Ph.D. Degree Requirements
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A SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) image of a polymer synthesized in the Polymer Reaction Engineering Laboratory, lead by Professor Kyu Yong Choi. It is a crystalline polymer derived from its amorphous state, with an outstanding optical transparency. Choi's group is currently testing this polymer structure in a device for directing light in LCD monitors. |
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It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all Graduate School and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy are met. Questions regarding the Graduate School requirements should be directed to the Graduate School. Questions about departmental requirements may be directed to the Department Chair or Director of Graduate Studies.
The requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy include:
- Graduate School Requirements applicable to all graduate students
- additional Graduate School Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
- additional requirements of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
The requirements are summarized below:
- General
- Residence
- Program and Credit requirements
- Teaching Assistantships
- Selecting an Advisor
- Qualifying Examinations
- Admission to Candidacy
- Time Limitations
- Dissertation
- Final Examination
General
The Doctor of Philosophy degree is granted only upon sufficient evidence of high attainment in scholarship and the ability to engage in independent research. It is not awarded for the completion of course and seminar requirements no matter how successfully completed.
TopResidence
The equivalent of three years of full-time graduate study and research is the minimum required. Of the three years, the equivalent of at least one year must be spent at the University of Maryland. On a part-time basis the time needed will be increased correspondingly. All work at other institutions offered in partial fulfillment of the requirements for any doctoral degree must be submitted, with the recommendation of the Department concerned, to the Graduate School for approval at the time of application for admission to candidacy. Official transcripts of the work must be filed in the Graduate School.
Program and Credit Requirements
The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering requires minimum of 45 semester hours of course work beyond the B.S. degree including a minimum of 27 credit hours of courses, other than thesis research, numbered 600 or above, and approved by the Department are required. In certain circumstances, up to two 400 level undergraduate courses can be applied toward this requirement. These courses must be pre-approved by the Graduate Director. To exercise this option, the student and his/her advisor must jointly petition the Department Chair/Graduate Director in advance for a special exemption. Appropriate courses taken while earning the M.S. degree from the Department may be used to partially fulfill this requirement. The major core courses ENCH 610, 620, 630 and 640, are required; furthermore the student must achieve a 3.0 or better GPA in these core courses. Specific information on how this GPA is computed can be found on the GPA policy page.. A maximum of 6 semester hours of Special Problems (ENCH 648) may be used in fulfilling the 45 semester hours. Lists of approved undergraduate and graduate-level courses are available. View the graduate course listing »
A minimum of 18 credit hours of Ph.D. Research is required. Students may register for ENCH898 (Pre-Candidacy Research), prior to being admitted to candidacy, and for ENCH899 (Doctoral Dissertation Research: Chemical Engineering) after they advance to candidacy. Out of the 18 credits, at least 12 have to be ENCH899, as required by the Graduate School. The remaining 6 may be either ENCH899 or ENCH898.
Courses taken to fulfill the requirements of the Department must be approved in advance by the Department Chair/Graduate Director, and, when a major advisor has been selected, by the major advisor. View the Ph.D. Course Requirement Advising Form for a sample plan »
Transfer of Credits
A candidate may request that up to 12 semester hours of appropriate graduate course work taken at other accredited institutions prior to matriculation in the Graduate School or afterwards may be applied towards the Ph.D. degree. Prior approval is required if the transfer work is to be taken after admission to the Department. The courses must have been taken within the time limits for completing the degree. The Chair of the Department or the Graduate Director must agree that the specific courses are appropriate to and acceptable in the student program, and a grade of B or better must have been earned in such courses. The student is responsible for providing an official transcript and related materials of any transfer work to the Chair/Graduate Director of the Department and the Graduate School.
The grades on transfer work do not affect the grade point average of the work taken at the University of Maryland (i.e., a grade of A from another institution cannot balance a C in a course taken at College Park).
Teaching Assistantship Requirement
All Ph.D. graduate students are required to serve as Teaching Assistants for two semesters. Please see the TA policy and TA assignment selection form for more information.
Selecting an Advisor
During the first semester of residence, the Graduate Director normally serves as advisor. During this period, the student interviews several faculty and advises the Department Chair of his/her preferences. The permanent advisor is assigned at the beginning of the second semester. View the advisor form »
Qualifying Examinations
The candidate is required to pass a two-part qualifying examination:
Part I of the examination is a Research Aptitude Examination prepared by the Department Faculty. It is normally offered twice annually. All students entering the Ph.D. program must take Part I of the Ph.D. exam the first time Part I is given. Failure to do so will normally result in termination of the student from the Ph.D. program. The protocol for the Research Aptitude Examination is includes the policies regarding the actions to be taken when students fail this potion of the exam. View the full protocol for the Research Aptitude Exam »
After passing Part I of the Ph.D. Qualifier, the candidate completes the following sequence to apply for candidacy:
- Selects a topic for Ph.D. disseration research and obtains the approval of a major research advisor.
