Engineering
- Discipline Coordinator
- Anil Misra, (816) 235-1285, misraa@umkc.edu
| Doctoral Faculty Participation |
| | Bryan R. Becker | Anil Misra |
| Deb Chatterjee | Deborah O'Bannon |
| Ghulam Chaudhry | Jerry R. Richardson |
| Jerome Knopp | |
| |
Engineering is a discipline in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program administered by the School of Graduate Studies.
Note: The discipline-specific requirements listed here
are in addition to the requirements listed in
Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Application Procedure and Minimum Criteria for Admission
and
Minimum Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Academic Regulations and Degree Requirements
earlier in this section.
Discipline-Specific Admission Requirements
A student who satisfies the general requirements for admission and also meets the minimum discipline
requirements stated below will be considered for regular admission to the Ph.D.
program with engineering as a discipline. A student who does not meet some of
the requirements but shows high potential for advanced-level work may be
considered for provisional admission. Admission also depends on factors such as
number of seats available, resources available in the area of the student's
interest, the quality of previous work, etc. Requirements for admission are the same whether the applicant is
requesting engineering as the coordinating-unit discipline or co-discipline.
- The applicant must have a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in civil, electrical or mechanical engineering or related disciplines with a grade-point average of at least 3.0 in the last 60 hours of undergraduate engineering coursework. In addition, a GPA of 3.5 or better in all post-baccalaureate coursework is required. Pre-program requirements may be specified in case the bachelor's degree is in a discipline different than that to which the candidate is applying.
- The student must demonstrate an aptitude for advanced-level work by obtaining a cumulative GRE score of at least 1600 (verbal + quantitative + analytical) and by ranking at least in the 85th percentile on the quantitative portion of the examination.
- TOEFL scores are required for international students without prior U.S. degrees. There are two TOEFL tests. One is paper-based; one is computer-based. A minimum score of 550 on the paper-based test (which corresponds to 213 on the computer-based test) is required.
- The student must provide at least three recommendation letters from professors at previous institutions or mentors at work.
- The applicant must provide a 500- to 750-word essay on his or her goals and objectives in pursuing the Ph.D. in the chosen fields.
- Provisional admission may be granted if the minimum GPA and GRE requirements are not met, but other indicators promise the student's success in the program. To be fully admitted to the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program, the provisionally admitted student must obtain a grade of B or better in the first nine hours of coursework and submit a satisfactory GRE score within their first year of the program.
Suggested Compatible Co-disciplines
Possible co-disciplines include but are not restricted to
chemistry,
computer science,
electrical and computer engineering,
geosciences,
history,
mathematics,
molecular biology and biochemistry,
oral biology
physics and
telecommunication and computer networking.
Core Program Requirements
Engineering as Coordinating Discipline
A minimum of 60 credit hours of approved graduate coursework (300-level
or higher) beyond the baccalaureate, including dissertation research hours
(CE 5699, ECE 5699 or ME 5699), are required. Of these, at least two-thirds must
be at 5500/5600-level. The graduate coursework may include courses taken at
UMKC or other institutions and approved for transfer by the student's
supervisory committee. A minimum of 12 credit hours of dissertation
research (CE 5699, EE 5699 or ME 5699) is required.
Example Minimum Requirements Beyond Master of Science Degree
| | | Hours |
| | Coordinating discipline (Engineering) | 9 |
| | Co-discipline (e.g. Mathematics or Physics) | 12 |
| | Dissertation research | 12 |
| | Total beyond M.S. degree (typically 30 hours) | 33 |
Engineering as Co-discipline
A student electing engineering as co-discipline will be required to
complete 12 credit hours in engineering graduate courses, of which at
least six hours must be at the 5500/5600-level.
Comprehensive Examination Guidelines
To advance to degree candidacy, an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. student
is required to pass a comprehensive examination administered by the
student's research adviser and supervisory committee. This comprehensive
exam will consist of two parts. Part One will be a written exam over
the student's Ph.D. coursework. Part Two will be an oral defense of the
student's dissertation research proposal.