ENME Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Requirements
As early as possible, students should identify the faculty member whom they would like to serve as their coursework and research advisor. For research assistants, the faculty providing the financial support is also the advisor. A student’s advisor will also serve as chairperson of the student’s Dissertation Committee (see below).
All students entering the doctoral program are required to take the qualifying exam. The objectives of the exam are the following: (1) to determine the student’s aptitude and ability to do original and independent research at the doctoral level; and (2) to assess the student’s mastery of fundamental knowledge in his or her technical area, and identify deficiencies. This exam is administered in an oral format.
Mechanical Engineering Doctoral students who matriculate into the program with an M.S. degree must take the qualifying examination no later than their second semester of study at the University of Maryland. Those who matriculate with a B.S. degree must take it no later than their fourth semester of study at the University of Maryland, or during the semester which follows the semester in which they have accumulated 24 credits or more, whichever occurs first.
Reliability Engineering Doctoral students are eligible to take the qualifying exam after the completion of the equivalent of 24 credits of graduate course work including the completion of the reliability core course requirement with a GPA of 3.5 or better. The following core courses must be completed within a doctoral student’s first four semesters.
- ENRE 600 Fundamentals of Failure Mechanisms
- ENRE 602 Reliability Analysis
- ENRE 607 Reliability Engineering Seminar
- ENRE 620 Mathematical Techniques of Reliability Engineering
- ENRE 624 Failure Mechanisms and Effects Laboratory
(COURSE CURRENTLY ON HOLD STUDENTS MUST SUBSTITUTE ELECTIVE IN PLACE OF ENRE624) and - ENRE 653 Advanced Reliability Engineering or
ENRE 655 Advanced Methods in Reliability Modeling
Mechanical Engineering students who do not pass the qualifying examination during their first attempt may, upon the recommendation of their examining committee and review of the Director of Graduate Studies, be allowed to repeat the examination during the same semester. Reliability Engineering students who do not pass the qualifying examination during their first attempt may repeat the examination during the following semester. Under no circumstances will a student be permitted to repeat the qualifying examination more than once. Students who have exhausted their opportunities to pass the doctoral qualifying examination will not be allowed to continue in the doctoral program. Such students will be permitted to remain in the program for one additional semester, after which their graduate admission will be terminated. Under no circumstances will such students be considered for readmission into the doctoral program.
For Mechanical Engineering graduate students the examining committee for the qualifying exam will be formed by three full-time faculty members from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Reliability Engineering graduate students will have an examining committee formed by three full-time faculty members, two of which must be from the Reliability Engineering division. All committee’s will be comprised of: the student’s advisor, a chair, and a third member. The chair of this committee will be selected by the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department. The third member will be chosen by the Technical Division Leader in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. For the second exam given to students who fail on their first attempt, a different committee of three full-time faculty members will be selected. The names of the members of the examining committees will be posted on the Graduate Office bulletin board located close to 2168, Martin Hall. Students taking the exam will also be notified by email. Each student must contact the chair of his or her examining committee no later than two weeks before the Monday of the week that the oral examinations are to be held to make the necessary arrangements.
The format of the qualifying exam for Mechanical Engineering is the following:
- The qualifying exam will be an oral exam conducted in English. The student taking the exam is considered to pass the exam if all three members of the examining committee are unanimously in his or her favor.
- Ten calendar days before the date the qualifying examination is to be held, each student will be assigned a research topic and a relevant bibliographical reference in some aspect of his or her technical area. The topic will be selected by the chair of the examining committee in consultation with the other committee members. The topic will be different for each student; it will neither be one in which the student has conducted his or her Master’s thesis work nor one in which the student will be pursuing his or her doctoral research work.
- The student should study the pertinent literature on the assigned topic, in order to be able to formulate questions suitable for investigation within the topic and to outline his or her approach to carrying out such an investigation. The results of this study are to be summarized on one page formatted as follows: single-spaced, 12-point type, and one–inch margins all around. The summary must consist of the following three paragraphs: a paragraph reviewing the assigned literature, another paragraph identifying an issue related to the topic that the student wants to focus on, and a third paragraph describing a research approach (experimental, numerical, or analytical approach) to resolve or clarify the selected issue. The summary is to be submitted to each member of the examining committee by noon three days before the scheduled exam date.
