4A0-114 exam format - Nokia Border Gateway Protocol Fundamentals for Services Updated: 2024

Final Exam solution

The Final Exam will be Monday, December 12 from 3:30-5:30 pm.

Prof. Hess will be available for last-minute questions on Monday in ME 3003B.

• 9:30-10:30 am
• 11:30 am - 1 pm
• 1:30-3 pm

All students will take the exam in CL50.

Some additional notes regarding the Final Exam:

• The exam will cover material from Lecture 30 (Gear Geometry) to Lecture 43 (GD&T) on the course schedule.
• The exam format will be similar to Exams 1 and 2 and to the exams posted on the course website: 25% short-answer questions and 75% work-out problems.
• The exam is closed-book and closed-note
  • Final Exam equation sheet (will be provided with the exam)
  • You may also bring an 8.5" x 11" crib sheet to the exam.  The crib sheet must be turned in with the exam.
• The exam will follow ME's calculator policy.

Final Exam from previous semesters

When can I take the FE exam?

To be eligible to take the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering exam, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Completed 90 credits
2. Achieved senior status
3. Be enrolled in mostly 400-level courses toward your engineering degree
4. Be enrolled in the ENGR 490 section assigned to your major department
   • Section 1002-Chemical & Materials Science Engr
   • Section 1003-Civil & Environmental Engr
   • Section 1004-Electrical & Biomedical Engr
   • Section 1005-Mechanical Engr
   • Section 1006-Geological Engr
   • Section 1007-Metallurgical & Mining Engr

For seniors ready to take the FE exam, you will still need to register for ENGR 490 the semester you plan on taking the exam. Please be mindful that if you plan on graduating in the semester you take the exam, you will need to take the exam no later than prep day to allow for adequate processing time (uploading your exam proof). Otherwise, this may delay your diploma.

CSE students are not required to take the FE exam. 

The exam will be held at any NCEES-approved testing facility year round at a testing day and time that you choose. Do not wait to sign up for an exam date! If you choose to wait to sign up for the test in the middle of or later in the semester, the testing center dates will most likely be FULL! This may cause a delay, or even denial, in receiving your diploma if you are taking the exam in your last semester. Yes, it is an expensive test, but isn't it more expensive to have wait an extra semester for your diploma?

How do I sign up for the FE exam?

Register for the exam on the NCEES website.

How do I prepare for the FE exam?

You may access and review the current FE Supplied Reference Manual, the same type you'll be using during the examination, on the NCEES website.

Study sessions are often organized by the student chapters of ASCE and ASME once a semester. Emails will be sent to students enrolled in ENGR 490, and flyers will be posted on the College's Facebook page. There is often a small cost in order to attend each session.

Please contact Anna Ramirez, annaramirez@unr.edu, with any questions about review sessions.

Once you've passed the FE exam

Go to the Nevada State Board of Engineering website and apply for Engineer Intern certification. Instructions on how to apply can be found on their website.

This course is tailored for paralegals, legal assistants, aspiring legal professionals, and anyone seeking to enhance their understanding of federal law. Whether you're preparing for the Certified Paralegal Exam or simply aiming to bolster your legal expertise, this course can assist you towards successfully completing your goal.

In January 2023, we reported on the reasons why nursing exam pass rates fell in 2020 and 2021. In this report, we follow up on what has happened since.

During the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of candidates who passed the national licensure exam to work as a registered nurse fell sharply, from 88.2% to 82.5%, for first-time U.S.-educated candidates, with a smaller decline -- from 72.8% to 68.9% -- for all candidates, including internationally educated and repeat test-takers.

In 2022, pass rates continued to drop, averaging 79.9% (8 percentage points lower than in 2019) for first-time U.S.-educated candidates, and 63.4% for all candidates, the lowest point in the last decade.

In 2023, to most experts' surprise, that spiral appears to be turning around.

