Program Overview
The program requires 30 graduate credit hours beyond the MS degree, including a minimum of 15 hours at the 7000 level or above. Students must pass qualifying and general examinations, complete a research proposal, and defend their dissertation to earn the PhD.
Program Outline
For students with no degree in petroleum engineering or students with no degree in engineering, additional coursework is required with no graduate credit. To become a doctoral candidate, a student must pass the qualifying and general examinations, meet a one-year residence requirement, and complete a minimum of 30 semester hours beyond the MS degree. Timeline and expected performance of doctoral students is outlined in the document, PhD Examination Milestones.
Outline:
The curricular requirements include:
- At least 30 graduate credit hours beyond MS degree.
- Minimum core requirement of 21 credit hours in drilling, production, formation evaluation, reservoir engineering, and engineering mathematics – shown in the Core Curriculum Requirements document.
- A secondary concentration area consisting of a minimum of six hours of earned credit in a specified field of study may be required by the advisory committee.
Assessment:
The program uses a combination of assessments, including:
- Research Proposal: The student must present a research proposal to the advisory committee within the first two years after admission to the doctoral program.
- The proposal serves as a qualifying examination in petroleum engineering.
- Read, understand, and summarize the most important previous work in the area The written proposal (not more than 15 pages excluding references) includes items discussed in 1.1-1.7.
- Demonstrate a commitment to clear communication
- Announce the examination to all department faculty and graduate students one week in advance.
- The Graduate School must approve the examining committee.
- Generally within three years after admission to the doctoral program
- No later than four years after admission to the doctoral program
- No later than two semesters prior to graduation.
- Specifically, the candidate will:
- Review relevant literature completely and informatively, in a style suitable for including in the dissertation
- Demonstrate proficiency in other areas of petroleum engineering
- Perform significant, but possibly incomplete, original research that promises to contribute relevant new knowledge within petroleum engineering
- Communicate clearly, including answering questions well
- Announce the examination to all department faculty and graduate students one week in advance
- Complete a significant amount of original research that contributes relevant knowledge in petroleum engineering. Publications in conference proceedings and/or refereed journals are strong, independent evidence that a significant, original, and relevant contribution has been made
- Demonstrate mastery of the research tools used
- Communicate clearly, including answering questions well
- Announce the examination to all department faculty and graduate students one week in advance
