The Ph. D. degree is designed for full-time participation.  The student is thus expected to engage himself in scholarly work on a full-time basis.  The program consists of 30 graduate credit-hours of course work (beyond M. S. degree) in addition to the dissertation and seminar requirements.  The maximum load for the Ph. D. student is 12 graduate credit-hours per semester and all the courses should be taken from 500 and 600 levels.  Thus, the course work will require one and a half years, and the dissertation will require an additional year and a half.  The maximum period allowed for obtaining the Ph. D. degree is six years.

 The Ph. D. degree requires the graduate student to initially pass a preliminary examination, complete additional course work beyond the M. S. degree, satisfactorily pass a comprehensive examination covering his area of study, and present a substantial research contribution manifested in a dissertation.

 Each graduate student admitted to the Ph. D. program should select major and minor research areas related to his specialization and direction of research.  Every Ph. D. student must take a minimum of seven courses (21 credit hours) from within the field of the selected major area.  A major area is defined as one of the fields from the following three basic fields:

1. Thermo fluid Sciences: Entails research in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, refrigeration and air-conditioning, energy conversion, heat transfer, and combustion.

2. Engineering Mechanics: Involves research in design, dynamics, vibrations, flight dynamics and control.

3. Materials & Manufacturing: Embraces research in manufacturing, materials science, corrosion, and tribology.

A minor area is defined as a relevant specialized area within any field related to the professional activities of the mechanical engineer.  A minor area has to be constituted of a collection of three coherent courses (9 credit hours) that must be chosen from outside the field of the student’s major area.

Prior to being granted their Ph. D. Degree, all students who have been admitted to the Ph. D. program with full standing are required to successfully complete the following:

1. Preliminary Examination: All students are required to take this examination to demonstrate their competence and uncover minor deficiencies in the areas of thermalfluid sciences, engineering mechanics, and materials and manufacturing.  The Examination should be organized and administered by the Doctoral Program Committee at a time no later than the second semester after enrollment.  A graduate student is allowed to take this examination only twice. A clearly unsatisfactory performance in the examination will form a basis for dismissal of the student from the Ph. D. program.  Failing to secure a GPA of 3.00 (out of 4 points) is considered as unsatisfactory performance the student will be dismissed.  If a student’s overall performance is equivalent to a GPA of 3.00 or more, but his grade in any course is C or less, he will be accepted as a Ph. D. student with deficiencies.  The student will be required to take an undergraduate remedial course in the respective area of deficiency, and to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.00 (out of 4 points).  The student has to remedy his deficiencies no later than the third regular semester following the preliminary examination.

2. Course Requirement: The results of the Preliminary Examination are then used in drawing up the student’s program and to remedy whatever deficiencies may arise.  The student’s program should meet the approval of the departmental Graduate Committee.  Students who perform satisfactorily in the Preliminary Examination may proceed to complete their approved program which requires the completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours, beyond the M. S. degree, with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or more at all times.

3. Comprehensive Examination: Upon successful completion of all course work, a candidate will be required to take a written and oral Comprehensive Examination.  The examination covers the courses taken in his major and minor areas, in addition to mathematics.  The Comprehensive Examination will normally be given during the semester following the student’s completion of all course work.  The oral and written examinations must be conducted in the same semester.  On the basis of the Comprehensive Examination, a student may be admitted to the Doctorate Degree Candidacy.  A graduate student will be allowed to take the Comprehensive Examination only twice.

4. Dissertation: A candidate who successfully passes the Comprehensive Examination may proceed with his research work under the supervision of his dissertation advisor and in consultation with his dissertation committee.  In consultation with the ME Graduate Coordinator, the Ph. D. student should select his Dissertation Advisor during the semester in which he takes the Preliminary Examination. A Dissertation Committee must be formed for each student upon the recommendation of the Chairman of the Mechanical Engineering Department and approval of the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.  The membership of committee is always an odd numbers. The committee include: the Dissertation Advisor (Chairman), Mechanical Engineering faculty members from the specified area of research, and one faculty member from outside the Department in a related area of research.  Upon completion of his research work, the candidate is required to defend his dissertation before the thesis committee and in public. The Ph. D. degree will only be conferred upon the recommendation of the dissertation committee

Ph. D Program