Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering

PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Lawrence Murr
The field of materials sciences and engineering is central to the technological, industrial, and economic development of Texas, the United States, Mexico, and other industrialized countries. The UTEP Ph.D. program is a multi-disciplinary program to prepare scientists and engineers to contribute to this vital field, with a range of skills linking structure, properties, synthesis and processing, and performance of materials. Students develop a research focus in a specialized area using one or more of these skills to study some class or classes of materials, including metals, polymers, ceramics, semiconductors, superconductors, composites, and other materials systems.
Students in the program take a common core:

• Advanced Concepts in Materials Sciences and Engineering
• Materials Applications and Engineering
• Microchemical and Microstructural Characterization of Materials
• Instrumentation and Modeling Short Courses
• Doctoral Research Symposium I & II

Admission to the Ph.D. program in materials science and engineering with a BS or MS degree in a related field (Physics, Chemistry, Electrical and/or Electronic Engineering, etc.) requires a minimum 3.0 GPA and a minimum TOEFL score of 550 for applicants from countries where English is not the principal language. GRE scores will also be considered for all applicants.

All students who enter the program are required to take 4 core courses and three hours of research symposia for a total of 17 credit hours. Students who enter with an M.S. degree may receive credit for up to 30 credit hours. The core and elective courses (discussed below) are traditional lecture or seminar courses. The student will take a minimum of 6 credit hours of Doctoral Dissertation, and additional credit hours of Advanced Study, Graduate Research, Independent Study, or Dissertation. A minimum of seventy-four (74) credit hours are required.

The number and subject area of elective courses in advanced topics are determined by the student and his/her research advisor in consultation with the student’s Dissertation Committee; although generally 12 hours of advanced topics (beyond the core) will be required. Depending on the background and preparation of the student, and/or the nature of the student’s research, the student’s mentor and/or the Dissertation Committee, acting together with the student, may suggest additional courses not chosen from the list of electives.

The UTEP MASE program currently does not offer a terminal Masters degree. However, MASE Ph.D. students may choose to complete a Masters degree in an appropriate science or engineering department, or in MSIS, Masters Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. Requirements for these M.S. degrees can be found elsewhere in the catalog.

Students are required to pass an oral Qualifying Examination administered by their Research Committee. This examination consists of defending a written Dissertation Proposal and answering questions of either a broad or specific nature in relationship to preparation to conduct dissertation research. This examination is usually administered after a minimum of 2 semesters of work. Students may not register for dissertation credits until after the Qualifier Examination has been passed. Research undertaken prior to passing the examination can use appropriate graduate research projects or independent study courses.

At the conclusion of the research program, the student will make a public presentation of the dissertation. This will also constitute a Final Oral Examination or Dissertation Defense with questions from both the Research (Dissertation) Committee and the general public.

A copy of the dissertation in PDF or Word electronic format must be submitted to the Graduate School for format check prior to the scheduled defense date. The dissertation, including an abstract not to exceed 350 words, must be prepared according to the Graduate School’s thesis and dissertation guidelines available at the Graduate School website. The student will receive email confirmation from the Graduate School after the format has been approved. The final Graduate School approved dissertation must be submitted to the Graduate School in PDF electronic format on a CD in a case by the deadline as published in the Class Schedule along with a hard copy of the signature page with original signatures of the dissertation committee members. The signature page must be included in the PDF file but it should not be signed.

Doctoral candidates are also required to submit the Graduate School approved dissertation at the University Microfilms International website for on-line publication, http://dissertations.umi.com/utep. Dissertations are regarded as publications and will be made public once they are approved and submitted. On-line publication does not preclude subsequent publication of the dissertation, in whole or in part, as a monograph or in a journal. Copyright at the author’s expense may be arranged through University Microfilms International. In order to protect patent or any other rights, the Graduate School may be requested to delay publication for a period of one year. This request must be supported by a written recommendation of the supervising professor.

Course Information

For descriptions of course offerings, please click here and select Materials Science and Engineering (MASE).