Course Requirements
Students must have a 3.3. GPA in the following Materials Engineering Core Courses:
- ME 386P3 Thermodynamics of Materials
- ME 386P1 Phase Transformations
- A choice from the following list
- ME 386P4 Solid State Properties of Materials
- ME386P5 Structures and Defects
- ME 386P2 Mechanical Behavior of Materials
These courses generally are taken in the 1st year. If a student does not have a 3.3 GPA in the Materials Engineering Core Courses after completing 3 core courses, then they may take ONE additional core course in their 3rd semester. If the GPA in the core courses rises to at least a 3.3 GPA, the course requirements are met. If the GPA does not rise above a 3.3. GPA, the student has not met the course requirements to obtain a GPA. Under exceptional circumstances, a petition may be submitted to the Area Coordinator in the Materials Engineering area to seek to waive the GPA requirement.
Written Exam
The written portion of the qualifying process consists of a 10 page document submitted to the student’s proposed dissertation committee and contains the following: a summary of research performed to date; a description of the proposed work to complete the dissertation including methodologies and rationale; and a timeline for completing the proposed work. The written document should be submitted to the committee no later than two weeks before Oral Exam (see below).
Oral Exam
The oral exam is a presentation of the written exam material that was provided to the proposed dissertation committee. The committee then quizzes the student on all aspects of the presentation and written document.
Potential outcomes include the following:
- Pass (no changes needed)
- Retake either oral or written portions
- Fail
