Biosystems Engineering Major, PhD

Admission

Students applying for admission into the doctoral program must submit evidence of ability to perform and report independent research to the satisfaction of the faculty of the department. An approved master’s thesis will usually be acceptable for this purpose.

Requirements

To earn a degree, each doctoral student must complete at least 75 hours of approved graduate credit (beyond the baccalaureate degree) in biosystems engineering and supporting areas (engineering, computational methods, agricultural and biological sciences, and other related areas). Of the 75 hours, 48 must be in courses numbered greater than 500 (including 24 hours of course BSE 600 ) and 6 hours of courses at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, numbered greater than 600. Other specific requirements for the minimum 75 hours are listed below.

In addition to completing the minimum 75 hours of graduate credit required for a degree, each doctoral student must also pass a comprehensive examination as required by the Graduate Council.

Energy Science and Engineering Concentration

This concentration is offered in collaboration with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education (CIRE). The CIRE is a joint effort between the College of Engineering, other UTK colleges, the UT Institute of Agriculture, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The students who wish to pursue this concentration will normally have completed 6 credit hours of Core and 3 credit hours of Knowledge Breadth coursework specified under Energy Science and Engineering Ph.D. program section of this catalog.