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Doctor of Philosophy

The requirements below pertain to students starting the program Fall 2014 or after. For students starting prior to Fall 2014, there are different requirements.

View Current Program Requirements

Ph.D. entering with a B.S. Degree Requirements

Curriculum Element Courses Credit Hours (CH)
Required Background Courses MSEN 601, MSEN 603.
Course requirement can be waived by graduate program director if student had taken relevant lower degree or by exam at the discretion of the graduate program director.
Note: MSEN 601 and 602 are to be reduced from 4 to 3 CH.
6 CH
2 courses
Core Curriculum
  • MSEN 640 Thermodynamics
  • MSEN 620 Kinetics
  • MSEN 602 Physics of Materials

Course requirement can be waived by course instructor if student has earned credit (B or above) for equivalent courses at graduate level or by exam at the discretion of instructor/ graduate program director.

9 CH
3 courses
Designated Electives Any three courses from the Designated Electives list MSEN 601 and MSEN 603 may count towards Designated Electives requirement. 9 CH
min. 3 courses
Free Electives Any course in the catalog 300 level and above. 9 CH
min. 3 courses
Math Requirement From list of approved MATH courses (MATH 601-604, STAT 601, PHYS 615, PHYS 616) 3 CH
1 course
Seminars MSEN 681 3 CH
(3 semesters)
Total Semester Credit Hours Required for Degree 96

Notes:

  • MSEN 684, 685, 691 do not count as free electives.
  • Students with a BS degree would have to take a minimum of 10 courses to fulfill course requirements. If some of the core courses are waived, students do not need to take replacement courses - i.e. the total number of courses taken can be less than 10.
  • A minimum of 7 courses with MSEN designation should be taken. MSEN 681, MSEN 684, MSEN 685 and MSEN 691, as well as waived MSEN 601 and MSEN 603 courses do not count towards this minimum.
  • Remaining credit hours to fulfill minimum credit hour requirement (96 CH) may be taken from other courses as well as MSEN 691, subject to rules as per graduate catalog.
  • Limitations on the use of certain courses to fulfill credit hour requirements (see graduate catalog):
    • Not more than 6 CH may be used in any combination of the following categories: MSEN 684, MSEN 685
    • Not more than 3 CH of MSEN 681 may be used.
    • The maximum number of CH that may be considered for transfer credit is 12 CH as per university rules.
  • Additional coursework may be added by petition to the approved degree plan by the student’s advisory committee if it is deemed necessary to correct deficiencies in the student’s academic preparation.
  • If the students take the background courses (MSEN 601 and MSEN 603), they can be included in the degree plan and counted as designated electives.
Course Catalog Ph.D. entering with a M.S. degree requirements
  • Doctor of Philosophy
  • Entering with M.S. Degree Requirements
  • Ph.D. Qualifying Exam

Department of Materials Science & Engineering

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Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Texas A&M University
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College Station, TX 77843-3003

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