PHD DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Most students entering the program will have a master of science degree. The program will accept students into the program with a bachelor of science degree on a very selective basis.

  • The student must take a minimum of six technical courses (18 credits) including at least one graduate level mathematics course.
  • The student will be required to register for 6 1-credit research courses.
  • 1 professional development credit
  • The student will be required to take qualifying examinations. These examinations will be in two areas: mathematics and a discipline specific exam. A maximum of two attempts is permitted to pass this examination.
  • In addition, he/she is required to defend a proposal of dissertation as well as a final dissertation defense.

This path is highly selective and limited to only the most highly qualified candidates.

  • The student must take a minimum of 10 technical courses (30 credits) including at least one graduate level mathematics course.
  • The student will be required to register for 6 1-credit research courses.
  • 1 professional development credit
  • The student will be required to take qualifying examinations. These examinations will be in two areas: mathematics and a discipline specific exam. A maximum of two attempts is permitted to pass this examination.
  • In addition, he/she is required to defend a proposal of dissertation as well as a final dissertation defense.

The degree requirements must be completed within six years following the passing of the qualifying examination.

Part time PhD students are not required to take the professional development course, so the credit requirements are reduced by 1 credit - 24 and 36 credits for standard and direct PhD, respectively.

Research credits will be achieved through a 1-credit research course. This course must be taken 6 times over the PhD student's time at Villanova. Only 1 credit of research can be taken in any given semester.

Note that additional courses may be taken, depending on the needs of the individual PhD student.

For information regarding the admissions process, requirements and deadlines, please contact:

Barry Griffiths, EdD
Director of Graduate Admissions and Recruitment, College of Engineering
barry.griffiths@villanova.edu

PHD TESTIMONIALS

IN THE NEWS

PhD student Li Chen

INTERN Supplement Supports PhD Student’s Opportunity with Nokia Bell Labs

An NSF INTERN supplement to an existing Phase II I/UCRC grant for the Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems will fund an opportunity at Nokia Bell Labs for Villanova PhD student Li Chen. Li will be working with Dr. Rafaelle Luca Amalfi on electronics cooling projects, which will complement his PhD research on the environmental sustainability of data centers. Li’s advisor is Dr. Aaron Wemhoff

Cutting-Edge Study Reveals Engineering Properties of Enhanced Bentonites

Cutting-Edge Study Reveals Engineering Properties of Enhanced Bentonites

Canadian Geotechnical Journal has published a new paper by PhD candidate Shan Tong and Assistant Professor Dr. Kristin Sample-Lord on the engineering properties of enhanced bentonites. The paper presents the results of Tong’s cutting-edge multi-year experimental study to better understand how polymer addition impacts the rate at which contaminants can move through bentonite barriers and into the environment over time. More.

PhD student Menglong Lei

Doctoral Student Recognized by ASME Fluids Engineering Division

Villanova PhD student Menglong Lei has been selected as an ASME Graduate Student Scholar for the Computational Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee by the ASME Fluids Engineering Division. The award is based on his submitted paper "Effects of Wing Kinematics on Modulating Odor Plume Structures in the Odor Tracking Flight of Fruit Flies.” Lei’s advisor is Dr. Chengyu Li, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering.