Students admitted to the Ph.D. program in Aerospace Engineering must retain a full-time status by registering for a minimum of 8 credits per semester or a part-time status by registering for a minimum of 4 credits per semester, until they reach the maximum number of credits required by the program. Failure by a student to maintain full-time status or part-time status for one semester will be considered insufficient progress and may result in the removal of the student from the Ph.D. program. Any student pursuing the Ph.D. must establish residency by being in full-time status for at least one continuous academic year.
Academic Advising and Schedule
Temporary Advisor
Upon admission to the Doctoral Program, each student is assigned or may select an AE faculty as the Temporary Advisor to arrange an academic plan covering the first 8-10 credits of study. This plan should be arranged before the first day of registration.
Dissertation Advisor and Plan of Study
A student selects an AE faculty member as the Dissertation Advisor who agrees upon prior to registering for more than 8-10 credits. The Dissertation Advisor will approve the Plan of Study which includes the Dissertation Topic.
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam and Admission to Candidacy
Admission to Candidacy will be granted when the student has satisfactorily passed the 1-credit Ph.D. Qualifying Examination (AE 691). The Qualifying Examination is intended to measure each student’s fundamental knowledge in at least two Curricular Areas to be chosen by the student from the following: Fluid Dynamics; Propulsion and Energy; Flight Dynamics and Controls; Materials and Structures; and Computational Engineering. The AE 691 Ph.D. Qualifying Examination is graded using a Pass/Attended system as determined by a) the results from the written Candidacy Test in the two Curricular Areas chosen by the student and b) the student’s performance in graduate courses taken at WPI in the same two Curricular Areas.
The written Ph.D. Qualifying Exam is typically offered during the first week of B and/or D term. A student will be tested on material from three (3) graduate courses of their choice in any AE Curricular Area with no more than two graduate courses selected in a single AE Curricular Area. In the term preceding the written Ph.D. Qualifying Exam, a student must inform the Chair of the AE Graduate Committee about their selection of the two Curricular Areas and the three courses. The written Ph.D. Qualifying Exam is graded using the Pass/ Fail grading system and has no retake.
If a student fails to register or fails to earn a Pass (P) in the AE 691 Ph.D. Qualifying Examination prior to completion of 18 credits after admission to the Ph.D. program, the student must withdraw from the Ph.D. program by end of the semester registered for the Qualifying Examination.
Dissertation Committee
Formed prior to registering for more than 18 credits and after Admission to Candidacy. The Dissertation Committee consists of the Dissertation Advisor, at least one core faculty of the Aerospace Engineering Department, and at least one outside member.
Dissertation Proposal
The 1-credit AE 693 Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal is given on a Pass or Fail mode and must be attempted by a Candidate within a year after successfully passing the AE 691 Ph.D. Qualifying Examination.
Each Doctoral Candidate must prepare a brief written proposal and make an oral presentation that demonstrates a sound understanding of the dissertation topic, the relevant literature, the techniques to be employed, the issues to be addressed, and the work done on the topic by the student to date. The Dissertation Proposal must be made within a year after the Qualifying Exam and admission to candidacy. Both the written and oral parts of the Proposal are presented to members of the Dissertation Committee and a representative from the AE Graduate Committee. The prepared portion of the oral presentation should not exceed 40 minutes, and up to 60 minutes should be allowed for discussion. If the members of the Dissertation Committee and the Graduate Committee representative have concerns about either the substance of the proposal or the student’s understanding of the topic, then the student will have one month to prepare a second presentation that focuses on the areas of concern. This presentation will last 15 minutes with an additional 35 minutes allowed for discussion. Students can continue their research only if they Pass the Dissertation Proposal. If a Doctoral Candidate does not Pass AE 693 Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal, they may find a new Dissertation Advisor and proceed with a new Dissertation Proposal.
Dissertation Defense
Each Doctoral Candidate is required to defend the originality, independence and quality of research by successfully passing the 1-credit AE 694 Ph.D. Dissertation Defense. The oral dissertation defense is administered by an examining committee that consists of the Dissertation Committee and a representative of the AE Graduate Committee who is not on the Dissertation Committee. The defense is open to public participation and consists of a one-hour presentation followed by a one-hour open discussion. At least one week prior to the defense, each member of the examining committee must receive a copy of the dissertation. At the same time, an additional copy must be made available for members of the WPI community wishing to read the dissertation prior to the defense, and public notification of the defense must be given by the Aerospace Engineering department. The examining committee will determine the acceptability of the student’s dissertation and oral performance. The dissertation advisor will determine the student’s grade.