Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science

Mechanical Engineering PHD | Program Details

Students pursuing a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering (ME) must complete 81 credit hours of graduate-level coursework. This can include credit hours from a master's degree. ME graduate electives can include graduate credits earned while completing a master's degree. Students should review their Degree Audit Report (DARS) with their advisor to see how many credits of electives are needed. Students must also take and pass a comprehensive examination, and complete a prospectus defense and final dissertation defense.

Doctorate Requirements

Timeline

Students must meet the University deadlines for establishing their committee and defending and submitting their dissertation. The program consists of the following:

  • Coursework.
  • Comprehensive Exam: Must be completed within eight terms (excluding summer) from the time of admission.
  • Dissertation Committee: Must be completed after passing the comprehensive exam and approved prior to prospectus.
  • Prospectus: Students have a maximum of three years from the completion of comprehensive examinations to complete the prospectus and advance to candidacy.
  • Dissertation: Students have 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.

Students must be registered for at least one credit during the term in which each program step is completed and associated forms are processed. Forms that are submitted during summer term for a milestone that was completed in spring term will be processed fall term unless the student is registered for at least one credit during summer.

Students can apply up to three credit hours of ME 607 Seminar toward their degree.Only courses with a grade of B- or higher will be applied to the degree. The MME Department does not accept ME 502 Independent Study credits.

CourseDescriptionCredits
ME 603Dissertation27 credit hours
ME 6XX600 Level ME Courses8 credit hours
ME 5XX/6XX500 or 600 Level ME Courses19 credit hours
ME 5XX/6XXME Graduate Electives*27 credit hours

Comprehensive Exam

ME Doctoral students are required to take and pass the Comprehensive Exam (CE) prior to their prospectus. Students have eight terms (excluding summer) from the time of admission to pass the CE, with a maximum of two consecutive attempts. Master's candidates intending to continue with a doctorate may take the CE in their second year of master's level studies. Students sign up for the CE during the winter term, and the exam is held during spring term. The Comprehensive Exam consists of:

  • Three written exams, each in a different subject. Each exam is two hours.
  • One oral exam. This generally occurs one week after completion of written examinations.

Students must choose three of the following subjects to be tested on. One subject must be outside of the student’s area of interest/specialty, more details about each subject are listed below.

  • Engineering Mechanics
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Heat and Mass Transfer
  • Machine Design
  • Materials Science
  • System Dynamics and Vibration
  • Thermodynamics

The CE is offered once annually, typically during spring term. Dates, times, and faculty for each exam will be posted at least one month prior to the exam date, generally during winter term. Students complete the written exam first and the oral examination occurs approximately one week after. Eligible students will be notified via email to sign-up for the various subject they wish to be tested on. Students planning to take the exam must submit the form at least two weeks prior to the exam. Failure to do so may limit subject areas due to exam scheduling. 

Grading

The Comprehensive Exam committee (consists of the faculty administering the various sections of the exam) will assess the student's overall performance and assign a grade of pass or fail. In order to develop exam consistency, all exams and corresponding grading will be available to the entire faculty after students have completed them. Students will be notified of the exam results within one week of the oral exam, preferably on the same day as the oral exam.

Pass

Passing the written and oral exams in all three subject areas will result in a passing grade. The Report on Passing Comprehensive Examinations form (GO-22) will be completed and the official CE completion date will be the date of the oral exam.

Passing the written and oral exam in two subject areas and failing the written and/or oral exam in one subject area will result in a tentative passing grade. Students will need to retake the failed portion of the exam at the next available offering. Prior to retaking the exam, students will need to complete the condition(s) imposed by the exam committee. The conditions are designed to prepare the student for the next round of testing. Possible Conditions:

  • Retake one or more sections of the exam
  • Enroll in additional coursework to strengthen weak areas
  • Complete a special project in the deficient area
  • Act as TA for special classes to address any deficiencies

Students who complete their conditions and pass the exam retake will have their tentative passing grade converted to an official passing grade. The GO-22 will be completed and the official CE completion date will be the date of the exam retake. Failing to complete the conditions and/or failing the exam retake will result in a failed grade and expulsion from the PhD program.

