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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.
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