Aviation Sciences, Ph.D.

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Major Code: 9103	Degree Awarded: Doctor of Philosophy
Delivery Mode(s): Classroom, field, online	Admission Status: Graduate
Admission Materials: Letters of recommendation, résumé/CV, objectives, transcripts	Location(s): Main campus - Melbourne

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Aviation Sciences program is designed to prepare students to have an understanding of the diverse and multidisciplinary nature of the critical issues facing the aviation industry, to acquire the capacity and experience needed to perform autonomous research that will advance the frontiers of aviation knowledge and to assume leadership positions in the aviation industry, government agencies or academia. The focus of the program is a combination of theory and practice, and dissertation research is oriented toward aviation professionals to solve both research- and theory-based aviation problems and apply solutions to real problems in the field.

Admission Requirements

An applicant to the Doctor of Philosophy program in Aviation Sciences must have a bachelor’s or a master’s degree from an accredited institution in aviation, aeronautical science, engineering or a closely related discipline, with a cumulative grade point average meeting university doctoral admission requirements (see General Admission Requirements). An ideal applicant has expertise in an aviation specialty, strong communication, writing and analytical capabilities and demonstrates strong alignment with the program’s focus areas: human factors in aviation/aeronautics, aviation safety, airport development and management, aviation management and operations research in aviation.

General admission requirements and the process for applying are presented under Graduate Academic Information .

Degree Requirements

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Aviation Sciences is conferred in recognition of advanced knowledge and demonstrated ability to conduct novel, independent research that makes a significant contribution to the aviation field. The degree represents the highest level of academic achievement in aviation sciences.

General degree requirements are presented under Graduate Academic Information .

Curriculum

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Aviation Sciences program requires a minimum of 72 semester credit hours after the bachelor’s degree or 42 semester credit hours after the master’s degree.

Each doctoral student must:

Complete an approved program of study.
Pass a comprehensive examination.
Successfully defend a research proposal and file a petition for admission to candidacy.
Complete a program of significant original research and present it at the graduate seminar and/or at a professional conference.
Submit at least one manuscript to peer-reviewed journals or a publication outlet deemed equivalent by the doctoral committee.
Prepare and successfully defend a dissertation.

Required Coursework

The following core courses must be taken at Florida Tech (exceptions may be considered only through a written petition to be reviewed by the college’s graduate faculty).

Additionally, students must satisfactorily complete 6 semester credit hours of approved electives. The remainder of the requirements includes at least 18 semester credit hours of AVS 6999 Dissertation and at least 12 semester credit hours in an area of specialization.

Students entering the Ph.D. program with a master’s degree are required to successfully complete a minimum of 24 semester credit hours of coursework for which 12 semester credit hours of coursework must be unique to the Ph.D. program:

15 credit hours of the core Ph.D. courses (AVS 5205, 6000, 6001, 6100, 6900)
9 credit hours of 5000-level or higher electives. This can include up to 6 credit hours of AVS 6995 Research in Aviation . Electives require the approval of the Ph.D. advisor to ensure the student has satisfactory knowledge for dissertation research in a particular area of aviation.

Students entering the Ph.D. program with a bachelor’s degree are required to successfully complete a minimum of 54 semester credit hours of coursework for which 18 semester credit hours of coursework must be unique to the Ph.D. program:

30 credit hours of coursework toward a master’s degree offered by the college, including Airport Development and Management, MSA , Applied Aviation Safety, MSA , Aviation Human Factors, M.S. , Aviation Management, MSA , Aviation Safety, MSA , and Human Factors in Aeronautics, M.S.
15 credit hours of the core Ph.D. courses (AVS 5205, 6000, 6001, 6100, 6900)
9 credit hours of 5000-level or higher electives. This can include up to 6 credit hours of AVS 6995 Research in Aviation . Electives require the approval of the Ph.D. advisor to ensure the student has satisfactory knowledge for dissertation research in a particular area of aviation.

Students who complete the degree requirements in a master’s program will be awarded master’s degree in the respective program along the way to earning their Ph.D. in Aviation Sciences.

Comprehensive Examination

Written and oral comprehensive examinations must be completed in the same semester. The doctoral comprehensive examinations are given twice a year, during the last full week of January and during the second week of September.

A doctoral comprehensive examination committee is appointed by the student’s academic advisor with the approval of the doctoral program chair. The committee must include a minimum of four graduate faculty members: at least three faculty members from the College of Aeronautics, including the student’s doctoral advisor, and one graduate faculty member from another academic unit at Florida Tech.

The student must pass a comprehensive examination. After the successful completion of all required coursework, the student must pass a written doctoral comprehensive examination that tests the student’s mastery of core curriculum.

Proposal Defense and Candidacy

Students who successfully complete the doctoral comprehensive examination proceed to proposal stage under the supervision of the student’s Ph.D. advisor. The dissertation committee may be different from the doctoral comprehensive examination committee and is based on Graduate Policy 2.3.2 Changes in Committee. A dissertation committee must include a minimum of four graduate faculty members: at least three faculty members from the College of Aeronautics, including the student’s doctoral advisor and one graduate faculty member from another academic unit.

Each doctoral student must prepare a proposal that represents a research plan for the student’s dissertation topic. The dissertation proposal must be written under the close supervision of the student’s Ph.D. advisor and must be submitted to the dissertation committee at least two weeks prior to the oral proposal defense. The dissertation proposal must have the approval of the dissertation committee. A student who passes the proposal defense is admitted to doctoral candidacy.

Dissertation Research

The Doctor of Philosophy program in Aviation Sciences requires the completion of a minimum of 18 semester credit hours of dissertation research under the supervision of the student’s advisor. Out of the 18 semester credit hours of dissertation research required for the doctoral degree, at least 15 semester credit hours of AVS 6999 Dissertation are required beginning with the term the student is admitted to candidacy.

The graduate policies pertaining to the requirements for the dissertation defense are available on the Dissertation Requirements webpage. Before graduation, the doctoral candidates must present their dissertation research at a departmental seminar or a professional conference. Before the dissertation defense, each candidate is required to have one manuscript submitted to refereed journals or a publication outlet deemed equivalent by the doctoral committee. It is expected that the dissertation work should produce at least one peer-reviewed research publication.