Ph.D. in Systems Engineering

Publications

All SE Ph.D. students are encouraged to submit and present their research results at appropriate academic and/or professional conferences.

Research Advisor and Dissertation Committee Selection

The doctoral student is required to select a Research Advisor or multiple Co-Advisors. In consultation with the Systems Engineering Academic Program Chair, the Research Advisor(s) form a Dissertation Committee for the student prior to scheduling the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination (described below). The following rules apply to the committee membership.

• The committee must consist of at least three faculty members if there is a single Research Advisor (or four faculty members if there are two Research Co-Advisors).
• At least one of the committee members must be a full-time, WPI tenured/tenure-track faculty member.
• At least one of the committee members and the Research Advisor (or one of the Research co-Advisors) must hold an earned doctoral degree.
• At least half of the committee members must be Systems Engineering full-time or Adjunct faculty members.
• At least one committee member must be a faculty member not affiliated with the WPI SE Program, or a recognized subject matter expert from industry.

Once the Dissertation Committee has been established, any changes to that committee must be approved by the Research Advisor(s). Changes to the student’s Research Advisor(s) must be approved by the Systems Engineering Academic Program Chair. A completed Research Advisor(s) and Committee Selection form must be filed with the Systems Engineering Program prior to taking the Qualifying Examination and each time there is a change to the Research Advisor(s) or Dissertation Committee.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination

The doctoral student is required to successfully complete the Qualifying Examination no later than 18 credits beyond the M.S. degree. The Qualifying Examination is administered by the SE Academic Program Chair and the student’s Dissertation Committee. At the discretion of the SE Academic Program Chair, additional faculty outside of the student’s Dissertation Committee may also be invited to participate in the examination.

The Qualifying Examination is intended to be an opportunity to evaluate the student’s level of academic preparation and identify any shortcomings in the student’s background upon entrance to the Ph.D. program. The format and duration of the examination is at the discretion of the SE Academic Program Chair and Dissertation Committee. The examination may be written and/or oral and may include questions to test the general background of the student as well as questions specific to the student’s intended area of research. Other formats for this examination will be acceptable if approved by the SE Academic Program Chair in consultation with the Dissertation Committee and the Research Advisor(s).  Normally, the topics to be addressed in the Qualifying Exam include: Awareness of and familiarity with broad Systems Engineering topics (e.g. SoS, MBSE, Systems Thinking, Kossiakoff, Blanchard and Fabrycky); Knowledge of Project Management tools and techniques, specifically Gantt Charting and Work Breakdown Structures; Understanding of how to do original research (e.g. familiarity with Graduate Research by Robert Smith or A Practical Guide to Graduate Research by Molly Stock or Writing Dissertation a Systematic Approach by Gordon Davis); Awareness of and familiarity with some of the relevant literature on the proposed research area; Some ideas for possible research approaches; Membership in a major Systems Engineering organization; Attendance of at least one major Systems Engineering conference; and Demonstrated ability to write technical documents.

The SE Academic Program Chair and Dissertation Committee determine the outcome of the Qualifying Examination (Pass, Repeat, or Fail) and any required remediation intended to address shortcomings identified in the student’s background.

• A grade of Fail will result in dismissal from the SE graduate program.
• A grade of Repeat requires the student to retake the examination within one year of the date of the initial Qualifying Examination.
• A grade of Pass is expected to also include a summary of any required remediation including, but not limited to, coursework, reading assignments, and/or independent study.
• The only permissible grades if a student takes the Qualifying Examination a second time are Pass and Fail.

Irrespective of the outcome of the examination, a Qualifying Examination Completion form, signed by the SE Academic Program Chair and Dissertation Committee members, must be filed with the Systems Engineering Program upon completion of the examination.

Upon successful completion of the Qualifying Examination, each doctoral student must submit a Ph.D. Program of Study (PoS) form with the Systems Engineering Program. The program of study should be completed in consultation with, and signed by, the student’s Research Advisor(s) and should include specific course work designed to address any shortcomings identified in the student’s background during the Examination.

Upon successful completion of the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination, the student becomes a SE Ph.D. candidate.

Area Examination

The doctoral student is required to pass an Area Examination prior to writing a dissertation. The Area Examination is intended to be an opportunity for the student’s Research Advisor(s) and Dissertation Committee members to evaluate the suitability, scope, and novelty of the student’s proposed dissertation topic. The format of the Area Examination is at the discretion of the student’s Dissertation Committee but will typically include a presentation by the student describing the current state of their research field, their planned research activities, and the expected contributions of their work.  Typical topics to be covered in the Area Exam include a Complete and Exhaustive Literature Review on their research topic; Publication in a conference or a journal on their research topic; Clearly stated research methodology; Gantt chart of tasks for implementing research methodology; Demonstrated ability to defend the question “Why is this research important and so what?”; Ability to answer the question, “What is new/original about this research?”; and a Clearly stated research objective(s).

Students are eligible to take the Area Examination after they have successfully completed the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination and at least two semesters of coursework (18 graduate credit hours if part-time) in the graduate program. Failure to successfully complete the Area Examination prior to the end of the student’s seventh semester (42 graduate credit hours if part-time) after Ph.D. program matriculation will be considered a failure to make satisfactory academic progress and may result in removal from the program.

The Research Advisor(s) and Dissertation Committee determine the Pass/Fail outcome of the Area Examination. A grade of Fail will result in dismissal from the SE Ph.D. graduate program. A grade of Pass may include recommendations for study or remediation. An Area Examination Completion form must be signed by the student’s Research Advisor(s) and Dissertation Committee Members and filed with the Systems Engineering program Graduate Secretary upon completion of the Area examination.

Dissertation and Defense

The doctoral student must complete and orally defend publicly a dissertation prepared under the general supervision of the Research Advisor(s). The research described in the dissertation must be original and constitute a contribution to knowledge in the major field of the candidate. The Research Advisor(s) and Dissertation Committee shall certify the quality and originality of the dissertation research, the satisfactory execution of the dissertation, and the preparedness of the student for the defense of the dissertation. The Graduate Secretary must be notified of a student’s defense at least seven days prior to the date of the defense, without exception. The dissertation defense can be scheduled any time after the end of the semester in which the Area Examination was completed.