Milestones
Form a Graduate Advisory Committee
During your graduate work in the Ph.D. in Engineering Education program, a Graduate Advisory Committee will assist you in preparing your Plan of Study, and will offer guidance on your research and thesis preparation. Your advisory committee will be chaired by your major professor. A minimum of three members will be Purdue School of Engineering Education (ENE) faculty. You'll explore options for an advisor and advisory committee during your first semester, with final student-advisor matching to occur (typically) in November. During your second semester, you will discuss your progress and expectations with your advisor or other mentors (faculty, staff, peers), and seek formative and constructive feedback.
Draft a Plan of Study
Your Plan of Study should reflect your minimum degree requirements; only grades of B- or better; no more than 12 total credit hours earned in post-baccalaureate, post-degree, teacher license, or graduate certificate status; up to 6 credit hours of ENE 590; and up to 3 credits from 300- or 400-level courses. Creating it is a two-part process. First, you will use a template to develop a preliminary plan during your first semester that prepares you for consultations with your major professor and advisory committee. They will use it to provide guidance on courses and other kinds of professional development experiences that will allow you to develop the ten ENE competencies and prepare you for the Preliminary and Final Thesis Exams. Second, you will develop a formal plan during your second semester, which you will submit to the Purdue Graduate School by the end of your third semester. You must have an approved Plan of Study on file to be considered a candidate for graduation.
Develop a Professional Competency Portfolio
You will develop a Professional Competency Portfolio to demonstrate your ability to synthesize, create and communicate knowledge; think critically and reflectively; apply Engineering Education principles to the solution of instructional or curricular problems; function as an engineer; engage in professional development; participate actively in a professional community of practice; explain and critique education policy; and teach engineering. Opportunities for developing materials to demonstrate competencies will occur in coursework and other settings. Competencies gained through prior education and/or experience can also be applied to the requirements, with appropriate documentation in the portfolio. As part of the work, you will engage with Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) considerations as a central, unavoidable, and necessary component of your professional work, and will seek out opportunities to advance social justice in your field of activity through action towards JEDI-related initiatives and in counteraction to JEDI-related inequities. You'll initiate your portfolio as an assignment during an ENE 59500 course during your first semester.
Pass a Preliminary Examination
The Preliminary Examination is a written and oral defense of your dissertation proposal and is taken after approval of your Plan of Study. Its primary purpose is review and approval of your thesis research proposal and your admission to candidacy for the PhD. Successful passage of the Preliminary Exam constitutes “Admission to Candidacy” (Ph.C.). After admission to candidacy, you must devote at least two semesters to research before taking the final examination.
In consultation with your advisory committee, you will identify a topic area for a dissertation research project proposal, then develop a proposal that provides, for example: (a) relevant background literature sufficient to motivate the proposed study, (b) a description of the hypotheses to be tested or the issues to be investigated, (c) details of the research design and methodology sufficient to judge feasibility, and (d) proposed methods of data analysis. Your advisory committee will agree on a group of doctoral committee members whose expertise and affiliation fulfill departmental and university guidelines. Faculty from this group will provide individual feedback to you, and review your draft as a committee during an oral defense. At the defense, you will provide an overview that includes a clear understanding of the research problem, an awareness of pertinent background literature and current efforts, and a reasoned plan for answering the research question. Committee questions and feedback are expected regarding the logic of the study, issues of design and data analysis, and any concerns about the feasibility or acceptability of the project. This feedback may require you to respond and rewrite your plan.
Pass a Final (Thesis) Examination
The special research you conduct as part of your doctoral work is expected to make a clearly articulated contribution to your chosen field of knowledge—a contribution of sufficient importance to merit publication. You must, therefore, prepare for and pass a Final (Thesis) Examination to show the results of your research. The completed thesis research is reported in a written dissertation thesis document and orally defended before the doctoral committee and other interested members of the Purdue faculty and study body. On the basis of the written document and the oral defense of it, the doctoral committee awards the Ph.D. or specifies the steps that you need to take to address issues preventing successful completion of the degree.
In consultation with your advisor, you will develop a plan to prepare a thesis 6-to-12 months in advance of your actual graduation date, then work with the chair of the doctoral committee and in consultation with other members of the committee as appropriate to write it. At the oral defense, you will provide an overview and answer questions from committee members about the project’s goals, issues of design and data analysis, and matters of interpretation. It is presumed that committee discussion at the orals will result in the need for additional minor revisions and clarifications in the final document. In the event that major revisions are requested, you are allowed one revision cycle to address the concerns of the committee and, upon completion of the final changes, a vote is taken if still necessary. If the examination is unsatisfactory, at least one semester or summer session must elapse before the Final Examn is repeated.
Updated November 24, 2024