Language/Communication Testing and Placement
All PhD students who do not have a prior degree from an English-speaking university must take an English Language Assessment. If it is determined at the assessment that the student needs further English language instruction, he/she will be required to take 370.602 or equivalent.
Determination of Permanent Advisor
Students are admitted to work with a specific advisor, the faculty member, listed in the offer letter. If several faculty in the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering expressed a strong desire to work with the student, a nominal advisor will be assigned before the first semester to aid in course selection and provide general advice on PhD degree requirements. In this case, a permanent research advisor, from the faculty who expressed interest, will be selected by the end of the first semester.
A PhD student will not be able to remain in good standing with their academic and research progress if they do not have a research advisor. A student who is without a research/dissertation advisor may be placed on probation or terminated from the PhD program.
Intersession
Intersession (the period between Fall and Spring terms) is an important time for research. Intersession is not a vacation. Any leave taken during intersession is subject to the policies outlined in the Graduate Student Assistant Leave Guidelines. Release time (if any) granted in that period must be approved by the advisor.
Annual Reviews
Reviews of all PhD students in the department must be performed annually prior to January 31 (consistent with the WSE policy found in the Graduate Student Academic Review Policy. The review process follows the format given in Annual Review Form. The completed form must be submitted to the Academic Program Administrator via OneDrive (you have your individual folder shared with you) by January 31. If this annual review is not completed by this date, the student’s funding may be put in jeopardy.
Responsible Conduct of Research
Every PhD student of the Whiting School of Engineering is required to take the Responsible Conduct of Research course (details on the requirement can be found on the WSE Policy on Responsible Conduct of Research Training webpage. For CaSE students, this should be completed in Fall, Spring or Summer of the first year of studies. Students who do not complete this requirement prior to Fall of their third year of studies may put their funding in jeopardy.
Department Qualifying Examination (DQE)
The DQE (see requirements) is a comprehensive oral exam to determine whether or not the student is properly prepared to continue in the PhD program. All first-year students studying for a PhD take the DQE towards the end of their second semester, typically in May of the first year. This exam evaluates whether the student is prepared to continue in their PhD studies based on their research progress to date and plans for future research, as well as grasp of underlying mathematics and engineering concepts.
Possible outcomes of the exam are Pass, Retake, or Fail. Only an outcome of Pass is considered passing the exam. If the outcome of the exam is Fail, the student is dismissed from the PhD program. The student may pursue, with approval from the chair, a Master’s degree. Financial support for a student beyond a failed DQE is not typical. If the student receives a Retake, they are provided a single retake of the exam, typically in the Fall of the second year. Possible outcomes of this exam retake are Pass or Fail.
PhD Thesis Committee
Every PhD student must have a Thesis Committee of at least 3 faculty members. The Advisor, in consultation with his/her student, selects the makeup of the committee, and this information is recorded in the student’s file. The thesis committee also typically serves as the final PhD defense and GBO committee. This committee must consist of a minimum of 2 full-time faculty of the department.
PhD Thesis Committee Meetings
Thesis Committee meetings are recommended to occur annually beginning in Year 2 until the PhD final defense. The student is encouraged to submit a report to the committee members at least one week prior to the meeting. A typical report would include a literature review of the field relevant to the student’s research, a progress report of research performed to date, goals for research in the coming year, and a basic timeline of expected activities in the remaining years of the PhD degree. The committee meeting should consist of a presentation of key aspects of the report, along with discussion and feedback from the Thesis Committee. In certain
cases, particularly in later years of the PhD degree, it may be appropriate for the student to meet individually with members of the committee in lieu of the group meeting at the suggestion of the research advisor. When formal Thesis Committee meetings are completed, they should be reported and discussed in the student’s annual review.
Masters Degrees for PhD Students
PhD students may petition for a non-terminal Master’s degree following a passed DQE. If a student fails the DQE, he/she may petition for a terminal M.S.E./M.S. degree. In all instances the student must have satisfied the degree course requirements as detailed here. In instances where the research is highly interdepartmental, the student, with permission of the advisor, may request that the Master’s degree be awarded by another department in the Whiting School of Engineering. In such cases, the student must have satisfied the degree requirements and receive approval of the awarding department, as well as satisfied M.S.E./M.S. degree requirements of the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering and receive approval from our Department Head. In all cases, the awarding of any JHU Master’s degree to a civil and systems engineering PhD student may only occur after the student has completed the DQE.