- The student will prepare a brief presentation (preferably on transparencies) describing his proposed research. The presentation should last no more than 15 minutes, and will be the starting point for the oral exam discussion. The presentation will lead to questions (sometimes unrelated to the assigned topic, but of a broader nature) that test the student’s aptitude and ability to do original and independent re-search at the doctoral level, as well as her basic knowledge of engineering science.
The format and guidelines for the Qualifying Exam for Reliability Engineering is as follows:
- The purpose of the test is to evaluate your ability to do independent research.
You will be given a topic not necessarily familiar to you, but in the general field
of reliability engineering. Your performance will be evaluated based on the following
criteria:
a. Familiarity and depth of understanding of the relevant literature
b. Originality of your ideas addressing the research issue
c. Clarity and quality of communicating your ideas to the committee - Contact the Chair of your PhD Qualifying Committee one week prior to the date of your exam to obtain the question
- Make sure that you fully understand the research question(s) being asked. It is recommended that you discuss any clarification questions you might have about the topic with your committee Chair
- You are expected to spend one week to perform this research and to prepare for presenting your approach to the committee
- The examination is approximately 1 hour in length
- Prepare a 30-minute presentation. That means a maximum of 20 viewgraphs in electronic form and/or hard copy. Both a computer and an overhead projector are available for your use.
- Your presentation will be followed by questions by the committee. The committee may also ask questions during your presentation
- Do not request review of your presentation by the committee members prior to the examination
- You will be informed of the results through the Graduate Office approximately 2 weeks after your exam
The examining committee will confer immediately after the exam, carry out deliberations about the exam, reach a decision, and convey this decision through the Examination Committee Chair to the Graduate Office. The student will be notified about the outcome of the exam in writing.
The Ph.D. Coursework Plan sets forth the entire program of study that will be undertaken to satisfy the course requirements for the doctoral degree. The program of study must be compiled in consultation with the student’s advisor, who must approve the coursework plan. The plan should then be submitted to the Graduate Office of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for approval by the Department Graduate Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies, in the first semester of study. The Graduate Committee generally approves coursework plans only once a semester during the first meeting of the semester.
Changes to the plan are permitted, but must be approved by the student’s advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Graduate Committee prior to their implementation. Most revisions will need to be re-approved by the Graduate Committee; since the Graduate Committee only reviews Ph.D. coursework plans once every semester, students should understand that most revisions are not immediately approved. A new plan reflecting the changes must be filed with the Graduate Office of the Department of Mechanical Engineering every time a change is made.
The Ph.D. coursework plan for Mechanical Engineering must contain a minimum of 42 credits of graduate coursework. A minimum of 18 credits of coursework must be taken at the University of Maryland. Students with a Master’s degree from another accredited institution may, upon approval of the student’s advisor and the Graduate Committee, transfer and include up to 24 credits of graduate coursework. Plans that include graduate work completed at other academic institutions must be accompanied by appropriate documentation to verify the level of work and to confirm that the work will not be duplicated by the courses that will be taken at the University of Maryland. All credits must be derived from courses taken at the 600-level or above; 400-level courses are allowed only if taken in accordance with the advisor’s recommendation and as graduate courses when no graduate equivalents exist. Coursework plans that include such courses must be accompanied by a statement from the advisor justifying the recommendation and by a statement from the instructor that the course was taken at the graduate level. No ENME or ENRE 400-level course can be part of the plan of study. Interdisciplinary programs will be given favorable consideration.
