Engineering and Applied Science, Ph.D.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering and Applied Science is an interdisciplinary, integrative degree involving faculty from the College of Engineering and the College of Sciences. The program is designed for those engineers who will extend the frontiers of engineering. The graduate will have knowledge that is both broad in fundamentals as well as strongly focused in the area of his/her research. Research is the centerpiece of a Ph.D. program. It is expected that the graduate’s research will substantially expand the knowledge of the engineering profession.

Student Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for PhD in Engineering and Applied Sciences
1	Graduates of the Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Sciences program will have a robust understanding of theoretical and applied concepts related to their areas of research within engineering or sciences or both.
2	Demonstration of capability to produce high quality and innovative theoretical and applied research.
3	Students in the Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Sciences program should demonstrate proficiency in oral and written communication.

Admission

In addition to meeting the minimum standards for admission to the Graduate School, admission to the doctoral program is based on reasonable evidence that the applicant will prove capable of scholarly research on a broad intellectual foundation. All students enrolling in the program must have a Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in engineering, physics, mathematics, earth and environmental sciences, computer science, or a closely related field, or be willing to complete coursework required in an existing Master’s program in one of the participating departments at UNO while pursuing the Ph.D. Admission decisions will be based primarily on grade-point average, Graduate Record Examination scores, and letters of recommendation.

Degree Requirements

81 graduate credit hours are required in total for the Ph. D. program in Engineering & Applied Science, of which 30 hours in dissertation research are required and a minimum of 51 semester credit hours of graduate course work in an approved program beyond the Bachelor’s degree. Up to 30 graduate credit hours from a Master’s degree program, if the area of the Master’s degree is relevant to the concentration, may be applied towards the satisfaction of credit hours for the Ph.D. Students may choose a concentration from Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, or Physics. Program qualification, in the form of a Qualifying Examination, is administered by the department of the major professor(s). It is based on material in a typical departmentalized master’s degree program, or equivalent. A doctoral dissertation based on the results of original research under the guidance of a faculty committee and defended in a public examination is required for the completion of the doctoral program. The student’s dissertation advisory committee will consist of at least five members, of which no more than three can be from the major department, and one must be from the other college. Courses are chosen with the consent of the dissertation advisory committee. The committee shall consider the interdisciplinary nature of the program when it approves the courses. A minimum of nine credits (three courses) must be taken in each college. A General (comprehensive) Examination will be administered by the dissertation advisory committee. The examination will be based on material in the student’s program of study. After passing the General Examination the Ph.D. student is expected to write a dissertation prospectus and defend it before the dissertation advisory committee. After a successful defense and committee approval of the prospectus, the student may pursue research leading to the dissertation. The dissertation should reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the program. There must be a final public defense of the dissertation administered by the dissertation advisory committee.

Financial Aid

Teaching and research assistantships are available to qualified graduate students on a competitive basis.

Concentration Requirements

Students may choose a concentration from:

Computer Science
Earth and Environmental Science
Mathematics
Physics
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
Engineering Management