Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

PhD Program Requirements

Advising

Students are not admitted to the ECE PhD program without a faculty member who is willing to commit to serving as the student's adviser. Upon admission to the doctoral program, you will be formally assigned to the faculty member who has agreed to serve as your academic adviser.  Coursework taken without adviser approval may not be accepted as part of a student's program.

Students may change advisors as their study plans develop (please contact the department for the form), and a faculty member may withdraw from serving as adviser to a PhD student. The faculty recognizes its responsibility to provide adequate advising to all students, and the department will ensure that all admits have an adviser. To successfully complete a PhD dissertation, it is essential that students work closely with their adviser.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the University doctoral degree requirements listed in the PSU Bulletin, a candidate for the PhD degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering must complete a minimum of 82 graduate credits consisting of at least 45 EE/ECE graduate credits, 2 credits of Grad School Essentials (ECE 563 and ECE 564), 8 elective graduate credits and at least 27 credits of ECE 603 (Dissertation). 

Of the 45 EE/ECE credits, 32 credits must come from EE/ECE lecture courses (24 lecture credits if the student successfully completed an ECE MS Thesis; of these, 9 credits maximum may be Thesis credits).  The 8 elective credits may come from any academic department, but must be lecture credits only.

Specific course requirements depend on the student’s area of emphasis, and the student’s program must be approved by their Advisory Committee (PhD Advisory Committee form, PhD Study Plan form). Lecture courses taken under the undifferentiated grading option (P/NP) shall not be used to satisfy any graduate degree program requirements.  All coursework must be completed with a grade of B- or better. If any coursework needs transferred from another institution, the Proposed Transfer Credit (GO-21) form will need to be submitted to the Graduate School office, but only after the PhD Study Plan has been approved by the student's Advisory Committee and the Graduate Program Director.

PhD students are also required to obtain approval of their proposed research plan by their doctoral committee before they can be advanced to candidacy, via a Dissertation Proposal Defense (GO-23). A dissertation containing a real contribution to knowledge based on the candidate’s own investigation and a final oral Dissertation Defense are required. The dissertation must show a mastery of the literature of the subject and be written in credible literary form. The defense is public, and its schedule must be posted in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at least two weeks in advance. 

Each PhD must have at least one journal publication. The student must be the principal author of a journal publication as approved by the committee. The publications must be approved as acceptable by the doctoral committee.

Students should choose a research topic and adviser for their dissertation. 

General Check List for Ph.D. Degree Requirements

  1. PhD Advisory Committee approved by ECE Graduate Program Director (via Advisory Committee form)
  2. PhD Study Plan form approved by the Advisory Committee by the end of the second term in the program (Study Plan form for students with MS Thesis to include)
  3. Transfer coursework approved by the Graduate School office (via GO-21D form)
  4. Grad Essentials sequence (ECE 563 & 564) completed
  5. Residency requirement met
  6. Research Proficiency Exam passed (via GO-22 form)
  7. Doctoral Dissertation Committee approved (via GO-16D form)
  8. Program of study verified by Graduate School office
  9. Dissertation Proposal approved/Advancement to Candidacy (via GO-23D form)
  10. Minimum of 3 years beyond BS degree
  11. Journal publication requirement met (via DARS exception submitted by Student Coordinator)
  12. Final Dissertation Defense (via GO-17D form, Dissertation Signature Page form, ETD Access form)
  13. Application for graduation/degree

GO Forms can be found on the Graduate School website.

Doctoral Degree Timeline

 

Advisory Committee approved by Graduate Program Director

Students are required to work with their advisor to form an Advisory Committee for the first part of their studies. Often, these committee members become part of the Dissertation Committe later on. The student must fill out the Advisory Committee form and submit it to the Student Coordinator.

Study Plan approved by the Advisory Committee

Students are required to complete a tentative degree plan that has been approved by their Advisory Committee no later than the second quarter of their residence at PSU. Coursework taken without adviser approval may not be accepted as part of a student's program. Any coursework needing to be transferred from another institution will need to be reflected on the Study Plan form and approved by the Committee prior to submitting a Proposed Transfer Credit form (GO-21) to the Graduate School office for final approval and application to the student's DARS (Degree Audit Reporting System) report.

