Program Information:Ph.D. Degree

Revision as of 17:28, 26 August 2010

The major steps in earning the Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering are:

1. finding a research topic and supervisor;
2. passing the qualifying examination;
3. completing and filing the candidacy form, which involves
   1. completing the courses listed on the candidacy form;
   2. forming a dissertation reading committee;
4. passing the Special University Oral Examination in which the dissertation results are presented and defended;
5. submitting the dissertation and having it approved.

The material in this section has been compiled to aid students in preparing the form Application for Candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and to inform them of University and Departmental requirements for the degree. The form Directions for Preparing Doctoral Dissertations is available online at registrar.stanford.edu/shared/publications.htm. The pamphlet entitled Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form from UMI Dissertation Publishing ProQuest Information and Learning is also available in these offices and should be reviewed as the dissertation nears completion. You can also print the Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form off the Web from www.il.proquest.com/dissertationagree/ using :

* User ID: Dissertations * Password: Publish

Requirements to be Satisfied Before Applying for Candidacy

• Completing the Requirements of the EE MS program
Students admitted to the Ph.D. program who do not yet hold a Master’s degree must first complete the requirements of the EE Master’s degree as outlined in this handbook (link). Students seeking candidacy in the Ph.D. program with a Stanford Master’s degree will be credited with 45 units of tuition and coursework towards the Ph.D. degree. Students entering Stanford with a Master’s degree from another university may transfer up to 45 units of residency credit for graduate level coursework counting toward the requirements of the Ph.D. program.

To transfer residency credits to the PhD program from another school, students must submit an "Application for Graduate Residency Credit" form. The work must have been completed after the conferral of the Bachelor's degree. Only courses with a grade of B or better (or its equivalent) will be considered. One semester unit counts as 1.5 quarter units. The completed form should be submitted to the Student Services Center after completing at least one full-time quarter of work at Stanford. The Registrar's Office will determine the admissibility of residency credit to be transferred. Transferred residency credits will count toward the 135 course units requirement needed to complete the Ph.D. program.
Students who do not have a previously earned Master’s degree must request the addition of a new degree program (the M.S. degree) by submitting the form "Graduate Program Authorization Petition" for approval by the Department. The petition form can be submitted to the department via Axess. The university assesses a fee of $125 for adding a new degree program. The fee will be added to the student's account at the time the form is received in the Registrar's Office. The form and the fee are required upon completion of the requirements of the M.S.-E.E. degree.

• Passing the EE Qualifying Exam
Students in the Ph.D. program wishing to advance to candidacy must pass the Electrical Engineering Qualifying Examination, which takes place once each year, in the second or third week of winter quarter. More information on the EE Qualifying Exam process can be found in our handbook (Link).

Doctoral Candidacy

When the above requirements have been met, a student may file the application for Ph.D. candidacy; the application form may be downloaded under the “Current Students” section (forms) of the EE website.
The Department recommends that the application for candidacy be completed by the end of spring quarter of the academic year in which the student has passed the qualifying exam. The University requires that all Ph.D. students file the application for candidacy before completing the second year of doctoral study at Stanford. Hence students in the Ph.D. program are strongly encouraged to take the EE qualifying exam during their first year of Ph.D. study to meet the candidacy requirement. Students who first need to complete the requirements of the Master’s degree should also file their candidacy form by the end of their second year of Ph.D. study in the department. On the form the student will list courses that total 90 units beyond the M.S. program of study to be used for the Ph.D. degree, including graduate courses completed and Stanford courses to be completed. The application for candidacy must be signed by the Academic Adviser, the Principal Dissertation Adviser and the Associate Dissertation Adviser. Please submit the form to the EE Students Services Degree Progress Specialist in Packard 177; whom will obtain the Department Chair’s signature.

Under ordinary circumstances, candidacy is valid for five years from the date of approval by the department unless terminated by the department (for example, for unsatisfactory progress). All applications for extension must be filed by the student before the conclusion of the program's time limit. The department is not obligated to grant an extension. Students may receive a maximum of one additional year of candidacy per extension. Extensions require review by the department of a dissertation progress report, a timetable for completion of the dissertation, and any other factors regarded as relevant by the department, and approval by the department.
Students should be aware of the University policies regarding minimum progress requirements for graduate students as spelled out in the Stanford Bulletin in the chapter titled "Graduate Degrees." In the rare event that an adviser or student decide to terminate their relationship, the student retains candidacy and remains in the PhD program, but the department expects that the student will actively seek and find a new adviser within one year in order to satisfy the minimum progress requirements.