The coursework plan should contain as minimum of 6 credits of courses in mathematics. Courses that satisfy this requirement are:
- MATH, STAT or AMSC 600-level and higher
- Any one of the following:
i. ENME 605: Advanced Systems Control: Linear Systems
ii. ENME 610: Engineering Optimization
iii. ENME 625: Multidisciplinary Optimization
iv. ENME 673: Energy and Variational Methods in Applied Mechanics
v. ENRE 620: Mathematical Techniques of Reliability Engineering
vi. ENRE 655: Advanced Methods in Reliability Modeling
vii. ENRE 643: Bayesian Analysis
The Ph.D. coursework plan for Reliability Engineering must contain a minimum 43 semester hours of courses with at least 30 semester hours at the 600 level or above (this includes all required courses for the MS plus 12 additional 600 level credits, at least six of the courses in a student's coursework plan must be in ENRE). These 43 semester hours of courses may not include any doctoral research credit (ENRE899) Students entering into the program with an MS degree will be given credit for the courses taken in that program up to 24 credits with the approval of the student's advisor and the Department of Mechanical Engineering Graduate Committee. The coursework plan must contain the following Reliability Engineering core courses:
- ENRE 600 Fundamentals of Failure Mechanisms
- ENRE 602 Reliability Analysis
- ENRE 607 Reliability Engineering Seminar
- ENRE 620 Mathematical Techniques of Reliability Engineering
- ENRE 624 Failure Mechanisms and Effects Laboratory
(COURSE CURRENTLY ON HOLD STUDENTS MUST SUBSTITUTE ELECTIVE IN PLACE OF ENRE624) and - ENRE 653 Advanced Reliability Engineering or
ENRE 655 Advanced Methods in Reliability Modeling
Students may not register for more than a total of six credits of ENRE 648: Special Problems in Reliability Engineering, no more than three credits in a single semester. For each registration of ENRE648 an approved scholarly paper must be submitted to the Graduate Office. Research completed for ENRE648 may not overlap with a student’s thesis or dissertation topic. Furthermore, under no circumstances will students be permitted after the completion of the semester in which the credits were taken to convert ENRE648 credit to thesis (ENRE799) or dissertation (ENRE899) credits
Coursework plans should be submitted electronically using the MEGS database. For instructions on how to fill a Ph.D. coursework plan electronically, please see instructions_for_coursework_planphd.pdf.
For course descriptions, as well as class schedules for the current and next three
semesters, please see the graduate courses page.
Hard copies of course descriptions are also available in the Graduate Office of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering (located in Room 2168 of Martin Hall).
Functions of the Dissertation Committee include conducting the dissertation-proposal review, conducting the final review of the dissertation, advising and aiding students in completing the program of study, advising the student in the research activity as necessary and evaluating the student’s progress. The Dissertation Committee is formally nominated through the completion of the Nomination of Thesis or Dissertation Committee Form.
The Chair of the Dissertation Committee is the student’s advisor. Each Dissertation Examining Committee shall have appointed to it a representative of the Dean of the Graduate School. The Dean's Representative should have some background or interest related to the student's research. The Dean's Representative must be a Tenured Member of the Graduate Faculty at University of Maryland and must be from a graduate program other than the student's home program. In cases where a student is in an interdisciplinary graduate program, the Dean's Representative may not be a faculty member participating in the interdisciplinary program. The remaining members of the Dissertation Committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Maryland. Persons from outside the University of Maryland or non-tenure track faculty may serve on Dissertation Examining Committees, but must be Special Members of the Graduate Faculty. These special members must be in addition to the required five Tenured/Tenure Track Members of the University of Maryland Graduate Faculty. To nominate an individual to serve as a Special Member, the student’s advisor needs to submit to the Graduate Director the nominee's curriculum vitae, a nomination form, and a letter of support. Specific instructions regarding the process and forms for nomination an individual to the graduate faculty can be located at instructions_ngf.pdf.
Mechanical Engineering and Reliability Engineering students are expected to appoint
their Dissertation Committee before their dissertation proposal is presented. To nominate
the examining committee, the student must complete the Nomination of Thesis or
Dissertation Committee Form and return it to the Graduate Office for approval and
forwarding to the Registrar's Office. Changes to a dissertation committee due to
unavoidable circumstances can be made at any time, with the approval of the
student’s advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate School.
