Path to Degree

The Qualifying Exam is offered once in the fall and once in the winter term.  You may take the exam at any time before the established program deadline.  It is recommended that you complete all coursework before taking the exam.  

See the "Qualifying Exam and Dates" section below for the required forms.

Registration is by appointment only and based on academic level and the number of credits completed.  You can register on or after your registration date.  Graduate students typically have priority before after doctoral students.  Students may register online using My UM-Dearborn or by walk-in.

To learn more, visit the Office of the Registrar page to find information about registration instruction, registration timetable, adding or dropping a course, waitlist and withdrawing. 

Some courses may require faculty or department approval prior to registering.  In these cases, students should contact the department advising and registration graduate staff for assistance.

All master's degree students must complete 30 credits at the 500-course level or higher.  The degree requires core and concentration coursework, two cognate courses, and the option to complete electives and a project or a 6 credit Thesis.

Students are required to maintain a 3.0 (B) cumulative GPA or higher each term.  Each department may have additional minimum course grade requirements.  Refer to your degree program curriculum or requirements page for additional guidance. 

Course Planning and Degree Tracking Tools

Students should follow the curriculum requirements as listed on the degree program webpage.  Most programs offer a selection of courses in each area to meet the degree requirements. 

The university provides the Degree Works software which allows you to track your progress towards the degree.

Each department assigns a faculty advisor for all graduate students. Students may schedule an appointment with the faculty advisor during posted office hours.  However, students may first contact the graduate staff with any questions. If it becomes necessary to meet with the faculty advisor, the graduate staff will schedule an appointment.  Please check the CECS Advising and Registration page for a list of department faculty advisor by programs and additional details.

All students must apply to graduate during their final term of study.  It is advisable for students to contact the graduate staff as soon as they have registered for their final course(s) to request a pre-audit.  Applying to graduate can be done through UM-Dearborn Connect or the Office of the Registrar.  Choose “Applying to Graduate” from the list on the left, then click on one of the icons to the right.  All students must submit the application by the posted deadline. Applications submitted after the deadline will be charged a late fee.

Graduation deadlines

Apply to graduate

Participate in commencement

Course Level

Only courses 500 level and above may count towards the doctoral degree. 

Cognate

At least four (4) credit hours of coursework must be outside your degree area.  A mathematics class can be used to satisfy all or part of this requirement. Several other ways of fulfilling this requirement are detailed on the degree program requirements page.

Pre-candidacy 

All students enter their program in the pre-candidacy stage.  In this stage, students complete advanced coursework in core areas and gain knowledge of the primary field and skills to conduct independent scholarly research.  The Doctoral coursework ranges from credits based on your prior degree attainment, prerequisites, planned research area, and the faculty advisor's recommendation.  At a minimum, six (6) credits for students with a University of Michigan master's degree, 36 credits for a student with a bachelor's degree, and 18 credits for a student with a non-University of Michigan- degree is required.  

Candidacy

A minimum of 24 credits of doctoral dissertation research is required to complete the candidacy coursework requirement. Up to 12 credits may be completed through the 980 Pre-Candidate Dissertation Research course.  The remaining 12 credits or all 24 credits may be achieved by taking 990 Doctoral Dissertation course.

Advising Model

Doctoral students are advised by a graduate faculty member who also serves as the student's mentor.  In addition to academic and course planning,  the faculty advisor helps the student to clarify and advance his or her academic and professional goals.

Annual Review

Doctoral programs must conduct annual reviews to assess student's progress toward candidacy and degree completion.  At the end of each year, around April/May,  each student meets with his or her Faculty Advisor to complete the Annual Review Report.   Two Annual Review forms are available for documenting progress and providing feedback to the student. 

Pre-Candidate Annual Review

Candidate Annual Review

The completed review is due to the Doctoral Program Chair by May 31.  Students who are not making progress will be scheduled for a mandatory meeting with the Associate Dean and may be placed on academic probation. 

Degree Tracking

The university provides the Degree Works software which allows you to track your progress towards the degree.

