University of Connecticut | |
Materials Science & Engineering Graduate Study
MSE Ph.D. Program
To earn a doctoral degree in the Materials Science & Engineering program, students must meet the following requirements. In addition, the general rules and regulations for the doctoral degree, as established by the Graduate School in the latest Graduate Catalog, shall also apply. Typical duration of a Doctoral degree is 5 years beyond the Baccalaureate degree or 3 years beyond the master's degree. Most graduate students enrolled in the Doctoral program are supported by some form of an assistantship (graduate, research, or teaching). Research assistantships are funded by grants from the federal government, the State government, or private industry. Graduate and teaching assistantships are funded by the University. All forms of assistantships carry with them a stipend, a tuition waiver, and attractive benefits package, including medical and dental insurance. The six main requirements of the Ph.D. in the Materials Science & Engineering program are as follows:
I. The Plan of Study The student shall put together a Plan of Study under the guidance of the Principal Advisor. This Plan shall include 20-24 credits of advanced coursework, including the 3 Core Courses plus an appropriate number of elective courses tailored to the students’ specific interests. Some of the elective courses may be taken outside the Department. The student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 (out of 4.0) in the core courses and an overall GPA of 3.0 (out of 4.0) or above. The Plan of Study shall also include at least 15 credits of Dissertation Research (GRAD 6950). The Core Course requirement may be modified if the student has passed equivalent courses in a different department at the University of Connecticut, or at a different university in a similar graduate program. Such decisions shall be dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the students Advisory Committee. II. The General Examination Pre-Requisites To be eligible to take the PhD General Exam, students must meet the following three criteria:
The General Exam The General Exam will consist of a written and an oral component: the written component will be based upon a research proposal developed by the candidate and the oral component will include both a defense of the proposal and a demonstration of competency in fundamental materials science and engineering principles during a general question and answer period. (i) The Written Proposal The topic of the proposal should be set by the advisory committee. The only restrictions on the topic are that it should be relevant to MSE and should not be the same as that on which the candidate is working for his/her PhD thesis research. The proposal should be no more than 15 pages in length including diagrams but not including references. To discourage overly long proposals, the minimum allowable font size will be 12 point Times New Roman or similar font style, single-spaced, and the minimum margin will be 25 mm. In general, the proposal should include the following components unless prior approval for a different format is given by the advisory committee:
The completed proposal should be submitted to the advisory committee for approval before the oral portion of the examination is scheduled. (ii) The Oral Examination It is expected that, under normal circumstances, the oral defense should be held within a week of receiving approval on the written proposal from the advisory committee. The oral defense will be open but a minimum of five faculty members must be present (usually the student’s advisory committee plus two others) to satisfy the Graduate School regulations. The candidate should prepare a 30-40 minute presentation summarizing the main points of the proposal. The candidate will then be required to answer questions on the presentation from the audience, as well as more general questions from the faculty testing the student’s broader knowledge of materials science and engineering concepts. It is expected that the student will have acquired a comprehensive knowledge of fundamental materials science and engineering principles regardless of the elective courses taken prior to the exam. If this competency is not adequately demonstrated during the oral examination the advisory committee may recommend that specific courses be included in the student’s plan of study. III. The Dissertation Proposal After passing the General Exam, the student is required to submit a written Dissertation Proposal to his/her Advisory Committee within 6 months of his/her candidacy. The student shall also orally present and discuss the Proposal in front of the Advisory Committee. This presentation is not an examination and is not subject to a pass/fail recommendation. If the Proposal is not acceptable to the Committee, the Committee shall suggest amendments, whereupon the student shall make the amendments and re-submit the Proposal. The Proposal must receive unanimous approval by the entire Advisory Committee. The student shall submit the Proposal to the Graduate School for approval by the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty Council. The student shall also deliver a copy of the approved Proposal to the Graduate Records Office. IV. The Research Thesis and Defense The majority of the student's research project shall be performed on campus under the supervision of the Principal Advisor. The residency requirement shall be fulfilled by conducting full-time research and study for 2 consecutive semesters at the Storrs campus. Portions of the research may be performed at outside facilities as deemed necessary. The student shall submit the written thesis to the Examination Committee for review, at least two weeks before the Defense date. This Committee shall consist of the Advisory Committee (4 persons) plus one additional member (within the Department or from the outside) chosen by the Advisory Committee. The student shall present an oral Thesis Defense, which will be open to the public. Following the public presentation and discussion, the student shall be examined orally by the Examination Committee and the other faculty members present. Approval of the thesis by the entire Examination Committee shall be unanimous. The thesis research must be publishable in a refereed journal in the field, although publication is not required for graduation. Requests for additional information should be directed to the Materials Science and Engineering Program of the Chemical, Materials & Biomolecular Engineering Department. Additionally, this address should be used for letters of recommendation, personal letters supporting the application, financial aid forms, and all routine communications regarding graduate admissions: Dr. Pamir Alpay
|