The student should carefully study the section in the UNM Graduate Catalog under "Doctoral Degrees." It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to see that these requirements are satisfied. The following outline is meant to clarify the departmental procedures and to aid the student in satisfying the requirements stated in the Graduate Catalog.
Summary of Course Requirements
A minimum of 54 credit hours of course work beyond the Bachelor of Science Degree, excluding dissertation credit hours, is required. A minimum of 18 hours of dissertation (ME699) credit hours is required.
At least 24 hours of graduate credit coursework must be completed at UNM, of which at least 18 hours must be in courses numbered 500 and above.
At least 18 hours of graduate credit coursework must be completed after admission to the doctoral program.
Four courses will comprise the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Core. Courses taken as part of a Master's degree may satisfy one or more of the core requirements. A memo to the ME Graduate Director from the Chair of the Committee-on-Studies should include course catalog description and syllabus for each class proposed as equivalent to one of the core classes.
No more than 50% of the doctoral coursework completed at UNM can be taken with a single faculty member, including courses taken as part of a master's degree. Thesis and dissertation hours are excluded.
Up to 30 hours of the doctoral coursework may be transferred from a master's degree program provided that:
A maximum of 6 hours of non-graded work (e.g., thesis work) may be included.
Each Ph.D. student must have one hour of seminar credit on his/her program. The student shall register for ME 591/592 for three semesters while attending the seminars. In the first two semesters, registration may be for zero credit hours. In the third semester the student must register for one credit hour. The grade will be CR/NC, based upon attendance. Presenting a seminar on campus will count for attendance at two seminar sessions.
The doctoral seminar requirement may be transferred from a master's degree program granted by UNM or another accredited intstitution.
On-campus students: Credit will be earned in each semester by attending at least all but one of the scheduled ME seminars.
Los Alamos Graduate Center Students: Credit will be earned in each semester by attending ten (10) Los Alamos National laboratory seminars on mechanical engineering or mechanics topics and submitting a report on each seminar. The report shall consist of: 1) the Laboratory announcement of the seminar and 2) a critique of it, written by the student. The critique shall be at most one single-spaced, typewritten page in length. Each report is due one week after the seminar and may be submitted via email.
A student may make up one missed seminar by attending two 1-hour research seminars in other departments or at one of the labs. Following the Los Alamos plan you are required to provide the published abstract and a brief summary (one paragraph) for each. A strict deadline for receipt of these reports is the last day of classes. Students attending conferences may write up equivalent talks (e.g., four 30-minute talks). Students cannot makeup 2 missed seminars (4 new seminars).
Academic standards are set forth in the UNM Graduate Catalog. In addition, the Mechanical Engineering Department has a two-C rule: A Ph.D. student who has received two or more grades of C in post-master’s coursework will be dropped from the program before or after the Committee-on-Studies is formed.
Ph.D. students must pass the Mechanical Engineering Qualifying Examination before they form a Committee-on-Studies and file an Advancement to Candidacy form. The departmental policy on the Qualifying Examination is as follows:
The three area examinations must be selected from a minimum of two (2) different categories. Each examination will cover the topic at the advanced undergraduate level. A file of previous examinations and additional information is available in the Mechanical Engineering Office for review.
The area examinations will be scheduled so that a student does not have to take more than one examination on a given day. The individual examinations in areas A, B, and C will be developed and evaluated by a committee composed of at least two members of the Mechanical Engineering Faculty. The Chairperson of the committee shall be a tenured, senior faculty member (Associate Professor or higher ranks). These examinations will each be a two- to three-hour written examination such as is often given as the final examination in a class.The examinations for category D are different from those for the other groups. Therefore, these examinations will be composed of a project report on a topic assigned by a committee of two or more Mechanical Engineering faculty members one week before the examination date. The committee will evaluate both the written report and an oral presentation followed by questions related to the topic.
Students will inform the ME Graduate Director regarding the area examinations they are planning to taken in the next Qualifying Examination at least two months prior to the start of the semester in which they will take the exam. At this time, information about the nature of the area examinations will be distributed to the students so that they may better prepare for the examinations. The examinations in groups A, B, and C will be conducted in a double-blind manner, if possible. The students taking an examination in category D will be informed about the examination committee members when the project is assigned.
The Qualifying Examination will be scheduled during the first three weeks of each (Fall and Spring) semester and will be administered by the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Director. The Graduate Director will appoint a member of the Mechanical Engineering Faculty to be responsible for the following items related to each area examination:
Additional Information about the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination
Engineering Courses
The engineering subjects in the examination are basic to any undergraduate mechanical engineering program. The examinations representing them concentrate on the concepts normally covered in the corresponding undergraduate courses. However, the student is expected to demonstrate an understanding of these concepts and use of them beyond what is expected of undergraduates. The student may be required to demonstrate this understanding of the concepts by either discussion type questions, definitions, problems, or derivations. Thus, in answering questions, the student should include explanations to demonstrate a depth of understanding.
In the solution of problems, the important thing is to show that you are able to think. This includes deciding on the appropriate theories or principles, and applying the principles correctly. Any assumptions made in the solution process should be clearly stated so there is no question about the student's understanding of the limitation of the principles and/or the solution.
