D.Eng. in Automotive Systems and Mobility
The Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.) in Automotive Systems and Mobility (ASM), centers on engineering practice and application, problem-solving skills, and innovation to prepare graduates for technical leadership roles in the automotive and mobility industry.
The D.Eng. program encourages doctoral students to conduct cutting edge research using emerging technologies in the broad areas of automotive engineering and mobility. It is a multidisciplinary program with core research areas in Automotive Cybersecurity; Advanced Simulation; Human Factors & Transportation Systems Safety; Connected and Autonomous Vehicles; Dynamics, Control & Vehicle Safety; Electrified Vehicles; Materials, Manufacturing, & Design; Shared Mobility; Thermal-Fluid & Combustion; and Data Analytics in Automotive & Mobility.
The program is geared toward working professionals and as such, accepts students with prior professional experience in mobility and the automotive industry for part-time or full-time study.
Program Details
The D.Eng. degree requirements require a minimum of 36 credits hours with a minimum of two 3 credit hour courses and 30 credits in research.
This program is intended for working professionals who are active in research and development. Students are expected to maintain their employment status during the program. The topic of the dissertation research is expected to be related to the applicant's area of expertise and job related research topics (and the company's R&D needs if sponsored by the employer).
Students are admitted for part-time or full-time study. All admission offers will be for the Fall term only.
Application Deadline:
- February 1 for Fall Term only
Program Goal
To address the growing needs of engineering professionals with the education and training in advanced technologies and research skills necessary for solving the challenging problems in the automotive and mobility industry in the 21st century.
Learning Outcomes
- To provide students with research and problem solving skills that enables them to develop creative solutions for solving complex engineering problems in advanced vehicle systems and mobility engineering.
- To prepare students with experiences in writing and publishing high quality technical papers and patents that contain innovative solutions to challenging problems in ASM
- To prepare students for being successful technical leaders
The following are the minimum requirements for admission in the Doctor of Engineering (D. Eng.) in Automotive Systems and Mobility (ASM).
- A master’s degree in engineering or computer science from an accredited program
- Bachelor’s GPA: 3.0 on the 4.0-scale for regular admission
- Master’s GPA: 3.2 on the 4.0-scale for regular admission
- For non-native English speakers, recent scores of an advanced English proficiency exam, such as a minimum score of 84 on internet-based TOEFL or IELTS with a minimum score of 6.5.
- At least two years of full-time equivalent research and development experience in industry.
- Three recommendation letters from faculty and industry professionals including at least one letter from a current supervisor/employer and at least one letter from a faculty member. The letter must show commitment and support from the employer.
- A curriculum vitae (CV) or a resume
- Information needed to be included in CV or resume:
- Education background
- Professional experience
- Projects
- Honors and awards
- Publications, thesis, and technical reports
- Information needed to be included in CV or resume:
- A Statement of purpose including a research topic and research plan.
- Instruction for Academic Statement of Purpose: The academic statement of purpose should be a concise, well-written statement about your academic and research background, your research experience and interested research area, topic, plan, and your career (professional/academic) goals. Any thoughts, comments or plans for future research could be included.
- Instruction for Personal Statement: (MSE only) The personal statement of purpose should be a concise, well-written statement about your background and life experiences, including cultural, geographical, financial, educational or other opportunities or challenges that motivate the decision to pursue a Ph.D. degree at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and how this PhD program will help you meet your career and educational objectives.
- It is strongly suggested to identify a faculty advisor at the time of application. A faculty advisor must be identified after admission and before the first enrollment.
Preference is given to
- Students with scholarships provided by companies or government organizations
- Students with a commitment by employers in writing such as reduced working hours, e.g. 30 hours/week, for the first three years.
