Doctorate Program

Ph.D. Degree Admission Requirements

Admission to any PhD program in engineering requires that the student has completed (or nearly completed) a bachelor's or master's degree in engineering or physical science. Scores for the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) must be submitted. Some students may find it necessary to take prerequisite courses to be able to meet the course breadth requirements. The student is recommended to the graduate dean for admission by the department chairperson in consultation with the graduate coordinator of the department.

The total number of credit hours for a PhD in aerospace engineering is 72. The plan of study must include a minimum of 24 credit hours of dissertation, 36 credit hours of coursework, including up to 24 credit hours of relevant coursework from the MS degree. In addition, 12 credit hours must be taken as coursework, dissertation or a combination of both.

Major or specialization areas, include:

Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
Structures and Solid Mechanics
Flight Dynamics and Control
Multidisciplinary Analysis and Design (see advisor for details)

All graduate courses must be approved in advance of enrollment by a student's graduate advisor. Additional information is available in the Graduate Catalog (click here).

Ph.D. Plan of Study and Advisory Committee

Within the first 12 hours of PhD course work, the department chairperson, in consultation with the graduate coordinator and the student, recommend to the Engineering Graduate Committee an advisory committee for each student. The committee will be composed of a minimum of five graduate faculty, with at least four having full membership including the chairperson who also must have authorization to chair doctoral committees. A majority of the advisory committee members must be from the major department and at least one member must be outside the student's major department. The chairperson of the advisory committee should be the student's dissertation advisor. The student and advisory committee chairperson will formulate a Plan of Study and a tentative dissertation topic for approval by the advisory committee, the department chairperson, the engineering graduate committee, and the graduate dean. The Plan of Study will include designation of major and minor fields and all graduate level course work which is applicable to the degree.

Students Admitted with a Bachelor of Science Admission

Applicants with a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering or a closely-related field must have:

1. A minimum grade point average of 3.250/4.000 over the last two years or approximately 60 credit hours, and

2. A letter of recommendation from a faculty member in the department of aerospace engineering at Wichita State University stating that he/she would be the student's academic and research advisor.

For the student to remain in the program, he/she must:

1. Maintain a minimum graduate GPA of 3.250/4.000 for every semester over the first 30 credit hours. Failing to do so, the student will be transferred to the Master of Science program in the appropriate category (full standing or on probation), or dismissed from graduate standing.

2. Demonstrate active involvement in research by producing publications in national/international conferences or journals by the completion of the first 30 graduate credit hours.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination

1. The qualifying exam is intended to reinforce and link pertinent high-level fundamentals. Upon passing the qualifying examination, a student is known as an aspirant for the PhD.

2. The exam, which covers major field core courses, is offered three times annually and may not be attempted more than twice.

3. The current guidelines require passing the qualifying exam with an 80 percent average with no single portion below 70 percent.

4. Students who fail to take the exam within three semesters (one year) from first enrollment, lose an attempt. Students failing to pass the exam within four semesters from first enrollment, are dismissed from the program.

5. Students who are dismissed from the doctoral program will be allowed to use the course credit hours completed toward a master's degree in aerospace engineering. However, the student must fulfill the master's thesis or project requirement.

6. A student who was dismissed from the AE doctoral program, but went on to successfully complete a master's degree in aerospace engineering, will not be allowed to enroll in the AE doctoral program again in the future.

Ph.D. Time Limits and Residency Requirements

From the time the student starts to enroll in the program, no more than nine years may elapse until all requirements for the degree have been completed.

At least two semesters shall be spent in residency on the WSU campus involved in full-time academic pursuits. This may include up to half-time teaching and research. Well-designed plans for obtaining dissertation research experience under the supervision of the student's advisor will be considered in lieu of the residency requirement.

Ph.D. Final Dissertation Examination

The student must defend the dissertation before the advisory committee. At least five months must elapse between the DAE and the final examination. The final examination will be open to the public. Invited guests or external examiners may be invited if the committee desires.

Application

Interested individuals are invited to contact the Graduate School for application materials at the following address:

Wichita State University
Graduate School
Wichita, KS 67260-0004
Phone: (316) 978-3095

All applications need to be made directly to the Graduate School. Additional information about graduate studies in Aerospace Engineering can be obtained from:

Dr. Charles Yang
Graduate Coordinator, Ph.D. Program
Wichita State University
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Wallace Hall, Room 200
1845 North Fairmount
Wichita, Kansas 67260-0044