Ph.D. Degree Program

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Industrial Engineering — Program Requirements

There are three paths to the PhD Degree in IE:

• BS to PhD — Directly from BS to PhD,
• MS in IE to PhD — For someone with a master’s degree in IE, or
• MS in non-IE to PhD — For someone with a master’s degree in a different discipline

Both BS and MS degrees must have been obtained from an accredited institution in Industrial Engineering or a relevant engineering or scientific discipline.

The chart below demonstrates course requirements for each path to PhD, in addition to a required one-credit seminar course:

• Students transferring from other institutions may petition up to 6 semester hours with a minimum grade of "B" to be transferred upon approval of the Graduate Program Director, IE Chair, and the Associate Dean of the Cullen College of Engineering.
• The course selection must be approved by the student’s dissertation advisor.
• Students whose primary language is not English are required to complete an engineering communications course (INDE 6359) if the GRE verbal score is below 150.
• Full time students are required to complete one year residency with full time enrollment.
• Full-time students must enroll a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester, and the enrollment requirement for part-time students is 3 credit hours per semester.
• Satisfactory performance on the Ph.D. screening examination and oral defense of proposal is required prior to the final defense of the Ph.D. dissertation.
• The Ph.D. degree will be awarded upon the successful defense of the dissertation followed by the submission of the approved copy of the dissertation to the UH Graduate School.

Screening Exam

The following rules apply to any graduate students who wish to pursue the Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering.

• The screening exam is a general exam that consists of three subjects in Industrial Engineering and an In-depth exam on student’s research concentration:
  • Two mandatory subjects: Probability and Statistics for Engineers, Advanced Linear Optimization. (Students who scored B+ or lower in INDE 6333: Probability and Statistics and/or INDE 6372: Advanced Linear Optimization are encouraged to contact IE graduate program director for more information before taking the screening exam.)
  • One subject of choice based on the research area.
  • The in-depth exam is a week-long take-home exam to test the student’s ability to conduct research in the student’s research field.
• Students must receive a grade of "Pass" in each subject before he/she can be formally considered as a Ph.D. candidate.
• The exam must be taken on or before the completion of 18 graduate semester hours after entering the Ph.D. program.
• This exam is administered by the department twice annually: in early January and August.
• Students must register for the test no later than two weeks prior to the exam.
• The registration form can be obtained from the department or download here.
• The students will be notified of the exam results approximately two weeks after the completion of the exam. The results will also be sent to the Graduate Program Director and the IE Department Chair.
• Students shall not be given more than two opportunities to take the exam. For the second trial, students may take only the subject areas they failed in the first trial. The second trial must be taken as soon as the next exam is offered again after the first trial.

Dissertation Advisory Committee

The candidate must select a dissertation advisory committee, whose composition is subject to the approval of the IE Graduate Program Director and the IE Department Chair.

• The advisory committee must be composed of at least five faculty members, including at least three members from the IE department and two faculty members outside the department.
• The IE Graduate Program Director and the IE Department Chair must approve any subsequent changes to the composition of this committee.
• Students are not allowed to change committee members without the permission of the Ph.D. Program Director and the department chair. A formal petition must be submitted to the department for changing Ph.D. committee members.

Formal Dissertation Proposal

A formal written dissertation proposal must be submitted to the dissertation advisory committee in a timely manner after completing the Ph.D. screening examination. The student should provide committee members with a copy of the proposal approximately two weeks before the scheduled presentation.

List of the IE Graduate Courses and Research Areas