Application Deadline:
February 1 for Fall Term only
Automotive Cybersecurity
Faculty advisors from the Computer and Information Science department:
Faculty advisors from the Electrical and Computer Engineering department:
Advanced Simulation, Human Factors and Transportation Systems Safety
Faculty advisors from the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering department:
Faculty advisors from the Electrical and Computer Engineering department:
Faculty advisors from the Computer and Information Science department:
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
Faculty advisors from the Electrical and Computer Engineering department:
- Sridhar Lakshmanan
- Hafiz Malik
- Yi Lu Murphey
- Paul Richardson
- Samir Rawashdeh
- Weidong Xiang
- Ya Sha Yi
- Alireza Mohammadi
Faculty advisors from the Computer and Information Science department:
Dynamics, Control and Vehicle safety
Faculty advisors from the Mechanical Engineering department:
Faculty advisors from the Electrical and Computer Engineering department:
Electrified vehicles
Faculty advisors from the Electrical and Computer Engineering department:
Faculty advisors from the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering department:
Materials, Manufacturing, and Design
Faculty advisors from the Mechanical Engineering department:
- Alan Argento
- Tanjore Jayaraman
- HongTae Kang
- Pankaj Mallick
- Chunhui Mei
- Pravansu Mohanty
- German Reyes-Villanueva
Faculty advisors from the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering department:
Faculty advisors from the Electrical and Computer Engineering department:
Shared mobility
Faculty advisors from the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering department:
Thermal-Fluid and Combustion
Faculty advisors from the Mechanical Engineering department:
Data Analytics in Automotive and Mobility
Faculty advisors from the Computer and Information Science department:
- Mohamed Abouelenien
- Marouane Kessentini
- Qiang Zhu
Faculty advisors from the Electrical and Computer Engineering department:
Faculty advisors from the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering department:
Program Policies
In addition to the UM-Dearborn Graduate School policies for doctoral students, as a doctoral student in ASM program, you need to know the requirements, timeline, and processes for Pre-candidacy, Candidacy, Proposal Exam, and eventually your Dissertation Defense.
Also, an Annual Progress Report completed by you and your faculty advisor must be submitted for review to the ASM Doctoral Committee in May of each year.
The ASM Doctoral Committee and your Faculty Advisor are the main resources for information and guidance throughout your program.
The ASM Doctoral Committee is chaired by Dr. Dewey Jung, and includes Dr. Sang-Hwan Kim (IMSE), Dr. Taehyung Kim (ECE), and Dr. Jie Shen (CIS).
Students are required to be registered every Fall and Winter term. No registration is required for Summer terms.
In addition to meeting the standards of successful academic progress on the Annual Review, the student must pass two curricular qualification courses and maintain an overall GPA of 3.5/4.0 for good academic standing and graduation.
The program requires completion of:
- Two curricular qualifying courses with a combined GPA of 3.5/4.0 and 3.3/4.0 or better in each course
- The two graduate courses must be related to the student's chosen core research area and recommended by the advisor.
- ASM 791 Doctoral Directed Study
- ASM 980 Pre-Candidate Dissertation Research
Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarship Training (RCRS) covers ethical issues that may arise in research and identifies areas of known research misconduct. All DEng students are required to complete the PEERRS-RCRS online training course on MyLINC. It must be completed within the first two semesters of enrollment in the program, before advancing to candidacy. You can find the link to complete the training here: Training in My LINC / U-M Information and Technology Services (umich.edu)
Automotive Cybersecurity
Course list
CIS 540 Foundation of Information Security
CIS 544 Computer and Network Security
CIS 545 Data Security and Privacy
CIS 546 Security and Privacy in Wireless Networks,
CIS 548 Security and Privacy in Cloud Computing
CIS 549 Software Security
