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Ph.D. Qualifying Exams

The Department of Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations, comprising mechanical and nuclear engineering, are required for students entering the Ph.D. program.  

PhD Qualifying process
  1. The student must pass two 5000- or 6000-level courses in the VT ME department with a minimum GPA of 3.5.
  2. The first-author journal paper used to satisfy the QE requirement should generally report original research. On very rare occasions, review papers are acceptable subject to these additional requirements:
    • The review paper must be co-authored by the student’s current advisor (or co-advisor).
    • The review paper must have significant breadth, in-depth analysis of literature, and include original research vision. It is emphasized that this standard is higher than that required by many journals.
    • The review paper, after its publication, will be voted on by the department QE committee to decide whether it meets the standard set above. If the QE committee votes that it does not meet the standard, the student can submit a formal written appeal letter to the ADH for Graduate Studies, who will make a final decision.

Qualifying Exam Procedure for the ME PhD Program 

  1. First, the student must pass two 5000- or 6000-level courses in the VT ME department with a minimum GPA of 3.5.
  2. After passing the above two courses with the minimum GPA, the student will pass the QE if they have one journal paper accepted as the first author from the work done with ME faculty, including the ME-affiliated faculty. The paper should report original research; review paper is acceptable under extraordinary situations (see Research Publication Guidelines on Page 2).
  3. In lieu of the journal paper publication, the student can choose to prepare a research proposal (5-page document) on a topic selected by a sub-committee of three (3) ME faculty. The timeline and key events of the QE exam using this route can be found in Appendix A. The student’s advisor names two faculty members for the sub-committee (the advisor should confirm their willingness to serve on the committee before submitting their names to the Graduate Office). The Qualifying Exam Committee of the ME department assigns the other member of the sub-committee without consulting the assignee beforehand. None of these professors can be on the student’s dissertation committee at the time of the QE exam.
    • The research proposal option will be administered two times each year: Spring and Fall. The ME Department Graduate Office will announce the registration deadline at least two weeks in advance.
    • The student must register for the research proposal option by the deadline. When submitting the registration form, the student must provide (1) a 100–150-word description of their dissertation research topic and general methodology (e.g., theoretical, computational, and/or experimental), (2) a list of their dissertation committee members, and (3) the name of two QE sub-committee members selected by their advisor. The registration is considered valid only if all this information is provided.
    • If a student registers for the research proposal option but later forgoes this option (e.g., by not submitting a research proposal or    giving the required presentation), the student will receive a Failing grade for the exam. An exception is when a student (a) publishes a journal paper as the first author with ME faculty (or ME-affiliated faculty) after registering for the research proposal option and (b) the student provides evidence for satisfying the journal publication requirement to the ME Department Graduate Office within two weeks of the formal acceptance of the journal paper.
  4. If a student takes the QE exam through the research proposal route, the following policy applies:
    • The QE sub-committee for the students will have 2 weeks to create a topic description for the student.
    • Once the topic is provided to the student, the student will have 2 weeks to prepare a research proposal. This needs to include a literature review, potential opportunities for future research (gap), challenges to be addressed, etc. A detailed rubric to evaluate this document is provided in Appendix B.
    • The sub-committee that selected the topic will review the research proposal and attend a presentation by the students providing the details of their findings. The subcommittee will ask probing questions to evaluate the student’s capability for research, synthesis, critical thinking, and understanding of the fundamental principles of Mechanical Engineering.
    • After the presentation, the student will be excused, and the sub-committee will deliberate if the research proposal document  and presentation are suitable to pass the QE. If the student does not pass, the sub-committee will provide a list of additional remedial actions for the student to undertake, including a timeline and guidelines for assessment (for example, pass a specific class with a minimum grade, present the proposal again, rewrite portions of the proposal, etc.).
    • If the remedial action is not met satisfactorily, the sub-committee can provide a second and last opportunity for additional (or repeated) remedial action. After the second attempt, if the remedial action is not passed satisfactorily, the exam will be considered failed, and the student will not be allowed to continue in the ME Ph.D. program.
  5. Students are required to pass the QE by the end of their 5th semester in the program.
  6. Any of the guidelines at the previous points can be waived/modified by the Associate Department Head (ADH) for Graduate Studies, following a formal request from the student, signed by the student and their research advisor.
  1. The student must pass two 5000- or 6000-level courses in the VT ME department with a minimum GPA of 3.5.
  2. The first-author journal paper used to satisfy the QE requirement should generally report original research. On very rare occasions, review papers are acceptable subject to these additional requirements:
    • The review paper must be co-authored by the student’s current advisor (or co-advisor).
    • The review paper must have significant breadth, in-depth analysis of literature, and include original research vision. It is emphasized that this standard is higher than that required by many journals.
    • The review paper, after its publication, will be voted on by the department QE committee to decide whether it meets the standard set above. If the QE committee votes that it does not meet the standard, the student can submit a formal written appeal letter to the ADH for Graduate Studies, who will make a final decision.

Qualifying Exam Procedure for the ME Nuclear Engineering PhD Program 

In Nuclear Engineering, the purpose of the QE is to ensure students have a broad mastery of graduate material enough to serve as a basis for doctoral level research and scholarship.  

The exam can have two segments: a written part and an oral component. However, a student is exempted from the oral exam if the student receives a grade better than 75% in the two parts of the written segment. The oral segment is offered only to those students who receive at least a grade of 50% in the written segment. A written grade of less than 50% is considered a fail and the student must re-take the exam next time it is offered.  Only portions with a grade less than 75% are re-taken.  Descriptions of the two parts are given below: 

  • Written Examination (6 hours) The written exam is comprised of two parts: 
    • Part 1: Math and NEP Core (choose 3 out of 5 questions) (3 hours) 
    • Part 2: NEP Specialty (3 questions) (3 hours) (each student chooses up to 3 specialty areas) 
  • Oral Examination (1.5-2 hours) The oral examination will involve at least three (3) NEP faculty members; one of the faculty members must be the student’s research mentor. During the oral exam, the faculty are encouraged to ask questions related to the written exam at least for the first hour of the exam. All the faculty are given equal chance to question students. The student’s mentor monitors the exam.