Materials Science and Engineering Major, PhD

After one year in residence and with the approval of the faculty, a student may proceed directly to the doctoral program without completion of a master’s degree.

Requirements

Departmental requirements for completion of the doctoral degree are as follows.

• Satisfactory performance on the applicable comprehensive examination.
• Active participation in graduate seminars conducted by the department.
• For students proceeding directly to the PhD from the baccalaureate degree, a minimum of 72 graduate credit hours is required. These credit hours must include 42 graduate credit hours, including MSE 511 , MSE 512 , MSE 513 , and MSE 514 , at least 6 credit hours of 600-level courses in the department, and 30 credit hours of dissertation. Six credit hours of MSE 503  may be counted toward degree requirements. At least 24 credit hours must be courses taught in the department. The materials science and engineering major must include the courses required for the master’s program. Coursework in the polymers concentration must include the courses required for the master’s program and MSE 639 . For students in the nanomaterials concentration at least 12 credit hours of course work must be from the approved nanomaterials specialization list. For students in the biomaterials concentration at least 12 credit hours of course work must be from the approved biomaterials specialization list. For students in the automotive materials concentration at least 12 credit hours of course work must be from the approved automotive materials specialization list. For students in the Energy Science and Engineering concentration, at least 18 credit hours of course work must be from the curriculum jointly approved by the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education and the MSE graduate affairs committee.
• For students having a thesis-based master’s degree from UT in materials science and engineering or polymer engineering or a master’s degree from another university in materials science and engineering, polymer engineering, or metallurgical engineering, a minimum of 48 graduate credit hours is required. These credit hours must include 18 credit hours of graduate course work with at least 6 credit hours of 600-level courses in the department and 30 credit hours of dissertation. Three credit hours of MSE 503  may be counted toward degree requirements. Coursework in the polymers concentration must include the courses required for the master’s program and MSE 639 . For students in the nanomaterials concentration at least 12 credit hours of course work must be from the approved nanomaterials specialization list. For students in the automotive materials concentration at least 12 credit hours of course work must be from the approved automotive materials specialization list. At least 12 credit hours must be courses in the department. For students in the Energy Science and Engineering concentration, all 18 credit hours of course work must be from the curriculum jointly approved by the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education and the MSE graduate affairs committee.
• For students having a non-thesis master’s degree from UT in materials science and engineering or polymer engineering, a minimum of 48 graduate credit hours is required. These must include 15 credit hours of graduate course work with at least 6 credit hours of 600-level courses in the department and 33 credit hours of dissertation. Coursework in the polymers concentration must include the courses required for the master’s program and MSE 639 . For students in the nanomaterials concentration at least 12 credit hours of course work must be from the approved nanomaterials specialization list. For students in the automotive materials concentration at least 12 credit hours of course work must be from the approved automotive materials specialization list. Three credit hours of MSE 503  may be counted toward degree requirements. At least 12 credit hours must be courses in the department. For students in the Energy Science and Engineering concentration, 18 credit hours of course work must be taken from the curriculum jointly approved by the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education and the MSE graduate affairs committee.