CIS 584 Advanced Computer and Network Security
CIS 624 Research Advances in Computer and Network Security
ECE 527 Multimedia Security and Forensics
ECE 528 Embedded System Security
ECE 554 Embedded Systems
Advanced Simulation, Human Factors and Transportation Systems Safety
Course list
IMSE 501 Introduction of Human Factors and Ergonomics
IMSE 514 Multivariate Statistics
IMSE 545 Vehicle Ergonomics
IMSE 546 Safety Engineering
IMSE 577 Human-Centered Interaction for UI/UX Design
IMSE 593 Vehicle Packaging Engineering
IMSE 659 System Simulation in Automotive Engineering
IMSE 659 Advanced System Simulation
HCDE 510 Foundation of Human-Centered Design and Engineering
HCDE 520 Research Method in HCDE
HCDE 530 Information Visualization
CIS 552 Information Visualization and Multimedia Gaming
CIS 652 Information Visualization and Computer Animation
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
Course list
ECE 527 Multimedia Security and Forensics
ECE 531 Intelligent Vehicles
ECE 536 All Weather Automotive Vision
ECE 543 Kinematics, Dynamics, and Control of Robots
ECE 544 Mobile Robots
ECE 560 Modern Control Theory
ECE 5702 High Speed and Advanced Networks
ECE 577 Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Systems
ECE 586 Digital Image Processing
ECE 612 Wireless Sensor Networks
ECE 642 Robotic Embedded Systems
ECE 644 Advanced Robotics
ECE 645 Cooperative Robots
ECE 650 Information Theory in Electrical
ECE 661 System Identification and Adaptive Control
ECE 679 Advanced Intelligent Systems
CIS 527 Computer Networks
CIS 535 Programmable Mobile/Wireless Technologies and Pervasive Computing
CIS 537 Advanced Networking and Distributed Systems
CIS 647 Research Advances in Networking and Distributed Systems
CIS 579 Artificial Intelligence
CIS 585 Advanced Artificial Intelligence
CIS 685 Research Advances in Artificial Intelligence
Dynamics, Control and Vehicle Safety
Course list
ME 540 Mechanical Vibrations
ME 542 Advanced Dynamics
ME 543 Vehicle dynamics
AE 502 Modeling of Automotive Systems
AE 555 Vehicle Stability and Control
AE 547 Powertrains I
ME 548 Powertrains II
ECE 515 Vehicle Electronics II
ECE 532 Automotive Actuators and Sensors
ECE 552 Fuzzy Systems
ECE 560 Modern Control Theory
ECE 565 Digital Control Systems
ECE 567 Nonlinear Control Systems
Electrified Vehicles
Course list
ESE 502 Energy Storage Systems
ECE 515 Vehicle Electronics-II
ECE 517 Advanced Power Electronics and Motor Drives
ECE 519 Advanced Topics in EMC
ECE 532 Automotive Sensors and Actuators
ECE 5462 Electric Aspects of Hybrid Electric Vehicles
ECE 5791 Vehicle Power Management
ECE 646 Advanced Electric Drive Transportation
AE 598 Energy Systems for Automotive Vehicles
Materials, Manufacturing, and Design
Course list
ME 514 Advanced Stress Analysis
ME 558 Fracture and Fatigue Considerations in Design
ME 583 Mechanical Behavior of Materials
ME 584 Mechanical Behavior of Polymers
ME 587 Automotive Composites
ME 589 Composite Materials
ME 582 Injection Molding
IMSE 502 Computer Integrated Manufacturing
IMSE 504 Metal Forming Theories
IMSE 519 Quantitative Methods in Quality Engineering
IMSE 538 Intelligent Manufacturing
IMSE 561 Total Quality Management and Six Sigma
IMSE 5655 Supply Chain Management
IMSE 567 Reliability Analysis
IMSE 580 Production and Operations Management I
IMSE 581 Production and Operations Management II
IMSE 593 Vehicle Package Engineering
AE 545 Vehicle Ergonomics I
AE 586 Design and Manufacturing with Lightweight Automotive Materials
AE 589 Automotive Assembly Systems
AE 550 Design of Automotive Body & Chassis Systems
AE 650 Vehicle Crashworthiness
ECE 539 Production of Elec Prods
Shared Mobility (logistics, operational research)
Course list
IMSE 500 Models of Operation Research
IMSE 514 Multivariate Statistics
IMSE 505 Applied Optimization
IMSE 559 System Simulation
IMSE 5655 Supply Chain Management
IMSE 567 Reliability Analysis
IMSE 584 Logistical Systems
IMSE 605 Advanced Optimization
IMSE 606 advanced stochastic processes
Thermal-Fluid and Combustion
Course list
ME 528 Boiling and Condensation
ME 532 Combustion Processes
ME 535 Advanced Thermodynamics
ME 545 Acoustics and Noise Control
ME 596 Internal Combustion Engine I
ME 597 Internal Combustion Engines II
ME 598 Engine Emissions
ME 522 Advanced Fluid Mechanics
ME 525 Computational Fluid Mechanics and Heat
ME 537 Automotive Air Conditioning Systems
