MECHEG:PHD - Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering
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The requirements for admission to the doctoral program in Mechanical Engineering for applicants having a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from an accredited institution are the following:
(1) GPA of at least 3.0/4.0 overall or in the last 60 upper level credit hours.
(2) Three letters of recommendation.
(3) Applicants from non-English speaking countries, including internationally educated American students, must demonstrate proficiency in English. Please refer to the Admissions English Proficiency criteria at https://admissions.fiu.edu/international/graduate-school/english-language-proficiency/index.html
(4) Applicants having a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from an accredited institution must also satisfy the above requirements for admissions to the doctoral program; however a GPA of at least 3.3/4.0 in the Master’s program is also required.
Credentials of all other applicants will be examined by the Graduate Admission Committee on a case by case basis.
In addition to the departmental requirements, all students must satisfy the University’s Graduate Policies and Procedures.
Identification of Research Area
Within 4 months upon acceptance into the Ph.D. program, the student having a Master’s Degree has to identify an area of research of his or her interest by contacting and being accepted by a professor willing to guide the dissertation research. The student with a Bachelor’s degree should identify the area of research by the end of the second semester after acceptance into Ph.D. program. If no professor is obtained, the student will be dismissed from the Ph.D. program. Contact the department for a list of the graduate faculty members and their research interests.
Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering
Applicants having a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering are required to complete at least 75 credit hours, of which at least 45 hours must be coursework and 15 hours dissertation. The credit hours earned towards the Ph.D. program have the following requirements:
(1) At least 21 credits at the 5000 level or higher, not to include dissertation.
(2) At least 12 credits at the 6000 level or higher, not to include dissertation.
(3) Breadth criteria could be satisfied by taking 3 courses in a field/area outside the student’s own field.
(4) Two applied/computational mathematics courses as suggested for M.S. program.
(5) A minimum of 15 credits of dissertation.
(6) A maximum of 6 semester hours of graduate credit earned from another accredited institution that was not used for a previous degree may be transferred as long as the courses were completed within the six years preceding admission to the program and meet university requirements.
(7) course counts for a maximum of 6 credit hours of coursework.
(8) course counts for a maximum of 6 credit hours of coursework.
(9) course (zero credits) should be registered every semester until the advancement to candidacy (D-2).
Applicants Entering the PhD program with a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering
Applicants entering the Ph.D. program with a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering are required to complete at least 45 credit hours, of which at least 24 hours must be coursework and 15 hours dissertation. The credit hours earned towards the Ph.D. program have the following requirements:
(1) Breadth criteria could be satisfied by taking 3 courses in a field/area outside the student’s own field.
(2) A minimum of 12 credits of 6000 higher, not to include dissertation.
(3) A minimum of 15 credits of dissertation.
(4) Additional courses to be determined by candidate’s dissertation committee.
(5) course counts for a maximum of 6 credit hours of coursework.
(6) course counts for a maximum of 6 credit hours of coursework.
(7) course (zero credits) should be registered every semester until the advancement to candidacy (D-2).
Applicants having a Master’s Degree in any other Engineering discipline from an accredited institution may transfer a maximum of 24 semester hours as part of their requirements.
Possible elective courses from the Mechanical Engineering department include:
There are no majors associated with this program.
There are no tracks, specializations, concentrations, areas of emphasis, or other curricular offerings associated with this program.
Residency Requirements
The program will provide student access to a wide range of support facilities including research library, cultural events, and other occasions for intellectual growth associated with campus life, significant faculty/student interaction, opportunities for student exposure to and engagement with cognate disciplines and research scholars working in those disciplines, and significant peer interaction among graduate students. Students will be provided with the opportunity for a mentoring apprentice relationship with faculty and students as well as adequate time for in-depth evaluation of the student. To satisfy the residency requirement for the Ph.D. degree, the candidate must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours within a period of 12 months at the University.
PhD Course Breadth Requirements
Breadth criteria could be satisfied by taking 3 courses in a field/area outside student’s own field. Examinations and Proposal and Final Defense Student must demonstrate graduate knowledge acquisition in four incremental stages in order to be awarded a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering.
Stages of Progression Towards Degree
A student must demonstrate acquisition of graduate knowledge in five incremental stages in order to be awarded a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering:
Formation of the Dissertation Committee
Students entering the program with a master’s degree must select a dissertation advisor during their first semester of study. These students must also select a dissertation committee and submit the D-1 form during their first semester. Students entering the program with a bachelor’s degree must select a dissertation advisor and submit the D-1 form by the end of their second semester.
Comprehensive Exam (CE)
General written exam to test masters level knowledge.
A student who is admitted to the Ph.D. program with a bachelors degree must take the CE no later than the beginning of the 4th major semester after admission, and a student who enters the Ph.D. program with a masters degree must take and pass the CE no later than the beginning of the 2nd major semester after admission. Students may petition for exceptions from the departmental graduate committee by one major semester at a time. A student who fails the CE may retake the exam once only.
Admission to Candidacy
Candidacy status indicates that a doctoral student is ready to commence working on the dissertation. A student is admitted to candidacy upon successfully completing all required course work and passing the Comprehensive Examination. After completion of coursework credits and the Comprehensive Exam, form D-2 must be turned in.
Proposal Defense (PD)
The dissertation proposal will be presented by the student in the form of a Graduate Seminar in which he/she must submit a proposal for his/her dissertation.
Students must declare their proposal subject within 6 months after taking and passing the Comprehensive Exam. After completion of proposal defense, form D-3 must be turned in.
Final Defense (FD)
There will be a public defense at a graduate seminar. The defense can be failed no more than once.
The final defense should be presented no later than the 4th year after the master’s degree and no later than the 6th year after the bachelor’s degree.
Following the successful defense of the dissertation, as determined by a majority vote of the student’s examining committee, the dissertation must be forwarded to the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing and the Dean of the University Graduate School for their approval.
All dissertations submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for graduate degrees must conform to University guidelines (see “Regulations for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation Manual”). One final and approved copy of the dissertation must be delivered to the Chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and one to the advisor, in addition to the copies required by the University Graduate School.
Financial Aid
Consult the Department for information on research and teaching assistantships available for doctoral students.