GBO Examination and Thesis Defense
The Thesis Defense, together with the GBO, is the final examination before conferral of the PhD degree.
GBO Examination. The University maintains complete guidelines for the Graduate Board Orals here. The GBO committee consists of 5 members, (3 in department, 2 outside) with 2 alternates (1 in department, 1 outside) and is selected by the advisor and must be approved by the Department Head or the Director of Graduate Studies. The GBO in the Civil and Systems Engineering Department is a Final Exam and therefore held simultaneous with the student’s thesis defense. Both students and advisors should be aware that 6-8 weeks advance notice is needed in order to allow for scheduling the exam with the faculty and with the Graduate Board. The student should provide a copy of the dissertation to the GBO committee at least 2 weeks prior to the exam. The exact format of each GBO examination is specified by the individual Chair of the GBO committee. The public thesis defense is conducted (see below) followed by a private examination conducted by the GBO committee. The examination questions may be on any topic of the committee members’ choosing, but many of the questions relate to the student’s research. At the conclusion of the examination, the GBO committee will recommend one of the following outcomes: pass, conditional pass, fail with re-examination, fail (final).
Thesis Defense. The student defends his/her thesis in a seminar setting that is open to the public. The seminar is followed by a comprehensive examination of the student by the GBO committee.
Ethics. The department is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of academic and research integrity. Plagiarism, and other forms of unethical conduct, are not
tolerated. Students are referred to the JHU Graduate Board Policies webpage and the Whiting School of Engineering’s Responsible Conduct of Research Policy for a discussion of ethics and university policies.
Thesis Readers. A committee of 3 members (from the GBO committee) is required to read the candidate’s dissertation and sign the Readers’ Letter confirming that the dissertation meets the standards of a PhD thesis. The letter may be signed at the time of the defense if the thesis is found satisfactory, or may be signed at a later time if corrections are required. The Advisor in consultation with the department selects the committee members, at least 2 of whom must be full-time faculty of our department. The 3 readers are also expected to serve on the GBO committee. Selection of the readers should be done at the beginning of the semester in which the student plans to graduate.
Scheduling. The Defense and GBO examination should be scheduled at least 6 weeks in advance through the department’s Academic Program Administrator. There are the following items to be sent in 6 weeks notice:
- Proposed committee
- Proposed week of the exam
There are the following items to be sent in 2 weeks notice:
- Title and abstract
- Photo for the announcement
A complete written dissertation should be given to the GBO committee at least 14 days in advance of the exam. Failure to meet this 2 week deadline will result in rescheduling the PhD defense and GBO exam. The date and place of the Defense, along with the thesis abstract, will be circulated by the department 5-7 days prior to the exam.
Post-Defense. University requirements for the thesis can be obtained from the Graduate Board website. Dissertation must be submitted to both the ETD (Library) and the department. The deadline date for filing is set by the Graduate Board Office. This date also applies to filing with the Whiting School Graduate Committee and with the department. A receipt of ETD approval email must be sent to the Academic Program Administrator. You must include the title of your dissertation/essay/project typed in the body of the email in title case format with correct spelling and punctuation — Please do not use all upper case or all lower case letters.*
All data and source codes related to the thesis should be properly archived according to requirements set forth by the Advisor. Any changes or additions specifically requested by the reviewers before or during the defense seminar should be incorporated into the thesis in consultation with the Advisor. A final copy of the thesis must then be made available to the reviewers for inspection no less than 48 hours before the deadline date for filing set by the Graduate Board.
Additional Information. It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of requirements and deadlines. It is suggested that this information be obtained before the start of the semester of intended graduation. All students should plan timing of the final defense accordingly (making sure to account for the 6-8 week period following the defense) to satisfy any deadlines related to upcoming graduation.