College of Engineering

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Two program plans are available for the Mechanical Engineering PhD degree.

The PhD beyond a Bachelor’s requires 72 credits (minimum): 18 credits of 6000-level (or above) MAE courses (excluding MAE 6950 , MAE 6970 /MAE 7970 , MAE 6990 /MAE 7990 , and MAE 6930 /MAE 7930  self-study); 6 credits of approved math courses (5000-level or above); 12 credits of approved technical electives; and 36 credits of MAE 7970: Dissertation Research . PhD qualifying exams must be passed before completing three semesters. A proposal defense and a formal final defense are required for the dissertation. The dissertation must meet School of Graduate Studies and MAE Department requirements. A paper related to the dissertation, with the student as the first author, must be submitted for publication in a refereed journal prior to scheduling the final defense. Students may choose to earn a Plan C Aerospace Engineering or Mechanical Engineering MS degree while completing their PhD. This option increases the PhD minimum requirement to 81 credits.

The PhD Degree beyond a Master’s requires 42 credits (minimum): 9 credits of 6000-level (or above) MAE coursework (excluding MAE 6950 , MAE 6970 /MAE 7970 , MAE 6990 /MAE 7990 , and MAE 6930 /MAE 7930  self-study); 3 credits of an approved math course (5000-level or above); and 30 credits of MAE 7970: Dissertation Research . PhD Qualifying Exams must be passed before completing three semesters. A proposal defense and a formal final defense are required for the dissertation. The dissertation must meet School of Graduate Studies and MAE Department requirements. A paper related to the dissertation, with the student as the first author, must be submitted for publication in a refereed journal prior to scheduling the final defense.