The Course Program

The Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering is a specialized degree, built on a broad base of science, mathematics, and engineering skills. The course program must reflect competency in Electrical Engineering and specialized study in other areas relevant to the student's research focus. Normally the majority of units are drawn from EE department courses, often with 9 units from related advanced science, mathematics, or engineering courses.
The student and the principal dissertation adviser choose a course program, subject to the approval of the student’s Ph.D. program advisor. The program must satisfy the following minimum unit guidelines:
• 90 course units beyond the M.S. degree (for a total of 135 units), of which 21 are letter-graded units in technical areas such as science, mathematics, and engineering (12 of these 21 units must be departmental units numbered at the 200 level or above--departmental courses include those listed as EE courses or as EE cognate courses, out of department courses which are considered as EE courses for program purposes. Cognate courses are listed in Table *).
• Thesis, Special Studies (e.g., EE 191, EE 391), research units (e.g., EE 300, EE 400), non-departmental units in nontechnical areas, seminar units, and courses taken CR/NC may not be counted toward the minimum 21 letter-graded units in technical areas, but may be counted toward the 90 units beyond the MS degree needed to fulfill the course unit requirement.
The proposed program of study must be provided on the "Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree" form. Any deviations from these guidelines must be accompanied with an explanation and the approval of the dissertation supervisor. All deviations must be approved by the department Chair (please submit all requests for program deviations to the Student Services Specialist in Packard 177).

* Office of the Stanford University Registrar * 630 Serra Street, Suite 120 * Stanford, CA 94305-6032

The central Office of Graduate Admissions in the Registrar's Office will determine the admissibility of residency credit from a foreign university. Residency credit does not reduce the 90 units of courses taken at Stanford that are needed for the Ph.D. degree.

Grade Point Average Requirement

Students are normally expected to maintain a grade point average of 3.35 or better in their continued study toward the Ph.D.

Dissertation

The single most important part of a Ph.D. program is the research for and writing of a doctoral dissertation. The dissertation must be approved by a reading committee. The dissertation reading committee must be formed by the end of the fourth year after matriculation for pre-MS students and by the end of the third year for post-MS students.

A dissertation reading committee consists of three faculty members. The first reader on your reading committee will be your principal adviser; the second reader will be your associate adviser. The third reader normally is a member of the same laboratory as the first two readers. Effective January 2008, it is an EE Department Requirement that the principal adviser be a member of the Academic Council. The University does not permit Consulting Professors to serve as principal dissertation advisers (see Stanford University Faculty Handbook, Chapter 9: Other Teaching Titles: Acting, Visiting, Consulting, By Courtesy, and Voluntary Clinical Appointments, www.stanford.edu/dept/provost/faculty/policies/handbook/ch9.html#consulting).

At least one of the first two readers must belong to the EE faculty, and at least two members of the reading committee must be on the Academic Council.

A Senior Research Associate may serve as the second reader. However, if any member of the proposed reading committee is not on the Academic Council, you must obtain Department approval by filling out a "Petition for Doctoral Committee Members" form available from the web site [1], including the curriculum vita of the nonfaculty member. The reader must have a Ph.D. or equivalent. Your dissertation will not be cleared through the Graduate Degree Progress Office unless it has approval on record.

Residence and Tuition Requirements

Up to 45 units of Master's degree residency earned at Stanford may be counted toward the 135 units required for the doctoral degree. At least 90 units of work at Stanford are necessary to complete the 135 units.

University Oral Examination

Near the completion of the doctoral program, the student presents a one-hour public seminar on his or her dissertation research. Following the public presentation, the student is examined in private by a faculty committee of at least four examiners approved by the Department. Details about the University Oral Examination are given in a later section.

University Requirements for Minimal Progress

Course Units

• Students enrolled for 11 or more units must pass 8 or more units by the end of each quarter.
• Students enrolled for fewer than 11 units must pass at least 6 units by the end of each quarter (includes students registered for 8, 9, and 10 units).
• Exceptions can be made for students who are required to register for a very limited number of units (e.g., SCPD program).

Grade Point Average

• Students must maintain a 3.0 minimum GPA.
• First grade of N-: This constitutes a warning. The Department will advise students in writing of the warning.
• Second grade of N-: The department will deny permission to enroll until a plan of action has been approved by the department.
• Third grade of N-: This is grounds for dismissal.

Each quarter the Registrar's Office informs the EE Department of the number of units passed and the cumulative GPA of all EE graduate students for the purpose of departmental review. Students identified as not meeting standards of progress will be given the opportunity to explain why the standard was not met and what they are doing to remedy the situation. Continued permission to enroll will be contingent on approval of the Academic Advisor and the Department.

Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR)

To be eligible for TGR status, you must have :

• satisfactorily completed all courses on the Application for Candidacy (if the program has changed, an Academic Program Revision form must be approved by the department)
• completed 135 units toward the PhD degree
• filed the Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form

Terminal Graduate Registration: Additional Requirements for Doctoral Students. Doctoral students must satisfy the following additional requirements in order to be granted TGR status:

• all required course work completed and graded
• completion of exams or research required by department
• establishment of reading committee
• completion of any other work required by the department

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