ME 538 Vehicle Thermal Management
ME 571 Conductive Heat Transfer
ME 572 Convective Heat Transfer
ME 622 Advanced Topics in Fluid Mechanics
Data Analytics in Automotive and Mobility
Course list
CIS 556 Database Systems
CIS 586 Advanced Database Systems
CIS 5570 Introduction to Big Data
CIS 571 Web Services
CIS 511 Natural Language Processing
CIS 536 Information Retrieval and Text Mining
CIS 568 Data Mining
CIS 5700 Advanced Data Mining
CIS 580 Data Analytics in Software Engineering
ECE 537 Data Mining
ECE 579 Intelligent Systems
ECE 576 Information Engineering
IMSE 586 Big Data Analytics and Visualization
Early Start Requirements:
The students are expected to engage in research work from the first year of the program. To facilitate that, each student should have a faculty research advisor at the beginning of the first semester and develop the dissertation research topic with the faculty advisor by the end of the second semester in the program. There is an additional requirement that at least 6 credit hours of faculty-guided research (ASM 791 or ASM 980) be completed within the first year of enrollment in the program. In the first semester, all students need to take the ASM 791 (Doctoral Direct Study) and the second semester the ASM 980 (Pre-candidate Dissertation Research). The required outcomes of ASM 791 include:
- Well-defined research topic/objective/technical approach
- An in-depth literature review
The required outcomes of ASM 980 include:
- An approved dissertation committee
- Promising preliminary study results
- Well-developed research plan and milestones, and
- Successfully passed dissertation proposal examination, which also covers the fundamentals of the research related to student’s dissertation research area.
- If a student does not pass the examination, an “I” grade will be given to the student, and the student needs to retake the ASM 980 in the following semester and the dissertation proposal examination. If the student passes the examination at the second time, an “S” grade will be given to the ASE 980 course taken at the both semesters. If the student fails the examination at the second time too, the student is required to withdraw from the program.
Research Maintenance Requirements:
- ASM 990 (Dissertation for candidates) can be taken only after a student achieves candidacy. A minimum of 24 credit hours in ASM 990 is required.
- During the candidacy, a student enrolls in ASM 990 every semester. The outcomes of ASM 990 include a written dissertation research progress report, a presentation of research results to the dissertation committee. A “S” or “U” grade will be given by the adviser based on the student’s performances in research. Any “U” grade will be reviewed by the committee and a written plan will be provided to the student about what is needed to improve dissertation research. The metric to measure a student’s progress includes, but not limited to, regular meetings with the adviser, good quality research progress reports, publications, patent applications, prototype system demos, and well-recognized open-source programs. The faculty advisor notifies ASM committee about the student’s progress in each semester.
- A Student must register to ASM 791, ASM 980 or ASM 990 must arrange meetings with the faculty advisors at least twice per month for mentoring by the advisor.
The program does not have a written qualifying examination but instead a curricular qualification requirement.
A student must obtain a cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 and B+ or above for both curricular qualification courses. If a student obtains B+ for both courses the student is allowed to select another course as a qualification course and must get A- or above to meet the curricular qualification requirement. No additional attempt is allowed.
Dissertation Committee
The dissertation committee is formed when a student takes ASM 980. As a rule, the dissertation committee continues overseeing the student’s work to the stage of the final dissertation defense.
- The faculty advisor serves as the chair of the Dissertation Committee.
- The dissertation committee will consist of a minimum of three members in addition to the committee chair. The committee members will include two faculty members (at least one member from the CECS) and one industry member.
