Rensselaer awards two types of doctoral degrees, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the Doctor of Engineering (DEng) which may be pursued in any of the three majors in the department (Electrical, Computer & Systems or Electric Power). The PhD is the suggested degree option as the DEng is rarely chosen. The PhD is a minimum of 60 credits beyond the master’s degree and full-time students have a time limit of 5 years to complete all requirements or 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s with a 7 year time limit. Part-time students should consult the Graduate School on the time limit to complete their degree requirements. The degree is awarded when the student successfully defends a thesis that is directed toward making a substantial contribution to fundamental knowledge in a particular field or interdisciplinary field.

Students who are admitted into the doctoral program must take and pass the Doctoral Qualifying Exam (DQE) to be officially enrolled as doctoral students. For full-time students, the DQE is taken at the start of the second semester of study if the student already holds a master’s degree and at the start of the third semester of study if the student holds a bachelor’s degree but has not yet completed the master’s. Part-time students who hold a master’s should take the DQE prior to completing 15 credits towards their doctoral studies. The purpose of the DQE is to determine the potential or likelihood that the student will be able to satisfactorily complete the doctoral requirements, including the ability to produce a high quality piece of independent research. Consequently, the DQE involves an assessment of the student’s knowledge of basic concepts as well as the ability to conduct independent research. The DQE is made up of 4 one-hour oral exams and is given twice a year. All students have two opportunities to pass the DQE.

Upon successful completion of the DQE, the student will submit a doctoral Plan of Study form outlining the total number of course and thesis credits they anticipate taking to satisfy their degree requirements. The Plan of Study must be signed by the student’s academic advisor (who must be a full-time ECSE faculty member) and the Doctoral Program Director. The form may be updated whenever changes occur to the previously submitted plan and it is the responsibility of the student to ensure that an up-to-date plan is on file with the department. The normal plan of study is usually a minimum of 50% ECSE courses and will display a reasonable “core sequence” in the one the established research areas (see enclosed information on research areas). Technically related courses from outside the department are permissable. The total number of research credits will typically range from 26-34 credit hours.

Students are also required to pass a Doctoral Candidacy Exam (DCE). The student will form a doctoral committee consisting of not less than 4 full-time faculty members and will submit to them a written Thesis Proposal. The doctoral committee must be approved by the department and the Graduate School and should be in place at least one full month prior to the DCE. The Thesis Proposal should be delivered to the members of the committee at least one week prior to the exam and should include a concise discussion of the proprosed thesis effort, an in-depth review of the pertinent literature and a brief presentation of some preliminary results which suggest that the effort can be successfully undertaken. The exact content and nature of the DCE is determined by the doctoral committee, and the purpose of the DCE is determine whether the student is making satisfactory progress on the chosen thesis topic, as well as good academic progress, and whether he/she demonstrates the ability to pursue doctoral dissertation with distinction. The DCE should be completed by the time the student completes 45 of the required 60 credits.

The final step in the doctoral program is the thesis defense. The purpose is for the student to present and defend his/her doctoral thesis. The defense is conducted by the student’s doctoral committee and is typically open to the public however the ensuing committee deliberation is not.