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The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is conferred on qualified candidates who have passed written and oral examinations on the subject matter of their field of study, who have completed an original investigation in this field and have embodied the results in an acceptable dissertation, and who have passed an oral examination in defense of the dissertation. The degree of Ph.D. is essentially a research degree. It is not given merely for the completion of course credits. The following sections contain both Graduate School requirements and requirements that are ECE specific. The ECE specific rules pertain only to students pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Engineering within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

The doctoral student along with his/her Guidance Committee (see Sec.4.5) will map out a curriculum that is designed to meet the student's educational goals and support the field of research chosen. Typically a doctoral student will accumulate 24 credits or more of graduate coursework past the MS degree. A Ph.D. student should have breadth as well as depth in fields relating to electrical engineering. Therefore, a student pursuing the Ph.D. degree in Engineering within the ECE Department is required to take a minimum of two courses beyond the bachelors degree in each of three areas chosen from the following list:

A student who has obtained a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering may have satisfied this requirement, however, students without a Masters or who have a Masters degree in another field, or do not meet the minimum course requirement, will be required to take the necessary courses.

The Ph.D. student must maintain a minimum of 3.33 (B+) cumulative grade point average to continue in the Ph.D. program. Any student who fails to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average will be subject to dismissal from the Ph.D. program.

All doctoral students must be registered each semester that they use University facilities. A minimum of three academic years of graduate study is required for the doctorate. Resident graduate work done at other universities may be counted toward the minimum requirement upon approval of the Guidance Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School, but one full academic year must be in residence at the University of New Hampshire. In individual cases, the major department and the Dean of the Graduate School may grant permission to pursue the research for the dissertation at another institution where access to special facilities would be advantageous.

A minimum of two semesters of registration in Doctoral Research (EE999) is required. However, doctoral students using University facilities while engaging in dissertation research must register for EE999 each semester, even if the minimum requirement has been met.

A Guidance Committee is appointed by the EE graduate coordinator upon the student’s completion of the preliminary examination. The committee assists the student in planning a program of study, writing a research proposal, and preparing for the comprehensive examination.

To qualify for the Ph.D. in Engineering the student must successfully pass two separate examinations. The first exam is called the Preliminary Exam. This exam tests the student's general knowledge in six subject areas as listed in the following section. The level of this material is undergraduate. The faculty of the ECE Department strongly believe that a student pursuing the Ph.D. degree within the Electrical Engineering Department should be competent in these six listed areas. The second exam is the Comprehensive Exam. This exam tests the student's fitness for engaging in research, particularly in the subject proposed for the dissertation. Together these exams make up what is called the Qualifying Exam in the Graduate School Bulletin. The chairperson of the Graduate Committee will communicate the examination results to the Dean of the Graduate School.

The Ph.D. Preliminary Exam must be taken by the end of the first year of Ph.D. graduate study. This exam is administered by the Graduate Coordinator and consists of two parts:

(1) a closed book written exam with questions on four required topics, and two optional topics, given in two four-hour sessions;

(2) an oral exam focused on the general area of the candidate’s research interests.

Satisfactory performance in at least four written exam topics is required before taking the oral exam, which will be given within two weeks after the results of the written exam are announced. Candidates who fail one or two written topics will be assigned remedial course work, and may be asked to retake the corresponding written exams. Candidates who fail three or more written exam topics are ineligible to continue in the Ph.D. program.

The four required topics are:

Applied Mathematics
Analog Circuits and Electronics
Digital Logic and Circuits
Signals and Systems

Candidates should select two out of the four optional topics:

Communications
Controls
Electromagnetic Fields
Programmable Logic & Embedded Systems
VLSI

Questions for each topic are selected by the corresponding eight sub-committees of the faculty and the exams are administered by the Graduate Coordinator. Candidates will receive a list of recommended texts to assist in reviewing for the exam.

All first year Ph.D. candidates will receive a written notification of the times and dates of the written exams. Within two weeks of notification, they should specify their optional topics to the Graduate Coordinator after consultation and consent of their graduate advisor.

The written and oral exams will be evaluated by faculty selected by the ECE Graduate Coordinator from the faculty sub-committees. The results of the exam will be determined by the Graduate Committee and reported to the ECE faculty for a final decision.

A detailed description of the exam topics and examples of past exams are available.

The Comprehensive Exam is normally given at the completion of any course work (typically 24 credits beyond the M.S.) and only after successful completion of the Preliminary Exams. The Comprehensive Exam is comprised of two parts. The first part entails the development of a research proposal by the student outlining in detail the Ph.D. research to be undertaken. This is to be done in consultation with the student's Ph.D. Guidance Committee. The proposal should include, but is not limited to, the following parts:

The research proposal will be evaluated by the student's Guidance Committee. Upon completion of this evaluation the Guidance Committee will submit the evaluation, with comments, to the ECE Graduate Committee. The overall result of the evaluation process will be determined by the Graduate Committee, in consultation with the student's Research Advisor. The student will normally be notified of the evaluation results within two weeks. Following a successful evaluation of the written proposal, a date will be set by theGraduate Coordinator for the oral portion of the Comprehensive Exam.