It is essential to reference both the approved Study Plan and the Doctoral program curriculum sheet when choosing courses.  Document all courses on your approved Study Plan with your faculty advisor.  The graduate staff can assist you with registration based on the approved Study Plan.  Directed Study, Pre-Candidacy Dissertation 980, and Dissertation 990 courses required approval before registering.  If you have any questions regarding course selection or changing a course on your Study Plan, contact your faculty advisor.  Students register online through My UM-Dearborn to register for classes. Get more information on web registration.

Required First-Year Course

All doctoral students are required to enroll in ENGR 700 Doctoral Research Methodology course for the first two terms, Fall and Winter.  As part of this course, all CECS Ph.D. students are required to complete training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) and scholarship before advancing to candidacy. Information on the RCR Workshop times is provided in the ENGR 700 course syllabus.  Students may be required to complete the PEERRS modules through MY LINC as a pre-requisite to the face-to-face RCR workshop. 

Continuous Enrollment & Leave of Absence

Students are required to be enrolled every Fall and Winter term.  Students are required to register for Spring/Summer term if taking an exam or completing the degree requirements.  Students who are not enrolled must be on an approved leave of absence.  A Doctoral student who is not on an approved  leave of absence and who does not maintain registration through Fall and Winter term will be considered to have withdrawn and will be discontinued from the graduate program

Full-time Enrollment

At the University of Michigan-Dearborn, a full-time graduate student is one that registers for a minimum of eight credits during the Fall and Winter terms. 

Maximum credits

Students may enroll in a maximum of nine credits each Fall and Winter term.

Minimum Credits

Students with a GSI and GSRA appointment must register for a minimum of six credits each Fall and Winter term.  All students must be registered for at least one three (3) credits course each semester. 

Candidacy Registration Requirement

Upon achieving Candidacy, students must register full-time (6 credits with GSI or GSRA appointment) in the 990 Dissertation Research course each Fall and Winter term until graduation.  Industry students in the UM-Dearborn programs may take 3 credits in the 990 Dissertation Research course each Fall and Winter term until graduation. 

Overview

Each doctoral program determines the form and content of the examinations and informs students in advance about the format, schedule, procedures, and expectations for the exams.  At a minimum, the tests assess the student's knowledge of each primary field and supporting fields.  The exam may be written, oral or a combination of both.  Students must be enrolled in the term the exam is administered. Students must submit the Qualifying Exam Request Form to the department graduate staff by the registration deadline.  After the exam, the exam committee completes the exam notification form and all rubrics to the department graduate staff.

Exam Dates

The Qualifying Exam is offered once in the fall and once in the winter term.  You may take the exam at any time before the established program deadline.  It is not necessary to have all coursework completed before taking the exam.  The exam dates for the current academic year are listed under "Announcements" at the top of this page. 

Students advance to candidacy within three years of first enrollment.  Students entering the program with a master's degree should advance to candidacy within 2 years.   All students meet the following requirements:

• Completion of all required coursework
• Completion of the Cognate course requirement
• Completion of the Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarship Training
• Achieved the minimum program and course GPA  
• Completion of the Qualifying Exams (All Programs)
• Dissertation Chair or Co-chairs (see next section below for committee approval)

Students will be notified of their eligibility to advance to candidacy. The necessary paperwork to advance to candidacy should be submitted to the Doctoral Program Director by the faculty advisor. 

Advance to Candidacy Form 

After passing the Qualifying exam and before beginning work on the dissertation research, students should begin to form the Dissertation Committee.  Dissertation committees must have at least four members of the Graduate Faculty, tenured or tenure-track instructional faculty holding an “unmodified” (i.e., not visiting, adjunct, etc.) appointment at the University of Michigan-Dearborn as Professor, Associate Professor, or Assistant Professor with an earned Doctorate from an accredited institution,  three of whom are from the Graduate Faculty and two of whom are from the doctoral candidate’s program department.  Please see page 29 of The Dissertation Handbook as a reference. The composition of the committee must be as follows:

