Ph.D. Degree Requirements

Students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. in materials science must complete a minimum of 48 credits. Courses are categorized as "Core Courses", "Advanced Graduate Courses", and "Graduate Courses in Minor Area". The Core Courses are mandatory--all students must complete them. Advanced Graduate Courses are at the 600 level and above.

All of the following core courses must be taken by all full and part time Ph.D. students:

• ENMA 650: Nanostructure of Materials
• ENMA 660: Thermodynamics in Materials Science
• ENMA 661: Kinetics of Reactions in Materials Science
• ENMA 671: Defects in Materials* or ENMA 620: Polymer Physics*

* Students wishing to study polymers or biomaterials are strongly urged to take ENMA 620. This choice must be approved by your research advisor.

To remain in the Ph.D. program, and ultimately be admitted to the Ph.D. Proposal Defense, the student must maintain a 3.5 GPA in four of the core courses.

Each core course can only be repeated once, unless there is a special circumstance. In this rare instance the student is required to petition the Graduate Studies Committee for being allowed to take a core course a third time.

In addition, attendance to the Department's Colloquium is required three semesters for all students except by special consent of the Department.

The approved minor courses are in the Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Reliability Engineering and Nuclear Engineering. Up to six credits of 400 level courses may be applied to meet the minor requirement. Materials courses taken at the 400 level may not be used to satisfy the Materials course requirements.

• Graduate students must maintain a 3.0 GPA average. To qualify as a Ph.D. candidate, a student must also maintain a 3.5 GPA in the core courses. Completion of the equivalent of three full years of study beyond the B.S. degree is also required. This may be fulfilled by a program that includes at least 36 credit hours of course work. Materials courses at the 400 level may not be counted as part of the 36 credits.
  
• The dissertation is the major portion of the Ph.D. program. It must be based on an original research project approved by the student's advisor and the committee approved by the Graduate School. The Ph.D. candidate must defend his/her dissertation prior to the final approval in an oral examination. This process includes a public presentation as a departmental seminar and a private oral examination.
   
• Overview of the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam
• Overview of the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal