Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering

The doctor of philosophy degree is offered for students who wish to carry out advanced research in any of the three areas of specialization listed under the master of science program. Other research areas within the field of aerospace engineering, which may be very actively pursued elsewhere, may not correlate well with current faculty interests and facility capabilities at Florida Tech and, therefore, may not be viable fields for doctoral study at this university.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

A candidate for the doctoral program in aerospace engineering will normally have completed a master's degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering and have adequate preparation in areas of science and mathematics fundamental to his/her field of study. In addition, a student enrolled in the master's program may apply to work directly toward the doctoral degree after completing at least 18 credits of graduate course work at Florida Tech with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5.

Doctoral applicants should have superior academic records, provide letters of recommendation and take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (both the General Test and the Subject Test in Engineering).

General admission requirements and the process for applying are presented in the Graduate Information and Regulations section of the catalog.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The degree of doctor of philosophy is conferred primarily in recognition of creative accomplishment and ability to investigate scientific or engineering problems independently, rather than for completion of a definite course of study.

The work should consist of advanced studies and research leading to a significant contribution to the knowledge of a particular problem. A student's research may have analytical, computational or experimental components, or some combination. Each student is expected to 1) complete an approved program of study beyond that required for a master's degree; 2) pass the comprehensive written/oral examination; 3) present a dissertation proposal acceptable to his/her committee; 4) complete a program of significant original research; and 5) prepare and defend a dissertation concerning the research work.

The program consists of a minimum of 42 credit hours of study beyond the master's degree. Candidates from both the thesis and nonthesis master's programs may be admitted into the doctoral program. However, students from the second category must have demonstrated exceptional potential for advanced study to be admitted. Of the 42 credit hours, at least 324 shall be for dissertation registration.

The purpose of the comprehensive examination is to cover the student's major field of study and related fields important to the major field. The exam is given when, in the judgment of the student's advisory committee, the student has had sufficient preparation in his/her field of study by completing significant course work in at least three areas of specialization, as well as in mathematics, and by initiating doctoral research. The examination must normally be taken before the end of the student's fourth academic semester after admission into the doctoral program. The written portion of the exam consists of individual parts given by each member of the advisory committee. These written examinations are intended to cover each of the student's areas of specialization. The written portion of the comprehensive exam is followed by an oral component that provides the advisory committee an opportunity to complete the examinations in each of the student's specialty areas. Subsequent to completion of both written and oral components of the comprehensive examination, a dissertation proposal must be submitted to the student's advisory committee for evaluation. Upon determining that the proposed research is of doctoral quality and that completion is feasible, the student is advanced to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

General degree requirements are presented in the Graduate Information and Regulations section of this catalog. Click here for more details on requirements and procedures.

CURRICULUM

The doctoral program of study must be approved by the student's advisory committee and the program chair. Considerable latitude is allowable in course selection, although appropriate advanced courses are expected to form a part of the student's program. A representative distribution of these courses taken beyond the bachelor's degree should include, as a minimum, five courses in the major area and 4, 3 and 3 courses (in any combination) in the two related areas and mathematics. These choices provide for the selection of three additional courses as electives. The following illustrates a representative doctoral program of study beyond the bachelor's degree.

CREDITS

Major Area of specialization, two related areas
of specializations, and Mathematics 18
Dissertation 24

TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED 42

Selected course offerings from other engineering and science programs can be taken to fulfill the related area requirements. Each student takes courses from the course listings and from mathematics based on his or her areas of interest and in consultation with his or her committee.