Materials Science and Engineering

The next Qualifying Examination for 2019 is scheduled to take place on August 15, 2019 in ELC 202. The morning session will be from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, and the afternoon session will be from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Further information will be posted as the exam date approaches.

Ph.D. students are eligible to sit for the Qualifying Examination after successful completion of the six core courses. The Qualifying Examination will consist of six separate exams that cover the subject matter of the core courses. In the past, the exam has been divided into an open book and notes (morning) session and a closed book and notes (afternoon) session. The examination is typically scheduled to take place in mid-August. Students must communicate their intent to sit for the exam to the Program Director by May 31.

First-year Materials Science Ph.D. students and first-year Materials Science and Engineering M.S. students are advised to register for the designated core courses. Class meetings will be held in ELC 202 on the days and times listed.

MTSI 500 – Materials Seminar (1 cr-h); required for Ph.D. students
Instructor: Dr. Jerry Downey
Home Campus: Montana Tech
Class Meetings: The introductory meeting will be held in ELC 204 at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 30.

MTSI 501 – Materials Bonding, Structure, and Defects (4 cr-h); required for Ph.D. students and for M.S. students in the Materials Science and Engineering Program
Lead Instructor: Dr. Erik Grumstrup
Home Campus: Montana State University
Class Meetings: 10:30 am – 12:20 pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays; ELC 202

MTSI 502 – Function and Applications (3 cr-h) required for Ph.D. students
Lead Instructor: Dr. Monica Serban
Home Campus: The University of Montana
Class Meetings: 9:00 – 9:50 am Monday, Wednesday and Friday

MTSI 511 – Materials Thermodynamics (3 cr-h) required for Ph.D. students and for M.S. students in the Materials Science and Engineering Program
Instructor: Dr. Jerry Downey
Home Campus: Montana Tech
Class Meetings: 8:00 8:50 am; Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; ELC 202

MTSI 512 – Kinetics and Phase Transformations (3 cr-h) required for M.S. and Ph.D. students
Instructor: Dr. Dario Prieto
Home Campus: Montana Technological University
Class Meetings: 9:30 – 10:45 am Tuesday and Thursday

MTSI 551 – Adv. Materials Characterization I (2 cr-h) required for Ph.D. students.
Instructor: Dr. Roberta Amendola
Home Campus: Montana State University
Class Meetings: 9:00 –9:50; Tuesday and Thursday; ELC 202

MTSI 552 – Adv. Materials Characterization II (3 cr-h) required for Ph.D. students.
Instructor: Dr. Robert Walker
Home Campus: Montana State University
Class Meetings: 10:00 –11:00 am Monday and Wednesday

MTSI 689 – Pre-exam Dissertation: students who are engaged in research but have not advanced to candidacy must enroll in the section of MTSI 689 assigned to their advisor. The student should consult with the advisor to determine the appropriate number of credits.

MTSI 690 – Dissertation: Ph.D. candidates who are actively engaged in research must enroll in the section of MTSI 690 assigned to their advisor. The student should consult with the advisor to determine the appropriate number of credits.

After passing the qualifying exam and typically before the start of a student’s third year, the student will take the candidacy examination. By passing this exam, the student demonstrates that he/she is capable of conceiving, planning, and designing an original and creative research project on a topic of importance in the field of Materials Science and effectively communicating the results of the research orally and in writing.

The candidacy exam consists of two parts:

1. a written proposal describing the student’s intended dissertation research
2. an oral defense of the proposal to the student’s doctoral committee

The defense includes an open seminar that is followed by a closed interview/examination conducted by the student’s Committee. The examination can cover a broad range of topics related to the proposed dissertation research.

The outcome of the candidacy exam will be either

1. full pass
2. conditional pass
3. fail

Full pass enables the student to advance to candidacy with no further program requirements remaining other than the dissertation and annual meetings with the committee. A conditional pass will be awarded if the committee feels that the student is lacking knowledge in a specific area that is vital to the proposed research.

The committee may recommend specific requirements for the student to fulfill in order to successfully advance to candidacy. These requirements may include taking (and passing) an additional course; preparing an appendix or response to questions that arose about the proposed research’s viability; and/or reconvening with the committee for a second oral examination.

To earn the Ph.D. degree, the candidate must prepare, present, and defend a dissertation that is based on original and independent research conducted by the student under the guidance of the graduate supervisory committee. The dissertation must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to address a major intellectual problem and to propose meaningful questions and hypothesis through the mastery of research methods, theory, and tools of the discipline. An oral, public defense of the dissertation is required and is scheduled for a minimum of 2 hours. A copy of the dissertation is given to the department and copies are placed in the three participating campus libraries.