Environmental and Water Resources Engineering

Graduate Information

 

Guidelines for Doctor of Philosophy Degree

 

Program of Study:

Doctoral students must complete as a minimum the equivalent of three academic years of applicable course work beyond the bachelor's degree (interpreted as 60 credit hours beyond a bachelor's degree or 30 credit hours beyond a master's degree) to be eligible for candidacy. The last year or 20 credit hours must be taken from Mississippi State University. At some time in the doctoral program the student will be required to devote one full semester (nine hours) or two semesters half-time (six hours each) to establish residency in the graduate program. Specific course requirements are determined by the student's graduate committee.

A Program of Study Form, approved by each committee member and the Graduate Coordinator, must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. A preliminary program of study should be submitted to the departmental Graduate Coordinator at the completion of the first nine hours of course work taken at MSU. The student should submit a final Program of Study Form as early as possible in his/her studies.

Admission to Candidacy:

The doctoral student is admitted to candidacy upon successful completion of all courses included in his/her program of study, acceptance of a research topic by his/her graduate committee, successful completion of the preliminary examination, and submission of the Candidacy Form to The Office of Graduate Studies by the student's major advisor.

Research Topic Approval: For the purpose of candidacy, a student can gain approval of his/her research topic by submitting a dissertation proposal to his/her graduate committee. This is accomplished through written and oral presentations of the proposed research topic to the graduate committee.

Preliminary Examination: When the student is within six hours of completing all course work, he or she may file a request with the Graduate School to sit for the preliminary examination. The preliminary examination must be completed no less than six months prior to graduation.

The student's committee governs content and format of the preliminary examination. Normally, the examination is comprised of both written and oral components. The written component is designed to assess proficiency in topics pertaining to the student's selected area of research and specialization. Content is not limited to specific course work delineated in the student's program of study. After completion of the written component, the student must complete an oral examination administered by the committee. The student's major advisor is responsible for reporting the results to the Office of Graduate Studies.

Research and Dissertation:

Each candidate for the doctoral degree must conduct research and present a dissertation on that research that (1) demonstrates mastery of research techniques and (2) makes a distinct contribution to the body of knowledge on the subject. Each student must present a proposal for the research, conduct the research outlined in the proposal, and successfully defend the research before his/her committee.

The Proposal: Each candidate must present to the committee a written proposal of the research to be conducted. The proposal should include (1) a relevant literature survey, (2) a concise description of the proposed research, (3) justification of the need for the research, and (4) a summary of contributions the research will make to the body of knowledge on the subject.

The Dissertation: Upon completion of the research, the candidate will submit a draft of the dissertation to each committee member at least two weeks in advance of the final dissertation defense. The dissertation must conform to the university guidelines published in the Graduate Bulletin.

The Final Defense: In consultation with the major advisor, the candidate will file a request for a final defense at least two weeks prior to the intended examination date. The final defense is comprised of (1) a public presentation of the dissertation followed by (2) an oral examination or defense of the dissertation contents. At the discretion of the committee, the dissertation defense may be closed to include only the committee and a representative of The Office of Graduate Studies meeting with the student.