Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering

Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. students are expected to:

• Demonstrate competency at the Undergraduate level in all core courses by the end of their first year.
• Take MSE 5801 (fall) and MSE 5802 (spring) in the first two semesters.
• Take three MSE core courses (6010, 6020, 6030, 6040, 6050, 6060) prior to the start of the seventh semester.
• Take additional electives as required by the special committee or based on a student’s specific interests.
• Complete all academic milestones listed below in the typical timeline.
• Register each funded summer for the Summer Research Credits: GRAD 9016.

Typical Timeline

• Upon arrival on campus: select courses for first semester.
• First semester: choose research advisor and begin research.
• Second semester: prepare for Q exam, which is given at the end of May.
• Third and fourth semesters: add minor members by the end of the third semester, focus on research, complete coursework, serve as teaching assistant.
• Fifth semester: prepare for and take A Exam for admission to Ph.D. candidacy, receive M.S. degree, focus on research.
• Sixth through eighth semesters: focus on research.
• Eighth semester (approximate): begin writing Ph.D. dissertation.
• Ninth semester (approximate): take B Exam (Ph.D. dissertation defense), submit Ph.D. dissertation to Cornell Graduate School.

Each Ph.D. student has a special committee whose members guide and supervise the student’s research program. This committee is solely responsible for setting specific degree requirements, conducting and reporting on oral examinations, and approving the student’s doctoral dissertation. A student is recommended for a degree only when the special committee members agree that an appropriate level of scholarship has been achieved and that graduate faculty regulations regarding general examinations, residency, and dissertation requirements have been satisfied.

The student’s special committee is usually chaired by his/her research advisor, who must be a member of the Graduate Field of Materials Science and Engineering ↗ – some 40 faculty across campus – but not necessarily a member of the department.

The relationship between the student and research advisor is the central one in our Ph.D. program. Students must affiliate with a research advisor within the first semester. The other members of the special committee are selected by the student and the committee chair and typically parallel the student’s research interests. Affiliation is a mutual decision and often involves several face-to-face meetings with prospective advisors and their current graduate students in order to determine if there is a suitable match. When a match is made, the advisor appoints the graduate student to a graduate research assistant position.

The other members (usually two) of the special committee are selected by the student and the committee chair and typically represent interests and topics that parallel the student’s Ph.D. research. At least one committee member must be from outside the concentration of Materials Science and Engineering. Selection of suitable minor members of the Special Committee is usually accomplished by the end of the third semester of graduate study. Changes in the membership of the Special Committee are made by petition to the Cornell Graduate School.

Q Exam

At the end of the first year of study, Ph.D. students in Materials Science and Engineering take the qualifying exam, or Q Exam, which covers the core elements of Materials Science and Engineering: Materials Chemistry, Mechanical Properties, Thermodynamics, Kinetics, Electronic Properties, and Structure. The Q exam requires knowledge of Materials Science and Engineering at the level of the Cornell undergraduate curriculum. It ensures that students from all academic backgrounds are fluent in a common language incorporating the concepts with which we describe structure, process, and property relations in materials.

A Exam

The purpose of the Admission to Candidacy Exam, or A Exam, is to certify that a student possesses the academic and research skills necessary to present a Ph.D. thesis to the Graduate Faculty. Successful completion of the exam implies that coursework is nearly completed and that other Field requirements are either completed or nearly complete. The A Exam is conducted by a student’s Special Committee along with an additional Field member appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. The role of the appointed Field member is to represent the Field in certifying that all Field requirements are satisfied and that the candidate is thoroughly versed in core topics of materials science.

Required before the start of the 7th semester.

Scheduling Process:

• Coordinate date, time, location with full committee
• No less than two weeks prior to exam:
  • Submit A Exam Scheduling Form ↗
    Submit A Exam Audit Form ↗

If conducting exam over Zoom, GFA will schedule Zoom meeting and email the details to the student, committee, and faculty listserv.

B Exam

A final dissertation examination, or B Exam, is in the form of a public defense with open questioning followed by a closed session with private questioning by members of the Special Committee. At the time of the B exam, the written dissertation must be complete in all respects and editorially acceptable for final approval, though it may be modified as a result of the exam. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all requirements of the Field of Materials Science and Engineering, as well as those of the Graduate School, have been successfully completed in order to be awarded a Ph.D.