Dartmouth Engineering PhD Degree Program

The foundation for doctoral engineering degree work is undergraduate preparation in science, mathematics, and engineering principles. Applicants must hold a bachelor's or master's degree to be considered for the program. Students admitted to the program who are not prepared to complete the first-year requirements are advised to enter the MS program and petition to be admitted to the PhD program. Students who have prior graduate training may be considered for advancement to candidacy after completing one or two terms of the first-year doctoral program.

Graduate Course Equivalence and Credit form (.pdf)

Required Coursework

Required Original Research

In addition, PhD students also take on a multi-year research project, usually as part of a larger multidisciplinary project. Engineering research at Dartmouth reflects our belief that innovation happens at the intersection of disciplines and our emphasis on addressing areas of critical human need. PhD students work closely with their faculty advisor who is sponsoring their research to identify and further define their research focus.

Academic Honor

All PhD students, upon matriculation, are required to attend a series of workshops in ethics and sign a statement that they agree to abide by the honor principles established by Dartmouth. See Graduate Academic and Conduct Regulations for a full statement of academic honor.

Required Residency & Program Duration

Students in the PhD program are expected to spend at least nine terms in residence, three of which will take place after successfully completing the oral qualifying examination. Students who are registered and enrolled in two or more courses per term(or ENGG 298) are considered full-time and as being "in residence." Students typically take approximately four to five years to complete the requirements for the PhD.

The PhD program can also be undertaken part-time: students interested in this option should contact the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education.

Additional Requirements for the PhD Innovation Program

See PhD Innovation Program Requirements for details.

Annual Advisor Meetings

At the end of each year, students meet with their faculty advisor to review grades, goals, achievements and future plans in research, formal coursework, and extracurricular activities. This meeting, and a corresponding written report, is required for every year that a student remains registered in the PhD program.

Following the first-year meeting, before the fall of second year, the advisor provides the Thayer Registrar a written report describing a student's annual performance.

Following a positive outcome of this first annual meeting, the student is expected to complete the oral qualifier examination before the end of the Fall term.

The second annual meeting should occur at the end of the student's second year, and a successful outcome of this would allow the student to progress to the PhD thesis proposal presentation before the end of the third year.

Students who are not progressing in a normal manner are transferred to the MS program with the understanding that they may later request to be reconsidered as PhD candidates.

Technical Proficiency

The oral qualifying exam (ENGG 194), a set of questions put forward by an oral examination committee to the candidate, normally takes place before or during the fifth term of the student's program, or in exceptional circumstances early in the sixth term. The exam is open to the faculty, but not to the general public.

The committee tests the candidate's knowledge of principles and methods underlying the field in which advanced work is to be performed. The exam covers material selected by the candidate's advisor in consultation with the examining committee and includes coverage of mathematical techniques appropriate to the research area. The examination committee consists of four members—the Chair plus three Dartmouth faculty examiners, with at least two of the examiners from Thayer. A Thayer faculty member other than the student's advisor chairs the committee. This chair is assigned by the director of the MS and PhD programs.

The structure of the preparation for the exam is flexible. The student prepares a description of the planned exam, obtains approval of their advisor and two additional committee members, and then submits the proposal to the director of the MS and PhD programs. The director of the MS and PhD programs assigns a fourth committee member to serve as the Chair and approves the proposal. The student then submits the completed proposal to the Thayer Registrar (103 MacLean or registrar@thayer.dartmouth.edu) at least one month prior to the exam date.

The examination committee gives the student a pass, fail, or conditional pass result. Students who fail may retake the oral examination—one time only—within the following three months. Upon passage of the exam or fulfillment of the conditions of the conditional pass (before the assigned deadline) and with a letter of support from the advisor, the student is admitted to PhD candidacy pending a vote by the Thayer faculty.

• Oral Qualifying Exam Guide (.pdf)
• Oral Qualifying Exam Form (.pdf)

Technical Breadth

The faculty advisor helps the candidate plan a demonstration of technical breadth, which is approved by the Senior Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Programs. The plan details one of the following options:

• A set of courses, taken for credit, outside or secondary to the candidate's principal area of specialization
• A focused set of courses, taken for credit, which creates a secondary emphasis in specialization and may involve independent study or research
• Presentation of a research proposal or an oral examination in an area outside the main area of specialization: The candidate might present a research seminar on the topic with an examination committee of three faculty members probing the candidate's depth of knowledge of the secondary area. This option may be combined with the ENGG 197: PhD Professional Workshops. Students who do not pass may be permitted to take the oral examination—one time only—within the following three months.
• A creative design project, completed within a time limit of approximately 30 days, in an area outside the main area of specialization. The project is defined and the candidate's performance is evaluated by a committee of three faculty members appointed by the program director. The committee gives the student a statement of need, and the student proposes a means of satisfying that need in an effective, elegant, and economic manner. The project should display the candidate's ability to conceive and evaluate alternative solutions; carry out analytical evaluations at levels of approximation suited to the problem and the time limit; and recognize situations in which experimental work is needed. If the time limit prohibits experimentation, the candidate should devise the appropriate experiments and demonstrate how the expected results would aid in the design. Within the 30-day time limit, the candidate submits a written report plus an executive summary. Following an oral presentation of the project, the committee examines and evaluates the candidate's performance in the project. Students who do not pass may be permitted to revise and resubmit the report—one time only—within the following three months.

