Course Requirements

A minimum of sixty beyond the baccalaureate degree must be earned in the Ph.D. program. These credits are distributed in the following way:

1. Ph.D. students must fulfill the 18-credit dissertation requirement by successfully completing ME 9991 and ME 9992 – Doctoral Candidate Status: Dissertation Research and Direction I and II . They must achieve doctoral candidacy before registering for dissertation credits. Students are required to enroll in dissertation credits in consecutive academic year semester (1 to 9 credits per semester) without interruption. If a student has completed all required dissertation research credits but has not yet fulfilled the dissertation requirements, they may register for ME 9995 – Candidate Maintenance Status. This status may be maintained until the dissertation is completed, the degree time limit is reached, or the student formally withdraws from the program.

2. Students entering the Ph.D. program directly after completing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) are required to complete a total of 42 credits in formal lecture-based coursework, which may include up to a maximum of  6 credits of Directed Studies (ME 5990, ME 7990) and/or research (ME 7996) .
3. Students holding a Master’s degree must complete a minimum of 12 credits in formal lecture-based coursework. This requirement may include up to 4 of the 6 allowable credits of Directed Studies (ME 5990, ME 7990) and/or Research (ME 7996) within the Ph.D. program .
4. A maximum of 6 credits from directed studies (ME 5990, ME 7990) or research (ME 7996) may be counted toward the 42-credit requirement for formal lecture-based coursework in the Ph.D. program.
5. Students must complete at least 16 credits of coursework at the 7000-level or higher.
6. At least half of all coursework, excluding dissertation credits, must be earned in the Mechanical Engineering Department.
7. All students must complete the core course requirement of ME 5000 – Engineering Analysis I .
8. Students must select a non ME minor field of study and complete a minimum of 3 credits in didactic courses at the 5000-level or higher within that field.

9. All course work must be completed in accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School and the College governing graduate scholarship and degrees.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Note:

• A grade of B or better must be earned in all ME courses.
• A grade of B- or better must be earned in all non-ME courses (Minor).
• The Graduate GPA will be calculated using all graduate courses taken at Wayne State University.

The Mechanical Engineering Department has three research thrust areas, namely the "Noise and Vibration Control", the "Advanced Materials and Manufacturing", and the"Advanced Propulsion and Energy Systems". In addition, many Biomedical Engineering courses are cross listed with ME courses and are available for ME Graduate students to take and be considered towards their degree. Graduate students must select a field of study in one of the three thrust areas of the ME Department.

Noise and Vibration Control Thrust Area

Courses offered in the Noise and Vibration Control Thrust area are:

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Thrust Area

Courses offered in the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Thrust area are:

Advanced Propulsion and Energy Systems Thrust Area

Courses offered in the Advanced Propulsion and Energy Systems Thrust area are:

Courses Cross-listed with Biomedical Engineering

Cross-listed courses with Biomedical Engineering are:

Dissertation Committee

At the time the doctoral plan of work is being prepared, the Doctoral Committee which serves as both the Final Qualifying Examination Committee and the Dissertation Committee for each Ph.D. student should be formed. The permanent advisor of the student will serve as chairman of the Doctoral Committee. The Committee will be made up of at least three graduate faculty members from Mechanical Engineering and one graduate faculty member from outside the department. The other members will be selected by the student’s permanent advisor subject to approval by the ME Director of Graduate Studies and the Office for Graduate Studies.  The Doctoral Committee will administer the Final Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations and the Dissertation Public Lecture Presentation-Defense. Upon approval by the ME Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate School Ph.D. Office, a graduate faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering Department may be replaced by a member from another department as long as the committee meets the minimum Graduate School requirement.

A "Doctoral Dissertation Outline" form, approved by all members of the Doctoral Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies, should be filed with the Graduate School PhD office at or near the beginning of the student's dissertation work.

Ph.D. Candidacy Requirements

An approved Ph.D. Plan of Work must be filed with the Office for Graduate Studies within one semester after passing the preliminary qualifying examination (PQE). A student must have completed 34 graduate credits that count toward the Ph.D. program, formed a Ph.D. committee and submitted a "Recommendation for Candidacy" form to the Graduate School. Changes in the Plan of Work must be approved by the advisor and the ME Director of Graduate Studies.