- Prepares a written proposal on the Ph.D. Research Topic and presents the proposal at an open seminar. The major research advisor shall choose at least two other faculty members from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering who will be asked to review the proposal and will be recommended to serve on the final oral examination committee. Following the seminar, the Faculty Committee conducts an oral examination of the candidate which constitutes Part II of the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. The oral examination typically will address areas related to the proposal research as well as areas of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering of a more general nature. Part II may be taken no more than two times.
Part II (Ph.D. Thesis Proposal) is an oral examination which is an integral part of the approval process for the candidates selection of a thesis research topic. Students who successfully pass Part I of the Ph.D. Qualifier must take Part II of the Ph.D. exam within 18 months of passing Part I and they must pass Part II within 24 months of passing Part I. If the student successfully completes the requirements for an M.S. degree within 18 months of passing Part I, an additional 12 months is added to both limits. Failure to meet these time limits will normally result in termination of the student from the Ph.D. program. View the full protocol for the Ph.D. Proposal »
Admission to Candidacy
Preliminary examinations, or such other substantial tests as the departments may elect, are frequently prerequisite for admission to candidacy.
A student must be admitted to candidacy for the doctorate within five years after admission to the doctoral program and at least one academic year before the date on which the degree will be conferred.
It is the responsibility of the student to submit his/her application for admission to candidacy when all the requirements for candidacy have been fulfilled. Applications for admission to candidacy are made in duplicate by the student and submitted to the Academic Coordinator of the department for further action and transmission to the Graduate School. Application forms may be obtained at the University of Maryland Graduate School website: www.gradschool.umd.edu/forms.
There are mandatory fees for all Ph.D. students who have advanced to candidacy. Visit the Office of the Bursar for more information »
Time Limitations
Students must complete the entire program for the degree, including the dissertation and final examination, within four years after admission to candidacy, or nine years after admission to the doctoral program, whichever is greater. If a student fails to meet all degree requirements, the program may recommend, and the Graduate School may grant, a one year extension to complete the remainder of the doctoral requirements. After this one year period, admission to the program terminates. A student may apply for readmission to the program. The program may recommend advancement to candidacy following program prerequisites as specified by the program and approved by the Graduate School. For doctoral students, a readmission to doctoral candidacy shall be for a period of four years, unless otherwise specified by the program.
Dissertation
A dissertation or its equivalent is required of all candidates for a doctoral degree. The topic of the dissertation must be approved by the department or Program Committee.
During the preparation of the dissertation, all candidates for any doctoral degree must register for the prescribed number of semester hours of Doctoral Dissertation Research (899) at the University of Maryland.
Directions for preparing and submitting dissertations is found in the Graduate Student Academic Handbook, which may be purchased at the University Book Store. If a student wishes to publish all or a portion of his/her thesis or dissertation prior to its defense and approval by the Graduate Faculty Examining Committee, the student must first seek the approval of the Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. This approval is sought through a letter to the Dean, endorsed by the dissertation advisor, containing an explanation of the need for early publication.
The ability to do independent research in the field of chemical and biomolecular engineering must be demonstrated by an original dissertation. A minimum of 18 hours of Dissertation Research is required.
The ability to do independent research must be demonstrated by an original dissertation on a topic approved by the Department or program.
Under unusual circumstances the research for the dissertation may be done off campus. Written permission must be obtained in advance from the Department Chair, prior to the preparation of the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal if the proposed work is to be done off campus. Permission will not be granted if the proposed research represents, in whole or in part, duties performed as a condition of employment for an organization other than the University of Maryland.
Final Examination
The final oral defense of the dissertation is conducted by a committee of the Graduate Faculty appointed by the Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. Nominations for membership on the committee are submitted by the student's major advisor by the third week of the semester in which the student expects to complete all requirements, but no later than two months prior to the examination, on the designated form. The Graduate Director will recommend the committee to the graduate school.
The major advisor serves as chair of the committee, which will consist of a minimum of five voting members, all of whom hold the doctoral degree. At least one of the five must be a faculty member in a department or Graduate Program at UMCP external to the one in which the student is seeking the degree. A minimum of three members of the committee must be regular members of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Maryland.
One or more members of the committee may be persons from other institutions who hold the doctorate and who are distinguished scholars in the fields of dissertation.
The Dean designates one member of the committee as his representative. In addition to having the normal responsibility of a faculty examiner, the Dean's representative has the responsibility of assuring that the examination is conducted according to established procedures. A disagreement over the examination procedures is referred to the Dean's representative for decision.
The time and place of the examination are established by the chairman of the committee. The student is responsible for distributing a complete copy of the dissertation to each of the committee members at least one week before the examination.
All final oral examinations are open to all the Graduate Faculty. After the examination, the committee deliberates and votes in private. Two or more negative votes constitute a failure. The student may be examined no more than twice.
Prior to the final oral defense, a candidate is required to present an open seminar to the faculty and graduate students of the department summarizing the work completed for the dissertation. A minimum of three members of the committee must be members of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Faculty Assembly.
