Aerospace Engineering - Doctor of Philosophy

The student's academic program is not judged satisfactory unless it prepares the student to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of Aerospace Engineering. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is indicative of distinguished achievement in the areas of scholarship and original research. Therefore, a dissertation of high quality is required of all doctoral students in Aerospace Engineering. Students must follow the degree requirements listed below to complete the Ph.D. course of study.

  • A minimum of 36 credit hours of coursework (500 level or above) beyond the Bachelor of Science degree, at least 18 of which must support the student's research area.
  • A minimum of 24 credit hours of research, A E 700 Doctoral Dissertation, which may include a maximum of 6 credit hours of A E 600 Doctoral Research. A E 600 Doctoral Research is intended for those students who have not completed the qualification examination, a prerequisite for A E 700 Doctoral Dissertation.
  • A student is required to have one refereed journal paper accepted and a second one accepted or in review by graduation. The Ph.D. dissertation can be a compilation and reformatted version of these published or accepted journal papers. Exceptions may be made on case by case basis by the Department Head.

Ph.D. Program Transfer Credits

A student who has completed a Master of Science degree in M E, A E, or a closely related field may transfer up to 24 credits of graduate coursework, approved by the student's advisor, into a Ph.D. program of study.

Selection of Permanent Ph.D. Advisor

Newly admitted graduate students will be assigned a temporary advisor for the first semester. The student must select a permanent advisor before registering for the second semester. In selecting a permanent advisor, the student should arrange to meet with several members of the graduate faculty during the first six weeks of enrollment to discuss specific objectives. The student should use these meetings to become familiar with faculty research interests and research projects currently in progress. The faculty member must consent (in writing) to serve as the student's advisor.

Policies governing the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, the Ph.D. written and oral comprehensive examination, the student’s Ph.D. committee, and the Ph.D. dissertation are contained in the department’s Graduate Program website.

Additional Requirements

Ph.D. candidates in the College of Engineering, who have successfully completed their Ph.D. Qualifier Examination after January 1, 2018, must satisfy a publication requirement which requires two papers:

Paper #1: An archival paper accepted or published in any journal listed in the source publication list for the Web of Science, or a refereed Journal or Conference Proceeding approved by the student’s doctoral committee and the cognizant Department Head(s), before the Doctorate of Philosophy final examination. The candidate should be listed as the lead author in Paper #1.

Paper #2: An additional archival paper submitted, accepted, or published in any journal listed in the source publication list for the Web of Science. Alternatively, one conference paper accepted or published in a national or international conference proceedings.