encourages taking this exam during the first year of study.
 
The COEX consists of two parts (a) written and (b) oral. The purpose of this exam is to ensure that the student has a sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge and to evaluate a student’s ability to research a specific topic and critique its state of the art. The written part will include the candidate’s major as well as minor fields and NOT on courses taken in these areas.  The oral part will cover the candidate’s major as well as his dissertation area. This exam will be conducted upon successful completion of all course work.
 
In case of failure, the COEX may be attempted once more after a period of time determined by the committee with specified remedial work. However, a second chance may be denied if the student’s performance in the first attempt is clearly unsatisfactory.
 
A candidate who successfully passes the COEX may proceed with his research work under the supervision of his dissertation advisor. A dissertation committee having a minimum of five members must be formed for each candidate upon the recommendation of the chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department and approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies. The dissertation advisor chairs this committee.
 
The student, in consultation with his dissertation advisor, prepares a dissertation proposal that should contain (a) motivation for the research, (b) a concise statement of the proposed problem, (c) an outline of the methodology, and (d) a brief survey of relevant nature and submits it to the dissertation committee. The student incorporates the comments of the committee in preparing a preliminary proposal. The student must make a public defense of the preliminary proposal and must incorporate the comments raised during this defense in his preliminary proposal.
 
Upon completion of his research work, the candidate is required to defend his dissertation before the dissertation committee and in public.

Typical Doctoral Program in Power

                       
Typical Doctoral Program in Power
 
(Special interest in Control and Power)

Typical Doctoral Program in Communications
 
(Special interest in Communications and Signal Processing)

                                                                              Entrance Exam | Comprehensive Exam | Major and Minor | Dissertation​