Ph.D. Program
Graduate degrees in mechanical engineering are technical degrees that build on a solid undergraduate background in mechanical engineering. Enrollment in the Ph.D. program is open to students with degrees in physics, applied mathematics, or any branch of engineering. Exemplary applicants with an undergraduate degree in physics or industrial, electrical or civil engineering may become eligible for the degree after taking some additional undergraduate prerequisite courses to navigate the program successfully. Subject areas covered include:
- Experimental, analytical and computational work ranging from manufacturing systems to material processing.
- Mechanics of materials to thermodynamics.
- Dynamic systems and controls to engineering design practice and methods.
The curriculum for the Ph.D. program includes M.S. Thesis coursework and research, with a minimum of 60 credits total. Typically, doctoral degrees at ME are completed within three to five years.
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Learning Objectives
Students in the Ph.D. program attain:
- Ability to apply fundamental knowledge of Mechanical Engineering
- Ability to formulate, initiate and carry out independent research
- Ability to demonstrate in-depth understanding of fundamental and advanced topics
- Ability to effectively communicate research
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Degree Requirements
For Ph.D. students with M.S. degrees, 112 credit hours of coursework & 18 hours of credit research are required (30 credits total):
- At least six of these credits must be 8000-level or higher courses. Committees are encouraged to require courses beyond those directly supporting the dissertation defense.
- At least six credits must be earned at ME. At least one ME course must be 8000-level.
- A minimum of 18 semester hours of doctoral research credit is needed.
For Ph.D. students without M.S. (Direct Ph.D.), MS coursework requirements must be met (33 credits of coursework) plus 18 credits of research as a minimum. Since a total of 60 credits is required, the extra credits can be earned via coursework or additional research credits, depending on the student’s preference.
- A minimum of 33 credit hours of coursework (11 courses total) is required
- A minimum of 18 credit hours of research is needed
- At least 6 out of 11 courses taken must be offered by the ME department
- At least 6 out of 11 courses must be offered at the 8000-level
- At least three ME core courses must be taken to meet the departmental core requirements. The core courses are listed below:
- ME 8010 Foundations of Fluid Mechanics
- ME 8100 Macroscopic Thermodynamics
- ME 8180 Intro to Finite Element Analysis
- ME 8200 Modern Control Engineering
- ME 8210 Advanced Control Engineering
- ME 8220 Applied Optimal Control
- ME 8310 Convective Heat Transfer
- ME 8350 Continuum Mechanics
- ME 8370 Theory of Elasticity
- ME 8460 Intermediate Dynamics
- ME 8610 Materials Selection in Engineering Design
- ME 8700 Advanced Design Methodologies
- ME 8710 Engineering Optimization
PhD-Direct students are eligible for M.S. en route option (can earn their M.S. in ME degree while working on their Ph.D.). Please find more information about this option in the Graduate Student Manual, p. 17)
Ph.D. Qualifying Exams
- Provide students with an opportunity to review core disciplines in mechanical engineering and, optionally, in another research-related area (approximately 75% at the undergraduate and 25% at the graduate level);
- Provide an assessment as to whether students possess attributes of a doctoral candidate by demonstrating understanding of and the ability to apply fundamental principles;
- Evaluate a student’s potential for satisfactorily completing the doctoral program.
With the approval of their advisory committee, students must select three exams, at least two in Mechanical Engineering, with a possible third from another area administered by departments in our College, as it relates to a student’s specialization.
Each exam will be written and last no more than two hours. The exams will be scheduled in the morning and in the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday of the first week of the Fall and Spring semesters, before classes begin. All problems on all exams will be graded by all members of the examining committee. Grades of Pass (P), Marginal (M) or Fail (F) will be assigned for each written exam based on the consensus of each examining committee
Qualifying Exams -
Applying to the Ph.D. Program
Requirements
Students with a B.S. degree but not an M.S. degree may apply directly to the Ph.D. program. These students must satisfy the M.S. core course requirements before degree completion and may receive a one-semester delay in the deadlines for the Ph.D. qualifying examinations. All Ph.D. students must demonstrate a depth of knowledge in a subject area by completing a series of core courses.
If the student fails the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam, the student is permitted to continue as a master’s student, but is ineligible to reapply to any Ph.D. program in ME.
How to Apply
Students interested in applying to the ME doctoral program must be accepted to the Clemson University Graduate School. Application information and forms can be found on the Graduate School website. International students are welcome to apply and must meet the Graduate School requirements for TOEFL.
Additional information concerning deadlines and program contacts can be found on the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Admissions page.
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