Research Proficiency Exam

Every PhD student is required to take the Research Proficiency Exam (RPE) by the end of their second year at PSU. Students shall demonstrate their ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate a body of knowledge within their domain of research. This satisfies the university’s Comprehensive Exam requirement.

  • Years are counted from the term in which the student enters the PhD program.
  • Extensions to the two-year period may be granted by the student's Advisory Committee in consultation with the ECE Graduate Program Director. In particular, part time students may routinely obtain an extension to three years. The extension cannot exceed the University limits, which are currently 5 years if entering with MS degree, or 7 years otherwise.

The exam consists of a written research paper and an oral presentation. Prior to taking the RPE, students must complete the Grad Essentials sequence (ECE 563 & 564):

  • Students must complete the Grad Essentials sequence before taking the RPE.
  • The student is assigned a three-person RPE committee created by their advisor, and with approval by the ECE Graduate Program Director.
  • The committee members must be knowledgeable in the research area. If appropriate, one member of the committee may be a faculty member from a different department or institution, with approval of the ECE Graduate Program Director.
  • The student conducts research on a problem and writes a paper that is in a format appropriate for publication at a conference or workshop in that research area. Standard formatting can be used as appropriate for that area.
  • The student schedules the RPE presentation with the RPE committee.  
  • Presentations can take place at any time during the academic year and need not be coordinated with each other.
  • The presentation paper is circulated to the committee two weeks before the presentation.
  • The format is typical technical talk that first motivates the problem, then describes related work, followed by the research contributions.

The 3-person committee decides on a Pass/Fail/Retake:

  • A decision to pass must be unanimous.
  • In case of a retake, the student must retake the exam no sooner than 3 months after the original exam date.
  • The exam can only be taken twice.

NOTE: For student admitted prior to Fall 2022, there is an option to do the old version of the ECE Comprehensive Examination instead of the newer RPE version detailed above. For students opting to do the old version of the ECE Comp Exam, the exam format shall be determined by the student's PhD Advisory Committee. The exam must evaluate the student in not less than two distinct technical areas which are closely related to the student's dissertation topic. The Committee may include additional technical topic areas on the exam. The Committee shall inform the student, in writing, of the format and technical areas that will be evaluated not less than 30 days prior to the exam date. The key goals of the student's oral presentation on these topics are to describe problems presented in topical papers, analyze and evaluate solutions proposed to determine strong points and weak points of the proposed solutions. 

Dissertation Proposal

All PhD students must successfully present a proposal of the dissertation subject to an approved Dissertation Committee. Students have a maximum of three years from the completion of comprehensive examinations to advancement to candidacy. Under no circumstances may a student defend their proposal more than two times. This rule applies even if the faculty adviser or dissertation committee members change. Failure to comply with this requirement and its deadlines will result in automatic dismissal from the PhD program.

A Proposal Defense is not valid without a dissertation committee approved by the Graduate School. A completed GO-16D form must be submitted to the Graduate School office (online) at least six weeks prior to the tentative proposal date. 

The dissertation committee must consist of four to six PSU faculty members: the dissertation chair along with a minimum of three and a maximum of five other members. The chair of the dissertation committee must be regular, full-time PSU instructional faculty, tenured or tenure-track, assistant professor or higher in rank; the other three to five committee members may include adjunct or fixed-term faculty and/or members of the OHSU faculty. If it is necessary to go off-campus for one committee member with specific expertise not available among PSU faculty, a curriculum vitae (CV) for that proposed member must be presented with the GO-16D form. This off-campus member may substitute for one of the three to five regular committee members. All committee members must have doctoral degrees.

At the discretion of the doctoral program, the designation of co-chair can be requested for one member of the committee. The designation of co-chair recognizes the significant academic advising role of the committee member, but oversight of the process and procedures remains with the chair. To request this designation, write “co-chair” below next to the appropriate faculty member’s name.

Effective January 13th, 2021: The Graduate School leadership has eliminated the role of Graduate School Representative (GS Rep) from dissertation committees. 

