Program Structure and Requirements (with only BSc Degree)
Overall Program Structure
The PhD ENGR consists of a minimum 72 credit hours, distributed as follows: 12 credit hours of Program Core courses, 24 credit hours of Program Technical Elective courses, 36 credit hours of Dissertation research and two zero credit PhD Research Seminar courses. The technical background of the student will be assessed by a Written Qualifying Examination (WQE), followed by a Research Proposal Examination (RPE) which the student must successfully complete in order to progress further in the program. The components of the PhD program are summarized in the table below.
| Category |
Credit Hours |
| Core Courses |
12 |
| Technical Electives |
24 |
| ENGR 703 PhD Research Seminar I |
0 |
| ENGR 704 PhD Research Seminar II |
0 |
| ENGR 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam |
0 |
| ENGR 796 PhD Research Proposal Exam |
0 |
| PhD Research Dissertation |
36 |
| Total |
72 |
All the courses that the students will take are at PhD level. The students will only be able to attempt ENGR 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam (WQE) after successfully completing a minimum of 27 credits of formal coursework.
Program Requirements
Students seeking the degree of PhD in Engineering must successfully complete a minimum 72 credit hours as specified in the program requirements detailed below, with a minimum CGPA of 3.0. Course selection should be made in consultation with the student’s Main Advisor and must be aligned to the chosen area(s) of research. All courses have a credit rating of three credits each, except the PhD Research Seminar, Written Qualifying Exam, Research Proposal Exam, and the PhD Dissertation.
Program Core (12 credit hours)
Students must complete the core courses listed below.
Biomedical Engineering - Core Courses
Concentration Core Courses
| ENGR 701 | Research Methods in Engineering | 3 |
| BMED 781 | Adv Multivariate Data Analysis | 3 |
| BMED 782 | Advanced Physiological Systems | 3 |
| BMED 720 | Biophysical Engineering of Cellular Systems | 3 |
| BMED 725 | Computational Systems Biology of Cancer | 3 |
Program Electives and Concentrations (24 credit hours)
Students must complete a minimum of seven technical elective courses from the list below. At least two of these electives (6 credit hours) must be PhD level courses with a substantial mathematical component, as outlined in the ‘Mathematics Requirements’ section above.
Students wishing to complete a PhD in Engineering with a concentration in a given area, must select at least four (12 credit hours) of the seven technical elective courses from one of the groups listed below. All selected concentration courses must be at PhD level. The concentration will be noted on the student’s diploma and official transcript provided that the student fulfills the following requirements:
- Complete a minimum of four PhD level courses (12 credit hours) from the same concentration; and
- Complete a PhD research dissertation within the domain of the concentration.
The PhD elective courses are listed below under the various engineering concentration fields supported by the program. Students must take into account the above points when choosing their electives.
Biomedical Engineering
Concentration Field Courses
| BMED 711 | Biomolecular and Cellular Engineering | 3 |
| BMED 712 | Rehabilitation and Augmentation of Human Movement | 3 |
| BMED 713 | Advanced Physiological Systems | 3 |
| BMED 716 | Medical Device Innovation | 3 |
| BMED 725 | Computational Systems Biology of Cancer | 3 |
| BMED 794 | Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering | 3 |
Nuclear Engineering
Concentration Field Courses
| NUCE 701 | Advanced Computational Methods of Particle Transport | 3 |
| NUCE 702 | Nuclear Systems and Materials/Accident analysis | 3 |
| NUCE 703 | Aging Management of Nuclear Materials | 3 |
| NUCE 704 | The Reactor Core Design Analysis for light water reactors | 3 |
| NUCE 705 | Nuclear Criticality Safety Assessment | 3 |
| NUCE 794 | Selected Topics in Nuclear Engineering | 3 |
| NUCE 744 | Interfacial Transport and Phase Change Heat Transfer | 3 |
| NUCE 785 | Materials Selection in Mechanical Design | 3 |
| NUCE 786 | Materials Characterization Techniques | 3 |
PhD Research Dissertation (minimum 36 credit hours)
Students must complete a PhD Research Dissertation that involves novel, creative, research-oriented work under the direct supervision of at least one full-time faculty advisor from the College, and at least one other full-time faculty who acts as a co-advisor. The Main Advisor of a student who opts for a PhD with a concentration must be a faculty member in the Department offering that particular concentration. The outcome of research should demonstrate the synthesis of information into knowledge in a form that may be used by others. The research findings must be documented in a formal Dissertation and defended successfully in a viva voce examination. Furthermore, the research must lead to publishable quality scholarly journal articles.
Dissertation