Ph.D. Degree Information

Credit Requirements

Ninety-six hours of credit and a Ph.D. thesis are required (with the exception of students entering with an approved M.S. degree). At least 64 hours must be earned in residence. In addition, the student must take the Departmental Ph.D. Qualifying Examination and be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy, and must pass the Preliminary and Final Examinations for the Ph.D. degree.

There are three routes to the Ph.D. with each route having different credit requirements. The first route is the traditional M.S./Ph.D program. In this route an MS degree is first earned in ECE before entering the Ph.D program. The second route is for students entering directly into the Ph.D program having already been awarded an approved M.S. degree external to ECE. The third route is called the direct Ph.D. program and does not require an M.S. to enter the Ph.D. program.

For students first entering the M.S./Ph.D. program, the 96 hours of credit are divided into three stages, consisting of 32 hours generally represented by an M.S. degree or equivalent, 24 hours of coursework beyond the M.S. degree, and a minimum of 40 hours of thesis work for the doctoral thesis. The first stage of the Ph.D. degree program requires the completion of 32 hours of credit. The 32 hours are represented by an M.S. degree or equivalent. The 24 hours of credit required in the second stage may include credit in courses taken before admission to Ph.D. candidacy or in courses taken before completion of the M.S. thesis, provided that the credit in such courses has not been included in the 32 hours required in the first stage. All of the coursework hours required must be completed in residence. The 24 hours of coursework are chosen in consultation with the Ph.D. thesis adviser to provide additional background knowledge required for successful completion of the doctoral thesis. During this time, the candidate also pursues a program of background reading, literature search, and research on the Ph.D. thesis topic. The candidate also prepares for the Preliminary Examination for the Ph.D. degree by writing a thesis proposal. During the third stage, the candidate carries out the research program proposed in the thesis proposal and writes a doctoral thesis requiring a minimum of 40 hours of credit in ECE 599. General requirements for the thesis may be found in the section titled The Thesis. Continuous registration in ECE 599 (except possibly in summer sessions) is required until all the credit requirements for the Ph.D. degree have been met. Credit in ECE 599 earned before passing the Preliminary Examination may be included in the 40 hours required provided that the credit has not been included in the 32 hours required in the first stage.

Students admitted to the ECE Graduate Program with M.S. degrees from elsewhere are considered to have completed the first stage of the Ph.D. degree program (equivalent to 32 hours). For students entering the Ph.D program with an approved M.S. degree, 64 hours of credit are required and consists of a minimum of 32 hours of thesis research, and a minimum of 24 hours of coursework. The 24 hours of coursework are chosen in consultation with the Ph.D. thesis adviser to provide additional background knowledge required for successful completion of the doctoral thesis. The additional 8 hours required for the doctoral program may be completed as either thesis or coursework hours. All of the coursework hours required must be completed in residence.

For students entering the direct Ph.D program without an M.S., 96 hours of credit are required and consists of a minimum of 40 hours of thesis research, 12 hours of three permanent 500-level courses in three different Ph.D breadth requirement areas and a minimum of 36 credit hours in elective courses. The additional 8 hours required for the doctoral program may be completed as either thesis or coursework hours. All of the coursework hours required must be completed in residence.

For all doctoral students, regardless of path: optionally, up to 4-credit hours of ECE 590, Seminar, may count towards the elective coursework and up to 8-credit hours of ECE 597, Independent Study, may count towards the elective coursework.

There are additional specific requirements regarding coursework. One requirement is that the coursework must include three permanent 500 level courses in three different areas. See the section titled Ph.D. Breadth Requirement Courses for a list of the areas and admissible courses within each area. All Ph.D. breadth requirement courses must be taken at Illinois. Courses taken at Illinois during the first stage of the Ph.D. program, i.e., during the M.S work, may be used to fulfill this breadth requirement. Students are required to achieve a 3.5 GPA in these three courses before being allowed to take their Ph.D. Preliminary exam. Note that this requirement is independent of the 3.25 GPA rule which students must meet to be allowed to take the qualifying examination as part of the Admission to Ph.D. candidacy process.

The Preliminary Examination

The Preliminary Examination for the Ph.D. degree is an oral examination administered by the candidate's doctoral committee. For students in the M.S./Ph.D. track or students entering with an approved M.S., the examination may be taken no earlier than the semester in which the candidate completes the 24 hours of coursework required in the second stage of the Ph.D. program. For students in the direct Ph.D., the examination may be taken no earlier than the semester in which the candidate completes the 48 hours of required coursework. Ph.D. students are required to take their Prelim Exam within 4 semesters after passing the Qualifying Exam.

The candidate contacts each potential committee member to request that they serve on the proposed doctoral committee and makes arrangements for a suitable time and place for the Preliminary Examination. The candidate must submit the proposed committee list and information regarding the time and place for the examination using the Prelim Exam Signup link on the My.ECE web portal at least three weeks prior to the date chosen for the examination. The Graduate College appoints the doctoral committee upon the recommendation of the Department Head.

The candidate must submit the thesis proposal to the doctoral committee at least one week prior to the Preliminary Examination. The proposal must outline the problem to be studied for the Ph.D. degree, the procedures and methods to be used in attacking the problem, work already completed on the chosen problem, and the additional work proposed to be completed. The proposal also must include a tentative title for the thesis.

The Preliminary Examination is intended to test the validity of the thesis proposal and the candidate's fitness to carry out the research work proposed. It begins with a short presentation by the candidate, outlining the problem chosen, the procedures and methods to be used, the work already completed, and a proposal for the additional work to be completed for the Ph.D. degree. The committee then questions the candidate regarding the problem, the preliminary results, and the proposed work. The candidate may be asked to clarify matters in the thesis proposal and to defend various aspects of the work already completed or the work being proposed. The committee may suggest alternative methods of attacking the problem or suggest different aspects of the problem as suitable areas for exploration. The committee also may ask questions of a more general nature in order to test the adequacy of the candidate's preparation for the proposed research.

At the conclusion of the examination, the chairman of the committee announces one of four decisions:

• The candidate passed the Preliminary Examination and may proceed to independent study and research for the doctoral degree.
• The Examination is temporarily adjourned. The candidate must revise the thesis proposal and be examined again within the next six months.
• The candidate failed, but may submit a new thesis proposal and take another Preliminary Examination after completing additional coursework, independent study, or research.
• The candidate failed and will not be admitted to another examination

The candidate may submit the thesis proposal to the ECE Editorial Services for a nonmandatory, informal editorial review. Because the purpose of the informal editorial review is to prepare for a smoother dissertation writing process, not to polish the proposal for the Preliminary Examination, the proposal may be submitted to the Publications Office any time, before or after the examination.

Deposit of the Thesis in the Graduate College

When the dissertation is ready, the candidate submits it to ECE Editorial Services for format checking and copyediting. Ideally, this submission happens after the Thesis/Dissertation Approval form has been signed by the committee members. Following format approval, Editorial Services submits the Thesis/Dissertation Approval (RDA) form with adviser/committee member signatures to the Department Head for signature approval and then delivers the completed TDA form to the Graduate College. Allow up to 48 hours for obtaining Department Head approval. Details of various requirements to be satisfied are given in the section titled The Thesis. The Ph.D. dissertation must be deposited in the Graduate College no later than one year after passing the Final Examination.

Time Limitations

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree must complete all requirements for that degree within seven calendar years after first registration in the Graduate College. However, students who received the M.S. degree from elsewhere must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. degree within six calendar years after first registration in the Graduate College. Students who receive the M.S. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and whose studies are interrupted immediately thereafter for a substantial period of time also must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. degree within six calendar years after they resume their studies.