  • Doctoral committees will still require a minimum of 4 (and a maximum of 6) eligible members.
  • The revised GO-16D form is now available on the Graduate School website.
  • This change is effective January 13th, 2021 for committees appointed in the future.
  • For GO-16D forms that have been submitted but not yet approved by the Graduate School, the Graduate School will reach out to confirm how each student and adviser would like to proceed.
  • For doctoral students who already have committees appointed, the committee will remain unchanged unless you want it to be changed. To support continuity, we recommend that the person currently serving as GS Rep remain on the committee; however, they will no longer be functioning as a GS Rep and will be considered a regular member.
  • If committee changes are needed due to this policy change, please contact the Graduate School directly.

Not less than two weeks prior to the date of the exam the student shall give each dissertation committee member a written proposal describing the research topic of the PhD dissertation. This written proposal submitted to the committee for approval should be sufficiently detailed and clear to provide a blueprint for the study to follow. The proposal is expected to include the following:

  1. General nature and present status of knowledge of the problem.
  2. The theoretical and empirical framework within which the proposed problem exists.
  3. The significance of the proposed research and its likely contributions.
  4. The research methodology to be used.
  5. A timeline for conducting the research and completion of the dissertation.

The committee will have at least two weeks to read a student’s written proposal and make a decision if the student is ready for the exam. The exam can be postponed to allow the student to make improvements indicated by the PhD dissertation committee members.

The defense is public, and its schedule must be posted in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at least two weeks in advance. Please contact the Student Coordinator, Emily Hahn (hahn2@pdx.edu), to schedule the defense and announcement.

The exam itself begins with an oral presentation by the student describing the proposed research effort, which will be the topic of the PhD dissertation. The dissertation committee may ask the student questions about the oral presentation, the written proposal, or any questions necessary to determine if the student has a sufficient background and preparation necessary to conduct the research. The exam shall not exceed three hours.

Advancement to Candidacy

Once the dissertation proposal is approved, the student will be advanced to candidacy.  The student is informed by the Dean of the Graduate School of advancement to candidacy for the doctoral degree. A doctoral candidate has a minimum of four months and a maximum of five years from the effective date of advancement to candidacy to complete all requirements for graduation.  Failure to comply with this requirement and its deadlines will result in automatic dismissal from the PhD program. Please see the Graduate School section of the PSU Bulletin for more details.

PhD Program Progress Review Policies

Once a student has passed the RPE, the ECE Graduate Affairs Committee will require each PhD student to submit evidence of progress toward completing the degree. The following evidence will be considered:
- Present at the annual ECE PhD day (required annually for all who have passed the RPE)
- Publish and present a conference paper
- Publish a journal paper
- Give a graduate seminar

The submission deadline for any evidence of progress is due by April 30th. The annual evidence of progress will become part of the student’s file.

The ECE Graduate Affairs Committee, after consulting with the student’s advisory or dissertation committee advisor, can put students on probation for one year if no or insufficient progress is reported. A letter signed by the Graduate Program Director and the Department Chair will notify the student of the probation period.

If the Graduate Committee, after consulting with the student’s advisor, determines that insufficient progress was made during the probation period, the student can be dismissed from our graduate program.

If a faculty advisor wants to appeal, they can make a motion during a faculty meeting to overturn the Committee’s decision to dismiss the student. The advisor must notify the Department Chair in writing of the appeal within 20 days of the Committee's decision.

ACADEMIC STANDING

ACADEMIC PROBATION

All students admitted to graduate studies (regular, conditional, and graduate certificate) at Portland State University must maintain a GPA of at least 3.00 for all graduate credit earned at Portland State University. An admitted student is placed on probation if:

The student's cumulative graduate GPA at Portland State University, based on the completion of 9 graded graduate credits at Portland State University, is below 3.00 at the end of any term; or

The student's term graduate GPA, based on a minimum of 6 graded graduate hours, is below 2.67 for a given term.

While on academic probation the student will not be permitted to graduate, to be advanced to doctoral candidacy, to receive approval of the masters degree program (GO-12 form), to receive or continue to hold a graduate assistantship, or to register for more than a total of 9 credit hours in any term. Removal of academic probation occurs if the cumulative graduate GPA is brought to 3.00 within the next 9 graduate credits in graded courses in the case of probation due to a low cumulative GPA, or both cumulative and term GPA of 3.00 or above in the case of probation due to a low term GPA.