Fail

Failing two or more subject areas in either the written or oral portion of the exam will result in a failed grade. Students must retake the entire qualifying exam at the next available offering. Students retaking the exam are not required to choose the same subject areas they were originally tested on, however, they may be required to complete various conditions prior to retaking the exam. Students who fail the CE twice will be expelled from the PhD program. The conditions are designed to prepare the student for the next round of testing. Possible Conditions:

  • Retake one or more sections of the exam
  • Enroll in additional coursework to strengthen weak areas
  • Complete a special project in the deficient area
  • Act as TA for special classes to address any deficiencies

Comprehensive Exam Subject Details

SubjectCorresponding CoursesCourse DescriptionCourse Prerequisites
Engineering MechanicsME 313 Analysis of Mechanical ComponentsStress and deflection analysis of structural components including review of stress and strain; curved beams; pressure vessels, impact loading, stability, and energy methods. Topics will be synthesized in a design project.EAS 212, ME 213/L, Mth 261
Fluid MechanicsME 320 Fluid MechanicsProperties of fluids; hydrostatics; fluid dynamics, Bernoulli's equation; conservation of mass, energy and momentum; differential analysis; and dimensional analysis.EAS 215, Mth 256
Heat and Mass TransferME 323 Heat TransferFundamentals of engineering heat transfer with design applications; steady-state and transient analysis of conduction in one and two dimensions; concepts of convection, forced convection, internal and external flows, natural convection, and heat exchanger design; study of radiation concepts and surface radiation exchange between surfaces.Mth 256, Mth 261, ME 320, ME 321
Machine DesignME 314 Analysis and Design of Machine ElementsAnalysis and design of machine elements and systems, covering failure theories, fatigue, fasteners, welds, gears, springs, bearings, introduction to stochastic design. Topics will be synthesized in a design project.ME 313
Materials ScienceME 213 Properties of MaterialsBasic properties, behavior, and survey of engineering and industrial applications of metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites.Ch 221
System Dynamics and VibrationME 351 Vibrations and System DynamicsAn introduction to vibrations and system dynamics for single and multiple degree-of-freedom linear systems. The course includes: free and forced vibrations; resonance; modeling of mechanical, fluid, and electrical systems; Laplace transformations; and dynamic system response in the time and frequency domains. Computer analysis and solution techniques will be utilized.EAS 215, Mth, 256, Mth 261, ECE 241, ME 350
ThermodynamicsME 321 Engineering ThermodynamicsStudy of energy sources and utilization; First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics; close and control volume systems; thermodynamic processes and cycles; thermodynamic properties; heat and power systems.Ph 223, Mth 252

Interest/Specialty Areas: Design & Manufacturing (Blue), Materials Science (Red), Thermal & Fluid Science (Purple)

The dissertation committee provides guidance throughout the dissertation process and will approve the student's prospectus and the final written thesis and oral examination. Committee members are selected by the student and their advisor. Once students confirm the committee members, they must submit the Appointment of Master's Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation Committee (GO-16 Form) to the Graduate School for approval.

Committee must consist of:

  • A dissertation advisor/committee chair. Must be a regular, full-time MME instructional faculty, tenured or tenure-track, assistant professor or higher in rank.
  • Two MME faculty committee members. May be regular, full-time instructional faculty (tenured, tenure-track, or fixed-term) or adjunct faculty.
  • One to three additional committee members. May include adjunct or fixed-term PSU faculty and/or one member 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. All committee members must have doctoral degrees.

The prospectus, which consists of a written and an oral presentation of a dissertation proposal. The written proposal must contain the following items:

  • Introduction
  • Background
  • Preliminary work/results
  • Proposed work
  • Expected date of completion/result date

All students should refer to their Permanent Advisor for additional information regarding content. All students must submit the written proposal to their dissertation committee at least one week prior to presentation.

The completed dissertation must contain the following items:

  • Title Page
  • Table of Contents
  • List of Tables and List of Figures
  • Nomenclature
  • Introduction
  • Other Chapters
  • Conclusion
  • Reference/Bibliography

All students should refer to their Permanent Advisor for additional information regarding content. The formatting of thesis and dissertation papers is standard for the University and all documents must meet the requirements outlined in the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Formatting Requirements. All students must submit their final documents to their dissertation committee at least one week prior to presentation/defense. Dissertation defenses cannot take place until it has been approved by the MME Academic Program Administrator. This is to ensure that all committees are finalized, timelines are adhered to, and milestones are met before presentations take place.

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