Mechanical Engineering, PhD

Location(s): Main Campus

The Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department offers graduate programs in the broad field of mechanical engineering. The PhD program prepares students for basic and applied research in mechanical engineering.

While there are no officially designated tracks or concentrations, students are required to complete the degree requirements listed below and will choose one of the following areas of emphasis (AOE), based on their interests.

Areas of Emphasis (AOE)

Design and Manufacturing - computer-aided design, optimal design, design with reliability, additive manufacturing, micro-and nano-fabrication
Solid Mechanics and Mechanical Design - mechanics of materials and structures, computational mechanics, biomechanics, waves and vibration, computer-aided design, design optimization, design with reliability, design for additive manufacturing
Transport Phenomena and Energy - heat and mass transfer in biological/environmental/industrial applications, microfluidics/nanofluidics, complex fluids, interfacial phenomena/wetting, additive manufacturing, energy generation, energy storage, energy efficient space heating and cooling, smart electronics and data center cooling, small-scale power harvesting
Materials - materials characterization, microstructure/property relationships, thin films, computational materials, interfacial phenomena, functional materials, materials processing
Dynamics and Mechatronics - electromechanical system dynamics, microstructural vibrations, rigid-body dynamics, MEMS/NEMS, novel acoustic measurement techniques, mechatronics, robotics, microscale vibrations and acoustics, nonlinear dynamics, sensors and actuators, control systems

The PhD in Materials Science and Engineering is described under Materials Science and Engineering, PhD in the Graduate School section of the Academic Guide.

Program Requirements

The PhD program in Mechanical Engineering requires a minimum of three academic years of full-time graduate level study after the baccalaureate degree, or their equivalent in part-time study.

To complete the PhD in Mechanical Engineering, students must maintain at least a B average in all graduate coursework.

Residency Requirement

All PhD students must complete 24 letter-graded (A-F) credits.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

All rules of the Graduate School apply regarding probation and academic jeopardy, except probation may not last more than two semesters.

Research Requirement

Students pursuing the PhD in mechanical engineering must complete a research dissertation.
The written dissertation and an oral presentation defending the dissertation must be approved by the student’s research committee before they are eligible for the degree.
Publication of the student’s research in an archival journal is expected.

Obtaining an Advisor

Upon admission to the doctoral program, new students will be advised by the director of graduate studies, who is responsible for:

Explaining the department requirements for the PhD degree
Assisting the student in establishing a preliminary course of study
Informing the student of selecting an advisor

The above actions should be completed during the first semester in residence. It is the responsibility of the student to select an advisor, select a guidance committee (in consultation with their advisor), and prepare a learning contract by the end of the fall semester in the second year.

Guidance Committee

The student, upon selecting an advisor, should identify faculty to serve on the guidance committee. The committee must have a minimum of four members (including the student’s advisor); one member can be from outside the department.

The student should submit the first page of the learning contract listing the names of the proposed committee members to the ME Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) for approval. Review of the proposed guidance committee is very thorough, because the guidance committee acts on behalf of the department in monitoring the student’s academic progress. When the guidance committee is accepted by the ME GSC, the signed learning contract will be placed in the student’s file in the department office as an active document. Any subsequent proposed changes made to the approved guidance committee must be made in writing to the director of graduate studies for approval. The student, upon approval, must submit an amended learning contract to the director of graduate studies.

Learning Contract

Preparation: Every new PhD student should work immediately with his/her advisor to develop a learning contract. The purpose of the learning contract is to define the knowledge and skills appropriate for the student’s intended area of research; this document will guide the student’s preparation for the comprehensive examination. The learning contract should identify courses and concepts that must be mastered in order to provide breadth of background, as well as specialized courses and concepts which are germane to the proposed area of research. The learning contract will remain an active document in the student’s file that charts their progress through the various milestones of the PhD process. It is the responsibility of the student to update the learning contract and obtain the appropriate signatures confirming the successful completion of each PhD milestone.

Registering the Learning Contract: A copy of the learning contract will be placed in the student’s file and maintained by the secretary to the director of graduate studies.

Course Requirements

ME 535 - Analytical Methods I
ME 635 - Analytical Methods II
All courses listed in the learning contract.

PhD Qualifying Evaluation

Every PhD student must successfully complete the qualifying evaluation at the end of the spring semester of the first year. Failure to pass Part 1 and Part 2 of the qualifying evaluation is considered sufficient reason for dismissal from the PhD program.

Part 1: Recommendation Letter from Faculty Advisor

This letter, provided by the faculty advisor, will comment on the student’s suitability and qualifications for the PhD program. Its content will focus on the student’s ability and/or potential for conducting research at a high level. This letter will be sent by the advisor directly to the Graduate Studies Committee.

The Graduate Studies Committee will review the recommendation letter. To successfully pass Part 1, the student’s qualifications for the PhD program must be approved by the committee. As needed, the committee may request a meeting with the student’s advisor to obtain additional information before making a final decision.

Part 2: Average Grade for Math and Area of Emphasis (AOE) Courses

An average grade will be calculated using the following courses:

ME 535 - Analytical Methods I
ME 635 - Analytical Methods II
All AOE classes (at least 2 must be included)

To successfully pass Part 2, the student must obtain an average grade of B+ (GPA 3.3) for this list of courses. Courses associated with each AOE are available on the Mechanical Engineering Department Graduate Programs website. Note that independent study and research credit courses cannot be used to calculate the average grade as part of the qualifying evaluation.

PhD Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination is structured by the guidance committee to cover topics described in the learning contract. Before taking the comprehensive examination, the student must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours in residence on the Binghamton University campus. The comprehensive exam must be taken by the end of the summer of the second year.

Preparation and Approval of Prospectus

Upon completion of the comprehensive examination, the candidate must write a prospectus, describing the proposed dissertation research in detail. This prospectus is presented and defended in an open colloquium. After successfully defending the prospectus, the final revised prospectus will be placed in the student’s file. The prospectus must be completed by the end of the fall semester of the third year.

Admission to Candidacy

Upon passing the comprehensive examination, the student is admitted to candidacy for the PhD degree. A student may only register for full time certification (FTC) credits if they have been admitted to candidacy (i.e., obtained ABD status) by the start of the semester. This means to be eligible to register for FTC credits, the student must have successfully passed their comprehensive exam and completed all course and credit requirements before the add/drop date of the current semester.

Evidence of Proficiency in Teaching

PhD students must meet the teaching proficiency requirement in one of the following ways:

Teaching two lectures
Teaching one lecture and two recitations

Note: The lectures and recitations can be from different courses.

Oral Defense of PhD Dissertation

The PhD candidate will be required to orally present their dissertation research in an open colloquium. The guidance committee, as well as an outside examiner appointed by the Graduate School, will be present at this colloquium and will also conduct the defense of the dissertation immediately following the oral presentation

Summary of Minimum Requirements

Submission of learning contract
Satisfaction of qualifying evaluation requirement
Satisfaction of comprehensive exam requirement
Submission of prospectus and presentation of proposed research in an open colloquium
Acceptance of prospectus by the guidance committee
Oral presentation and defense of dissertation

PhD Timeline

Milestone	Deadline
Admission	Fall (spring admissions revert to the previous fall time datum)
Qualifying Evaluation	End of spring semester (Year 1)
Learning Contract Distributed to Dissertation Committee	End of fall semester (Year 2)
Comprehensive Exam	End of summer (Year 2)
Prospectus	Year 3
Dissertation

Additional Information about the Program

For more information on the Mechanical Engineering PhD program, please refer to the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Programs website. To apply to the Mechanical Engineering PhD program, please visit the University Graduate Admissions website.