DISQUALIFICATION

A student who is disqualified may not register for any graduate courses at PSU for at least one calendar year. Disqualification occurs if:

1. The student on academic probation for low GPA fails to achieve a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00 or higher within the next 9 graduate credits in graded courses; or
2. The student on probation for a term GPA of below 2.67 does not receive at least a 3.00 term GPA, and does not achieve a 3.00 cumulative GPA with the next 9 graded graduate hours, if applicable; or
3. The student becomes subject to academic probation for a second time. 
Readmission after Disqualification

A disqualified student may petition for re-admission as a degree-seeking student in a graduate program after one calendar year. Re-admission after the mandatory one-year period is initiated by the student's filing of a petition for re-admission to the Graduate Council through the Office of Graduate Studies and Research. Re-admission is not automatic. To be readmitted the student must meet all current admission requirements with the exception of the graduate GPA.

If the student's graduate program has recommended re-admission, the Graduate Council may grant re-admission, with or without additional academic requirements, or may recommend continued disqualification. The readmitted graduate student is subject to all University and program requirements in effect at the time of readmission. The student must raise the PSU cumulative graduate GPA to 3.00 or better with 12 credits of graded graduate coursework after re-admission, or she/he will be disqualified.

Graduate courses completed at other institutions while a student is under disqualification at PSU will not be applied toward a graduate program at PSU.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

A student in good academic standing may petition for a leave of absence of up to one year. The leave of absence status ensures the student will not be dropped from the program during an extended absence.  Students formally apply for a leave of absence, in writing, to the Chair of the ECE department graduate committee.  The application must state the dates of absence and the reason why the leave is requested. Any supporting documentation should be included.

A student may petition for a second leave of absence from a graduate program, but approval is required from the department chair and graduate committee of the college or school.  Any student who requests a leave of absence for a non-health related reason must provide supporting evidence that the situation prompting this request will not be repeated. The student must also present a work plan after coming back from the leave of absence. Applications submitted without this information will be returned without action.

A leave of absence will delay any ECE department degree deadlines but it does not constitute a waiver of the time limit for completion of a PSU graduate degree. Moreover, while on a leave of absence the student is prohibited from using any university resources that could contribute to completion of a degree. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, access to the university library, CECS computer accounts and the student's faculty advisor, advisory committee members or thesis/dissertation members.

APPEALS

If a student wishes to appeal a departmental decision then a formal request must be made, in writing, within 60 day of notification (also see section “XI. Readmission Policy” if applicable). To appeal an ECE Department decision, a student must submit an appeal packet to the ECE graduate committee chair. The appeal packet must consist of the following:

1. A statement identifying which decision should be overturned.
2. A statement explaining why the prior decision should be overturned (include any supporting documentation).
3. A letter of support from the student's faculty adviser recommending the prior decision to be overturned.

An incomplete appeal packet will be returned without action.

The ECE graduate committee will review the appeal packet and make a recommendation to the ECE graduate program director who will then render a final decision. The student will be informed of the final decision in writing.

Not all decisions can be appealed. Students must check with ECE graduate program staff prior to submitting an appeal packet (email: eceinfo@pdx.edu or phone 503.725.3002).

READMISSION

This policy applies to all students who were previously admitted to an ECE department graduate degree program or graduate certificate program, matriculated, and then were subsequently dropped from their ECE graduate program for any reason other than misconduct. Students removed for misconduct shall have their applications for readmission returned without action.

In this policy the phrase “graduate program” refers to a master’s degree program, a doctoral program or a graduate certificate program in the ECE department. Furthermore, the term “drop date” refers to the date the ECE department dropped the student from their degree program.

Students dropped from any ECE department graduate program must reapply within 12 months after the drop date. Any readmission application received more than 12 months from the drop date will be returned without action. Students must also comply with any university requirements for readmission.

The readmission application packet must contain the following:

  1. A statement describing why the student was dropped from the graduate program.
  2. A statement explaining why the conditions that lead to removal from graduate program no longer exist. Include any supporting documentation.
  3. Transcripts from any graduate coursework taken since being dropped from the ECE graduate program.
  4. A list of all graduate program requirements remaining before graduation.
  5. A plan showing when the remaining graduate program requirements are scheduled to be completed.
  6. A letter from the student’s faculty adviser supporting the readmission request.

The readmission packet shall be submitted to the ECE graduate program director for review. The readmission must be approved by the ECE department graduate committee.