PHD IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
Qualifying Examination
All students admitted to the program are required to take the qualifying examination as soon as they have sufficient preparation in the subject areas of the exam-normally within the first two academic years of study. The subject areas are based on the material covered in the following courses:
- ENGR 3630 Finite Element Methods
- MTSC 3110 Thermodynamics of Solids
- MTSC 3210 Mechanical Behavior of Materials
- MTSC 3430 Diffraction and Structure I
- PHYS 3411, 3412 Solid State Physics I, II
- or
- CHEM 3311 Molecular Structure and Energetics I
The exam is usually given at the end of spring quarter each year. Students must pass the exam to be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The exam may be retaken once.
Minimum Credit Requirements
If the student is admitted with a closely related master's degree, a minimum of 45 quarter hours are required, 36 of which must be completed at the University of Denver.
Students admitted with a bachelor's degree are required to complete 90 quarter hours, 72 of which must be completed at the University of Denver. A minimum of 36 quarter hours (48 for students required to complete 90 hours) must be at the 4000 level and may include as many thesis research hours (Independent Research, MTSC 5991 and Independent Study, MTSC 5995) as considered appropriate by the student's advisor.
Advisor
For the first academic year, the advisor for all students will be the materials science program coordinator. At the end of the first academic year, it is the student's responsibility to choose an advisor from among the materials faculty group who will help plan the student's future course work, thesis work, and financial support. Without an advisor, the student cannot continue in the program.
Suggested Courses
It is strongly recommended that courses for fulfilling the remainder of the required quarter hour requirements be selected from among those listed below and those listed under the qualifying exam above, in consultation with the student's advisor.
- MTSC 4130 Introduction to Surface Science
- MTSC 4140 Surface Analysis
- MTSC 4150 Diffraction & Structure I
- MTSC 4155 Diffraction & Structure II
- MTSC 4210 Composite Materials I
- MTSC 4215 Composite Materials II
- MTSC 4230 Polymer Science I
- MTSC 4235 Polymer Science II
- MTSC 4250 Struct & Props of Ceramics I
- MTSC 4255 Struct & Props of Ceramics II
- MTSC 4310 Design w/Materials w/Variable Props
- MTSC 4800 Advanced Topics
- MTSC 4900 Seminar
- MTSC 5991 Independent Study
- MTSC 5995 Independent Research
- ENME 3230 Intro to Nondestructive Eval
- ENME 3540 Intro to Continuum Mechanics
- ENME 4020 Adv Finite Element Analysis
- ENME 4360 Advanced Elasticity
- ENME 4370 Plasticity
- ENCE 3501 VLSI Design
- ENEE 3011 Physical Electronics
- ENEE 3030 Optoelectronics
- ENEE 3035 Photonics
- ENEE 3040 Semiconductor Microtechnology
- ENEE 3050 Plasma Processing of Materials
- ENEE 4010 Quantum Optics and Electronics
- ENEE 4080 Physical Optics
- ENGR 3610 Engineering Analysis
- CHEM 3320, 3330 Molecular Structure and Energetics II, III
- PHYS 3111,3112, 3113 Quantum Physics I, II, III
- PHYS 3841, 3842 Thermal Physics I and II
- PHYS 4111,4112, 4113 Quantum Mechanics I, II, III
- PHYS 4411, 4412, 4413 Advanced Solid State Physics I, II, III
- PHYS 4551, 4552, 4553 Mathematical Physics I, II, III
- PHYS 4811, 4812, 4813 Statistical Mechanics I, II, III
- MATH 3080 Introduction to Probability
- MATH 3180 Mathematical Statistics
- MATH 3651 Differential Equations and Applied Mathematics I
- MATH 3652 Differential Equations and Applied Mathematics II
- MATH 3851, 3852 Introduction to Functions of Complex Variables I, II
Materials Science Seminar Requirement
All students are required to register for at least three quarter hours of Materials Science Seminar (MTSC 4900); six quarter hours are required if the student is entering with a BS degree. In addition, all students are required to attend all Materials Science Seminars whether or not they have registered for seminar.
Comprehensive Examination Requirement
Generally within two years of attaining candidacy, the student must schedule and take the comprehensive examination. This oral examination will be attended by a minimum of three materials group faculty members with a member other than the student's advisor acting as chair. The student will be expected to complete the following:
- Make a 20-30 minute concise presentation on his/her thesis topic including approach, proposed experiments, theoretical work, anticipated results, results to date.
- Answer general fundamental questions in any area of materials science, and answer detailed questions in the area of the student's graduate course work. The examination can be retaken once and must be completed within three years of achieving candidacy.
Thesis Requirement
The student is required to complete and defend a thesis of publishable quality based on the student's original research. The thesis must be completed in written form in accordance with university guidelines. A summary of the thesis must be presented in a public seminar and subsequently defended by the student in the final oral examination. The examining committee will be constituted in accordance with University policy. All requirements for the degree must be completed within 8 years from admission to candidacy.