Professional Competence: PhD Professional Workshops

The candidate demonstrates professional competence by completing ENGG 197: PhD Professional Workshops, which is offered each Winter term by the faculty and outside experts. The workshop emphasizes skills in completing competitive proposals, business funding, patenting, research team organization, teaching, résumé and CV creation, and job search techniques. Each candidate completes a competitive research proposal or a business plan for critique by two expert referees selected from among faculty, outside experts, and/or corporate representatives. Candidates who have submitted a competitive research proposal to a funding agency or a business plan to a venture capitalist or financial institution prior to completing the workshop may petition to have the proposal or business plan fulfill this requirement.

Specialization & Thesis Proposal

The candidate demonstrates mastery of an area of specialization by writing and defending a thesis proposal within the first 18 months of candidacy. A thesis committee, approved by the director of the PhD program, advises the candidate on the proposed thesis research and administers the defense of the thesis proposal defense.

The PhD examination committee consists of a minimum of three full-time Dartmouth faculty members of which a minimum of two must be from Thayer (including the dissertation advisor) and an external member with a faculty equivalent research appointment outside of Dartmouth is optional, but not required. Note that although optional at the proposal stage, an external member is required for the final thesis committee and defense. The external member may participate in meetings in person or via video conference. The candidate's proposal—a presentation of the proposed thesis research—explains the scope and importance of the proposed research and plans for its completion. The defense presentation should be understandable, at least in a general way, to students and faculty not in the subject area.

Two weeks before the defense, candidates must:

• Submit the thesis proposal in writing to their committee
• Submit an electronic copy of the thesis proposal notice to the Thayer registrar for distribution to the faculty and for posting

Students who do not pass may be permitted to present the proposal again—one time only—within the following three months.

• Thesis Proposal Form (.pdf)
• Thesis Guidelines (.pdf)

Original Research

Candidates demonstrate their significant contribution to engineering knowledge and professional expertise in the chosen area of study by performing original research. The PhD examination committee consists of a minimum of three full-time Dartmouth faculty members of which a minimum of two must be from Thayer (including the dissertation advisor) and an external member with a faculty equivalent research appointment outside of Dartmouth. The external member may participate in meetings in person or via video conference. The research is reviewed through all of the following means:

• Presentation: Demonstrated by the elements of the research presented at a professional meeting with the candidate as first author.
• Dissertation: Demonstrated by a written abstract followed by detailed explanation of the research, approved and signed by the PhD thesis committee. A hard copy and a pdf of the final dissertation must be submitted to the Thayer registrar for archiving. Copyright to the dissertation is held by the Trustees of Dartmouth College.
• Oral Defense: Demonstrated by a presentation of the dissertation in a forum open to the public. The candidate is responsible for giving final, signature-ready copies of the thesis to each committee member to review at least two weeks prior to the defense. The candidate must submit an electronic notice of the defense to the Thayer registrar two weeks in advance for distribution to the faculty and for posting.
• Paper: Demonstrated by the elements of the research accepted for publication with the candidate as first author.

Dissertation Archiving

A PDF of the final dissertation, including a cover sheet signed by the thesis committee, must be submitted to the Thayer Registrar for archiving. Copyright to the dissertation is held by the Trustees of Dartmouth College.

Tuition

Tuition for the academic year is covered by a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA), which includes instruction, insurance coverage, use of instructional facilities, and healthcare service through the College infirmary.

Funding

Stipends

Students admitted with a GRA receive a monthly stipend. The stipend amount for the 2024-2025 academic year is $3,916.67 per month ($47,000 per year).

Students who obtain an external fellowship that fully funds their PhD—such as from NSF, DOD, NASA, or DOE—will receive an additional yearly stipend from Thayer for the duration of their PhD.

Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA)

PhD students typically enter with full funding support from either a GRA or an external fellowship. GRAs, funded by contract research, are available to well-qualified candidates enrolled in degree programs with thesis requirements. Most PhD funding includes full tuition cost coverage plus a monthly stipend. GRAs also include health care coverage for those who opt for college insurance. As with all graduate students, Thayer's commitment to financial assistance will continue as long as a student remains in good academic standing and is making normal progress in fulfilling degree requirements.

Dartmouth is currently in the process of implementing GRA updates associated with the Dartmouth and Gold-UE Collective Bargaining Agreement. Additional details will be provided as they become available.

Fellowships & Grants

There are a number of scholarships, fellowships, and grants offering financial awards that are available to PhD graduate students.

Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants