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The College of Engineering offers an interdisciplinary Doctor of Philosophy degree involving substantial work in two or more academic departments or disciplines. This is an individually designed program for the student who wishes to pursue graduate studies in an area that substantially overlaps two or more units. In such cases, that student may design, in consultation with their faculty advisor(s), an interdisciplinary program. The program will correspond in scope and depth to Northeastern University's established degree standards but need not agree exactly with the regulations of individual units. Individually designed interdisciplinary degree programs must be approved by the appropriate graduate office(s).
Program Requirements
In order to pursue an individually designed interdisciplinary graduate program, a student must have been accepted into an approved graduate program that will serve as the administrative home unit for the interdisciplinary program:
- Department of Bioengineering
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Students who have been dismissed from any of the COE departments will not be able to enroll into the interdisciplinary PhD program with the department from which they were dismissed as either home or participating department. Successful application for admission to an individually designed interdisciplinary program consists of a written proposal describing the areas of proposed study and research. Part of this proposal will be a list of courses to be taken, a description of the qualifying and comprehensive examination process to be used, a timeline, and any other requirements of the program.
The interdisciplinary PhD requires the commitment by a faculty member at Northeastern to be the advisor of the student and chair of the interdisciplinary committee for the student. This faculty member may or may not be a member of the administrative home unit. The committee must be assembled within the first semester of the program and must include faculty members from all of the participating units. At least two units must be represented on the committee. This committee will be responsible for overseeing the completion of the degree requirements. It will also be responsible for the administrative elements of the program, such as the monitoring of satisfactory progress; the design and grading of the preliminary and comprehensive exams, if applicable; graduation clearance; etc. This interdisciplinary committee is also responsible for an annual review of the progress of the student and for reporting this progress to the administrative home unit on an annual basis.
Qualifying Examination and Degree Candidacy
Interdisciplinary PhD students must register for and pass the doctoral qualifying examination of their home department. In some cases, if deemed necessary by the interdisciplinary committee, students may be required to take some part of the doctoral qualifying examinations of the other department(s) involved with the student’s program of study. To qualify as an interdisciplinary doctoral candidate, students must successfully complete the doctoral qualifying examinations in addition to all their required coursework.
Dissertation
Students must present their dissertation proposal no more than 12 months after successfully completing their doctoral qualifying examinations. In addition, the presentation of the dissertation proposal and the actual dissertation defense shall be no less than six months apart. Interdisciplinary PhD students must follow the dissertation guidelines of their home department.
Residency Requirement
After achieving PhD candidacy, students must complete at least two successive semesters of full-time study on campus to establish residency. The total effort for a PhD program involves a minimum of three years of full-time work beyond the bachelor’s degree. Students who enter the doctoral program with a Master of Science degree may complete the requirements in less time but should anticipate at least two years of full-time effort.
Language Requirement
Each doctoral candidate must be proficient in technical writing and oral presentation in the English language. The qualifying examination committee may require additional coursework in the case of any deficiency in these areas.
Milestones
Doctoral qualifying exams (both written comprehensive and oral area exams)
Annual review
Dissertation committee formation
Dissertation proposal
Dissertation defense
Dissertation
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Dissertation Term 1 | ||
or CHME 9990 | Dissertation Term 1 | |
or CIVE 9990 | Dissertation Term 1 | |
or EECE 9990 | Dissertation Term 1 | |
or IE 9990 | Dissertation Term 1 | |
or ME 9990 | Dissertation Term 1 | |
| Dissertation Term 2 | ||
or CHME 9991 | Dissertation Term 2 | |
or CIVE 9991 | Dissertation Term 2 | |
or EECE 9991 | Dissertation Term 2 | |
or IE 9991 | Dissertation Term 2 | |
or ME 9991 | Dissertation Term 2 | |