Things Are Looking Up

The reason for this reversal depends on whom you ask. Test developers have argued that rates improved due to radical transparency and massive outreach to stakeholders, while some online critics have suggested the test simply got easier. Other nurse educators agreed that the increased transparency and outreach impacted rates, but worry those same measures exacerbated a culture of "teaching to the test."

Understanding trends in exam pass rates also requires context.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) produces the exam that aspiring nurses take to gain licensure: the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). This exam uses computerized adaptive testing, which means each test-taker gets virtually a different exam, the difficulty of which changes based on the response given.

Every 3 years, the NCSBN assesses the pass rates for the exam and determines whether the current passing standard is appropriate. If the NCSBN's board of directors decides that the level of clinical judgment required of nurses in practice has increased, it can vote to raise the passing standard.

In December 2022, the NCSBN's board voted to keep the current passing standard on the NCLEX through March 31, 2026. Months later, on April 1, the NCSBN launched the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN), a new version of the NCLEX that aims to more effectively measure test-takers' clinical judgment.

Anytime a new exam is introduced, pass rates tend to dip by a few percentage points in the first two to three quarters, explained Philip Dickison, PhD, RN, CEO of the NCSBN. He said he was naturally a bit concerned about a new exam compounding the "drastic drop in the ability curve" seen during the pandemic, "but it was still the right thing to do."

Keith Rischer, PhD, RN, a nurse educator and owner of KeithRN, a nursing education company, recalled that the last major change to the NCLEX occurred when the passing standard was raised by 0.16 percentage points in 2012. Pass rates fell more than 7 percentage points -- from 90.34% for first-time candidates to 83.04% -- in a single year.

While the NCSBN kept the same passing standard in 2022, the stronger emphasis on clinical judgment and the "unique six-question case studies" in the NGN was predicted to increase the difficulty of the exam in some respects.

"There was an anticipation that this was going to be another precipitous decline in NCLEX pass rates," Rischer said.

Post-Pandemic Rebound

However, that wasn't what happened. Instead, preliminary data showed a jump in pass rates, from 79.9% in 2022 to 88.6% in 2023, for all first-time U.S.-educated candidates. Importantly, the 2023 data exclude the fourth quarter of the calendar year, which typically has the lowest pass rate, experts noted.

Still, Dickison said he was "pretty amazed" at the speed of the recovery. Some viewed the change as a "huge increase," but he stressed that rates were starting from a low baseline following a 3-year period when other variables, namely pandemic-related disruptions, impacted pass rates.

"What I think you're seeing ... is that we have rebounded to pre-pandemic ability levels in our measurements," he said.

Dickison credits the rebound to NCSBN's decision to let educators, regulators, and -- controversially -- preparatory groups "under the hood" of the new exam for several years before the NGN actually launched.

"The idea was to be as transparent as possible to all stakeholders," Dickison said. This meant leveraging opportunities at conferences and during webinars, and sharing what to expect of the new exam -- from case studies and measurement models -- in newsletters. Dickison also credited educators for the big role they played in helping prepare students.

Rayna Letourneau, PhD, RN, executive director of the Florida Center for Nursing, said that while some nurse educators have noted the exam has gotten "too easy," she suggested that perhaps the NGN is simply "a more logical way to measure what nursing students are being taught."

Similarly, she attributes the rise in pass rates to the focus on increased resources and preparation of candidates, including the implementation of "student success" coaching programs.

Teaching to the Test?

Rischer seemed to have a different view, pointing out that the NGN offers partial credit for certain "select-all-that-apply" multiple-choice questions. He said that he believes the real reason for improved pass rates is a shift in nursing education, though he added that his hypothesis is, at this point, "conjecture."

"What we have in the nursing literature for over almost 50 years ... is this widening gap between how nursing is taught in the university and college settings and how it's actually practiced at the bedside," he said. "We're not preparing our graduates for real-world practice realities."

Rischer said he grew even more concerned when he learned from online discussions that some professors were using NGN sample items to teach first-semester students.

"That's called teaching to the test," he argued. Instead of teaching students "alternative multiple-choice items, we need to be teaching our students the open-ended thinking of clinical practice."

