PhD SE 582

PhD in Systems Engineering (582 curriculum)

The Systems Engineering Department of the Naval Postgraduate School offers study and research leading to the award of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Systems Engineering. The PhD degree involves required coursework, comprehensive qualifying examinations, and a research-based dissertation. The resident curriculum PhD degree may be pursued via distance learning in most cases.  A hybrid residency requirement (distance learning plus periodic temporary residence such as attending courses or seminars, or conducting research on campus at the Naval Postgraduate School twice per year for one week at a time) may be implemented in some circumstances in consultation with the Systems Engineering PhD Program and the student’s command.

Students take graduate level courses in systems engineering and advanced graduate courses in systems engineering and an application domain consisting of at least six 4000 level systems engineering courses, and perform research that leads to a dissertation involving some aspect of systems engineering.

Research topics may be selected from a broad variety of studies of the systems engineering process, applications of systems engineering to solving complex problems, systems level modeling and simulation, and systems suitability assessment among others.

Admission Requirements

  • U.S. Military Officers
  • U.S. Government Civilians (GS)
  • International Students (refer to the eligibility requirements and application process).
  • Ideally, applicants should possess an MS degree in Systems Engineering. Applicants with only a BS degree or an MS degree in another discipline will be required to take a number of systems engineering courses (equivalent to the coursework portion of an MSSE degree program) to pass the qualifying examinations.
  • Applicants must submit a completed online application form and provide:
    • Certified copies of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts. Transcripts from NPS are not necessary, but transcripts from other schools may be required of current and former NPS students.
    • Results of a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test taken within the past five years. Applicants who possess a systems engineering master’s degree from NPS that was awarded within the last five years with at least a 3.8 GPA, and no GRE results may request a waiver of the GRE from the Admission’s Office.
    • A letter of intent (approximately 1000 words) of specific areas of interest within the proposed major field of study. The letter must include the following for the application package to be considered complete:
      • the applicant’s PhD research objectives
      • potential research alignment with department faculty
      • how a PhD fits into the applicant’s broader career path, professional, and personal goals
      • a tentative research plan and timeline, and practical logistics considerations
      • a statement of why this particular PhD program is an appropriate fit
    • At least two letters of recommendation regarding the candidate’s academic potential in order to assess his/her ability to conduct graduate level research. These letters should be written by someone who has earned a PhD degree, and should not merely attest to the applicant’s work ethic and drive, but must adequately assess the candidate’s ability to conduct doctoral level research, apply critical thinking, and write an appropriate dissertation proposal and dissertation. An ideal person would be an instructor or adviser from the candidate’s master’s program. Concrete examples of an applicant’s qualifications and observed behaviors that indicate the applicant will be successful in the PhD program are preferred.
      • A writing sample solely authored by the candidate to assess his/her writing competency. An acceptable writing sample is one of the following in order of preference:
        • A submitted or published journal article or conference paper of at least 5 pages where the applicant wrote at least 60% of the paper, and where the applicant is the lead author and with at least 30 academic citations.
        • A successfully completed master’s thesis or capstone or similar project with where the applicant is the sole author, and with at least 30 academic citations.
        • An unclassified document of at least 5 pages from work where the applicant is the sole author and with at least 30 academic citations.
        • If none of the above are available, a 5-page literature review containing at least 30 academic citations about a field of systems engineering that the applicant plans to conduct their dissertation research within.
        • A CUI or classified writing sample satisfying one of the above criteria.  Please discuss with the department and admissions office on how to submit CUI or classified materials.
      • Current results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Written English, only for international applicants not currently enrolled at NPS whose native language is other than English or whose primary language of instruction was other than English. For specific test score requirements, see the NPS Catalog section pertaining to International Students.
      • Attestation by the student’s sponsoring command, agency, or nation that they are committed to tuition and salary support during the student’s residence at NPS. An additional entry to this attestation should include that the sponsor realizes that the primary deliverable from this effort is an even more valued officer and/or employee who now has a doctoral degree. This means that the candidate must choose a dissertation topic that advances the body of knowledge of Systems Engineering and may not be directly related to activities of the sponsoring agency.
         

    Degree Requirements

    Nominal Systems Engineering PhD Student Timeline and Process​​

    The average time required for full-time students at major universities to complete engineering dissertations is between 4 and 5 years. It is expected that part-time distance learning students will take longer than full-time students with many part-time students taking 6 to 8 years to complete. There is also a 5-year limit imposed by NPS on completion of the dissertation after the student is advanced to doctoral candidacy.  There is further an 8-year expiration date on coursework.

    A qualifying examination (consisting of both written and oral components) will be administered according to the procedures outlined in the NPS Academic Council Policy Manual. This comprehensive examination will test the student’s mastery of the fundamentals and assess readiness to begin dissertation research. The written component of the examination must be taken and passed before the student may attempt the oral component of the examination. The oral component of the qualifying examination is the culmination of the course of study. The purpose is to test basic knowledge and creative ability and to demonstrate the student’s capacity to use material from the course of study. The oral exam is typically conducted by the student’s dissertation committee.

    A dissertation proposal will be written by the student and presented to the student’s dissertation committee upon successful completion of the qualifying examination.  A successful dissertation proposal and presentation make the student eligible for advancement to doctoral candidacy.

    Upon advancement to candidacy, a student completes research under the supervision of the student’s dissertation supervisor and committee chair (the “advisor”) resulting in a monograph (“book style”) dissertation manuscript.  The dissertation manuscript is presented to the dissertation committee upon completion for review and comment.  Revisions of the dissertation manuscript typically occur over a several month process.  When the committee believes that the student is ready to defend, a defense date will be scheduled.  The student defends the dissertation to the committee, department, university, and invited external guests.  A successful passage of the defense is one portion of a multi-step process for the student to be eligible for nomination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Systems Engineering.  The student must further complete all dissertation manuscript revisions and receive approval from relevant academic and administrative components.  The student must also submit at least two journal manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals and publish and present one conference paper at a peer-reviewed archival conference prior to graduation.  Once these and other program and university requirements have been met, the student is nominated for graduation which is reviewed approved by the NPS Academic Council.

    Systems Engineering PhD Program Exam Process​​​​​​​​​​​                  

    The Systems Engineering PhD Program is a rigorous and demanding program.  There is no guarantee of a degree being granted.  Most students do not finish the program due to a variety of reasons.  The department and faculty are highly selective of who is admitted to the program and the coursework, examinations, and research requirements are challenging for even very well-prepared students.  Students must satisfy all program and university requirements within prescribed timeframes and at required levels of performance to be eligible for the award of a PhD in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.

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