Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering

The Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Electrical Engineering provides students with the education to be researchers and leaders in their fields of specialization. The program provides both breadth and depth through a flexible structure of formal course work, independent study, and research. The focus of the PhD program is an individualized program of study that prepares the student for PhD dissertation research. The dissertation is an original scholarly contribution to the research literature of the field and is the culmination of the student’s academic career. The PhD program has two options, depending on the student’s research area.  The Electrical Engineering Option offers opportunities for graduate studies in the areas of acoustics; antennas and electromagnetic communications; control and tracking; microwave and solid state electronics; photonics; remote sensing; signal processing; systems and estimation theory; and wireless communications.  The Computer Engineering Option offers opportunities for research in database systems; intelligent systems; distributed computing; multimedia communication and security, networking; reliability and fault tolerant computing; and sensors and sensor networks. The ECE faculty, and their research interests, are listed here.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree Requirements

Students are required to successfully complete an approved program of study. Successful completion of the doctoral program of study is indicated by a grade point average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 grading scale with no more than two grades below B-. Typically, a minimum of 24 credits beyond the MS requirement or 54 credits beyond the BS is expected (exclusive of dissertation research). Although it is not necessary to obtain the MS degree before proceeding in the PhD program, the MS core courses and specialization or thesis requirements must be fulfilled either through the program of study at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth or through prior graduate studies at another institution.

PhD Qualifying Requirement

PhD students must pass PhD qualifying requirement appropriate to their option by the end of their first year of study if the enter the program with an MS or at the completion of 30 credits if they enter the program with a BS.

The qualifying requirement has 3 components:

Undergraduate Academic Fundamentals: This component can be satisfied by presenting evidence of a BS in the option major (e.g. BS in EE for the electrical engineering option). If the student does not have a BS in the major, they can petition the department to accept equivalent professional experience in electrical or computer engineering as sufficient qualifying background or their advisor must help them develop a program of study that includes the necessary undergraduate courses to address deficiencies.

Graduate Academic Fundamentals: This component can be satisfied by taking the required graduate courses in the MS major ( EE or CPE) and obtaining a GPA ≥3.5; passing a written exam based on the required courses; or passing a written exam based on 3 courses in the student’s area of specialization.

Research: This component can be satisfied by completing an MS thesis at UMass Dartmouth with the recommendation of both the MS and PhD advisors; passing an oral exam based on research completed at another institution; or passing a Research Skills course for which successful completion requires an oral defense of a research project.

PhD Comprehensive Requirement

PhD candidates must also pass the PhD comprehensive examination. This examination verifies that the student is sufficiently prepared to conduct scholarly research in the selected area of the PhD dissertation. Consequently, the PhD comprehensive examination focuses on advanced graduate studies and a formal PhD research proposal. The comprehensive examination is scheduled by the student at the convenience of the committee members, administered by the major advisor, and is conducted by the committee members. The comprehensive examination consists of two parts: a written examination followed by an oral examination. The oral examination is scheduled within four weeks of successful completion of the written examination. The form and content of both parts of the examination are set by the student’s committee. Successful completion of both the written and oral examination is determined by the unanimous consent of the committee. Students failing to give satisfactory performance on either part of the examination are allowed a single re-examination of either all or a portion of either examination as determined by the committee.

PhD Dissertation and Defense Requirement

PhD candidates must successfully complete a PhD dissertation. Successful completion of the PhD dissertation is indicated by the satisfactory oral defense of a written dissertation that represents an original contribution to the scholarly research literature of the field. The dissertation normally involves 18 credits of PhD dissertation research ( ECE 701).