For example, for a patient who had an appendectomy, Rischer said the appropriate steps are to take vital signs and conduct a head-to-toe assessment.

"There is not a 'select-all-that apply' multiple-choice item on your forehead that I could say, 'You know what? This is the correct answer,'" he added, noting that the NCSBN "is part of the problem." Currently, the primary mechanism that state nursing boards use to measure a program's performance is their first-time pass rate on the NCLEX, which only "reinforc[es] this unhealthy culture of teaching to the test."

The end result of that, as studies have shown, is that "currently less than 10% [of new nurses] have what practice partners would say is entry-level clinical judgment competency," Rischer said, citing a 2021 study. "Complications develop when a nurse doesn't notice or recognize what's most important until it's too late. So ... clinical judgment competency is a big deal. And teaching to the test ... isn't going to solve that."

He said one solution is to move away from first-time test-taker metrics and potentially allow students to take the exam twice and then average their score.

Another, more dramatic, change would be to include a skills test or what Rischer calls "demonstrable competencies" for essential skills involved in clinical decision making, which could be evaluated by an "objective observer."

"It will take more time. It will take more money, but this is something that we can and should be doing," he said.

'Not the Only Measurement'

For his part, Dickison noted that the NGN, like any exam, has limitations.

While it "measures your cognitive and your thinking ability, our exam does not measure the affective domain, doesn't measure character," he said. For example, the exam cannot assess a "less-than-acceptable social interaction" a student has with a professor, nor does the exam know which student is always late to class.

"If they don't show up to class on time every day, that might be a [sign] that they're not going to show up to a patient when they need to," Dickison explained. "That's why you have a regulatory system. That's why we have an education [system] ... these all have to work together. If you don't pass the NCLEX, you don't go to work, but it is not the only measurement that tells us we have a good nurse."

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General Final Exam Information⁠

GeneralFinal exams will be generated by the Registrar’s Office according to an exam matrix on or about the last day of the add/drop period for the term for any course that has 'Yes' indicated for a Final Exam in the catalog. The day and time of the first class meeting during the week determine the date and time for each exam. Courses that meet outside the normal university block scheduling will be scheduled within the time block that best fits the schedule without creating conflicts for students.

Exam times are as follows:

• 8 – 11 a.m.
• 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
• 3 – 6 p.m.
• 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

While exam blocks are three hours long, the actual length of the exam is determined by the instructor.

If examination days are postponed because of weather conditions, the first make-up day is documented on the academic calendar.

Faculty should review their exam schedule just after the last day of add/drop. If an exam was not generated or changes are needed, please email: scheduling@uml.edu. Requests for final exams, combined exams, etc. will not be accepted after the mid-semester evaluation date for the term in question. Please refer to the academic calendar for specific date information.

Common Exams

• Faculty should plan to administer a separate exam for each section of a course that they are teaching.
• Requests for common exams must be approved by the Dean AND the course must have, at minimum, three (3) class sections to be considered for common exam scheduling. 
• Requests should be submitted by email to: scheduling@uml.edu no later than the mid-semester evaluation date for said term, and all requests are subject to classroom availability.
• Common Finals will need to be applied to all sections of a course not to individual instructors.
• Common Exam Finals will be assigned to a common exam block. 
  • Students who are scheduled for two common exams at the same time should check with their instructors to see which exam has priority.

Note: Requests for combined exams will not be accepted after the mid-semester evaluation date for the term in question. Please refer to the academic calendar for specific date information.

Examination Conflicts

If a student has three (or more) finals scheduled on the same exam day, the student has the right to ask that a make up exam (or exams) be scheduled to reduce the number of exams in each day to two. Under these circumstances, required courses¹ take priority, so the student should make every effort to arrange the make-up exam for a non-required course with the respective instructor. Likewise, if a student has two finals scheduled in the same exam period, the required course takes priority; the student should schedule a make-up exam for the non-required conflicting course with the respective instructor. If for any reason a mutually agreeable solution between the student and the instructor cannot be achieved, the student should see his or her college dean immediately.

