Doctoral Programs
Doctoral Programs Overview
The programs leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in the School of Systems and Enterprises are designed to develop students’ abilities to perform research in systems engineering, socio-technical systems, and/or engineering management.
• The Ph.D. in Systems Engineering is designed to develop the ability of the student to perform high-impact research and high-level design that will contribute significantly to the advancement and growth of the field of systems engineering.
• The Ph.D. in Engineering Management trains students to become successful researchers, practitioners and educators in the management of engineering and technology.
• The Ph.D. in Socio-Technical Systems trains students to understand and develop solutions for problems involving systems and enterprises that are socio-technical in nature (e.g., including the human element in understanding the qualitative and quantitative process of evolving the enterprise/system).
Doctoral Program Requirements
The following is a summary of coursework and the requirements for a doctoral degree in the School of Systems and Enterprises. The following requirements apply to all three PhD degree programs.
Coursework & Research:
84 credits of graduate work in an approved program of study beyond the bachelor’s degree, consisting of:
- A maximum of 30 credit hours obtained in a master’s program
- Completion of 24 credit hours of SSE core course requirements
- Completion of 3-credit Stevens Doctoral Signature Course (PRV 961)
- A minimum of 15 credit hours of dissertation work (SYS/EM 960)
- A minimum of 12 credits of additional graduate coursework or dissertation work (beyond the course and dissertation work requirements above).
Milestones:
- Written and Oral Qualifying Examination
- Dissertation Proposal Defense (also called Preliminary Examination)
- Dissertation Defense (also called Final Examination)
The first attempt for the Qualifying Exam must take place by the end of the third academic semester of enrollment for all full-time students who enter with a master’s degree, or at the end of the second year of enrollment for all full-time students who did enter the program without a master’s degree and all part-time students. Students may not schedule the qualifying examination until they have completed their two Course Specific core courses, two Area Specific and one Domain Specific courses (a total of five courses)." Timing will be determined by the advisor. Failure to take the qualifying exam for the first time within this timeframe will result in the student’s dismissal from the program.
If performance on the Qualifying Exam is unsatisfactory, the student has the following two choices: 1) complete the requirements for a master’s degree and exit the doctoral program or 2) retake the exam within one full semester after the initial failure. Students failing the examination twice will be dismissed from the doctoral program.
Doctoral Degree Requirements
Core Course Requirements
To ensure that every student has the skills to be successful in their chosen field, to ensure consistency in skillset standards, and to provide a common experience among students, there are several course requirement categories detailed below.
Students may opt to take an independent project course (SYS 801) to fulfill some of their graduate coursework requirements with approval from their doctoral advisor. This course is typically conducted as a one-on-one investigation of a topic of particular interest between a faculty member and a student. The course is often used to explore topical areas that can serve as a dissertation. A student may take up to two special problems courses in a doctoral degree program, typically before the qualifying exam. A technical report is required as the final product for this course.
Course credits used for a degree requirement cannot be used to meet the requirements of another degree. Students who took the required courses and used them for their master’s degree requirements at Stevens must substitute these courses with other relevant courses with the approval of their advisor and the SSE PhD Program Committee chair.
Course Specific - Core Courses required for all SSE doctorate degrees
Systems Thinking
Research Methods
Doctoral Signature Course
Area Specific
Selection of two (2) quantitative courses from the following list (other courses may be accepted based on the approval of the advisor and the SSE PhD Program Committee Chair):
Quantitative Methods
Selection of two (2) quantitative courses from the following areas (other courses may be accepted based on the approval of the advisor and the SSE PhD Program Committee chair):
| EM 605 | Elements of Operations Research | 3 |
| SYS 611 | Systems Modeling and Simulation | 3 |
| SYS 645 | Design for Reliability, Maintainability, and Supportability | 3 |
| SYS 660 | Decision and Risk Analysis | 3 |
| SYS 670 | Forecasting and Demand Modeling Systems | 3 |
| SYS 681 | Dynamic Modeling of Systems and Enterprise | 3 |
| EM 600 | Engineering Economics and Cost Analysis | 3 |
| EM 622 | Decision Making Via Data Analysis Techniques | 3 |
| EM 624 | Data Exploration and Informatics for Engineering Management | 3 |
| SSW 625 | Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering | 3 |
Domain Specific
Selection of three (3) courses from degree domain with advisor approval. These courses must be from SSE with the SYS, EM or SSW prefix and should be closely related to the program of study for the student.
Domain Non-Specific
Selection of one (1) course from any domain with advisor approval. This course can be from any program or school that is relevant to the student’s PhD topic.
It is recommended that the core course requirements are completed before the student enrolls in any elective courses.