For further information on deadlines for submission of the Nomination of Thesis or
Dissertation Committee, visit www.gradschool.umd.edu/deadlines/.
The advisor and student are notified in writing by the Graduate School regarding approval
of the nominated doctoral dissertation committee and the Report of the Examining
Committee Form is generated. Until the time of the student’s dissertation defense,
the Report of the Examining Committee form is kept in the student’s file in the ME
Graduate Office.
Dissertation Proposal and Proposal Defense
The doctoral dissertation proposal is a formal presentation of the research the student
plans to undertake as the basis for the Ph.D. dissertation. The dissertation proposal
must be prepared in written form under the guidance of the student’s prospective
dissertation advisor, and presented for approval by the student’s prospective
dissertation committee. A dissertation proposal will be considered to have been approved
when signed by all committee members after the proposal defense and submitted to the
Graduate Office for inclusion in the student’s file. Suggested guidelines for
preparation of the proposal can be found here:
Guidelines for PhD Proposal.pdf.
In addition to the University requirements for composition of a dissertation committee, the Department of Mechanical Engineering requires that all dissertation committees for mechanical and reliability engineering doctoral students contain five regular (tenure or tenure-track) faculty members. Research faculty and outside scientists are permitted to sit on dissertation committees only in addition to the five regular faculty members.
Mechanical Engineering students who matriculate into the doctoral program with an M.S. degree must present their doctoral dissertation proposals no later than the end of the fourth semester following their entry into this program. In the event the proposal is not approved, the student will be given until the end of the fourth semester to gain the approval of a proposed dissertation topic.
Mechanical Engineering students who matriculate into the doctoral program with a B.S. degree, or whose admission status is changed from the M.S. program to the doctoral program, must present their doctoral dissertation proposals by no later than the end of the sixth semester following their entry into the doctoral program, or the M.S. program, whichever occurs first. In the event the proposal is not approved, the student will be given until the end of the seventh semester to gain the approval of a proposed dissertation topic.
Reliability Engineering students must present their doctoral dissertation proposals by no later than two semesters following their completion of the Qualifying Examination. In the event the proposal is not approved, the student will be given until the end of the seventh semester to gain the approval of a proposed dissertation topic.
Students who are unable to secure the approval of a proposed dissertation topic within the time limits set forth above will not be allowed to continue in the doctoral program. Such students will be permitted to remain in the program for one additional semester, after which their graduate admission will be terminated. Under no circumstances will such students be considered for readmission into the doctoral program.
Once a student has passed his or her doctoral qualifying examination, completed the coursework in the doctoral program of study, and has obtained approval for his or her doctoral dissertation proposal, the student is considered to have completed the preliminary training and demonstrated his or her potential to successfully complete the Ph.D. degree. This is formally confirmed by the Graduate School by recognizing the student as a Ph.D. Candidate. The student must submit the Application for Admission to Candidacy Form to the Graduate Office. This form must be approved by the Graduate Director and by the Graduate School. Students must be admitted to candidacy at least 6 months prior to the date on which the degree will be conferred.
It is the responsibility of the student to submit an Application for Admission to Candidacy Form when all the requirements for candidacy have been fulfilled. The application form is available online at www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/forms/. This form may also be obtained from the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Graduate Office, 2168 Martin Hall. Applications received prior to the 25th of the month will be processed such that the student's doctoral candidacy goes into effect on the first day of the following month.
Mechanical Engineering Doctoral students who do not hold an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, or Reliability Engineering Doctoral students who do not hold an M.S. degree in Reliability Engineering may be awarded a non-thesis M.S. degree at advancement to candidacy. Mechanical Engineering Students who wish to apply for this degree must have completed a minimum of 30 credits of graduate coursework. At least 24 credits must have been taken at the University of Maryland and at least 21 credits must have been derived from courses taken at the 600-level or above. Reliability Engineering Students who wish to apply for this degree must have completed a minimum of 31 credits of graduate coursework. At least 25 credits must be taken at the University of Maryland and at least 18 credits at the 600-level or above and completion of 16 credits of core courses. In such cases, the doctoral dissertation proposal fulfills the research paper requirement of the non-thesis option and the doctoral proposal defense serves as the department comprehensive examination. In addition, students must file the following forms:
- Request for Inclusion or Transfer of Credits (if transferring credits not used for a previous graduate degree from another institution). This form can be obtained online at www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/forms/. A hard copy of the form may be obtained at the ME Graduate Office. The form must be filed with the Graduate School, 2123 Lee Building.