Students – If you have questions regarding any of your final exams, please contact your instructor directly. Instructors should reach out by email to: scheduling@uml.edu if an exam update is needed in SiS.

^1'Required courses' refers to whichever course is required toward that specific student’s degree pathway.

Final Exams for Hybrid and Virtual Class Sections

Exams (including final exams) for fully virtual classes should be administered virtually, as that is the modality which students selected. Exceptions to hold on-campus exams require deans' approval. An email (noting the approval) should be sent by email to: scheduling@uml.edu so that the exam location may be updated – exceptions are subject to room availability. If approved, faculty must indicate the alternate exam format in their course syllabus and accommodate students who are unable to attend in-person exams.

If a class section is hybrid (includes both an in-person meeting and either an online or virtual meeting pattern), then the final exam will be assigned as in-person, but the instructor may request the final exam to be virtual/online depending on the modes of instruction of the hybrid section. Hybrid courses also include courses that have more than one component with different modes of instruction (i.e., the lecture portion is virtual, but the recitation is in-person) and the instructor may decide whether or not the final exam is in-person in this scenario as well. Any requests for final exam updates should be sent by email to: scheduling@uml.edu.

Undergraduate and Graduate Final Exams (Day-school Sections)⁠

• Faculty are not required to administer cumulative final examinations and should assess their students as appropriate to their discipline and course content. If an exam is assigned and will not be taking place, please email: scheduling@uml.edu.
• Faculty who opts to administer final examinations must do so at the time and place specified by the Registrar's Office and listed in SiS. All day-school sections that are noted in the catalog with 'Yes' for final exam, will have a final exam block generated.
• Final take-home examinations or final papers must not be due earlier than the time that the Registrar's Office has scheduled the final examination for the course in question (although instructors may opt to allow such examinations or papers to be submitted early).
  • Note: If an academic program requires that students take final examinations for accreditation purposes, faculty are expected to adhere to the requirements of their accrediting organization.
• Graduate class sections may opt to administer their final exams on the last day of regular class meetings (week prior to the final exam period) but should contact scheduling if this is what they decide and need to remove a final exam block that was generated for their class section.
• For any course with a final exam during the exam period, no hour-examination (or major paper or project) shall be administered or due during the last five academic days of the semester unless the college dean has allowed an exemption.

Graduate, Online and Professional Studies Final Exams (GPS Sections)⁠

Graduate, Online and Professional Studies sections (section number typically begins with '0') take place on the final on-campus meeting day for that section (usually the week prior to the final exam period) – please see the on-campus course dates on Graduate, Online and Professional Studies website for the final meeting date (not to be confused with the course session dates).

If a GPS section is 'matched' (combined) with a day-school section (example ACCT 2010 201 and ACCT 2010 001), the final exam will follow day-school guidelines and an exam block will be assigned for both sections in SIS.

Classroom Reservations During the Final Exam Period⁠

Classroom reservations for ad hoc needs during the final exam period (review sessions, exam accommodations, makeup exams, etc.) will be accepted one week prior to the final exam period. Please email scheduling for these requests.

Makeup Examinations⁠

Individual makeup exams should be coordinated between the student and instructor as needed and should take place through the UMass Lowell Testing Centers or in a department location (please do not use academic classrooms for individual makeup exams without a confirmed reservation).

If an entire class needs to makeup an exam due to an unforeseen circumstance or emergency, the exam should be rescheduled by emailing: scheduling@uml.edu. Makeup exams for classes should take place during the regular examination period. 

The university final exam makeup dates listed on the university calendar are only to be used for inclement weather or other unanticipated university closure and should not be used as final exam dates for individual student or class makeup exams.

Disability Services Support & Resources⁠

Students who are registered with the Disability Services Office and have been approved for an extended time accommodation: if you have two exams scheduled on the same day, you may reschedule one of the exams if it has been confirmed that both exams are scheduled to use the entire 3-hour block. Please refer to the instructions under Examination Conflicts listed above to do so. For any other accommodation or disability-related question or concern, please contact by email: disability@uml.edu or visit Disability Services website for faculty and student resources.

