The Doctor of Philosophy program in Aerospace Engineering is a traditional program that requires students to successfully demonstrate their abilities in a broad spectrum of aerospace technology, mathematics and original research.
General Outline
Qualifying Examination
Dissertation Committee
Plan of Study
Foreign Language and Research Skills (FLORS) Requirements
Comprehensive Examination
Dissertation and Public Defense
Residency Requirements
Graduation Requirements
Maximum Tenure
To earn the Ph.D. degree students must:
Sections 4.2 through 4.10 contain detailed descriptions of these requirements.
A seven-step outline of a typical Ph.D. program is as follows:
Step 1: After earning the MSAE or MEAE degree (or equivalent) or for highly qualified applicants (with an undergraduate GPA > 3.75, after earning a BSAE) the student applies for admission to the PhDAE program. A student judged to be capable of earning the degree is admitted to the program as a PhDAE aspirant.
Step 2: The aspirant selects or (upon request) is assigned a major advisor based upon the aspirant’s area of interest. The major advisor assists the aspirant in selecting courses for the first year of study and the preparation of an initial plan of study including the formation of an initial dissertation committee: see Section 4.2. Note well: The PhDAE aspirant must be classified as a full-time graduate student as defined in Table 1.8.
Step 3: After completing the first year of study with a GPA of at least 3.5/4.0 (grades of D or F do not count toward the PhDAE degree) the aspirant requests the preparation of a qualifying examination: see Section 4.3.
Step 4: After passing the Qualifying examination the aspirant forms a Dissertation Committee and prepares a final plan of study: see Sections 4.2 and 4.4.
Step 5: The aspirant completes the final plan of study and satisfies the FLORS (Foreign Language or Research Skills)requirement: see Sections 4.2 and 4.5.
Step 6: The aspirant prepares for the comprehensive examination. An important component of this is a documented, original research plan which becomes the focus of the dissertation.
This original research plan must be approved by the aspirant’s dissertation committee. After committee approval the aspirant defends the original research plan. Section 4.6 describes the requirements for the comprehensive examination. After passing the comprehensive examination the aspirant becomes a candidate for the Ph.D. degree.
Step 7: The candidate completes the Ph.D. research in accordance with the original research plan of Step 6 and writes a dissertation. The dissertation must be approved by the dissertation committee. After approval by the dissertation committee the candidate defends the dissertation: see Section 4.7.
The residency requirement described in Section 4.8 can be satisfied during any of Steps 1-7.
The dissertation must be completed within eight years after being admitted to the PhDAE program. In cases which require more than eight years the dissertation committee may grant an appeal for an extension of this period.
The sequence of steps described here is typical. In special situations this sequence may be altered. However, any changes in the sequence must be approved by the dissertation committee and by the department graduate advisor.
The purpose of the qualifying examination is to assess the aspirant’s breadth of knowledge and to demonstrate the aspirant’s ability to formulate mathematical representations of real physical situations in the broad field of aerospace engineering.
It is recommended that the qualifying examination be taken after two semesters of course work which is part of the plan of study discussed in Section 4.2.
The qualifying examination is a written examination which covers mathematics and three of the following five areas at the option of the aspirant:
The qualifying examination is normally conducted over a two-day period. On each day, a morning and afternoon session is devoted to one of the four areas selected by the aspirant.
The outcome of each of the four areas may be: pass, pass with remedy or fail. Pass with remedy usually requires the aspirant to take additional graduate course work in that area with a B grade as a minimum.
Note well: an aspirant is allowed two attempts to pass any part of the qualifying examination. Unsuccessful aspirants are barred from further doctoral studies at K.U.
After successfully completing the qualifying examination the PhDAE candidate forms the final dissertation committee. This committee consists of four AE faculty members plus at least one faculty member from outside the AE department. The dissertation committee chairman is normally the candidate’s major advisor. The dissertation committee assists the aspirant during the remainder of the PhDAE program, particularly with the dissertation research. If the outside member of the dissertation committee is not a member of the graduate faculty an ad hoc appointment to the graduate faculty must be secured before such a person is allowed to serve as a member of the dissertation committee.
The plan of study is a form which includes the following information:
The minimum course requirements for the PhDAE are: at least 60 semester credit hours beyond the B.S.A.E. degree (or equivalent). The requirement for 60 hours beyond the B.S.A.E. degree can be reduced if an aspirant has obtained the M.S.A.E. or M.E.A.E. degree (or equivalent). These 60 hours must be distributed as follows:
Any credit hours earned while completing the MSAE or MEAE (or equivalent) degree can be used to satisfy a portion of the requirements a) through c), provided those credits are appropriate to the overall PhDAE program of the aspirant.
