Mechanical Engineering Building
Degree Infomration
(Note: Please see the Operations Research and Industrial Engineering site for specific ORIE degree information.)
The graduate program in Mechanical Engineering is designed to educate engineers who will be in the forefront of the mechanical engineering profession, leading the way to new and improved engineering systems to transform energy, materials, and information to meet the needs of society. To achieve this objective, the program offers a breadth of research and study areas and facilities.
Graduate students who are pursuing a doctoral degree are required to conduct research supervised by a faculty member within the Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering. This research is to form the basis of the student's doctoral dissertation. Students pursuing a master's degree with financial support from The University are expected to conduct research under the supervision of a faculty member within the Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering. This research is to form the basis of the student's master's thesis. Both master's and doctoral students are expected to establish a relationship with an Area Faculty member for supervision of their research within their first semester in the graduate program.
Degrees Offered
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Students generally follow the thesis option, which requires thirty semester hours of credit, including six hours in the thesis course. Students who are appointed as teaching assistants or research assistants are expected to choose the thesis option. The report option requires thirty-three semester hours, including three hours in the report course. The option without thesis or report requires thirty-six hours of course work. At least eighteen hours (including the thesis or report, if any) should be in the major area; and at least six hours should be in a supporting area. The supporting courses may be in mechanical engineering but must represent a specialty distinct from the major courses. Some areas of study have required core courses.
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering
The student must pass oral qualifying examinations administered by faculty members in the area of speciality. After passing the qualifying examinations, the student applies for candidacy by submitting a Program of Work that includes a proposed dissertation topic and a suggested dissertation committee.
The dissertation committee recommends courses to be taken as part of the Program of Work, which should include at least eighteen hours (for students with a mater's degree) or forty-eight hours (for students without a master's degree) of graduate coursework in the area of specialization. This coursework must be taken on the letter-grade basis. The Program of Work must be approved by the chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee. Application for candidacy must be submitted before the student completes fifty hours of credit toward the doctoral degree.
Doctoral Qualifying Exams
Students must pass a qualifying examination to be eligible to apply for Doctoral Candidacy. The qualifying examination is prescribed by the academic areas (with approval of the Graduate Studies Committee). The qualifying examination is best described as a test of graduate understanding of upper division undergraduate and first year graduate courses.
A student who has pursued a MS in the department can typically take the qualifying examination immediately upon completion of the MS, or possibly after having completed all or most of the MS course work. For a student entering with a MS from another school, it is advisable to take at least one semester of graduate work (to get the emphasis of our faculty) before taking the qualifying examination.
Each of the technical areas in the department administers its own qualifying examination. The structure of the examination will vary depending on the technical area, and the area faculty member who serves as the coordinator should be consulted for details. Contact the area staff or Area Coordinator to determine the faculty member currently coordinating the qualifying exam. Generally it consists of both written and oral portions, and is typically offered twice each year.
Successful completion of the qualifying examination represents the major requirement before being formally admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. Contact the Area Administrative Staff for more information.
Selection of a Research Topic and Faculty Advisor
Students should immediately upon passing the qualifying exam, if not earlier, consult with faculty members in their area to decide on an appropriate dissertation topic. Students also need to decide on a faculty member to "chair" the dissertation committee. This committee will be responsible for overseeing the student's doctoral program (courses and dissertation).
Selection of a PhD Committee and Presentation of a Proposal
Admission to Ph.D. candidacy requires that a dissertation committee be formed. The dissertation committee includes a minimum of five faculty members, including at least three ME GSC members, and at least one faculty member from outside the department (who may be a qualified Ph.D. from outside the university). This committee must meet to review the student's course program and dissertation proposal. The committee will typically make recommendations with respect to the scope and direction of the dissertation. Furthermore, the committee reviews graduate courses taken, or to be taken, as part of the student's program of work and may recommend that additional courses be taken.
Approval of Courses to be taken for the Program of Work
Courses to be taken are at the discretion of the dissertation committee, but the following minimum standard has been established by the Mechanical Engineering department GSC:
Completed or planned graduate course work in the area of specialization, taken for grade, and amounting to a minimum of 18 credit hours (for students with a MS degree) or a minimum of 48 credit hours (for students without a MS degree). Graduate courses taken at another university may be applicable, however, it is expected that a significant portion of the program will be taken at UT.
Based on the recommendation of this dissertation committee, the student completes the departmental Program of Work. This form is signed by the student's dissertation supervisor confirming that the list of courses in the program of work has been approved by the dissertation committee. This form is then signed by the GSC chair and is held in the student's departmental file.
Application for Doctoral Degree Candidacy
The process of applying for candidacy takes several weeks; apply for candidacy well before the semester in which you would like to register for dissertation credit.
The Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) of the Mechanical Engineering department requires that a student pass the qualifying exam and be admitted to candidacy before accumulating 50 credit hours towards their Ph.D. degree (this includes research and seminar hours). This rule was adopted to promote a timely completion of the Ph.D. degree consistent with the University's "99 hour" rule.
Once a student's committee has been formed and Program of Work has been approved, the student may officially Apply for Candidacy. This form specifies the proposed doctoral program chair and committee members, as well as a brief description of the dissertation research topic goals. The Chair of the GSC, the Graduate Advisor, the student's committee, and the Dean of Graduate School approve this form. The student is then officially a "doctoral candidate."