Engineering Mathematics
The mathematics examination will normally cover the following topics:
Dissertation Committee / Committee-on-Studies (CoS) Chair
The student should discuss his/her research interests with several Mechanical Engineering faculty members early in attendance at UNM. It is helpful (but not required) if an agreement is reached with a Mechanical Engineering faculty member to serve as Committee-on-Studies Chairperson by the time the Qualifying Examination is taken. The Committee Chairperson must be a regular (i.e., tenure-stream), full-time faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering department. Approval of the Committee Chairperson must be obtained using a departmental form.
Members of the Dissertation Committee
Dissertation Committee shall consist of (minimum) four members, of which at least three, including the Chairperson, shall be full-time UNM Mechanical Engineering faculty. One external member must be a faculty member from UNM or another accredited institution; he/she must hold a tenure-stream appointment. Approval for committee members who are not UNM faculty must be obtained from the Department and Office of Graduate Studies.
Note: UNM faculty members who hold a joint appointment with the ME Department are treated the same as regular, tenure-stream ME faculty members for the purpose of PhD committees.
The Committee-on-Studies should be formed the same semester the student passes the Qualifying Examination. Approval of the committee membership must be obtained using a departmental form.
Changes to the Committee-on-Studies require that a new departmental form be submitted along with a memo explaining reasons for the changes.
Student's course work is done in consultation with the Committee-on-Studies, and may include make-up work at the undergraduate and graduate level.
Once the student's Committee-on-Studies and its Chairperson are selected, and the Committee has met to plan and approve the program, the student shall complete the Advancement to Candidacy Form and submit it to the Committee for approval. The form shall include signatures of all committee members.
The Advancement to Candidacy Form must be approved by the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Director prior to submission to the Office of Graduate Studies for approval. Changes in the student's program must be described in a memorandum from the student and require the same approval procedure.
The Office of Graduate Studies requires that the Comprehensive Examination Report form and Application for Candidacy form be submitted together. The program of study described in the Application for Candidacy should be approved by the Committee-on-Studies and ME Graduate Director prior to the Comprehensive Examination.
The Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program has no language requirement.
Comprehensive Examination Procedure
An Announcement of Examination form for the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination must be prepared by the ME Program Advisement Coordinator, approved by the ME Graduate Director, and submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies at least two weeks prior to the scheduled date of the examination. The Doctoral Comprehensive Examination shall be given individually to the student by the Committee-on-Studies, normally within one year after the student passes the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. The Comprehensive Examination shall cover the major and minor areas of the student’s program of studies and shall consist of both written and oral examinations. The Chairperson of the Committee-on-Studies shall ensure that the Report of Examination form is signed by all committee members and submitted to the ME Graduate Director.
A student has five years to complete the Ph.D. degree from the date the Comprehensive Examination is passed. Only in cases of extreme emergencies will an extension of time be approved by the department, Office of Graduate Studies, and Faculty Senate Graduate Committee. Only ME 699 Dissertation hours taken during the semester in which the Comprehensive Exam is passed, and in succeeding semesters, may count toward the required 18 hours. Students must maintain continuous enrollment in ME 699 (at least 3 hours per semester, not including summer) through the semester of graduation.
Approval of the Dissertation Proposal
The student must receive approval of the dissertation proposal from the Committee-on-Studies. This approval should be requested after satisfactory completion of the Comprehensive Examination.
Evaluation of the Dissertation and Administration of Examination
The dissertation shall be provided to the Committee-on-Studies at least three weeks before the scheduled dissertation defense which functions as the Doctoral Final Examination. The ME Program Advisement Coordinator must also be notified of the time and location of the examination at least three weeks prior to it. The Doctoral Final Examination shall usually consist of a presentation of the research work by the student and an oral examination by the Committee-on-Studies.
The Report of Examination form must be completed at the conclusion of the exam and signed by all committee members. A final exam may be passed with distinction according to the ME department policy. The Committee Chairperson must make certain that each Committee member completes the Dissertation Evaluation form, and then submit these forms to the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Director. The final version of the dissertation must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies by November 15, April 15, or July 15 in order for the student to graduate in the Fall, Spring, or Summer semester, respectively.
Notification of Intent to Graduate
The student must submit the Notification of Intent to Graduate Form to the Graduate Coordinator by July 25th for a Fall graduation, by December 10th for a Spring graduation, and by May 10th for a summer graduation. The student must be enrolled in a graduate course in the semester of graduation. If all other course work is completed, one (1) hour of ME 551 or 552 may be taken. Students should not register for ME 559 (3 hours) more than once.
Two unbound copies of the dissertation, all in certified final form and approved by the Committee-on-Studies, must be submitted to the Dean of Graduate Studies by November 15, April 15, or July 15 to graduate in the respective semester. A third copy shall be submitted to the Mechanical Engineering Department after it is bound in a specified manner; contact the ME Program Advisement Coordinator for instructions.
Student's Responsibilities Check-list
Distinction on Thesis and Dissertation Defenses
Distinction may be awarded to recognize exemplary performance on a Ph.D. dissertation defense. The student's transcript will include "Passed with Distinction." The examining committee shall consider the written work as well as the oral presentation and oral examination. Outstanding performance on all aspects of the examination is required. A committee decision to propose that a student be passed with distinction must be unanimous, and is subject to approval by the ME Graduate Director. If the dissertation requires more than minor editorial corrections, distinction will not be considered. Department's standards of excellence suggest that, on average, about one in five Ph.D. dissertation defenses will merit distinction.
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Last Modified: May 11, '08