V. DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PH.D.)

A. Objectives

Ph.D. students are expected to develop:

• the ability to identify important problems and questions • the ability to formulate logical approaches to solve problems • the ability to critically evaluate your work and the work of others • demonstrable expertise in your area of research • the ability to communicate your ideas in speech and writing • the ability to work productively in collaboration with others

Particularly after the first year of study, students have considerable freedom, and responsibility, to make decisions-- about courses, seminars, independent study, and research-- that advance their professional lives. These decisions require independence, maturity, and intellectual curiosity on the part of the student. Northwestern University provides a fertile environment for scholarship, and students should avail themselves of these extraordinary opportunities for broad intellectual growth:

1. A wide range of classes allow for diverse interests to be developed and nurtured. Students should exploit the expertise readily available in all science and engineering fields.

2. In addition to departmental colloquia and group seminars, students should avail themselves of the wide variety of special seminars and lectures offered in other science and engineering departments, and consider attending group meetings of other research groups. Students should develop and engage in relationships with faculty other than their research advisor.

3. Students’ intellectual lives will be most directly enriched by and reflected in their thesis research projects. Students should not only react to their advisors’ instructions but should actively initiate and articulate their own opinions about research objectives and methods. Ph.D. students work with, not for, their advisors, and must bear an increasingly larger share of the responsibility for the direction of their project over the course of their studies.

4. Thesis research is not merely a degree requirement. It is a unique opportunity to work in depth on a problem at the frontiers of knowledge in an exceptional community of scholars, free from most distractions. This opportunity should be met with total dedication.

5. Ph.D. graduates’ reputations are, and will be, inextricably linked to that of their department and their university. Northwestern’s exemplary reputation reflects the effort and achievement of faculty and students in the past and can only be maintained and enhanced if present and future faculty and students set the highest standards and approach scholarship with a shared and deep commitment to excellence.

B. Requirements for the Degree

The course and distribution requirements for the Ph.D. are listed in sections II and III above. Except that the student must satisfy the course distribution requirements, the student and advisor are given wide latitude in the choice of course work and thesis topic. Students working towards their Ph.D. degrees are expected to maintain a high standard of achievement in their academic programs. This includes, in most cases:

• maintaining a 3.5 GPA in course work, • receiving permission to continue in the Ph.D. program, • passing the qualifying examination within 2 1/4 years (2 3/4 years for students who elect to obtain the thesis M.S. degree first), • completing the 14 course requirement within the first nine quarters of full time registration, and • finishing a satisfactory Ph.D. thesis in less than 5 years.

For students entering with an M.S. degree in chemical engineering, or the equivalent, the time limits for completing the course requirement and the Ph.D. thesis are one year shorter. The limit for the qualifying examination is six (6) quarters of full time registration, and students should complete course requirements in six quarters of full time registration.

The department requires neither comprehensive written examinations nor foreign language proficiency examinations. The formal preparation of each student for doctoral work is evaluated by the faculty on the basis of graduate courses selected and classroom performance.

C. Permission to Continue on a Ph.D. Program

All first year graduate students will be evaluated by the entire faculty in September before the start of their second year to determine whether or not they should continue on for a Ph.D. This applies to all new students no matter when they began their graduate studies. Students will be notified of their status before the start of fall quarter classes. Those students who display the promise of successful completion of the Ph.D. program will be approved to continue. Such approval from the department is required to be in the Ph.D. program. Most decisions will be made at that time, but in some cases the final decision may be deferred until a later date. However, all students must secure approval from the department before the end of their second academic year (normally six full quarters and one summer quarter) at Northwestern.

Students who are denied permission to be in the Ph.D. program may plan to complete a M.S. program. Students who begin their programs with a university or department fellowship or assistantship and are denied continuation must take the M.S. thesis option. Petitions to be reconsidered for Ph.D. continuation may be filed with the department, usually after the completion of the M.S. thesis and with the support of the thesis examination committee. Students whose approval has been deferred (normally for no more than one quarter) will be informed by the department of the action that they should take before their applications are reconsidered. In these cases petitions are not required for reconsideration.

D. Residence Requirements

The minimum time for securing the Ph.D. degree is three academic years (9 quarters of full time, full tuition registration) beyond the B.S. degree. It is expected that at least two of these years will be spent at Northwestern University, that at least one academic year beyond the first will be spent in full time study, and that the research will be pursued and thesis written while in residence. (Modifications of the residence requirements for part time study are discussed in the Graduate School Bulletin.) In general an M.S. degree from another school is considered as equivalent to 3 quarters of full time registration. The residence requirement may be satisfied by registration for 4 units (courses plus 710 590 research) in the fall, winter and spring quarters of the first 3 years of residence (first 2 years for students who enter with the M.S. degree.) Sometimes registration for 4 units of 710 590 in the summer may be advisable. Students should consult their advisers before registration.

E. P/N Option

No Chemical and Biological Engineering Department graduate courses are open to registration under the P/N (Pass No Credit) option, except for 500 level courses (i.e. seminars). Up to three courses completed outside the department with a grade of P may be used to fulfill Ph.D. course requirements. All research registration (710 590) must be graded P/N.

F. Registration

All students who use departmental facilities during any quarter must be registered during that quarter or must be an employee of the University. Full time, full tuition registration is used in the fall, winter, and spring quarters until the residence requirements are fulfilled (see above). Registration for 598 cannot be used to meet the nine quarters of residency requirement, and courses may not be taken using this registration.

Three types of registration with reduced tuition are also available:

890-598 Resident Doctoral Study

This registration is available for students who have completed at least 3 quarters of full time, full tuition registration toward the doctorate but have not yet been admitted to candidacy. It is normally used by Chemical and Biological Engineering students only in the summer quarters if they do not register for 4 units of 710 590. Note that registration in 598 is not permitted for two consecutive terms nor after admission to candidacy has been granted.

