Energy Science and Engineering Major, PhD

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions Standards/Procedures

In order to be admitted to the PhD program in energy science and engineering, student applicants must fulfill the general admission criteria for the Graduate School of the University of Tennessee Knoxville. In addition, the student must have a Bachelor of Science degree in either engineering or a scientific field (e.g., analytics, biology, chemistry, computational science, mathematics, physics, statistics, etc.), or the equivalent. Students with other undergraduate degrees may also be admitted on a case-by-case basis by the Bredesen Center Graduate Admissions Committee. Dependent on the student’s background, additional coursework may be required to satisfy co- and prerequisites.

Academic Standards

The Energy Science and Engineering program accepts the Graduate School’s minimum requirements.

Credit Hours Required

A minimum of 72 graduate credit hours is required beyond the bachelor’s degree, exclusive of credit for a master’s thesis.

36 hours of coursework beyond a bachelor’s degree, at least 30 of which must be graded A-F.

Required Courses

• Core Curriculum for Energy Science (6 credit hours):

• ESE 511 - Introduction to Energy Science and Technology I
• ESE 512 - Introduction to Energy Science and Technology II
• ESE 599 - Seminar (taken each spring)

• Domain Science (9-15 credit hours): select courses from other departments, as approved by your advisor or program director, to contribute to your specialization of research topic.

  Knowledge Breadth Curriculum (6 credit hours): selected from the following areas:

  • Policy
  • Technology Commercialization
  • Writing and Communication
• A minimum of 24 credit hours of research.  ESE 600 - Doctoral Research and Dissertation
• 6 credit hours of 600-level coursework (graded A-F) at UT-Knoxville.

Non-Course Requirements

• Advisor/Major Professor
  • Each graduate student must confirm and begin work with a research advisor (committee chair) by the end of the first Spring semester.
  • The committee chair must hold a Bredesen Center faculty appointment prior to submission of the Admission to Candidacy.
  • The program director may serve as temporary advisor until the committee chair has been confirmed.
• Doctoral Committee
  • The committee chair directs the student’s dissertation research and chairs the doctoral committee.
  • The student and major professor identify a doctoral committee composed of at least four faculty members (including the chair).
  • At least two members must be UT tenured or tenure-track faculty.
  • Committee members should be chosen to ensure multidisciplinary breadth.
  • The Program Director has oversight responsibility to ensure the multidisciplinary nature of the committee.
  • The committee should be confirmed and approved no later than the end of the second year enrolled.
  • Once formed, the doctoral committee will meet as a group with the student to ensure timely progress toward the degree. At a minimum, the committee should meet at least once during each academic year.
• Admission to Candidacy
  • Admission to candidacy indicates that the student has demonstrated ability to do acceptable graduate work and that satisfactory progress has been made toward the degree. This action usually connotes that all prerequisites to admission have been completed and a program of study has been approved.
  • Admission to Candidacy should occur no later than the end of the third academic year.
  • A student must pass the comprehensive examination and maintain at least a B average in all graduate coursework prior to submitting Admission to Candidacy.
  • Each student is responsible for coordinating with their committee to file the Admission to Candidacy form.
• Graduate Student Examinations: Three examinations are required as part of the ESE doctoral program:
  • Qualifying Examination
    • No later than one year after entering the program, each student must take a qualifying examination. A student must pass the qualifying examination to proceed in the PhD program and to engage in dissertation research.
    • The candidate is required to register for ESE 505 “First-Year Research Project” to record completion of the qualifying exam.
    • The qualifying examination is developed, administered, and graded by the faculty (or designated subset of the faculty) of the PhD program under the coordination of the Program Director.
    • In case of failure, the candidate may appeal to retake the examination through the Bredesen Center Graduate Curriculum Committee within 30 days of notification of the result. If the appeal is granted, the student must retake the examination at the next offering by enrolling in ESE 505. The result of the second examination is final. Completion of the qualifying exam enables students to begin registering for ESE 600 - doctoral research and dissertation.
  • Comprehensive Examination
    • No later than the last semester of the third year following entrance into the PhD program, each student must take and pass a comprehensive examination.
    • The comprehensive exam includes a written and oral presentation and approval of the proposed dissertation research.
    • The Comprehensive Examination may be completed as early as the end of the second year following entrance into the PhD program and prior to admission to candidacy.
    • The timing is late enough in a student’s academic program to permit most of his/her graduate course work to be covered on the examination, and early enough to permit modification of the student’s program based on the results of the exam.
    • Two requirements must be satisfied before a student takes the Comprehensive Examination.
      • A written Dissertation Proposal, approved by the major professor, must be submitted to each member of the student’s Doctoral Committee two weeks prior to the examination.
      • Each member of the student’s Doctoral committee must agree that the student is ready to take the Comprehensive Exam. The committee member will communicate to the major professor when they are satisfied that the student is ready to take the Comprehensive Exam.
    • Once the Comprehensive Examination is passed, the student should file for and be admitted to candidacy.
    • At the discretion of the Doctoral Committee, supplemental reexaminations for the Comprehensive Examination and/or proposed dissertation research may be required.
    • In case of failure, the candidate may appeal to retake the examination through the Bredesen Center Graduate Curriculum Committee within 30 days of notification of the result. If the appeal is granted, the student must retake the examination at the next offering. The result of the second examination is final.
  • Defense of Dissertation Examination
    • After completion of the dissertation, prior to graduation, each student must pass a dissertation defense examination administered by the student’s doctoral committee.
    • A doctoral candidate must pass an oral examination on the dissertation.
    • The dissertation, in the form approved by the major professor, must be distributed to the committee at least two weeks before the examination.
    • The examination must be scheduled through the Graduate School at least one week prior to the examination and must be conducted in university-approved facilities or virtual meeting software.
    • The examination is announced publicly and is open to all students and faculty members.