Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Program
The Ph.D. degree will provide an opportunity for students to pursue a program of research in a specialized area and to develop a dissertation that "embodies the results of original research and gives evidence of high scholarship". The procedures for satisfying the requirements for the Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering at UCR will consist of four (4) principal parts, each of which is discussed in greater detail in subsequent sections:
- Successful completion of an approved program of
"course work";
- Approval of a written and oral "preliminary examination";
- Approval of a written and oral "Ph.D. dissertation proposal";
- Successful Ph.D. dissertation Defense.
The first two requirements will be administered by the Graduate Examination Committee. The third requirement will be overseen by the Ph.D. Qualifying Committee and the fourth requirement is supervised by his/her Ph.D. Dissertation Committee. In addition to these requirements, students must meet the minimum residency requirement of six quarters in the University of California, three of which must be spent in continuous residence at UCR. A student must maintain continuous registration until all degree requirements have been fulfilled. If such registration is not possible, the student must secure an approved leave of absence from the department and the Graduate Division. All international students whose first language is not English will have to demonstrate proficiency in spoken English by securing a “clear pass” score on the
SPEAK test, prior to graduation. Students are however encouraged to complete this requirement within their first year of residence at UCR.
Course Work
The course work should be formulated by the student and his/her faculty advisor within the one quarter year after admission to the Ph.D. program and must be approved by the student's Ph.D. advisor and Ph.D. Examination Committee. It is understood that changes to this may occur as the student's research progresses. These changes should be documented after consultation with the Ph.D. advisor and Ph.D. Examination Committee. There is no strict course or unit requirement for the Ph.D. degree. The Mechanical Engineering Faculty recommends, however, a minimum of 36 units of graduate level and upper division courses, exclusive of seminar and research (ME 250, 297, and 299). Ph.D. students are required to take seminar (ME 250) for at least three (3) quarters.
Although Ph.D. students are not required to take the M.S. core courses, they are encouraged strongly to do so. If a Ph.D. student does not take the M.S. core courses, it is expected that he or she has already acquired the knowledge covered in those courses elsewhere such as part of a M.S. program at another institution. Familiarity and proficiency of the subjects covered in the M.S. core courses will be tested as part of the Ph.D. qualifying exam. Once accepted into the graduate program, students may pursue a Ph.D. degree, without completing an M.S. degree first.
It is expected that a Ph.D. student will pursue a program of study that includes 1) a major area of study intended to increase the student's depth of knowledge in a major area, i.e., an area of specialty in mechanical engineering; and 2) a minor area of study intended to support and increase the student's breadth of knowledge in the major area. It is expected that the minor area will be in a basic science area related to the student's area of specialty. A coherent program of at least 24 units of graduate course work in the major area should satisfy the major requirement. A coherent program of at least 12 units of graduate and/or upper-division course work in the minor area should satisfy the minor requirement.
Preliminary Examination
The purpose of the
Ph.D. preliminary examination
is to screen candidates for continuation in the Ph.D. program. Based on the
results of the examination, a decision is made by majority vote of the Graduate
Examination committee. The committee will make a recommendation that the
student, either passes, conditionally passes, or fails the examination. 1) If
the student passes, he/she will be permitted to develop a Ph.D. dissertation
proposal., 2) If the student is declared to have passed conditionally, he/she
will be permitted to develop a Ph.D. dissertation proposal after successfully
completing additional course work. This decision will be made if in the
committee's judgment the student has demonstrated proficiency in the subject
matters, but some areas of weakness have been identified. Once the additional
course work is completed, the student is declared to have passed the
examination., 3) If the student fails the examination, he/she is given a second
and final opportunity to retake either all, or a portion of the examination at
its next offering. 4) If the student fails the examination a second time, he/she
be granted a second and final attempt to pass one or more parts of the
examination, 4) will 5) be removed from the Ph.D. program. If the student has
(completed all requirements for the M.S. degree), he/she will be awarded the
M.S. degree at that time. If the M.S. degree requirements have not been met, the
student will be permitted to continue in the program, complete these
requirements, receive the M.S. degree, and then be removed from the graduate
program.
Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal
After successful completion of the Ph.D. preliminary examination, the student, with advice from his/her advisor, recommends a Ph.D. Qualifying Committee and prepares a dissertation proposal.
The dissertation proposal consists of a written document and an oral presentation. Typically, a Ph.D. student will submit a dissertation proposal to his/her Ph.D. Qualifying Committee within one (1) year after successfully completing the preliminary examination. The Ph.D. Qualifying committee chairperson will normally schedule an oral defense within one (1) month of the written proposal submission. The presentation is given only to the Ph.D. dissertation committee members.
The written dissertation proposal should be typewritten, 15 pages maximum (references not included), double-spaced, in standard typeface (12 pt) with 1” margins all around. Suggested organization for the Ph.D. dissertation proposal is as follows:
Introduction: This section should include the purpose, the objectives (or accomplishments), and the scope of the proposed research.
Background: This section should include a summary of the literature concerning research work related to the proposed dissertation and how the proposed research builds on or relates to previous work.
Approach and Methodologies: A narrative of how the research is to be conducted, including an overview of the general research approach and techniques. Also, any experimental designs, statistical methods, and conceptual or mathematical models to be developed or employed should be discussed.
Preliminary Results and Discussion: Presentation of preliminary research results and their relevance to the proposed dissertation.
Significance of the proposed research: The purpose of this section is to explain why the proposed research is relevant and needed.
Literature cited: All publications referenced within the proposal should be cited in the reference section.
The oral presentation of the proposal focuses on the dissertation. The student should demonstrate considerable depth of knowledge in the student's area of specialty and a clear understanding of the research methods that are needed for successful completion of the dissertation research. The oral presentation will begin with a presentation by the student on his/her dissertation topic and will be followed by questions and suggestions from the Ph.D. Qualifying Committee.
Based on the written proposal and oral presentation, a decision will be made by the Ph.D. Qualifying Committee that the student either 1) be advanced to Ph.D. candidacy (approval of the application to candidacy), 2) be asked to modify and enhance his/her proposal. Once the modified proposal is considered satisfactory, the student will be advanced to candidacy, or 3) be requested to withdraw from the Program. This will normally be done after the student is given a second opportunity to retake the examination.
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense
Following advancement to Ph.D. candidacy, the student formally begins his/her dissertation research. The progress of the dissertation is monitored by the student's Ph.D. Dissertation Committee. It is recommended that the Ph.D. candidate interact frequently with members of his/her dissertation committee to insure that dissertation progress is acceptable.
After completion of the dissertation research, a written draft copy of the completed dissertation must be submitted to the Ph.D. Dissertation Committee for review, evaluation, and determination of whether the draft thesis is ready for oral defense. Once a draft has been approved for defense, an oral defense of the dissertation will be scheduled, which shall be open to the entire academic community. This defense consists of a presentation followed by a question/answer period conducted by the Ph.D. Dissertation Committee and the audience.
Based on the written dissertation and the oral defense, the Ph.D. Dissertation Committee decides to 1) accept the dissertation and recommend to the Graduate Division that the Ph.D. degree be awarded, 2) ask that the dissertation be modified and re-defended, or 3) decline acceptance of the dissertation (normally, only after a second opportunity is given).
After successfully defending the dissertation, the Ph.D. candidate must submit final copies of the dissertation that comply with the format requirements set forth by the Graduate Division. Copies are to be given to the department and the dissertation advisor, in addition to those required by the
Graduate Division.
Normative Time
The normative time for a student to complete the Ph.D. degree is 5 years.
