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Topical Areas for Written Qualifying Examination (WQE)

Achieving PhD candidacy is contingent upon successfully passing a two-stage qualifying examination which is composed of a Written Qualifying Exam (WQE), followed by a Research Proposal Examination (RPE). For further details, please refer to the “PhD Research Milestones” section of this catalog.

The primary objective of the PhD Written Qualifying Exam (WQE) is to ensure that students pursuing a Doctoral degree in a particular concentration have graduate level understanding of the fundamentals of that concentration and evaluates the student’s ability to apply them to solve problems in three topical exam areas. The syllabi for the topical exam areas are taken from undergraduate courses in the College of Engineering at Khalifa University.

Students must register for the PhD WQE in Banner before the end of the Add/Drop period of the semester in which they plan to take the exams. The student must choose three exam topical areas from an approved list, in consultation with his/her Main Advisor. Students enrolled in the PhD with a concentration must select at least two of the three topical areas from the list specific to their concentration. Students pursuing a multidisciplinary PhD must select topical areas relevant to their particular fields of research.

The exams are coordinated by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and the Chair of the relevant Department (or designee) and held twice per year over a one-week period. The duration of each exam is three hours. A minimum score of 73 percent is required to pass the exam for each topical area. Failing any topical area of the WQE will result in the student failing the entire WQE and placing him/her on Academic Probation Level 1. A failed WQE can be retaken only once and passed upon the next offering. If the student repeats the WQE, then he/she will be required only to retake the exams in the topical areas that he/she failed during the WQE at the first attempt. The student may opt to retake the exams in topical areas other than those he/she failed in at the first attempt. PhD students who fail the WQE at the second attempt will be placed on Academic Probation Level 2 and will be subject to dismissal from the PhD program.

The list of topical exam areas for each of the PhD in Engineering concentrations and their corresponding undergraduate course syllabi are given below. This list is subject to change.

Aerospace Engineering

AERO 335Aerodynamics I

4
AERO 336Aerodynamics II

3
AERO 320Aerospace Materials

3
AERO 415Aerospace Materials Manufacturing

3
AERO 465Space Dynamics and Control

3
AERO 485Spacecraft Design

3
AERO 495Special Topics in Aerospace Engineering

3
AERO 201Engineering Dynamics

3
AERO 350Dynamic Systems and Control

4
AERO 450Flight Dynamics and Stability

3
AERO 225Mechanics of Solids

4
AERO 321Aerospace Structures

3
AERO 240Thermofluids for Aerospace Engineering

4
AERO 440Aerospace Propulsion

3

Biomedical Engineering

CHEG 210Introduction to Biochemical Engineering

3
BMED 411Biomaterials

4
BMED 321Mechanics for Biomedical Engineers

4
BMED 322Functional Biomechanics

4
BMED 352Fundamentals of Biomedical Signal Processing

4
BMED 413Application of Bio-molecular Tools

3
BMED 341Molecular Cell Biology

4
BMED 211Human Anatomy

4
BMED 212Physiological Systems & Modeling II

4
BMED 331Biotransport Phenomena

3

Chemical Engineering

CHEG 230Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics I

3
CHEG 332Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics II

3
CHEG 324Mass Transfer

3
CHEG 485Separation Processes

4
CHEG 232Fluid Mechanics

4
CHEG 335Heat Transfer

4
CHEG 443Reaction Engineering

4
CHEG 412Process Dynamics & Control

4

Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering

CIVE 469Air Pollution Control

3
CIVE 225Mechanics of Solids

4
CIVE 340Behavior and Analysis of Structures

3
CIVE 341Design of Steel Structures

3
CIVE 442Design of Concrete Structures

3
CIVE 332Fundamentals of Construction Engineering & Management

3
CIVE 484Project Planning, Scheduling and Control

3
CIVE 370Introduction to Environmental Engineering

4
CIVE 335Fluid Mechanics

4
CIVE 338Geotechnical Engineering

4
CIVE 470Foundation Engineering

4
CIVE 465Water Resources Management

3
CIVE 472Pavements Design and Maintenance

3
CIVE 380Transportation Engineering

3
CIVE 463Water and Wastewater Treatment Technologies

3

Electrical and Computer Engineering

COSC 301Automata, Computability, and Complexity

3
COSC 310Data Structures

3
COSC 312Design and Analysis of Algorithms

3
COSC 330Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

3
COSC 430Data Analytics

3
ECCE 454Artificial Intelligence

3
ECCE 360Communication Systems

4
ECCE 362Digital Communications I

3
ECCE 460Wireless Communications

3
ECCE 350Computer Architecture and Organization

3
ECCE 450Embedded Systems

3
ECCE 444Computer Security

3
ECCE 446Network Security

3
COSC 410Parallel and Distributed Computing

3
ECCE 354Operating Systems

3
ECCE 356Computer Networks

4
ECCE 448Cloud Infrastructure and Services

3
ECCE 323Feedback Control Systems

4
ECCE 428Modern Control Systems

3
ECCE 429Digital Control Systems

3
ECCE 408Digital Systems Design

3
ECCE 410VLSI Systems Design

3
ECCE 320Applied Electromagnetics

3
ECCE 470Antennas and Propagation

3
ECCE 312Electronic Circuits & Devices

4
ECCE 411Analog Integrated Circuits Design

3
ECCE 326Introduction to Semiconductor Devices

4
ECCE 495Selected Topics in ECE

3
ECCE 423Power Electronics

3
ECCE 322Electrical Machines

4
ECCE 421Power System Analysis

3
ECCE 425Power System Stability and Control

3
ECCE 302Signals and Systems

3
ECCE 402Digital Signal Processing

3
ECCE 330System Analysis & Software Design

3
ECCE 438Software Architecture

3
COSC 452

Engineering Systems and Management

ISYE 311Quality & Reliability Engineering

4
ISYE 431Time Series Forecasting

3
MATH 242Introduction to Probability and Statistics

3
ISYE 200Engineering Economic Analysis

3
ISYE 362Systems Project Management

3
BUSS 201Fundamentals of Accounting and Finance

3
ISYE 251Operations Research 1

4
ISYE 430Supply Chain and Logistics

4
ISYE 451Operations Research 2

3
ISYE 341Simulation Modeling and Analysis

4
ISYE 351Production and Operations Management

3
ISYE 475Facilities Planning and Warehousing

4

Material Science and Engineering

MEEN 225Engineering Materials

4
MEEN 423Physical Metallurgy

3
MEEN 325Mechanics of Solids

4
MEEN 343Heat Transfer

4
MEEN 240Thermodynamics

3
CHEG 324Mass Transfer

3

Mechanical Engineering

MEEN 356Computer-Controlled Systems

4
MEEN 484Mechatronics

3
MEEN 201Engineering Dynamics

3
MEEN 350Dynamic Systems and Vibration

3
MATH 204Linear Algebra

3
MEEN 335Fluid Mechanics

4
MEEN 343Heat Transfer

4
MEEN 325Mechanics of Solids

4
MEEN 420Materials: Strength & Fracture

3
MEEN 240Thermodynamics

3
MEEN 441Applied Thermodynamics

3

Nuclear Engineering

NUCE 303Mechanics & Thermal-hydraulics Principles for Nuclear Engineering

3
NUCE 401Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Physics

3
NUCE 402Introduction to Nuclear Systems and Operation

3
NUCE 303Mechanics & Thermal-hydraulics Principles for Nuclear Engineering

3
NUCE 401Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Physics

3
NUCE 301Radiation Science & Health Physics

3
NUCE 401Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Physics

3

Petroleum Engineering

PEEG 331Reservoir Engineering I

3
PEEG 334Reservoir Engineering II

4
PEEG 322Drilling Engineering I

3
PEEG 326Drilling Engineering II

3
PEEG 442Surface Production Facilities

3
PEEG 443Production System Design and Analysis

3

Robotics

MEEN 356Computer-Controlled Systems

4
MEEN 484Mechatronics

3
ECCE 302Signals and Systems

3
ECCE 402Digital Signal Processing

3
ECCE 350Computer Architecture and Organization

3
ECCE 356Computer Networks

4
ECCE 450Embedded Systems

3