Requirements For All Ph.D. Students

• A Ph.D. student without an advisor for over one year will be dismissed from program.
• Preliminary Qualifying Examination: This is a three-part written examination administered twice per year by the ME Graduate Program Committee during the months of October and February. All Ph.D. applicants must pass this examination within their first year after joining the Ph.D. program at WSU. Students must fill out the "PQE Registration Form" that can be downloaded from the ME web site and submit it to the ME Graduate Program Director or at the ME front desk no later than one week prior to the exam date.
• Final Qualifying Examination: This examination consists of written and oral parts covering the student's major and minor areas and other related fields. The oral part of the examination shall include a presentation of the proposal for the dissertation research. The Final Qualifying Examination is administered by the student's Doctoral Committee.
  • Under ordinary circumstances, the committee members may not be changed before the Qualifying Examination (written and oral) have been passed.  Under extraordinary circumstances the Office for Graduate Studies may approve a committee change, but such change shall require written justification and approval in advance of the examination.
  • If the student fails the final qualifying examination, he/she must be re-examined before the end of the semester that follows the one in which the failure occurred.  The student is allowed only one re-examination. Successive failure of the examination will result in dismissal.
  • The student passes the final qualifying examination upon the recommendation of his/her Ph.D. Committee with no more than one dissenting vote. 
• An approved Plan of Work should be filed with the Office for Graduate Studies. The Plan of Work form can be downloaded from the Graduate School web site at https://gradschool.wayne.edu/phd/forms.
• A Doctoral Dissertation Outline, approved by all members of the Doctoral Committee and the Departmental Graduate Program Committee, should be filed by the student immediately after completing the oral part of the Final Qualifying Examination.
• The Conflict of Interest Form must be turned in twice, once with the Prospectus and again with the pre-defense paperwork (Final Report Form). The Conflict of Interest Form can be downloaded from the Graduate School web site at https://gradschool.wayne.edu/phd/forms.
• The UNICHECK Similarity Report must be turned in three weeks prior to the Dissertation Defense.
• Pre-Defense Presentation: At least four weeks before the planned Dissertation Public Lecture Presentation-Defense, the student will present a preliminary dissertation defense lecture to the members of his/her Ph.D. Committee, who will provide a feedback to the student within one week for the purpose of incorporating any changes/corrections in the thesis.
• Before graduation, each Ph.D. student is expected to have one published or accepted peer-reviewed journal article excluding open access journals and one conference proceeding based on the Ph.D. thesis work, with the student being the first author.
• Dissertation Public Lecture Presentation-Defense: The dissertation format and appearance must be approved by the Office for Graduate Studies before the Dissertation Public Lecture Presentation-Defense is to be arranged.  Additionally, each committee member must have certified, in writing (using the Dissertation Public Lecture Presentation-Defense form), that the dissertation has been read and approved for a Public Lecture Presentation-Defense.
  • The final lecture is to be publicized by public notice to the academic community.  This responsibility rests with the student’s advisor.  At this final lecture, the candi­date will outline his/her methodology, research and the results of the investigation.  Members of the committee will lead the discus­sion following the presentation.
  • At the conclusion of the oral defense of the dissertation, the Graduate Examiner shall poll the Dissertation Committee and report in writing to the Office for Graduate Studies. The Graduate Examiner is the presiding officer at the Defense and is responsible for its conduct. The role of the Graduate Examiner may be assumed by the dissertation advisor or an external member of the committee.
• For additional information, students should consult the Graduate School's regulations governing doctoral study.

​Time Limitations

Students have a seven-year time limit to complete all re­quirements of the Ph.D. degree.  The seven-year period starts at the beginning of the semester during which the student was admitted to doctoral study and was working toward fulfilling the require­ments of the degree.  Up to thirty-two graduate credit hours with a grade B or better earned prior to the student's admission as a doctoral applicant may be applied toward the degree without regard to lapse of time.  Credits earned beyond these thirty-two semester hours will not be counted towards the Ph.D. degree at the time of admission to the Ph.D. program. Credits earned after acceptance as a Ph.D. applicant may not be over seven years old at the time the degree is conferred, except when, on the recommendation of the advisor, up to ten semester hours of credit previously earned at Wayne State University may be specified for revalidation by examination.  In the event that any courses have been previously revalidated in connec­tion with the earning of the Master's degree, these shall be counted as a part of the total ten.  Time extensions beyond these limitations can only be approved by the Graduate School on a yearly basis. The extension requests should reflect conditions that are clearly beyond the stu­dent's control.

Graduation

Each degree candidate must file an Application for Degree at the beginning of the semester in which he/she plans to complete degree requirements at https://reg.wayne.edu/students/degrees. The candidate should consult the academic calendar of the Graduate Division Bulletin. If an application for a degree was filed for a previous semester in which the student did not graduate, a new application is necessary. The student must be registered in the semester he/she plans to graduate.