The primary mission of this PhD program is to educate and train students in the field of materials science and engineering. The students are expected to gain proficiency in the selected areas of materials science and engineering thereby advancing materials technology, attaining prominence, and supplying a workforce to the critical technology needs.
The Post-Master’s Track requires completion of 42 credit hours, of which 15 credit hours minimum must be formal coursework, exclusive of directed research (XXX 6918), thesis (XXX 6971), doctoral research (XXX 7919), independent study (XXX 6908), and research report courses; some post-master’s program tracks may require a greater number of formal coursework hours. Applicants to the Post-Master's PhD track must have earned a MS degree in Materials Science and Engineering or a closely related field, and are seeking higher level graduate education and research training. Applicants with a MSE-MS degree can substitute the required courses with new coursework, with the approval of the program director.
The specific research area that MSE faculty members conducts can be found at MSE website (www.mse.ucf.edu).
Total Credit Hours Required: 42 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Master's Degree
Track Prerequisites
Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering or closely related field.
Degree Requirements
Required Courses
12 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- Complete the following:
- EMA5104 - Intermediate Structure and Properties of Materials (3)
- EMA5106 - Metallurgical Thermodynamics (3)
- EMA5317 - Materials Kinetics (3)
- Earn at least 3 credits from the following:
- EMA6126 - Physical Metallurgy (3)
- EMA6319 - Colloids and Interface Engineering (3)
Elective Courses
15 Total Credits
- Earn at least 15 credits from the following:
- EMA5060 - Polymer Science and Engineering (3)
- EMA5108 - Surface Science (3)
- EMA5140 - Introduction to Ceramic Materials (3)
- EMA5326 - Corrosion Science and Engineering (3)
- EMA5415 - Electronic Principles of Materials Properties (3)
- EMA5504 - Modern Characterization of Materials (3)
- EMA5505 - Scanning Electron Microscopy (3)
- EMA5584 - Biomaterials (3)
- EMA5585 - Materials Science of Thin Films (3)
- EMA5586 - Photovoltaic Solar Energy Materials (3)
- EMA5610 - Laser Materials Processing (3)
- EMA5705 - High Temperature Materials (3)
- EMA6096 - Research Methods in Materials Science and Engineering (3)
- EMA6130 - Advanced Phase Transformations in Materials (3)
- EMA6136 - Diffusion in Solids (3)
- EMA6149 - Imperfections in Crystals (3)
- EMA6516 - X-ray Diffraction and Crystallography (3)
- EMA6518 - Transmission Electron Microscopy (3)
- EMA6611 - Optoelectronics Materials Processing (3)
- EMA6626 - Mechanical Behavior of Materials (3)
- CHM5450 - Polymer Chemistry (3)
- CHM6711 - Chemistry of Materials (3)
- EEE5332C - Thin Film Technology (3)
- EEE5352 - Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization (3)
- OSE5312 - Light Matter Interaction (3)
- PHZ5405 - Introductory Condensed Matter Physics (3)
Dissertation Hours
15 Total Credits
- Earn at least 15 credits from the following types of courses: EMA 7980 Dissertation Research. The program will only allow students to complete up to 24 hours of dissertation coursework in EMA 7980.
Examinations
0 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- The student must pass three examinations. • The first exam is the Qualifying Examination (QE): The QE's objective is to evaluate the student’s mastery of the field of Materials Science and Engineering. The subject matter for the examination includes undergraduate-level materials science topics in general, and includes the graduate level topics that are covered by the required courses. The MSE faculty determines the questions and grading of the exam, which is done on a pass/fail basis. The doctoral qualifying exam is a multi-part exam. The initial written assessment will be conducted during the fall term. The following spring term a second written assessment as well as oral assessment will be conducted. Upon successful completion of the doctoral qualifying exam process, a student is qualified to continue studying in the PhD program. A student, who fails the doctoral qualifying exam, will be dismissed from the Ph.D program. For more information about the qualifying exam please visit, http://mse.ucf.edu/graduate-program/.
- • The second exam is the Candidacy Examination: The candidacy exam is scheduled by mutual agreement of the student and his/her dissertation committee. The student must prepare a written description of their proposed dissertation research. This document is shared with the committee prior to the examination. Additionally, the student must present their proposed dissertation research to their dissertation committee during the candidacy examination. The student may also be questioned orally by his/her committee during the examination. This is typically on topics relevant to the proposed dissertation research. The exam may be re-taken at the discretion of the dissertation committee. • The candidacy exam should be taken in the academic semester the student completes 57 or 51 credit hours of course work and is scheduled by mutual agreement of the student and his/her dissertation committee. The student must prepare a written description of their proposed dissertation research prior to the examination, and present that to their dissertation committee to review prior to the candidacy examination. Additionally, the student may be questioned orally during the exam by the dissertation committee on topics relevant to the proposed dissertation research.
- • The third exam is the Dissertation Defense Examination: Dissertations are required in all UCF PhD programs. The dissertation consists of an original and substantial research study designed, conducted, and reported by the student with the guidance of the dissertation committee. The written dissertation must include a common theme with an introduction and literature review, details of the study, and results and conclusions prepared in accordance with program and university requirements. The dissertation is expected to represent a significant contribution to the discipline. Since this work must be original, it is very important that care is taken in properly citing ideas and quotations of others. Failure to do so is academic dishonesty and subject to termination from the program without receiving the degree. An oral defense of the dissertation is required. Prior to scheduling the dissertation defense, the high quality of the research must be evidenced by: (1) two refereed journal publications with the doctoral candidate as first author that are in print, or formally accepted for publication, or (2) satisfaction of an alternative publication requirement as recommended by the Dissertation Committee. The College of Engineering and Computer Science requires that all dissertation defense announcements are approved by the student's adviser and posted on the college's website, www.cecs.ucf.edu/graddefense and on the Events Calendar of the College of Graduate Studies website at least two weeks before the defense date.
Grand Total Credits: 42
Financial Information
Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.
Fellowship Information
Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.
