Procedures & Requirements for Graduation - Electrical Engineering PhD

Once accepted into the ECE PhD program the student must:

• Select a PhD advisor and complete a Plan of Study
• Successfully complete the PhD Preliminary Examination
• Complete the coursework specified in the Plan of Study.
• Form a PhD Advisory Committee
• Successfully complete the Comprehensive Examination
• Successfully complete their Dissertation
• Successfully complete the Final Oral Defense of the Dissertation
• Submit their Dissertation

Once accepted into the program, the student must select a PhD advisor. The advisor must be Graduate Faculty of the UCCS Graduate School but need not be a member of the ECE faculty if student has obtained approval from the ECE Graduate Program Director.

Following the selection of their PhD advisor, the student must work with the advisor to develop a Plan of Study that outlines appropriate coursework for the program. This must be accomplished by the end of the second semester of residence in the PhD program. It is further recommended that the student work with their PhD advisor to generate an initial Research Plan outlining the main research questions and direction of research.

Before attempting the comprehensive examination, the student must pass the preliminary examination.

The PhD preliminary examination is scheduled for the second or third week each January.

For students admitted before June 1, the PhD exam must be taken on the next offering, which is normally the following January. For students admitted June 1 or after, the PhD exam must be taken no later than its second offering. Students on an approved Leave of Absence when the PhD exam is offered are not required to take the preliminary examination at that time.

The preliminary exam has a duration of three hours and is closed book. The exam comprises a minimum of ten questions of which the student must satisfactorily complete five. The student may contact the ECE office for the current listing of textbooks to study for the exam. Old examinations are available in the ECE Department office.

The PhD examination may be attempted twice. Absence from a scheduled examination will be recorded as a failure. If the examination is failed twice, the student will be dismissed from the program.

A PhD dissertation advisory committee shall consist of five members of the graduate faculty. At least two members of the advisory committee must be ECE faculty. One member must be from an outside department with a related specialty. The outside member may be from another institution, provided the faculty member has been granted Special membership of the Graduate Faculty.

The chair of the advisory committee must be ECE faculty, although the chair need not be the student's PhD advisor. This provision allows a student who is studying in a closely related field to EE (such as some areas of physics, mathematics, or mechanical and aerospace engineering) to achieve a PhD in engineering with a concentration in electrical engineering while having a PhD advisor from their own specialty field. Such a student must still be admitted to the ECE PhD program in the normal way and meet all other requirements for the degree.

The comprehensive examination is a presentation of the student’s chosen research area with a supporting literature search and tentative avenues of approach. The student's advisory committee conducts the comprehensive examination. Once the student passes the comprehensive examination, they are a candidate.

Prior to attempting the comprehensive exam, the student must demonstrate excellence in their specialty field by earning a grade of B- or better in all courses applied toward the PhD degree.

The student must take at least 15 dissertation credits in the semesters after the comprehensive examination is passed.

The dissertation is a written, polished document reporting the results of the student's investigation into an original area of research. The subject must be approved by the student's dissertation advisory committee. The dissertation shall represent a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of work for Ph.D. candidates.

The student’s dissertation must satisfy the specifications of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Thesis and Dissertation Manual.

The final oral defense of the dissertation is taken at the completion of the work on the dissertation after the first and second readers have approved its contents. This examination is open to anyone who wishes to attend. A successful candidate must receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the advisory committee. In case of failure, the examination may be attempted once more after a period of time determined by the committee.

After successfully defending their dissertation, the student must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Submission procedures provided by the Graduate School.

The student is responsible for submitting their dissertation to the Graduate School following the campus standards listed in the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Thesis and Dissertation Manual (found on the Graduate School website). Most dissertations require edits after submission. Students should submit their dissertation early to allow time for adequate edits to be made.

• Notify the ECE department of plans to graduate at the beginning of the semester · Complete diploma card online and the Application for Admission to Candidacy for an Advanced Degree at the beginning of the semester. Visit the UCCS Graduate School Website for more information.
• Arrange a time for the dissertation defense with Advisory Committee members.
• Notify the ECE department of the dissertation defense date a minimum of one month prior to dissertation defense.
• Submit a final draft form of dissertation to PhD Advisory Committee a minimum of two weeks prior to the dissertation defense.
• Successfully defend the dissertation in an oral defense.
• Obtain approval from the Advisory Committee Chairman that the dissertation meets all format requirements.
• Obtain approval (and signatures) from all Advisory Committee members that the dissertation has acceptable content. · Submit dissertation following Thesis and Dissertation Manual guidelines (found on the Graduate School website).

• Commencement ceremony is held in May and December. Students become a graduate the semester they complete all requirements.

  Note: All deadlines are provided in the Schedule of Deadlines for Graduate Degree Candidates published annually by the UCCS Graduate School.

PhD students are normally expected to complete all degree requirements within nine years from the date of the start of coursework in the PhD program. A student who fails to complete the degree in the nine years must file a petition for extension with the program director and have it approved by the Graduate School Dean.

Dr. T.S. Kalkur, Professor, Microelectronics, VLSI, Circuit Design

Dr. Byeong Lee, Associate Professor, Computer Architecture and Deep Learning

Dr. Tarek Masaud, Assistant Professor, Power Engineering and Renewable Energy Systems 

Dr. Darshika G. Perera, Associate Professor, Embedded Systems, Reconfigurable Computing, Digital Systems. 

Dr. Gregory Plett, Professor, Signal Processing and Controls Dr. Heather Song, Professor, Electromagnetics, RF Microwave 

Dr. Scott Trimboli, Professor, System Modeling and Controls