Doctor of Philosophy Programs

• Doctor of Philosophy Program in Electrical Engineering (EE)
• Doctor of Philosophy Program in Computer Engineering (CP)

OBJECTIVEObjective

The primary goal of the Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering is to provide a research intensive program with the rigorous course work to strengthen the student's knowledge in the fundamentals of Electrical and Computer Engineering.  The programs include advanced graduate coursework in Electrical/Computer Engineering and allied subjects and research culminating in a doctoral dissertation.

A complete description of the doctoral programs are found in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Doctoral Student Handbook which is updated annually and available from the department office.

ADMISSIONAdmission Requirements

Applicants must have a BS or MS degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering or their equivalent from a recognized college or university with an acceptable quality of prior academic work. Applicants must submit official transcripts of all prior undergraduate and graduate courses. Each applicant must submit an official report of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores. The TOEFL exam is required for students from abroad whose native language is not English.

PLANPlan of Study

Each student entering the program must develop a plan of study in consultation with his/her advisor.

Visit the ECE Graduate Website.

Transfer Credit

1. A student with a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering / Computer Engineering or a closely related field may apply to have all coursework and thesis for the master's degree up to a total of 30 credits. Please consult with your PhD advisor and Associate Chair responsible for the Doctoral Programs (PhD program coordinator) and fill out the required petition form (link given below) for course transfer requests. This form is to be submitted to the Associate Chair for the Doctoral Programs for approval.  (https://www.uml.edu/docs/petition_grad_tcm18-87176.pdf ) 
2. A student with graduate-level course work earned (but not completed a degree program and graduated) at an accredited US or Canadian university may apply for transfer of up to 24 semester credits in acceptable graduate engineering courses (with grade of B or better) towards the doctoral program, upon approval by the Associate Chair responsible from the Doctoral Programs (PhD program coordinator).
3. Students may be required to make up prerequisites which they lack in comparison to the equivalent Engineering curriculum at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
4. Course transfers are initially handled by the Graduate Program Coordinator (Associate Chair for the Doctoral Program). Course transfer will follow the steps below:

                           i.           Student’s previous institution must send student’s official transcript to UML Registrar through an email (registrar@uml.edu). The official transcript should only be send by the previous institution directly to UML’s Registrar.

                           ii.           Course Transfer petition form filled out completely and signed/dated (student to submit to the Associate Chair for the Doctoral Program),

                          iii.           Unofficial transcript from the past institution that you are trying to transfer credit from (student to submit to the Associate Chair for the Doctoral Program),

                          iv.           Information on the accreditation (ABET or similar) for your department/institution (student to submit to the Associate Chair for the Doctoral Program),

                           v.           Course description, credit and course number for each course being intended to transfer (student to submit to the Associate Chair for the Doctoral Program).

                          vi.           Associate Chair for the Doctoral Program) will evaluate and approve the courses that can be transferred, and will make a request to the Associate Dean to do a final evaluation and approval. Dean’s office requests registrar to complete the course transfer process.

Course transfers are not allowed for the BS to PhD program. In other words, students who are admitted into our PhD program student directly after completing their BS degrees cannot transfer any MS/PhD level technical elective courses they have taken as part of their BS degree pathway or for their minor. However, those courses may be transferred into the MS program, if student choses to do MS first. 

ECE DEPARTMENT ece-department-qualifier-examQUALIFIER EXAM

The Qualifier Exam (QE) consists of three parts: i) course requirement; ii) oral presentation on a selected topic; and iii) written documentation on the same topic. Please see details below.