The oral portion of the Comprehensive Exam will normally be given within one month following the successful completion and evaluation of the written research proposal. This portion of the Comprehensive Exam is comprised of a formal presentation of the proposed research by the doctoral student followed by a questioning period. Normally the oral exam will be three hours; however, there is no set time limit for the length of the exam. As a guideline, the doctoral student should prepare the formal presentation of the research proposal using a target time-frame of one hour. Following this presentation, the student will be open to any reasonable question. Questions will not be limited to graduate experiences. The examiners may include anyone approved by the Graduate Committee. The oral examination will be moderated by the Graduate Coordinator. Immediately following the oral exam, the doctoral student will be asked to leave and the faculty in attendance will vote as to the outcome of the exam. (i.e., unconditional pass, conditional pass, failure). This is a preliminary recommendation; however, the doctoral student will be notified of the preliminary recommendation at the time of the exam and a formal decision on the outcome of the exam will be rendered following a formal vote of the ECE faculty at the next departmental meeting.

A doctoral student is advanced to candidacy for the degree by the Dean of the Graduate School after the student has passed the Comprehensive Examination.

After the student has been advanced to candidacy, a doctoral committee will be appointed to supervise and pass on the dissertation and administer the final examination. This committee will be nominated by the department of major concentration and appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. It shall consist of a minimum of five members, usually three from the ECE Department and two from related departments. The Dean of the Graduate School is an ex officio member of all doctoral committees. The Doctoral Committee often will include several members of the student's Guidance Committee, but need not be identical in composition to that of the Guidance Committee. A standard Committee Nomination Form must be filled out by the Dissertation advisor and submitted to the Graduate Coordinator. These forms may be obtained from the Graduate Coordinator. Additional members of the committee may be outside the ECE department (and in some instances can be from outside UNH) provided that they are approved by the Graduate School. If the committee being formed has a member from outside UNH or outside the ECE Department a Curriculum Vita or Resume for each proposed member outside UNH or outside the ECE Department must be attached to the Committee Nomination Form prior to submission to the Graduate Coordinator. Upon approval of the committee selection by the Graduate School, the student and committee members involved will be notified by the Graduate School.

All graduate work for the doctorate must be completed within eight years of the beginning of doctoral study, unless the student entered with a Masters degree in the same field, in which case the doctorate must be completed within seven years. The beginning of doctoral study is defined as the beginning date of the earliest course applied to the doctoral record. The student must be advanced to candidacy within five years of the beginning of doctoral study or within four years if the student entered with a Masters degree in the same field.

The dissertation must contribute to scholarship in the student's discipline, embody the results of significant and original research, and be a mature and competent piece of writing. Students writing dissertations should obtain a copy of the Thesis and Dissertation Manual from the Graduate School.

A copy of the completed dissertation must be made available to the members of the Examining Committee two weeks before the final examination date. Notification of the Defense must be made to the Dean of the Graduate School, the Dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the ECE faculty, and the ECE graduate students at least seven days prior to the defense date. This notification is the responsibility of the Dissertation Advisor. A sample defense notice can be found in Appendix A of this document. The defense notice must be reviewed by the Graduate Coordinator before it is distributed or posted.

The final oral examination is conducted by the Doctoral Committee and is intended to give the candidate an opportunity to defend the dissertation. After consultation with the major department, the Dean of the Graduate School may appoint, for participation in the final oral examination, additional members of the faculty under whom the student has worked. The Doctoral Committee alone shall decide on the merits of the candidate's performance by a majority vote.

As soon after the examination as possible, but not less than two weeks prior to Commencement, three copies of the approved dissertation, ready for binding, shall be turned in to the Graduate School office. Binding, microfilming, and copyright fees will be paid at the Graduate School. The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department requires that one additional copy of the dissertation be supplied to the Department library.

In addition to the three copies to be delivered to the Graduate School, the Student must supply one bound copy to the ECE Department for inclusion into the departmental library. The student should discuss with the Research Advisor the need for any additional copies that may be required. It is suggested that the student retain two bound copies for reference and lending purposes.

Publication of the dissertation by University Microfilms is required, and the student assumes the cost. Students may choose to copyright their dissertation at the time of microfilming. If the dissertation material is further published, it should be designated as having been accepted as a doctoral dissertation by the University of New Hampshire.

Students must file an Intent to Graduate card with the Registrar's Office at the beginning of the semester in which they intend to graduate. Specific information is available at the Graduate School or the Registrar's Office.

Deadlines for graduation are listed in the Graduate School calendar and each semester's Time and Room Schedule.