Doctor of Engineering in Engineering Management

1. Introduction

The objective of this degree is to provide students with adequate preparation to meet doctoral standards in an applied science or engineering practice.  Applied science as a focus for the doctoral degree refers to the study of advanced theory and its application to a practical problem in order to test and verify performance limitations.  A doctorate with focus on applied science requires a high level of expertise in the theoretical aspects of the relevant scientific principles. Experience with the details of the implementation of this theory on realistic problems. Engineering practice as a focus for a doctor of engineering degree is the study of the different aspects that play a role in the transfer of technology from its inception in research to the intended engineering environment.  This requires a high level of expertise in (1) theoretical aspects of the relevant scientific principles; (2) solving the problems and understanding the details of the transfer and application of the technology; and (3) economic issues.

The Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.) degree is distinguished from a Doctor of Philosophy degree as follows. Whereas a Ph.D. student is expected to make a significant advance to scientific knowledge, a Doctor in Engineering Management graduate is expected to have made a significant and original contribution to the practice of transforming scientific knowledge into technology.  The D.Eng. student's work will demonstrate a new advance in the application of advanced engineering and scientific techniques to the practice of engineering and applied science. (See example abstracts on the Dissertations and Praxes page.)

The following events must occur in the process of obtaining a Doctor of Engineering degree.  Some events may occur concurrently. (The associated forms are available from the EMIS office or online):

1. Acceptance into the program and assignment of an academic adviser
2. Preparation of a formal degree plan (form: Degree Plan—Doctor of Engineering)
3. Basic course work
4. Preliminary Counseling Exam
5. Advanced course work
6. Selection of a research advisor and Supervisory Committee (form: Recommendation and Certification of Appointment of Supervisory Committee)
7. Final Degree Plan (form:Degree Plan—Doctor of Engineering)
8. Selection of praxis topic
9. Qualifying Examination and admission to candidacy (Form: Admission to Candidacy)
10. Preliminary approval of the praxis report by the praxis advisor
11. Praxis defense (form: Report on Thesis or Dissertation and/or Final Examination)

All requirements for the Doctor of Engineering degree must be completed within seven years of entry into the program and within five years after the Qualifying Examination is passed.

 2. Admission Requirements

Admission to the Doctor of Engineering program requires, at a minimum, the following items:

1. a Bachelor of Science in an engineering discipline;
2. a Master's degree in a technical area or in a managerial area, such as business administration or economics;
3. official Graduate Record Examination General Test results that include a quantitative score in the top 80th percentile;
4. if English is not a native language, a score of 600 or above on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or its equivalent; and
5. approval by the Director of the Engineering Management Graduate Program.

3. Initial Advising

Upon entry into the Doctor of Engineering program, the Engineering Management, Information, and Systems (EMIS) department assigns the student a faculty advisor who acts as an academic advisor. The selection of the advisor is an administrative decision that may or may not be connected to the student's academic interests. The responsibilities of this academic advisor are to examine the student's prior background and current state of knowledge, and to recommend courses to be taken in preparation for the Preliminary Counseling Exam (PCE).  At the outset, the student should identify whether the focus of the doctorate will be in applied science or in engineering practice.

A complete list of all graduate courses to be taken by the student is the Degree Plan. The adviser and the student will prepare a formal Degree Plan, based on the student's academic background and the declared interests and objectives that presents clearly how past and proposed coursework will satisfy the requirements for the degree. It should also provide a semester-by-semester schedule for taking courses consistent with current course-offering projections. The Degree Plan is submitted to the Department Chair before the Qualifying Exam, but after the appointment of the final Supervisory Committee.

4. Credit Requirements

A minimum of 66 semester hours of course work beyond the baccalaureate degree plus a minimum of 12 semester hours of praxis research are required. Post-baccalaureate course work from other institutions and other graduate degrees may be applied towards the degree requisites subject to approval of the advisory committee. A minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate study must be completed at SMU, including 12 hours of praxis research and 18 hours of course work that have not been applied towards any other SMU degree.

A degree plan must satisfy the following requirements:

1. 1. Engineering Management: 24 semester hours.  These hours must come from graduate level courses in quantitative and qualitative aspects of managing in a modern technical environment. Courses in the areas of engineering management, management science, operations research, operations management, production management, and other related fields may qualify.  All graduate courses in engineering management in the EMIS Department are acceptable for this category.
2. 2. Technical Specialty: 18 semester hours.  These hours are in an engineering or other technical area consistent with anticipated doctoral work demands.
3. 3. Business/Economics: 9 semester hours.  These hours must come from courses in a graduate program.  They should expand the student's understanding of the economic issues and problems relating to the transfer and management of technology.
4. 4. Electives: 15 semester hours.  All elective hours must come from graduate level courses and must be approved by the advisory committee.  These courses should, in some way, complement and strengthen the student’s Degree Plan.
5. 5. Praxis: 12 semester hours.  These are necessarily “in residence” hours.  The student registers for these hours in the course of preparing the praxis project.

In addition, the degree plan must include the following courses, or their equivalents.

Engineering Management

• EMIS  7362                Production Management
• EMIS  8361                Economic Decision Analysis
• EMIS  8362                Engineering Accounting
• EMIS  8363                Engineering Finance
• EMIS  8364                Management for Engineers

Operations Research

• EMIS  8360                Operations Research Models
• EMIS  8378                Optimization Models for Decision Support

       and one of the following:

• EMIS  8371                Linear Programming
• EMIS  8373                Integer Programming
• EMIS  8374                Network Flows

Statistics

• EMIS  7370                Statistics for Engineers
• EMIS  7377                Statistical Design and Analysis of Experiments

A course must not be counted as satisfying more than one category. The minor requirements may be satisfied by transfer credit.

5. Grades

No graduate credit is earned for a course in which a grade of less than “C-” is earned. Such courses do, however, count toward the total grade-point average (GPA).

In order to graduate, a student must have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. If at any point a student's GPA drops below 3.0, the student is placed on academic probation. The student then has one semester to raise his/her GPA back up to 3.0 or be dismissed from the program. For part-time students, one semester is taken to mean six credit hours. It is the policy of the Lyle School of Engineering that courses in which a grade of “Incomplete” is received affect the GPA, effective the semester in which the Incomplete was granted, rather than when it is removed. Therefore, a student is considered to be on academic probation if the grade on currently completed work in the course in which the “I” was granted would cause the GPA to drop below 3.0.

6. Preliminary Counseling Examination

To be eligible for advanced study, a student must demonstrate competence in the basic material in engineering management and operations research by passing the Preliminary Counseling Examination. This exam should be scheduled after the student has taken courses in production management, management for engineers, economic decision analysis, and operations research models, but before 24 semester hours have been completed.

The exam is oral and given by an appropriate EMIS faculty group, generally composed of two or three faculty members. The exam covers degree fundamentals, and questions are predominantly drawn from the following courses: EMIS 7362, 8360, 8361, and 8364. The student will be notified in writing as to whether or not the PCE was passed. In case of failure, the student may retake the exam. A second failure automatically removes the student from the Doctor of Engineering program.

Since the goal of the PCE is to detect weaknesses in the background of D.Eng. students, some students may be granted a conditional or partial pass. A conditional pass indicates that there are weaknesses in the background of the student that can be overcome by taking specific courses. In this situation, the student need not retake the exam, but will be required to take one or more courses and achieve a grade of B or better.

The exam will be administered near the beginning of the Spring and Fall semesters. Normally, a student is allowed two attempts at the exam. The EMIS faculty may allow a third attempt in exceptional circumstances.

7. Study Loads

The normal study load for full-time graduate students is 12 semester hours (9 semester hours if carrying an assistantship). The minimum study load for full-time graduate status is 9 semester hours. Part-time graduate students working 40 hours per week in industry normally carry 3 to 6 hours of work.

The Lyle School of Engineering rules require a student in a graduate degree program to be making “reasonable progress towards a degree.” The counseling feature of this exam is to identify any areas of weakness in those fundamental topics nominally considered as basic undergraduate and/or core introductory graduate level material. To be considered to be making reasonable progress, the student should take the core courses EMIS 7362, 8360, 8361, and 8364 as early as possible, and take the Preliminary Counseling Exam in the next semester following completion of these courses.

8. Research Advisor and Supervisory Committee

After passing the Preliminary Counseling Examination, the student must find a research advisor and form a Supervisory Committee. It is the responsibility of the student to find a faculty member willing to provide a research topic or to supervise a topic of the student's choosing. The research advisor must be a full-time SMU faculty member, and is often the academic advisor.

A preliminary Supervisory Committee consists of the research advisor and at least two faculty members, whose role at this point is to approve a Degree Plan. The Supervisory Committee remains in a tentative status until it is formally constituted prior to the Qualifying Exam. At that time the student and the research advisor finalize the composition of the Supervisory Committee. Then the student obtains written consent of the members, a written endorsement of the department chair, and submits the list for certification by the Director of the Graduate Division (form: Recommendation and Certification of Appointment of Supervisory Committee).

The Supervisory Committee must be composed of five or more members, at least two of which must be full-time, tenure-track Engineering Management faculty in the Department of Engineering Management, Information, and Systems. Other members of the advisory committee may come from related areas, such as engineering, business, or economics. One committee member must be from outside of the Lyle School of Engineering, and must have a terminal degree. The Chair of the Department and the Dean of the Lyle School must approve the Supervisory Committee. A praxis advisor from outside the department will be a member of the committee, but cannot be the chair.

Membership of the Supervisory Committee may change at any stage based on the praxis topic, faculty availability, and the student's program direction. Any committee changes must be approved by the department chair (prior to the QE) or by the department chair and the Director of the Graduate Division after its formal constitution. (A new form must be submitted with each change).

9. Qualifying Examination and Admission to Candidacy

At the completion of advanced coursework, the student takes the Doctoral Qualifying Examination. Upon passing this exam, the student is admitted to Doctoral Candidacy and may begin work on a praxis. The Qualifying Exam is intended to determine if the student has sufficient depth of knowledge in the chosen field to be able to perform original and significant research. The Qualifying Examination is administered by the student's Supervisory Committee and may be scheduled any time during the year. The results of the exam are reported to the Chair of EMIS and the Director of the Graduate Division.

The qualifying examination marks the transition from preparation to execution of the doctoral research. Once successfully completed, and upon presentation of a research plan, the student is certified to proceed with the research directly related to the praxis. Beyond this point, the student is formally recognized as a doctoral candidate. Transition into candidacy can occur after the following three requirements are satisfied.

Written qualifying examination. The written portion of the qualifying examination is composed of a battery of five tests. A member of the advisory committee administers each test. Each examiner has full discretion as to the choice of material and the format and style of the written test. Usually, tests are designed to measure knowledge in an area of expertise of the instructor or on a topic from a course taught by him. Tests are commonly "take home" exams over the course of a week or more. It is the responsibility of the student to inquire as to the nature and format of the exam and the availability of the instructor when scheduling the exam. When the student is ready to proceed with the written portion of the qualifying examination, and when all participating examiners have been consulted and agree on a schedule, the academic adviser will issue a memorandum to all members of the advisory committee formalizing the schedule for this portion of the exam.

Written research proposal. A formal document, describing in detail the proposed research project that constitutes the praxis, must be submitted to the advisory committee at least two weeks prior to the oral presentation. (The requirements of a praxis are described below.) The proposal will (1) outline the general technical scope of the project, (2) state the economic and technical relevance of the work, and (3) give a time schedule for accomplishing the project. It is expected that this proposal will be worked out in close consultation with the faculty member supervising the work and cognizant industry people when the project is to be conducted off campus. Also, the student is expected to adhere to the time schedule once the project is set into motion and to keep the advisory committee informed on a regular basis of progress made.