- Certification of Master’s Degree Without Thesis Form. This form can be obtained online at www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/forms/. A hard copy of the form may be obtained at the ME Graduate Office. The form must be filed with the Registrar's Office.
- Approved Program Form. This form can be obtained online at www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/forms/. A hard copy of the form may be obtained at the ME Graduate Office. The form must be filed with the Registrar's Office.
- Application for Diploma (Graduation Candidate Application) is submitted online at www.testudo.umd.edu/apps/candapp.
The doctoral dissertation must be prepared in consultation with the current edition
of the University of Maryland Thesis Manual, which may be obtained online at
www.gradschool.umd.edu/etd/styleguide/. A
typed copy of the dissertation, after the student’s advisor has approved it, must
be provided to each member of the examining committee at least two weeks prior to the
date of the examination.
In addition, a notice must be posted by the student on the designated bulletin board near the Department of Mechanical Engineering Graduate Office inviting faculty and students to the formal dissertation presentation. A copy of this invitation should be sent by email to the Graduate Coordinator, who will post it on the ME graduate student list server.
Each doctoral candidate is required to defend his or her doctoral dissertation orally in English. The defense consists of a formal presentation of the dissertation followed by a closed session where the examining committee reviews the student’s work. The dissertation defense cannot be held until the Graduate School approves the composition of the nominated dissertation examining committee. About a week prior to the date the dissertation defense is scheduled to take place, the student is advised to verify that the Report of the Examining Committee is in his or her file in the Graduate Office of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The student’s advisor will then pick it up just prior to the dissertation defense and bring it with him or her to the examination.
When the student has passed the examination, the Report of the Examining Committee is signed by all members of the committee and submitted to the department’s Graduate Office for forwarding to Graduate School.
An unbound copy of the dissertation on regular paper is to be submitted to the department’s Graduate Office. Students are encouraged to provide their advisor with a bound copy of the dissertation (binding is available through the ME Graduate Office). An electronic copy of the dissertation must be submitted to the Graduate School at http://dissertations.umi.com/umd/ Students are encouraged to bring a copy of their dissertation to the Graduate School for approval prior to submitting their final electronic copy.
The following forms must be completed and submitted prior to graduation:
- Application for Diploma, also referred to as Graduation Candidate Application. This form must be submitted online at www.testudo.umd.edu/apps/candapp
- Report of Examining Committee. This form is generated by the Registrar's Office upon the Graduate School's approval of the Nomination of Thesis Committee form and kept on file in the ME Graduate Office. The signed Report of the Examining Committee form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office.
- An electronic copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School at http://dissertations.umi.com/umd/
- One copy of the approved thesis should be submitted to the ME Graduate Office, 2168 Martin Hall.
The deadlines for the above forms are posted in the Schedule of Classes and online at www.gradschool.umd.edu/deadlines/.
Failure to submit the above listed forms by the established deadlines will result in postponement of the student’s graduation to the following semester. In the semester prior to graduation students should verify with the Graduate Office that they have met all the requirements for graduation.
Summary of Requirements and Timeline
1st semester |
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2nd semester |
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3rd or 4th semester |
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Last semester |
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*Admission to candidacy must be obtained within five years from entrance into the Ph.D. program. All remaining degree requirements must be completed within four years following admission to candidacy.
General Information and Procedures for M.S. & Ph.D. Programs
Students seeking a graduate degree must maintain an average grade of B (3.0) in all courses that have been taken for graduate credit since enrollment in the degree program. Ph.D. students enrolled in the Reliability Engineering program must complete the core courses with a minimal GPA of 3.5 in order to qualify for the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam.
