DOCTORAL DEGREE

Students who were admitted into a doctoral program by the Department of Ocean Engineering, including Ocean Engineering (OE), Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NAME), Oceanographic Engineering (13W), and Ocean Systems Management (13B), prior to January 1, 2005, when the Department of Ocean Engineering merged with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, have the option to follow the original requirements of the program, which are set forth in the following pages.

The following requirements have been written with the underlying philosophy that (a) the doctoral candidate has displayed, early in his or her graduate education, a strong background in the fundamentals of the appropriate field; (b) prior to the commencement of the student's thesis research, he or she has attained an extensive in-depth competence in the field of specialty; and (c) it is in the best interest of both the student and the Institute that this program be completed without undue delay.

Special cases will inevitably arise that, while being consistent with the above philosophy, are not permitted under the departmental requirements; in such cases, the student should consult first with his/her faculty advisor who, with the consent of the area faculty, may allow exceptions to the following regulations. In addition, the Institute requirements for doctoral degrees are outlined by the Graduate Student’s Office: http://web.mit.edu/gso/gpp/index.html .  

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

An acceptable program of subjects normally includes 132 units, exclusive of thesis and special problems subjects 13.710-13.729 (consideration will be given for prior graduate work in related fields.) 

There is no specific language requirement, but, as stated in the Institute requirements for the doctorate, candidates are encouraged to possess foreign language abilities.

TEACHING REQUIREMENT  

The Department requires that candidates for the doctoral degree obtain some experience in teaching. This requirement can be met in a number of possible ways: a. Holding a Graduate Student Staff appointment involving classroom, laboratory, or project instruction. b. Enrollment in a Special Problems course in Ocean Engineering with a selected topic involving teaching. c. Voluntary assistance of groups of undergraduates or SM students in laboratory experimentation, automatic computation, or other areas of instruction. Such assistance must be planned and approved at the beginning of a term by a faculty member.  

THESIS SUPERVISOR  

At some point in the second or third year, the student must become associated with a thesis supervisor. In many cases, this will be the student's previous faculty advisor, but during the second and third years of residence, changes may occur in the interests of the student or the advisor or in the research support available for assistantships. The choice of thesis supervisor is an important one, and students who have completed the Part I General Examination are encouraged to talk to several faculty members within the Department and, if appropriate, in other departments before reaching a decision.  

ESTABLISHMENT OF THESIS COMMITTEE & PART II EXAMINATION COMMITTEE  

The student, his/her thesis supervisor and the Department Head are responsible for initiating the establishment of a Thesis Committee and a Part II General Examination Committee. The functions of these two groups are distinct, but some overlapping may exist between them. They should be formed and function at approximately the same time. A request for the formation of a Part II Examination Committee must be submitted to the Department Head for approval. A thesis proposal (see below) endorsed by the student's thesis supervisor, should be submitted at the same time as this request.  Thesis Committee shall be composed of the thesis supervisor and two or more additional interested faculty, approved by the Department Head, and for 13W students, by the JCAOSE chairman. If the thesis supervisor is on the faculty of another department, the membership of the committee shall be subject to the approval of the Department Head, and at least one member of the committee must be from the Department of Ocean Engineering. For 13W degrees, at least one member of the WHOI staff will be on the thesis committee.  1. Review the student's academic program and suggest changes or additions to this program  2. Review periodic drafts of the student’s research  3. Approve of written reports of progress by the candidate  4. Administer a preliminary exam  5. Approve of the final written thesis  6. Administer the final oral thesis defense  Part II General Examination Committee Appointed by the Department Head in consultation with the thesis supervisor. As a rule, this committee will include the thesis supervisor, one or more other faculty members in the student's area of specialty, and one or more faculty members from other areas of the Department. For the 13W degrees at least one member of the WHOI staff will be on the examining committee. The examining committee chairman will be designated by the Department Head and, for 13W students, by the JCAOSE chairman.  1. Review the student's academic program and suggest changes or additions to this program  2. Administer the Part II General Examination  3. Report to the Department faculty on the candidate's performance on the Part II General Examination  4. Report to the Department faculty on the student's satisfactory completion of the teaching requirement Note: 13W students must obtain the approval of the MIT/WHOI Joint Committee for Applied Ocean Science and Engineering for their examination committee.  

THESIS PROPOSAL  

The thesis proposal should describe the approach and aims of the research proposed by the candidate. It will give the parameters of the student’s research and a preview of their thesis. The candidate will be examined on the proposal by the examination committee after its submission and circulation. A copy of the approved thesis proposal, signed by the chairperson and members of the committee, must also be submitted by the candidate to the Student Administration Office, and, for 13W students, to the WHOI Education Office.