The oral qualifying examination and proposal presentation. The oral qualifying examination and the oral presentation of the research project proposal may be presented following the successful completion of the written qualifying examination and when the members of the advisory committee have had time to review the written research proposal. The oral qualifying examination is a continuation of the written qualifying examination. At this time, the five examiners may proceed with an oral examination of the student. After this, the student presents the proposed praxis subject. The student must be prepared to defend the proposal to the advisory committee and additional members who will integrate the praxis committee.

Upon satisfactory completion of the above requirements, the student may be admitted to Candidacy to begin the praxis research. The approval for admission is based upon the student’s: (1) passing of the Qualifying Examination, (2) achievement of an academic record with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better (4.0=A),  (3) selection of a tentative title and topic for the praxis, and (4) overall fitness, as judged by his Supervisory Committee.

The student will be notified in writing as to whether or not the Qualifying Exam was passed. In case of failure, the Supervisory Committee will also give a recommendation for either a re-exam or termination from the Doctor of Engineering program.

10. Change of Research Advisor or Supervisory Committee

A student may change research advisor, advisory committee, or praxis committee at any point, subject to the approval of the EMIS chair. If the research advisor is changed, the new research advisor may, at the advisor’s discretion, require a new Qualifying Exam. In addition, if the make-up of the supervisory committee changes substantially, the EMIS chair may require a new Qualifying Exam to be taken with the newly constituted committee.

11. Doctoral Praxis

As a culmination of the doctoral program, the candidate must perform a suitable engineering praxis (practical engineering study) embodying the results of a significant and original investigation and write a praxis report. The scope of the praxis may be broad or narrow and may involve engineering design, development, or any other major category of engineering and applied science work. The praxis should demonstrate an original application of advanced engineering and scientific techniques to practice, hence it must involve the development and application of mathematical models.

The project may focus on a well-defined practical problem or on a more general theoretical development that is relevant to current engineering practice. If the focus is a practical problem, economic considerations must also be incorporated in the praxis. If the focus is more general, the Supervisory Committee will determine whether or not economic aspects will be required.

Superior scholarship, including recognition of both previous and current work in the subject area, is required. The praxis report should be suitable for publication in an academic-quality journal.

The praxis report must make an original contribution to the practice of engineering or applied science, and is expected to be a mature and competent piece of writing. Being the result of engineering and management practice, it should have strong technical and quantitative content, embody a managerial dimension, and demonstrate the use of the highest standards of scientific investigation and reporting. The praxis report format must follow the University guidelines as indicated in the SMU Guidelines for Preparation of Theses and Dissertations.

12. Praxis Defense

Upon completion of all other requirements, the candidate’s praxis defense will be announced, registered with the Graduate Division, and subsequently conducted by the Supervisory Committee. The candidate must distribute copies of the praxis report to members of the Supervisory Committee at least two weeks in advance of the praxis defense. This defense, which is conducted orally, must enable the Supervisory Committee to satisfy itself that the praxis:  is an original piece of research work, has been carried out in keeping with the highest standards of investigation and reporting, and makes a contribution to knowledge that is of value to the scientific community.

The defense must be scheduled with the EMIS Department Office and posted in the Lyle School of Engineering. This defense is open to the public, with the possible exception of a period that is open only to committee members and EMIS faculty, during which general questions in engineering management may be asked. Satisfactory performance on this defense constitutes the last requirement to be met for the D.Eng. degree.

Upon successful completion of the praxis defense, the praxis director must sign the abstract original, and all faculty members attending the final examination must sign the original half-title page of the praxis. After the praxis has been checked and approved by the Lyle School of Engineering Examiner (and released by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies),  the original and as many as nine copies of the praxis (five for the Lyle School and up to five for the student), together with one extra copy of the abstract signed by the adviser and one copy of the original half-title page with signatures must be delivered to the Office of the Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies before the final examination period in a regular semester and before examinations in a summer term.

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