Materials Engineering, Ph.D

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Ph.D. Degree

Requirements

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree in Materials Science or Materials Engineering will be required to complete not fewer than eight half courses beyond the bachelor’s degree. This includes the course requirements listed for the M.A.Sc. or M.Sc. programs, plus two additional full courses at the 700-level. Students must complete the Graduate Seminar courses, MATLS 701 or equivalent and MATLS 702 , as part of these course requirements.

Students entering the Ph.D. program with a Master’s degree or promoted from the Master’s program are required to complete not fewer than two full courses at the 700-level. These students must complete MATLS 702 Graduate Seminar (Ph.D.) , as part of these course requirements.

Students are encouraged to select some of their courses from areas beyond the focus of their research, including courses offered by other departments. It is expected that the student may also be required to take courses in addition to the prescribed courses for graduate credit. These may be at either the undergraduate or graduate level.

Students who enrol directly into the Department’s Ph.D. program will submit a written proposal for their research program after one year, but less than 16 months. Their supervisory committee, augmented by two other members, at least one of which should be from the department, will give a critical review and examine the student on material contained in or related to the proposal.

Comprehensive Examination

The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination will be in two parts.

Part I

Part I will cover, at the undergraduate level, topics central to materials science and engineering. Credit for this part will be given to a candidate who has successfully completed the comprehensive examination previously required of M.Sc. and M.A.Sc. students.

Part II

Part II will test the candidate’s knowledge at an advanced level. Candidates will be expected to show the greatest depth of knowledge in their field of research but will also be expected to demonstrate knowledge of fields related to their areas of specialization. Part II must be completed within two years of entry into a Ph.D. program at McMaster.

Thesis

Candidates are expected to begin their thesis research soon after registering for Ph.D. studies. Candidates will be required to submit a thesis which embodies the results of original research and to defend the thesis in the Final Oral Examination.

Additional Information

There are opportunities to take courses from visiting and adjunct professors and for part of the research to be conducted at other universities that collaborate with various faculty in the department.