PROGRAM OF SUBJECTS  

Following satisfactory completion of the Part I General Examinations, the students are expected to focus their studies progressively toward the ultimate field of specialization and thesis work. As soon as possible, the candidate should submit a program of subjects to their thesis supervisor. An acceptable program of subjects should include:  a) A list of graduate subjects in the general area of specialization. This list should include the number, name, total units, and term of all subjects taken and to be taken. The grade received should also be indicated for subjects already completed. The phrase "in the general area of specialization" should be interpreted broadly. For example, subjects in applied mathematics should generally be included in this category.  b) A list of graduate subjects not in the general area of specialization. The format for this list should be the same as for (a) above. An acceptable program of subjects would normally include 132 subjects units, exclusive of thesis and special problems (13.710-13.729).  The division of subjects between (a) and (b) above is somewhat arbitrary. There should be enough subjects under (a) to provide adequate preparation for the Part II General Examination and for the thesis, and there should be enough subjects under (b) to provide some diversification in the study program. Once submitted, the program of subjects should be approved by the thesis supervisor in conjunction with the thesis committee.  

GENERAL EXAMINATION - PART II  

This examination is intended to cover the specialized area of the student's study and research, as well as, the broader implications and applications (including design synthesis) of this specialty to the fields of ocean engineering, naval architecture and marine engineering, oceanographic engineering, or ocean systems management.  The Part II General Examination should be completed within two (2) years of passing Part I of the General Examination; the student must be registered as a full-time graduate student. Students who have passed the Part I General Examination may register for doctoral thesis. However, students who are candidates for Masters or Engineers degrees must complete the thesis required for those degrees prior to starting doctoral thesis registration. Students who do not complete the Part II examination on time may expect to receive an unsatisfactory (U) grade for their Doctoral thesis work. If this deadline cannot be met, the student must petition the Departmental Faculty in order to be allowed to take the exam at a later date.  The student will be examined on the following:  (a) at least two advanced papers in the general area of the student's proposed research selected by the members of the Part II Committee;  (b) the student's thesis proposal. The Department faculty as a whole will then approve or disapprove the candidate for further progress toward the doctoral degree. Students should be aware that the faculty does not normally meet from June-August.  

THESIS  

Doctoral research may be undertaken in any of the professional areas of interest to this Department. The essential elements of the Departmental requirements concerning doctoral theses are as follows: A thesis committee chaired by the thesis supervisor; Periodic written reports of progress by the candidate; Preliminary examination by this committee; Final written thesis report; and Final oral thesis defense.  

PROGRESS REPORTS  

As work on the thesis proceeds, each candidate is expected to provide regular progress reports to the thesis committee and should meet at least once per term with the thesis committee to discuss progress.  

PRELIMINARY THESIS EXAMINATION BY THE THESIS COMMITTEE  

Upon completion of the thesis research and the writing of the first smooth draft of the thesis, but before final publication of the thesis, copies of the thesis should be made available to the thesis committee by the candidate. The candidate should then arrange with the committee a time and place for a preliminary thesis examination, at which time the thesis committee will decide whether or not the candidate may proceed with the thesis defense.  ORAL THESIS DEFENSE  The oral thesis defense should be scheduled shortly after completion of the Institute and Departmental requirements for thesis preparation. Each candidate must arrange a time that is satisfactory to the thesis committee, to the Department Graduate Committee, and to the Department Head. It should be noted that the month of August is usually not suitable due to faculty vacations. Sufficient notice of time and place of the thesis defense should be given so that all interested members of the faculty may have the opportunity to review the completed written thesis report and to participate in the oral examination of the candidate. Notices must be distributed to all Department faculty and interested parties at least ten days in advance of the defense, and for 13W students, three weeks, and two copies of the thesis should be handed in to Headquarters, Room 5-228, at least seven (7) days in advance of the thesis defense for those who may be interested. In addition, for 13W students, 2 copies of the thesis must be handed in to the WHOI Education Office three weeks prior to the defense. Seven (7) faculty members must be present at the thesis defense and its evaluation. The thesis defense must be completed within five (5) years of registering in the Department as a full-time graduate student. Students may petition the Department Head and for 13W students, the JCAOSE if they are not able to comply with this requirement.

NOTE: MIT's policy is that no grade will be submitted to the Registrar's Office until a completed/signed thesis has been turned in.  

THESIS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN'S RESPONSIBILITIES WITH REGARD TO THESIS DEFENSE  

The Thesis Committee Chairman will act as Chairman of the oral thesis defense meeting. The Chairman will instruct the candidate as to the format and formalities of the defense process. For 13W students, the thesis committee chair must be a member of the MIT faculty or WHOI scientific staff who is not a member of the thesis committee, but is familiar with the student research field. The thesis defense also must satisfy the general Ocean Engineering requirement in terms of faculty/staff attendance, with a minimum of 7 must be present and vote at the defense. A tightly organized defense that clearly identifies the main findings and the most serious shortcomings is also a mark of professional maturity and is expected of the candidate.