Qualifier Exam Committee

The QE Committee consists of three ECE faculty. One member is the faculty advisor. An additional member is selected by the student and the advisor. The 3rd member will be assigned by the ECE Qualifier Exam Sub-Committee (QESC**) and can be from ECE or non-ECE Dept. Selection of a non-ECE member shall be made only with the approval of the student’s advisor.  If the student of a QESC member will be taking the exam, he/she must recuse themselves from the QESC for their student’s exam. To allow sufficient time for the QESC to add the 3rd member, the ECE Request for Approval of PhD Qualifying Examination Committee form must be submitted to the graduate program coordinator at least one month prior to the anticipated QE date. The Chair of the committee can be either the advisor/student selected committee member or the third member, at the committee's discretion. A fourth member can be added at the discretion of the advisor. 

** The QESC will be comprised of 7 members: 6 elected plus the Doctoral coordinator. Yearly elections will be held for the 6 members from the ECE Faculty. 

Qualifier Exam Course Requirements

The student must complete two graduate ECE courses in their primary research area and one additional graduate ECE core course by the term the QE is scheduled. One of the three required courses may be taken during the semester when the QE is administered. The student must receive an average GPA of at least 3.300 for these courses. 

Failure to do so will be considered a failed attempt.

Qualifier Exam Policies and Procedures:

• The purpose of the Qualifier Exam (QE) is to test the fundamental knowledge acquired by the student over prior coursework and assess the ability to apply this fundamental knowledge to approach research questions/problems.

• The student must take the qualifier exam within the first 3 semesters of their entrance into the doctoral program. If taken in the Fall semester, the exam must be administered by mid-November and by mid-April in the Spring semester. If the student fails, then an advisor-led appeal may be submitted to the QESC and if approved, must be scheduled for a date within the following semester of the failed attempt. If the appeal is not approved, then the student fails and is no longer in the PhD program.

If the appeal is granted, the QE committee remains the same for the second attempt. If the advisor changes between the first and second attempts (if appeal is approved), the two other committee members remain the same. If a student fails the second time (if appeal is granted) the student is no longer in the PhD program. 

If the student does not take the QE during the semester he/she is required to take it, this will be considered a failed attempt. Any extenuating circumstances may be brought up to the QESC by the advisor. 

Qualifier Exam Format: 

i. ORAL COMPONENT:

The exam will be 90 minutes long. The student will be asked to give a short presentation (20-30 minutes) on a research topic chosen by the advisor and the student. This research topic should be submitted to the QESC within the first semester of the student’s entrance into the program to make sure that the student progress is on a timeline.  The presentation will be a literature survey of the particular topic based on recent (<5 years) high impact publications. It cannot be a conference paper submitted by the student AND it cannot have any author other than the student taking the exam.

The presentation will be followed by questioning by each member (including advisor) on: (a) directly about the research topic presented (as would be typical at a conference), and (b) in the general area of the research topic (to test the student's grasp of the problem area) and will be on fundamentals testing the student's ability to integrate the material learned in the courses they took, the ability to apply their knowledge to solve research problems; and these questions do not have to be associated with the presentation. The student will supply 3 undergraduate courses most aligned with their research topic they are presenting when they submit their QE registration form.

It is expected that the student answers the questions on their own without the assistance of the advisor. The advisor should not assist the student in preparation of the presentation and the paper (see below)

ii. WRITTEN COMPONENT:

At least one week prior to the oral presentation, the student will provide a four-page two-column document, in the standard format for conferences in their area, to all committee members. This work will be solely the work of the student and the student should be the only author. It is important that  the student does not plagiarize (plagiarizing can be defined as "taking the work or an idea of someone else and passing it off as one's own"). If there are any questions on this, please consult your advisor or the doctoral coordinator. 

This write-up will be a written version of the oral presentation. The student will also provide a copy of this document to the ECE Qual Exam Subcommittee ahead of the exam date. The quality of the written component is expected to be ready for submission and should be clear, well organized, and free of spelling and grammar errors. The advisor should not assist the student in preparation of the paper - it should be independent work. The paper cannot be a conference paper or journal publication the student has prepared and there should only be ONE author (the student who is taking the qualifying exam).

iii. RESULTS: 

When the committee is finished asking questions, the committee members will meet in closed session to discuss and vote on whether the student passed the oral exam. During the exam, there will be a form filled out by the committee members which will be used to discuss the results of the exam. The student is considered to have passed the oral exam with a unanimous vote from the committee.  

