Systems Engineering, Ph.D.

Location(s): Main Campus - Melbourne, Florida

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Major Code: 9097	Degree Awarded: Doctor of Philosophy
Delivery Mode(s): Classroom	Admission Status: Graduate
Admission Materials: Letters of recommendation, résumé/CV, objectives, transcripts	Location(s): Main campus - Melbourne

The Ph.D. program in systems engineering is designed to provide advanced education and research opportunities to qualified students with master’s degrees. The program prepares students to conduct independent scholarly work, teach in academia or pursue advanced research careers in government, commercial or private sectors.

Admission Requirements

Applicants should have a master’s degree in systems engineering from an accredited institution, though applicants with degrees in other engineering disciplines, physical sciences, computer science or mathematics will also be considered. Applicants must have a graduate degree GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale. International applicants must submit paper-based TOEFL scores of 550 (or the equivalent computer- or internet-based scores) or higher in addition to the GPA requirement.

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

The program is ideally suited to applicants with a master’s degree in systems engineering and admissions preference will be given to these applicants. If an applicant does not have a master’s degree in systems engineering, all the master’s-level core courses (or equivalents as determined by the department) are required to be successfully completed before beginning doctoral-level coursework, as follows:

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. in systems engineering requires a minimum of 42 semester credit hours beyond the master’s degree including at least 18 semester credit hours of doctoral-level coursework and 24 semester credit hours of dissertation research. In addition to the 24 semester credit hours of coursework, the student’s major advisor may require additional courses to better prepare the student for conducting research on the selected topic.

The required work consists of advanced studies in preparation for specialized research and completion of an original research program resulting in a significant contribution to the body of knowledge in the subject investigated. Following successful completion of all necessary coursework, students must pass a comprehensive examination, pass a proposal defense, complete a program of significant original research and defend a dissertation concerning the research. Students who successfully pass the comprehensive examination and proposal defense are then admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

A dissertation committee must be formed according to graduate policy. Students admitted to candidacy must then conduct the necessary research to prepare a written dissertation satisfying the elements agreed to by the student’s doctoral committee and successfully defend the dissertation research and the written dissertation for the committee.

A candidate should have at least one technical paper in review for a refereed journal before the dissertation defense and have completed one conference paper and presented that paper at a recognized conference.

General degree requirements are presented under Graduate Academic Information .

Curriculum

The doctoral program of study must be approved by the student’s advisor and the department head. Considerable latitude is allowable in course selection, although appropriate advanced courses are expected to form a part of the student’s program. Academic courses for identified areas of specialization can be selected from course offerings in various academic units including, but not limited to, systems, aerospace, chemical, civil, mechanical or ocean engineering; environmental science; oceanography; mathematics; operations research and computer science.

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 department’s graduate seminar and/or at a professional conference;
submit at least one manuscript to peer-reviewed journals; and
prepare and successfully defend a dissertation.

Coursework and Dissertation Summary

Major area of specialization and mathematics credit hours: 24
Dissertation credit hours: 24

Note that the dissertation credits are a minimum and the committee may require additional credits if they feel sufficient work has not been completed. The graduate policies pertaining to the requirements for the dissertation defense are available on the Dissertation Requirements webpage. General degree requirements are presented under Graduate Academic Information .