890-599 Post Candidacy Research

Following admission to candidacy and completion of residence and course requirements, students who have not yet finished their Ph.D. research must register for 599 for at least 3 quarters. Students in the Ph.D. program should plan to complete the requirements for admission to candidacy so as to be able to register for 890 599, Post Candidacy Research, at the earliest reasonable date. 890-503 Post Candidacy Research

This registration should be used after completion of the required 599 registration for every additional quarter until the completion of the Ph.D. program.

Note: It is possible to satisfy the residency requirement for the Ph.D. degree in less than 3 calendar years (i.e. in 9 consecutive quarters) by registering for a full program of research (590) each summer. Students and their advisors should evaluate the wisdom of such scheduling in each individual case.

G. Thesis (Dissertation) Requirements

The student should obtain a copy of the bulletin Instructions for the Preparation of Dissertations from the Graduate School. All costs of reproduction are the student's responsibility. Two copies of the dissertation are deposited with the Graduate School. One of these will be bound and placed in the University Library. The original and one copy are deposited with the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department and one copy is given to the research advisor. The departmental copy is bound and placed in the departmental thesis library. A total of six copies is consequently required including the original and personal copy for the student. The remaining Graduate School copy is sent to the University Microfilms in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The required transmittal forms are available at the Graduate School. The student is also required to prepare a summary of the dissertation of not more than 600 words. Two copies of the summary, one of which must bear the signature of the advisor, are deposited with the Graduate School along with the two copies of the thesis. This summary will be published in Dissertation Abstracts. A fee is required for the microfilm service and publication of the summary.

The dissertation must be presented to the department before May 1 for June degree candidates and before November 1 for December degree candidates. The date of the final examination is scheduled after receipt of the thesis, and shall be no later than two weeks before the date of Commencement in June or two weeks before the end of the fall quarter. The dissertation, in general, must be in the hands of the examining committee not less than one week prior to the date of the examination.

H. Examinations

The following oral examinations are required of each Ph.D. student.

1. Ph.D. Qualifying Examination A student must pass the qualifying examination to be formally admitted to candidacy for a Ph.D. degree. The purpose of the qualifying examination is to assess (i) whether a student has sufficient technical knowledge to conduct the proposed Ph.D. research; (ii) whether he/she understands the scientific and engineering significance of the proposed research; and (iii) whether he/she has the ability to propose a logical approach for research that has a reasonable chance of success. A student must satisfy the faculty examination committee on all of the three criteria to pass the examination.

The faculty examination committee is made up of a chair, who is the thesis advisor, and at least three additional members, all appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School upon recommendation of the Department chair. One of the members of the committee must be a faculty member outside the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. At least two of the other three members must have an appointment in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. The same committee will conduct all subsequent oral examinations, insofar as possible.

The qualifying examination must be taken within 2 1/4 years of residence for students who enter with B.S. degrees and 1 1/2 years for students who enter with M.S. degrees. If a student elects to obtain the thesis option M.S. degree before continuing on to a Ph.D., he/she must take the qualifying examination by the end of the spring quarter of the third year of residence.

A written research proposal must be submitted to the examination committee at least 10 days prior to the oral examination. The examination is primarily an oral defense of the proposal; however, it is not restricted to the material in the proposal. The committee is free to ask questions on related topics that are deemed important or relevant to the proposed research.

The outcome of the examination is determined by the quality of the written proposal and the oral defense. In the event of satisfactory performance, the student is admitted to candidacy. Unsatisfactory performance is grounds for termination from the program with an M.S. degree, pending completion of degree requirements. The examination committee has the option of identifying specific weaknesses in an unsatisfactory proposal and/or examination, which the student can attempt to rectify by re-submission of the proposal or repeating the oral exam within no more than three months.

A good proposal should be concise and convey all of the following in less than 30 pages (double spaced). (1) The objective(s) of the research what is planned to be accomplished. (2) The significance of the research what impact would the accomplished objective(s) have, assuming that the research is successful as planned. (3) Literature background enough description of prior knowledge for readers to understand what is deficient that makes the proposed work important and useful, and what is known so that the proposed work has a reasonable chance of success. (4) Logical plan of attack in a logical manner, describe foreseen difficulties, options and plans to overcome the difficulties. (5) Brief description of the procedure, which could be theoretical, analytical, computational, or experimental. (6) A brief description of work completed by the student. This may be included under (3) if appropriate, as a separate section, or as an appendix. The proposal should also contain an Abstract and a Table of Contents.

2. Final Examination

After a student has been admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. and after completion of the doctoral dissertation, he/she is required to take a final oral examination or thesis defense. The committee will usually be identical with the Qualifying Examination Committee. This examination must be scheduled no later than two weeks before the date of commencement in June for June degree candidates, or two weeks before the end of the fall quarter in the case of December degree candidates. It must be taken not less than six months nor more than five years after the date of Admission to Candidacy. The student should consult with the Graduate Program Assistant at least three weeks in advance of the examination in order to be sure that all graduate school and departmental forms have been completed, and the examining committee has been reappointed. The scheduling of this examination is the responsibility of the student. The thesis must be in the hands of the committee members at least one week prior to the examination.

I. Presentations

Thesis Committee Meeting

During the winter or spring quarter of the fourth year of residency, graduate students should arrange to present an oral summary of their research progress to their thesis committee. A two-page written summary should be provided to the committee members one week prior to the date of the oral presentation.

Departmental Seminar

All students should give a shared departmental seminar (typically 30 minutes) on their thesis research during the final year of study. Scheduling should be arranged in consultation with the thesis advisor and the colloquium coordinator for the given year.