If the decision is not unanimous, then the following procedure will be followed:

i. The person or persons who do not agree with the decision to pass the student will write a detailed reason for why they believe they do not agree and present to the QE Subcommittee. The QESC will then make a decision.
ii. If a unanimous vote is not obtained as a result of the QESC decision, and the student is deemed to fail the exam, then advisor can appeal for a second chance as written above. 

CANDIDACYCandidacy Requirements

1. Thesis Proposal and Oral Exam - Having passed the qualifying examination, a student may submit his/her dissertation proposal and defend the proposal before the Doctoral Committee (minimum of 3 members, including the Thesis Advisor). The proposal examination will also include an oral examination on topics connected with the student’s area of research. It is highly recommended that there is a minimum of 6 months between the proposal defense and the PhD final defense. On passing this examination, the student’s name will be submitted to the College Doctoral Committee and the Registrar's Office for acceptance as a candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree. Admission to candidacy status does not guarantee the obtaining of the degree.
2. Final Defense of Dissertation  - This is the final oral examination, conducted by the Doctoral Committee. The membership of the committee may be augmented by non-voting faculty. The candidate has to submit a written Dissertation based on the research during the period of the Ph.D. degree. After receiving the approval of the advisor and the Doctoral Committee, the final oral examination shall be conducted. In order to pass, the candidate may not receive more than one dissenting vote from the membership of the examination committee.

At least two weeks (14 days) prior to the date of the presentation of the dissertation proposal AND the final defense, an announcement document must be submitted to the Associate Chair for the Doctoral Program and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering. After the committee members and the posting is approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate studies, posting will be forwarded to the UML News by the Dean’s Office. The template for posting thesis and dissertation announcement can be found at defense announcement template.

The dissertation proposal is open to the public. The proposal will outline the motivation for the research, give a summary of the related past work in the area and present the scope of the proposed dissertation research. The proposal should clearly articulate the proposed contribution of the student to the knowledge base and how it differs from the past work. The examinee will be expected to answer questions from the audience to demonstrate his/her understanding of the proposed research, as well as his/her proficiency in the general research field related to the dissertation proposal. The dissertation committee may require the candidate to retake the proposal defense after additional work.

The final defense entails a PhD student defending their doctoral dissertation and is expected to utilize the same committee that was put together by the advisor for the dissertation proposal defense. Any changes to the committee must be approved by the Associate Chair for the Doctoral Program. Upon a successful presentation and submission of a high quality doctoral dissertation students will become eligible to graduate if they have completed all of the required credits (course, dissertation and seminar credits). Student must file a Declaration of Intent to Graduate Form (pdf) (aka DIG form) with the Registrar's Office. Deadlines can be found on the University’s Academic Calendar. The Registrar's Office will verify course credit, grade and GPA requirements, and submission of dissertation prior to the awarding the degree.

 Academic Requirements

1. Credit Requirement

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree requires completion of a minimum of 63 semester hours of academic credit beyond the Bachelor of Science degree. A typical program consists of the following:

• A minimum of 30 approved credit hours of graduate-level engineering courses (10 courses), including associated science and math courses.
• A minimum of 21 credit hours of doctoral dissertation.
• The balance of the remaining 12 credits can be a mix of graduate-level engineering courses including associated science and math coursework and dissertation credits at the discretion of the department, faculty advisor and dissertation committee.

2. Core Requirement

The core courses are beginning graduate courses. They emphasize the fundamentals, concepts, and analytical techniques relevant to Electrical/Computer Engineering. They also help the student prepare for the qualifying examination.

Required Core Courses for Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering: (choose three courses)

Students in Electrical Engineering must take three courses of the above courses.

Required Core Courses for Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering: 

3. Grade-Point Average (GPA) Requirement

To successfully complete the program, a student must achieve a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.25 in all course work.