Time Limitation and Transfer of Credits
With the exception of the six semester-hours of graduate-level course credits applicable for possible transfer to the master’s degree program, all requirements for the master’s degree must be completed within a five-year period. When extraordinary conditions arise, this limitation can sometimes be extended to seven years by submitting a waiver request. This time limit applies to all coursework, including transfer credits from other institutions.
Admission to candidacy must be obtained within five calendar years after admission into the doctoral program. All remaining requirements for the degree must be completed within four years of the admission to candidacy.
Prior to registering for any courses, students should consult with their advisor. The ME Graduate Office can advise and assist students in locating an advisor. It is the student’s responsibility to develop an approved coursework plan at the beginning of the first semester of study in consultation with their advisor. Courses that are not on an approved coursework plan will not be counted toward the degree.
Minimum Registration Requirements
Graduate students are required to register every fall and spring semester during the duration of their graduated studies. In addition, students must be registered for at least one credit during the semester they graduate (including summer semesters).
Upon achieving doctoral candidacy, the Graduate School additionally requires that
doctoral candidates be registered for six credit hours of ENME or ENRE 899 until
graduation. The section numbers associated with each faculty can be found at
http://www.enme.umd.edu/graduate/courses/section799.html
All classes are recorded on CDs and are sent to the student for class use. These CDs are viewable on a computer using RealPlayer. The material on the CDs is copyrighted and may not be used for any other purpose than its original intent. In addition, distance students have web access to the streaming video of the course. Off-campus students usually contact their instructor by email and sometimes by telephone. In some courses, a Teaching Assistant is available to work with students when help is needed.
It is assumed that off-campus students will be approximately one week behind the on-campus students and all assignments given this one additional week before they are due. Likewise, exams for distance students will be held one week from the date of the on-campus exam. For students to participate in this distance education program, they must be able to arrange for a suitable proctor to oversee exams. It is usual for the Training Department of a company to provide proctoring of employees taking these exams. Distance exams unless otherwise specified by the instructor are to be completed in one session on the date of the exam. Students must make prior arrangements for the proctor to administer the exam on the exam date.
At the instructor’s request, the Graduate Office will oversee the distribution
of distance exams. Completed exams are to be faxed to the Graduate
Office to Amarildo DaMata or Fitzgerald Walker’s attention, 301-314-8015.
The original should be sent by mail to Mechanical and Reliability Engineering Graduate
Office, 2168 Martin Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.
The current University of Maryland tuition for Reliability Engineering Distance
courses is $681/credit hour.
Official status (either full-time or part-time) for academic purposes will be determined on the basis of a student's registration at the end of the Schedule Adjustment Period (the first ten days of classes). Students receiving a private scholarship must maintain full-time status throughout the semester in order to keep their scholarship, unless otherwise stipulated by the donor in writing. International students on F-1 and J-1 student visas must also maintain full-time status throughout each semester according to Federal regulations governing F-1 and J-1 students. Please contact an advisor in IES at 301-314-7744 if you have any questions concerning full-time status.
To be certified as a full-time student a graduate student must be officially registered for a combination of courses equivalent to 48 units per semester. Graduate assistants holding full-time teaching or research appointments are considered full-time students if they are registered for at least 24 units. Courses taken for Audit do not generate graduate units and cannot be used in calculating full-time or part-time status. The list below gives the number of units per credit hour for each course level.
Course Number |
Graduate Unit |
000-399 |
2 units per credit hour |
400-499 |
4 units per credit hour |
500-599 |
5 units per credit hour |
600-898 |
6 units per credit hour |
799 |
12 units per credit hour |
898 (Pre-candidacy doctoral research) |
18 units per credit hour |
899* (Doctoral dissertation research) |
18 units per credit hour |
UMEI 005 |
6 units per credit hour |
UMEI 006 |
2 units per credit hour |
UMEI 007 |
4 units per credit hour |
UMEI 008 |
2 units per credit hour |
*All doctoral candidates must be registered for six credit hours of 899, for which they must pay candidacy tuition.
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