Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree in Materials Science and Engineering
This document is a summary of the PhD degree in Materials Science and Engineering offered by the School of Materials at Arizona State University. Further details may be found in the Graduate Student Handbook and other literature available in the department.
1. Credit Requirements
The Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering consists of 84 semester hours of graduate work, distributed as shown below. A total of ten lecture courses (30 cr) plus 3 cr of seminar are required. Students entering the program with a master’s degree in materials science may apply up to 30 credits toward the Ph.D. program of study, but must still take 5 lecture courses at ASU. If the MS has not been completed, a maximum of 12 credits of graduate work may be applied.
Credit count |
Admitted with BS |
Admitted with MS |
Master’s Degree |
0 |
30* |
Core |
12 |
12 |
Seminar |
3 |
3 |
Electives/Research |
57 |
27 |
Dissertation |
12 |
12 |
Total Credits |
84 |
84 |
*Students who have not completed a master’s degree but have taken some graduate coursework, may apply up to 12 credits to the Ph.D. program of study.
2. Required Courses
The core courses are shown below. These courses contain the foundation knowledge in the discipline of materials science that will prepare students for further graduate study in specialized areas, represented elective courses. The four lecture courses should be completed in the first 2 semesters of the program, in preparation for the qualifying examination.
Any core course may be waived by petition to the graduate program committee, with evidence of an equivalent course at another accredited university with a grade of B+ or better. The student must provide proof in the form of transcripts and a syllabus of that course. A petition should be submitted to the Associate Director of the Graduate Program who reviews requests for waivers or substitutions of the core courses. Students are expected to demonstrate a working knowledge of this material in the qualifying exam.
|
Course |
Description |
Credits |
1 |
MSE 598 |
Advanced Thermodynamics |
3 |
2 |
MSE 598 |
Structure and Mechanical Properties |
3 |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Kinetics and Phase Transformations in Solids |
3 |
4a or |
MSE 598 |
Physics of Materials |
3 |
5 |
SEM 591 |
Graduate Student Seminar |
1 x 3 |
|
|
Total Core Credits |
15 |
3. Electives
Graduate elective courses may be selected from any of the courses offered in the School of Materials (MSE prefix). A representative list of offerings is shown below. A current list of the graduate MSE courses is available at Current Graduate MSE course list. Students also take elective courses from other related disciplines such as chemistry, physics, electrical engineering, etc, subject to approval by the faculty supervisory committee. These courses should comprise a focused program of study in a particular area of materials, organized in consultation with a faculty advisor. A current list of recommended courses outside MSE is available at Other Recommended Elective Courses.
3.1 Electives offered in AY 2006-07
Course |
Description |
Credits |
MSE 510 |
X-Ray and Electron Diffraction |
3 |
MSE 513 |
Polymer and Composites |
3 |
MSE 514 |
Physical Metallurgy |
3 |
MSE 516 |
Mechanical Properties of Solids |
3 |
MSE 520 |
Theory of Crystalline Solids |
3 |
MSE 531 |
Statistical Thermodynamics |
3 |
MSE 550 |
Advanced Materials Characterization |
3 |
MSE 552 |
Electron Microscopy I |
3 |
MSE 553 |
Electron Microscopy Lab I |
3 |
MSE 554 |
Electron Microscopy II |
3 |
MSE 553 |
Electron Microscopy Lab II |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Semiconductor Processing |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Nanobioscience Processing and Devices |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Organic Semiconductors I |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Electroceramics |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Electrical, Magnetic and Optical Properties |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Introduction to Microelectronic |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Electrochemistry and Corrosion |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Electronic Thin Films |
3 |
MSE 598 |
Overview of Materials Science Engineering Packaging |
3 |
4. Interactive Program of Study (iPOS)
The interactive program of study is an online document where the student lists the courses he/she has taken and the courses he/she will take to complete the 84 credits required for the degree, which would include research and dissertation credits. The student should file the Interactive Program of Study (iPOS) after he/she has completed the coursework portion of the degree. The iPOS can be accessed through ASU interactive (http://www.asu.edu/interactive).
5. Faculty Supervisory Committee
Students must select a faculty supervisory committee which consists of 3 to 5 members. The chair of committee must be a tenured-track faculty member in the School of Materials. Students can select members outside of the school to serve on their faculty committee as long as there is a majority of SoM tenured track faculty members are on the committee. Research scientists, academic and industrial professionals and or other non-ASU affiliated individuals faculty can also may be allowed to serve on supervisory committees with approval of the school director and the Graduate College.
6. Qualifying Examination
All students in the PhD program must pass a qualifying examination to proceed through continue in the PhD program. One repeat attempt is allowed. This exam should be taken at the beginning of the 3rd semester, immediately following completion of the four core courses. The format is a 90 minute oral examination covering the material in the four core courses.
7. Comprehensive Examination and Dissertation Prospectus
All students in the PhD program must take a comprehensive examination, which should be done within two semesters of passing the qualifier exam. This exam consists of a 20-page report on a the topic of the expected thesis subject, which is presented orally to the student’s advisory committee. A detailed description of policy and procedures is given in the student handbook. This comprises also the dissertation prospectus.
8. Dissertation Credits
Ph.D. students must take 12 dissertation credits to complete the Ph.D. program of study. Dissertation credits should be taken once the student begins research on a dissertation topic under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
9. The Dissertation
The PhD dissertation is based on original and independent research conducted by the student, under the guidance of the faculty mentor and faculty advisory committee. The dissertation should demonstrate the candidate’s mastery of research methods, theory and tools of the discipline. The dissertation should demonstrate the candidate’s ability to address a major intellectual problem and to propose meaningful questions and hypothesis. A copy of the dissertation is given to the department and a copy is placed in the ASU library.