- The composition of the dissertation committee must be approved by the D. Eng. program committee. The industry member's curriculum vitae must be submitted to the Program Committee for approval.
- Depending on the dissertation topic, a faculty member outside the CECS may be included in the dissertation committee.
- A committee may have a sole chair or two co-chairs. Persons who may serve as co-chair, but not the sole chair, include:
- tenure or tenure-track members of the University’s instructional faculty;
- research faculty;
- instructors and lecturers;
- similarly qualified University faculty or staff, or person from outside the University; and
- former University faculty members who have moved to a faculty position at another university
Candidacy Requirements
Achieving candidacy for the D. Eng. in ASM requires:
-
Completion of two curricular qualification courses and maintain a combined GPA of 3.5/4.0 and 3.3/4.0 or better for each course
-
Completion of all the required outcomes of ASM 980
- Submission of the candidacy application form
- Approved Doctoral Dissertation Committee
The D. Eng. ASM program has a time limit of 3 years for completion. Students are expected to complete the degree within 2 years after achieving candidacy, but no more than 3 years from the date of the first enrollment in the program.
All D. Eng. ASM students are required to register for either the program’s coursework or dissertation credits every fall and winter semester unless they are on an approved leave of absence. Students may request a leave of absence when certain life events prevent continued active participation in their degree program. Students may request a leave of absence as early as six months prior to the term the leave is to start. A leave will be granted to students for illness (either physical or mental) or injury, to enable them to provide care or assistance for family or dependents, to allow them to meet military service obligations, or for other personal reasons. The student’s request for a leave of absence will need the approval by the CECS Doctoral Program Committee.
A student is considered to have completed the D. Eng. ASM program only if the student has completed the two required courses with satisfactory grades and the required research credit hours, passed the dissertation defense and got a satisfactory grade on the written dissertation. A petition for an extension of study time may be submitted by the student with the endorsement of student’s dissertation advisor to the committee of D. Eng. in ASM for approval. The time extension will be no more than 2 years.
All D. Eng. in ASM students will be required to take a series of non-credit short courses and workshops.
Topics include:
- Project Management
- Leadership and Responsibilities
- Collaboration and Teamwork
- Surviving Complex Projects
- Business Startups and Patent Law
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Presentation and Communication
- Career Path in and Outside Academia
The successful defense of the Dissertation Proposal is one of the required outcomes of the ASM 980 course registration.
The dissertation proposal examination also covers the fundamentals of the research related to the student’s dissertation research area.
- If a student does not pass the examination, an “I” grade will be given to the student, and the student needs to retake the ASM 980 in the following semester and the dissertation proposal examination. If the student passes the examination for the second time, an “S” grade will be given to the ASM 980 course taken at both semesters. If the student fails the examination the second time too, the student is required to withdraw from the program.
After passing ASM 980, the student may proceed with the dissertation research and the writing of the dissertation. The dissertation should document the original contributions made by the candidate as a result of independent research. This research work should be of archival quality. In advance of graduation, all members of the student's dissertation committee must approve the dissertation. To obtain this approval a student must submit a written copy of the dissertation to the dissertation committee and defend the research work at a final oral examination open to other faculty, students, and the interested public. Students defending the dissertation must be registered in ASM 990.
Upon completion of the dissertation work, the student initiates the last step toward the degree—the dissertation defense process. The process follows the official guidelines and consists of the following main stages:
- Preparation of a written dissertation formatted in accordance with the guidelines,
- Pre-Defense meetings with the members of the program committee,
- Written evaluations of the dissertation by the dissertation committee members
- The Oral Defense of the dissertation consisting of two parts:
- Public seminar and open question session held by the student
- Private deliberations by the committee,
- Final oral examination report and certificate of approval prepared by the dissertation committee
- Post-Defense meeting with the CECS Graduate Education Office
Curriculum
A student must complete a minimum of 36 credit hours including 6 credit hours of coursework, 6 credit hours of directed study and pre-candidate research courses, and 24 credit hours of dissertation research.
Program Contacts
Sherry Boyd
