Work leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is designed to give the candidate a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of his or her professional field and training in methods of research. The final basis for granting the degree shall be the candidate’s grasp of the subject matter of a broad field of study and a demonstrated ability to do independent research. In addition, the candidate must have acquired the ability to express thoughts clearly and forcefully in both oral and written languages. The degree is not granted solely for the completion of coursework, residence and technical requirements, although these must be met.
Total Number of Hours (64 or 96)
• For students who already hold a Master’s degree, 64 total hours are required.
• For “direct Ph.D.” students, 96 hours are required.
A maximum of (6-8) transfer hours allowed from another institution
• Transfer hours must be from a U.S. peer institution; they cannot have been used on a previous degree plan.
• Students must send syllabi, transcript, and Texas A&M University course equivalent to the Graduate Office. Transfer hours are subject to the approval of the GSC.
All Ph.D. students are required to pass the Departmental Qualifying Examination within one year of starting the program.
There are two types of Qualifying Exams available. The research advisor will select which Track the student takes. Students without a research advisor default to Track 1.
Track 1: Written exam consisting of questions from undergraduate courses. This exam is administered in January and June of each year. More details on Track 1 are provided later in the handbook.
Track 2: Written and oral exam in which the separately formed committee provides a student research articles to analyze and then give a presentation. More details on Track 2 are provided later in the handbook.
All Ph.D. students are required to pass a Preliminary Examination.
Final Defense of the dissertation is required for all Ph.D. students.
For more details, please refer to our Graduate Student Handbook
Prior to admission, students must present a study plan that is reviewed by a TAMU ECEN faculty member to demonstrate to the department the feasibility and viability of their prospective study. A Texas A&M electrical and computer engineering (ECEN) faculty member must commit to serve as the dissertation advisor prior to the admission of a student. The dissertation research content should involve only theories, software, or the modest use of hardware, instead of any physical lab use, so that the research can be performed remotely without being on campus. Students will also need to submit a signed document acknowledging that their employer is aware of the Ph.D. study and allows dissertation research results to be published. The plan should include the courses to be taken and ensure that all the courses have distance learning sections available. The advisement of students in this program is similar to the on-campus program except that the student-faculty interactions are all conducted through internet-based conferencing software. Students in this program will take the qualifying exam, preliminary oral exam, and dissertation defense in the same way as the on-campus program. Students will need to cover their travel expenses to the campus for these exams.
A minimum of 18 (or 42) classroom hours (excludes 681, 684, 685, and 691).
• 18 hours is required for students with a previous Master’s degree and 42 for direct Ph.D. students.
• Classroom hours must be taken from courses within the College of Engineering (all departments) and/or College of Arts & Sciences (only MATH, STAT, PHYS, CHEM, BIOL)
• At least 9 (or 24) classroom hours must be ECEN courses.
Undergraduate hours allowed (2 courses or 8 hours)
• Only 400-level undergraduate courses can be included in the degree plan.
No more than 3 credit hours of Internship (684) are allowed.
• Ph.D. students cannot take 684 after their dissertation defense.
• If you are considering going on an internship (684), please consult your research advisor before making plans.
No more than 2 credit hours of Directed Studies (685) are allowed.
• Students working on a research project should enroll in Research (691) hours.
