All students must meet the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Overview
The Materials Science Ph.D. leads to a degree in approximately 5 years. Students must engage in research and defend a dissertation. Successful completion of a comprehensive exam within the first 2 years of the program is required.
Specific Requirements
Requirements for Admission to Graduate Studies for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
A Bachelor's Degree in physics, chemistry, metallurgy, engineering, materials science, or mathematics. Applicants with other backgrounds will be evaluated individually.
Minimum Degree Requirements
In addition to the above, the following are required:
- A minimum of 75 graduate credits including a minimum of 20 in dissertation research and 30 in coursework, at least 15 of which must be graded and 9 of which must be at the 6000- or 7000-level. An overall grade point average in graduate courses of 3.00 or better.
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Completion of at least one 3-credit course in 5 of the following 6 categories (other appropriate core area courses may be approved by the Program Director). Note that 2 of the selected courses need to be from the following categories: Quantum Properties of Materials, Computational Materials Science, Synthesis and Characterization of Materials, and 3 of the selected courses need to be from the following categories: Electrical and Optical Properties of Materials, Thermodynamics and Kinetics, and Mechanical Properties of Materials.
| Requirement Description | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical and Optical Properties of Materials - Core Courses: | ||
| EE 5440 | Gr Semiconductor Materials/Dev | 0 or 4 |
| Thermodynamics and Kinetics - Core Courses: | ||
| CHEM 5600 | Gr Advanced Physical Chemistry | 3 |
| ME 5440 | Biothermodynamics | 3 |
| Mechanical Properties of Materials - Core Courses: | ||
| ME 5120 | Adv Engineering Materials | 3 |
| Quantum Properties of Materials - Core Courses: | ||
| CHEM 5600 | Gr Advanced Physical Chemistry (cannot be double-counted to simultaneously satisfy 2 categories) | 3 |
| PHYS 5500 | Quantum Mechanics II | 3 |
| Computational Materials Science - Core Courses: | ||
| CHEM 6620 | Computational Chemistry | 3 |
| ME 6550 | Multiscale Modeling | 3 |
| Synthesis and Characterization of Materials - Core Courses: | ||
| CHEM 5400 | Gr Advanced Inorganic Chem | 3 |
- Satisfactory completion of a Ph.D. dissertation including its defense at an oral examination
Comprehensive Examination
Full-time Materials Science Ph.D. candidates are required to pass a written Comprehensive (Qualifying) Exam with a score of 50% or better, no later than 4 semesters after joining the program. Failure to pass the test will result in dismissal from the program. The deadline for part-time students is the semester they complete 24 credits. All students (full and part-time) are allowed a maximum of 2 attempts to pass the exam. Offered annually, the 3-hour exam requires students to solve a minimum of 4 problems that cover the following topics: electrical and optical properties of materials, thermodynamics and kinetics, mechanical properties of materials, quantum properties of materials, computational materials science, synthesis and characterization of materials or equivalent core course requirements.
Requirements for Advancement to Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Successful completion of a comprehensive examination in Materials Science.