Students are admitted to work with a specific advisor, the faculty member, listed in their admissions 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.<\/p>\n
A PhD student conducting research and\/or in the writing phase of their degree program will not be able to remain in good standing with their academic and research progress if they do not have a research\/dissertation advisor and may be placed on probation or terminated from the PhD program due to a lack of faculty-advised progress (please refer to the PhD Advisor\/Good Standing Policy<\/a>).<\/p>\n Intersession.\u00a0<\/em>Intersession (the period between Fall and Spring terms) is an important time for research. Intersession is not a vacation. PhD students must request time off in writing\/email to their direct supervisor(s) and receive written approval (please refer to Requesting Time Off in the FAQs<\/a>).<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. The review process follows the format given in Annual Review Form<\/a>. The completed form must be submitted to the Academic Program Administrator via OneDrive (you have your individual folder shared with you) by January 31.<\/p>\n 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 <\/a>Responsible Conduct of Research Training webpage<\/a>. 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 be put on probation.<\/p>\n The DQE (see requirements<\/a>) 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.<\/p>\n Possible outcomes of the exam are Pass, Retake, or Fail. Only an outcome of Pass is considered passing the exam.\u00a0<\/span>If the outcome of the exam is Fail, the student is dismissed from the PhD program. The student may pursue, with approval from the Department Head, 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.<\/p>\n Every PhD student must form a Thesis Committee by their third-year annual review. The Advisor, in consultation with the student, selects the committee members, and this information is recorded in the student\u2019s file. The committee must include at least three faculty members, with a minimum of two full-time faculty from the department. Students are expected to meet with their committee at least one year before the student\u2019s planned thesis defense, and no later than the end of the 4th year.<\/p>\n Students are also expected to meet with faculty beyond the advisor, either within or outside the institution, at least once per year and record these meetings on the annual review form.<\/p>\n Timing<\/strong><\/p>\n Composition<\/strong><\/p>\n Process<\/strong><\/p>\n Timing<\/strong><\/p>\n Format<\/strong><\/p>\n Documentation<\/strong><\/p>\n The committee provides written feedback in a one-page document following the meeting. The meeting does not carry any pass\/fail outcome (it is not an exam).<\/p>\n Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n Requirement<\/strong><\/p>\n Documentation<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Dissertation Defense, together with the GBO, is the final examination before conferral of the PhD degree.<\/p>\n GBO Examination.<\/em> The University maintains complete guidelines for the Graduate Board Orals here<\/a>. 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 Department Head and the Director of Graduate Studies, who will consult with the student’s advisor. The GBO in the Civil and Systems Engineering Department is a Final Exam and therefore held simultaneous with the student\u2019s dissertation 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 dissertation 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\u2019 choosing, but many of the questions relate to the student\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n Dissertation Defense. <\/em>The student defends their dissertation 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.<\/p>\n Ethics<\/em>. 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<\/a> webpage and the Whiting School of Engineering\u2019s Responsible Conduct of Research Policy for a discussion of ethics and university policies.<\/p>\n Dissertation Readers<\/em>. A committee of 3 members (from the GBO committee) is required to read the candidate\u2019s dissertation and sign the Readers’ Letter confirming that the dissertation meets the standards of a PhD dissertation. The letter may be signed at the time of the defense if the dissertation 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 is done by the advisor and should be done at the beginning of the semester in which the student plans to graduate.<\/p>\n Scheduling.<\/em> The Defense and GBO examination should be scheduled at least 6 weeks in advance through the department\u2019s Academic Program Administrator. The following items should be delivered no late than 6 weeks before the proposed date:<\/p>\n There following items should be delivered no later than 2 weeks before the confirmed defense date:<\/p>\n 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 dissertation abstract, will be circulated by the department 5-7 days prior to the exam.<\/p>\nAnnual Reviews<\/h3>\n
Responsible Conduct of Research<\/h3>\n
Department Qualifying Examination (DQE)<\/h3>\n
PhD Thesis Committee<\/h3>\n
Thesis Committee Formation<\/h4>\n
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Thesis Committee Meeting<\/h4>\n
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Annual Meeting with Faculty Other than Advisor<\/h4>\n
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Masters Degrees for PhD Students<\/h3>\n
GBO Examination and Dissertation Defense<\/h3>\n
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