• A sole chair or two co-chairs;
• A cognate member who is familiar with the standards for doctoral research and holds at least a .50 appointment in a graduate program, other than the student's home department/program
• May include a University faculty member who is not Graduate Faculty, a University staff member, or a qualified individual outside the University to provide expertise in the candidate’s discipline. (requires approval for special membership)

Special Membership on the Dissertation Committee

University faculty and staff who are not Graduate Faculty, and qualified people from outside the University of Michigan who may or may not hold academic appointments and whose service on the Dissertation Committee would contribute significantly, may be nominated for special membership by submitting:

• A memo detailing the nominee’s expertise in the dissertation topic
• A Vita or resume
• For a retired Professor, a memo confirming he/she has:
  1. Experience in serving on, and chairing dissertation committees (decision-making experience as chair is required)
  2. Service as a teacher of formal courses or seminars
  3. Served as a counselor or advisor for doctoral students

Previous experience as a cognate is not required for nomination as cognate (cognate criteria must be met).

You must form your dissertation committee at least 6 months before your final defense or at least 6 weeks before your proposal exam.

The membership of the dissertation committee must be approved by the CECS Graduate Education Office at least two (2) months before taking the Dissertation Proposal Exam. 

Required Forms

Dissertation Committee

The timeline to take your Dissertation Proposal exam is set by each program and schedule based on the availability of the dissertation committee.  Students should reach this milestone within one year of passing the Qualifying Exam. 

The Dissertation Committee should be approved before scheduling the Dissertation Proposal Exam.

Students must submit the written proposal to the Dissertation Committee for review at least 14 days prior to the oral exam.  After the exam, the student will receive written feedback from the committee based on the Proposal Rubric.   After the exam, the exam committee submits the exam notification form and all rubrics to the department graduate staff.

Unsuccessful Attempts

Students with an unsatisfactory performance were may be granted a second and final attempt at the discretion of the Doctoral Program Committee.  

Dissertation Proposal Registration Requirement

Students must be enrolled in the term the exam is administered.  Students who were enrolled full-time during the proceeding Fall and Winter terms may take the Proposal exam in May following the Winter term without registering for Spring/Summer. 

Required Forms

Dissertation Proposal Exam Request 

Proposal Exam Rubric

Dissertation
Required in all programs.  Students must complete the Dissertation Defense, based on the student’s original independent research, within five years after candidacy, but no more than seven years from first enrollment.  

Students must complete a Pre-Defense meeting before or immediately after registering for the Dissertation Oral Exam.

A copy of the written dissertation approved by the Faculty Advisor/Dissertation Chair must be submitted to the Dissertation Committee at least two weeks prior to the oral defense.  Each member of the Dissertation Committee will complete written feedback on the written dissertation prior to the oral defense. 

Required Forms

Dissertation Oral Defense Request

Dissertation Rubric

Oral Defense Final Report

Dissertation Defense Registration Requirement

Students must be enrolled full-time in the 990 Doctoral Dissertation course in the term the exam is administered.  Students who were enrolled full-time during the proceeding Fall and Winter terms may take the Oral Exam exam in May following the Winter term without registering for Spring/Summer. 

Oral Defense 

Timeline

• Maximum of five (5) years after achieving candidacy
• No earlier than 14 weeks after the Proposal Exam
• Seven (7) years total from first enrollment

Each department handles the coordination for conducting the Dissertation Oral Defense.  At a minimum, the Doctoral Program Director must review the written dissertation assessments from the committee members and authorize the Oral Defense three (3) days prior to the oral defense.  The written dissertation report and the Oral Defense will be assessed based on the Dissertation Rubric.  

After the defense, the student will receive written feedback and the committee will decide based on the rubric if the student’s performance meets the requirement, distinguished, or did not meet the requirement.  Students, whose performance was unsatisfactory for the written dissertation and or oral defense, must meet with their Research Advisor/Dissertation Committee Chair for the next steps.

Oral Defense Deadline

The date by which a candidate must complete and submit all degree requirements, including format revisions, is a firm date.  Extensions are not permitted.  A candidate who does not meet the final deadline cannot be listed among the degree recipients for that particular term, nor participate in commencement.

