Doctoral Candidates

Registration

• Review MAE Graduate Course Advising information.
• PhD students must be registered every semester until graduation.
• Students must register for at least one credit during the semester immediately preceding your degree conferral date. (February Conferral Requires Fall Registration & June/September Conferral Requires Spring Registration)
• If conferring, be sure that there are no incomplete (I/U) grades or missing grades on your record.

Minimum Credits: 72 | Minimum GPA: 3.00

Selection of Academic Advisor

• PhD students should select their academic advisor preferably in the first semester, but no later than the second semester.
• Consult MAE website to learn about faculty research interests.
• Students should consult with department faculty to identify an academic advisor for their Ph.D. dissertation research work.

• The QE is offered once a year in May. Students must take it at their first opportunity after having been admitted.
• You should register with the Director of Graduate Studies. Students must have an academic advisor and a GPA above a 3.0
• View Previous PhD Qualifying Exams as study tools.

Annual reviews occur every year during the month of August.

You should fill out the annual review form, have advisor and committee members sign the form and submit it to MAE graduate office for further approval. 

Pre-Defense

• Within 12 months of passing your QE, you must schedule your pre-defense presentation and submit the presentation feedback form signed by your dissertation advisory committee to MAE graduate office.

Dissertation Defense

1. You must submit your Dissertation to the Graduate School.
2. Schedule your in-person defense with Joshua Sugg. 
   (Defenses can be scheduled in 250 Bell, 206 Furnas or 1014 Furnas.)
3. Submit your defense announcements to the Graduate Coordinator at least one week before your scheduled defense date.

1. To become a candidate for an advanced degree you must submit an Application to Candidacy (ATC), for departmental and Graduate School approval.
2. Submit your Electronic Thesis (ETD) form to the Graduate School.
3. The Exit Survey is to be filled out by all students leaving UB.
4. The Department Lab Checklist should be filled out if you were in a lab setting.
5. Complete the SEAS Outside Reader Policy for Doctoral Dissertations.
6. PhD students need to fill out the the "certificate of completion of the CITI online course" which is also stated on the application to candidacy (under question 4 you should complete “The Responsible Conduct of Research for Engineers”.)

For all information regarding steps to graduation, cap and gowns, ceremonies and more.