Ph.D. Program - Materials Science & Engineering

To earn a doctoral degree in the Materials Science & Engineering program, students must meet the following requirements. In addition, the general rules and regulations for the doctoral degree, as established by the Graduate School in the latest Graduate Catalog, shall also apply.

Typical duration of a Doctoral degree is 5 years beyond the Baccalaureate degree or 3 years beyond the master's degree. Most graduate students enrolled in the Doctoral program are supported by some form of an assistantship (graduate, research, or teaching). Research assistantship are funded by grants from the federal government, the State government, or private industry. Graduate and teaching assistantships are funded by the University. All forms of assistantships carry with them a stipend, a tuition waiver, and attractive benefits package, including medical and dental insurance.

The six main requirements of the Ph.D. in the Materials Science & Engineering program are as follows:

The student must successfully complete 6 Core Courses, maintaining a GPA of 3.0 (out of 4.0) or above.
The student must serve as a teaching assistant for 2 semesters.
The student shall file a Plan of Study with the Graduate School. This Plan must be approved by the students Advisory Committee and the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty Council.
The student must pass the General Examination.
The student shall prepare a Dissertation Proposal. This Proposal must be approved by the students Advisory Committee and the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty Council.
The student shall prepare and orally defend a research thesis. Each student shall select his/her own Advisory Committee. This committee shall consist of 1 Principal Advisor, 2 Associate Advisors and 1 External Advisor. The Principal Advisor and the Associate Advisors must be faculty members of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering. One of the Associate Advisors may be a faculty member of another department. The External Advisor must be a faculty member of another department or he/she must be external to the University of Connecticut, working in academia, government or industry.

I. The Plan of Study
The student shall put together a Plan of Study under the guidance of the Principal Advisor. This Plan shall include 20-24 credits of advanced coursework, including the 6 Core Courses plus an appropriate number of elective courses tailored to the students specific interests. Some of the elective courses may be taken outside the Department. The student must maintain a GPA of 3.0 (out of 4.0) or above. The Plan of Study shall also include at least 15 credits of Dissertation Research (GRAD 495). The Core Course requirement may be modified if the student has passed equivalent courses in a different department at the University of Connecticut, or at a different university in a similar graduate program. Such decisions shall be dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the students Advisory Committee.

The Plan of Study shall also indicate how the student shall fulfill the foreign language requirement. The student shall demonstrate a competent reading comprehension of an appropriate foreign language by either of the methods described in the Graduate Catalog. In lieu of a foreign language, the student may take 6 credits of advanced course work in a related or supporting field, as determined by the students Advisory Committee.

II. The General Examination
The student shall take the General Examination only after he/she has successfully completed all 6 Core Courses, and his/her Plan of Study has been duly approved by the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty Council. The General Examination is offered twice a year, in the fall and spring semesters. The General Examination is a 6-hour written examination designed to test the students broad understanding of the topics covered by the 6 Core Courses. The syllabi for the 6 Core Courses constitute the scope of the General Examination. The Examination devotes 1 hour to each topic, with 3 questions per topic. The student shall have the choice of answering any 2 out of 3 questions in each topic. The student must pass all 6 topics, preferably in his/her first attempt. If the student fails in 1 or more topics, he/she shall be allowed only 1 additional attempt to pass each of those topics within 6 months. The final decision as to whether or not the student has passed the General Examination shall rest solely with the students Advisory Committee.

III. The Dissertation Proposal
After passing the General Exam, and at least one year prior to the Thesis Defense, the student shall submit a written Dissertation Proposal to his/her Advisory Committee. The student shall also orally present and discuss the Proposal in front of the Advisory Committee (the External Advisor need not be present). This presentation is not an examination and is not subject to a pass/fail recommendation. If the Proposal is not acceptable to the Committee, the Committee shall suggest amendments, whereupon the student shall make the amendments and re-submit the Proposal. The Proposal must be approved unanimously approval by the entire Advisory Committee. The student shall submit the Proposal to the Graduate School for approval by the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty Council. The student shall also deliver a copy of the approved Proposal to the Graduate Records Office.

IV. The Research Thesis and Defense
The majority of the student's research project shall be performed on campus under the supervision of the Principal Advisor. The residency requirement shall be fulfilled by conducting full-time research and study for 2 consecutive semesters at the Storrs campus. Portions of the research may be performed at outside facilities as deemed necessary.

The student shall submit the written thesis to the Examination Committee for review, at least one month before the Defense date. This Committee shall consist of the Advisory Committee (4 persons) plus one additional member (within the Department or from the outside) chosen by the Advisory Committee. The student shall present an oral Thesis Defense, which will be open to the public. Following the public presentation and discussion, the student shall be examined orally by the Examination Committee and the other faculty members present. Approval of the thesis by the entire Examination Committee shall be unanimous. The thesis research must be publishable in a refereed journal in the field, although publication is not required for graduation.

Requests for additional information should be directed to the Chemical, Materials & Biomolecular Engineering Department. Additionally, this address should be used for letters of recommendation, personal letters supporting the application, financial aid forms, and all routine communications regarding graduate admissions:

Dr. Mark Aindow
Graduate Coordinator, Materials Science & Engineering Program
Department of Chemical, Materials & Biomolecular Engineering
University of Connecticut
191 Auditorium Rd., Unit 3222
Storrs, CT 06269-3222
E-mail: m.aindow@uconn.edu