The Last Date to Complete all Requirements and Last Day to Apply for Graduation is 6 weeks out from the degree conferral date, and the Last Day to Defend is 8 weeks out from the degree conferral date.  The deadline by which a candidate must defend a dissertation and complete all degree requirements is located here.

Pre-Defense Review

The students must schedule a meeting with the their Department Graduate Staff  to discuss finalizing the degree, dissertation submission, and requirement deadlines.During the Pre-Defense review, the student's record check is completed.  Registration, GPA, Candidacy, timeline, and dissertation committee requirements are reviewed.  Submission of the written feedback from each committee member is verified.  Once approved, the student receives approval to schedule the Oral Defense.

Post-Defense Review

During the Post-Defense review, a degree audit is conducted.  The student’s file will be reviewed to ensure that he/she has met all the degree requirements for graduation.  The final defense exam rubric, written dissertation feedback, and the Certificate of Completion of Dissertation Requirements for Doctoral Degree are reviewed and verified.  In addition, each student must complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates and the UM-Dearborn Doctoral Exit Survey.

The Office of Graduate Studies conducts the final formatting check of the Dissertation.  Students must follow the format guidelines for CECS dissertation.   The format is based on The Dissertation Handbook produced by The Rackham Graduate School.

Your final approved dissertation must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Office for review.  You can learn more about the formatting and review submission guidelines and process. You can also find formatting resources.

Dissertation Submission Form

Dissertation Release and Embargo procedures

Doctoral dissertations and abstracts are normally made publicly available upon degree conferral when they are deposited electronically in Deep Blue. The student is responsible for requesting an embargo of the dissertation if they would like to delay making the dissertation public.

Students may apply for graduation after successfully defending the final dissertation and submitting the necessary forms.

Apply to Graduate 

Request to participate in Commencement

Students must complete and submit the online form for:

• Pre-requisite/co-requisite exception
• Course Equivalencies
• Exception or substitution of a requirement
• Incomplete (I/IE) contract extension
• Exceed maximum hours allowed  (*students may complete the Enrollment Authorization Form to exceed term registration maximum credits)
• Readmission/Reinstatement request

To request an extension for a milestone or time to degree, along with submitting the online petition form, submit the following:

• a statement describing the specific request and the unusual and extenuating circumstance for the request.
• an updated Plan of Study with the newly requested dates (month/year) notated next to each milestone.
• students in the Candidacy stage: submit a separate timeline with approximate dates detailing when you plan to complete each phase of your dissertation – research, analysis, writing, defending, and completing the degree.
• a letter of support for the petition which may include any additional details from your faculty advisor.

The department doctoral Program Director will review the request and make a recommendation to the CECS Graduate Office.  The appropriate Associate Dean (Rackham Associate Dean for Rackham Ph.D. programs and the CECS Associate Dean for non-Rackham doctoral programs) will make the final decision.

You will receive notice of the final decision from your department/program.

CECS Master's Program-

A student is expected to complete all work within five (5) years from the date of first enrollment into a CECS Master's Program.  Students exceeding this limit must submit a petition to their program department, with their reasons for the request and specific plans for the completion of the degree program.  

CECS DENG Program-

The D.Eng.in ASM & ECE program has a time limit of three (3) years for completion. Students are expected to complete the degree within two (2) years after achieving candidacy, but no more than three (3) years from the date of the first enrollment in the program. Students exceeding this limit must submit a petition to their program department, with their reasons for the request and specific plans for the completion of the degree program.  

CECS PhD. Program- (Rackham)

Students are expected to complete their degree within five (5) years of achieving candidacy, but no more than seven (7) years from the date of the first enrollment in their PhD program. A student who does not pass the final defense within the required deadline can be placed on academic probation, unless the student petitions their department’s committee for an extension of time to degree because of extenuating circumstances, with a plan for completion. A student who does not complete the degree after two (2) years of extension may be returned to pre-candidacy status and required to meet candidacy requirements again.