Unique situations can be accommodated with the combined approval of the AE department graduate advisor and the aspirant’s major advisor.
Technical courses can be selected from the list of approved graduate courses of Table 2.1. A detailed description of these courses can be found in Appendix A.
The plan of study shall indicate for each course which requirement is being satisfied. Note well: one course can satisfy only one requirement. An example of a course distribution which satisfies the PhDAE requirements is given in Table 2.4.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credit Hours |
| At least 15 hours of Mathematics beyond the B.S. | ||
| AE 712 | Techniques of Engineering Evaluation | 3 |
| Math 628 | Mathematical Theory of Statistics | 3 |
| Math 646 | Complex Variables | 3 |
| Math 648 | Calculus of Variations | 3 |
| Math 647 | Applied Partial Differential Equations | 3 |
Subtotal |
15 | |
| At least 15 hours of technical courses outside the area of specialization | ||
| AE 721 | Aircraft Design Laboratory I | 4 |
| AE 709 | Structural Composites | 3 |
| AE 705 | Structural Vibrations and Modal Testing | 4 |
| AE 771 | Rocket Propulsion | 3 |
| AE 790 | Special Problems in Aerospace Engineering | 1 |
Subtotal |
15 | |
| At least 15 horus of technical courses in the area of specialization | ||
| AE 743 | Compressible Aerodynamics | 3 |
| AE 746 | Computational Fluid Dynamics | 3 |
| AE 840 | Aerodynamics of Viscous Fluids | 3 |
| AE 845 | Advanced Computational Aerodynamics | 3 |
| AE 941 | Hypersonic Aerodynamics | 3 |
Subtotal |
15 | |
| At least 15 hours of PhD Thesis | ||
| AE 996 | PhD Thesis | 15 |
Subtotal |
15 | |
Total Semester Credit Hours |
60 |
Aspirants can satisfy the FLORS requirement by selecting one of three options as long as the dissertation committee chairman approves of that choice:
Option 1: Aspirants whose dissertation is primarily theoretical must demonstrate proficiency in computer science and complete three hours of graduate course work in instrumentation or experimentation.
Option 2: Aspirants whose dissertation is primarily experimental must demonstrate proficiency in computer science and complete three hours of graduate course work in computational methodology.
Option 3: All aspirants may elect to substitute a demonstration of reading proficiency in a non-native language (other than English) for the demonstration of computer proficiency. Such a language must be one with a significant body of literature in the area of the aspirant’s dissertation research. Examples of acceptable foreign languages in aerospace engineering are: German, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and Spanish.
Note well: These requirements are in addition to the courses taken as part of the plan of study.
The purpose of the comprehensive examination is to determine whether or not the aspirant has an acceptable proposal for research leading to a dissertation. This research and the ensuing dissertation must contain an original contribution of the aspirant to the field.
The comprehensive examination consists of two parts:
Part I: a written proposal outlining in reasonable detail the work or research plan to be done for the dissertation. This written proposal must contain a historical outline (with references) of similar work done in the field.
Part II: an oral examination during which the aspirant defends the proposed work or research plan. In addition the aspirant is expected to demonstrate proficiency in his/her area of specialization.
Note well: At least two weeks before the comprehensive examination is scheduled the aspirant must submit copies of the work or research plan to the dissertation committee for review.
The comprehensive examination will be conducted by the aspirant’s dissertation committee. The examination must be public and reasonable questions from the public must be addressed by the aspirant.
Upon passing the comprehensive examination the aspirant becomes a candidate for the PhDAE degree. The candidate now completes the dissertation work or research and writes the dissertation. The dissertation must contain an original contribution made by the candidate to the field. In addition, a comprehensive review of the pertinent literature must be included. This dissertation must be approved by the candidate’s dissertation committee.
Note well:
a) The dissertation must be publicly defended in the presence of the candidate’s dissertation committee. Public notice of this defense must be given at least two weeks before the defense. The dissertation defense must be public and reasonable questions from the public must be addressed by the candidate.
b) At least five months must elapse between passing the comprehensive examination and conducting the dissertation defense.
Doctoral students are required to spend at least two semesters, which can include a summer session, in residence study at the University of Kansas. During this period of residence, the student must be involved full time in academic or professional pursuits, which may include an appointment for teaching or research if the activity is directed specifically toward the student s degree objectives.
To be awarded the Ph.D. degree a student must:
The dissertation must be completed within eight years after being admitted to the PhDAE program. In cases which require more than eight years the dissertation committee may grant an appeal for an extension of this period.
