This Ph.D. program is one of the most successful programs in the nation. The majority of students are supported by their own companies, by faculty research grants or by the department through teaching assistant fellowships. The latter option is specifically tailored to students interested in obtaining a faculty position after graduation.
Degree Requirements: The Lyle School of Engineering requires for a Ph.D. degree a minimum academic credit of 54 credit hours earned in coursework beyond the baccalaureate degree or 24 credit hours earned in coursework beyond a master’s degree, in addition to 24 credit hours earned in dissertation work.
In addition to meeting the Lyle School of Engineering requirements for the Ph.D. degree, candidates are required to satisfy the following:

The successful completion of eight graduate-level courses (24 credit hours) beyond the master’s degree.
Core course requirement: All incoming Ph.D. students will be required to complete a core course requirement within the first two terms of admission to the Ph.D. program.
Students must take both core courses for their major area and select one core course from two of the remaining topic areas for a total of four core courses. Students who have completed all or a portion of the core course requirement at SMU prior to admission to the Ph.D. program (e.g., as part of an M.S. degree plan) are only required to fulfill the remainder of the core course requirements. Deviations from the core course requirement due to limitations of course offerings must be approved by the supervisory committee and the department chair within the first two terms of study toward the Ph.D. degree.

Direct Admission into the Ph.D. Program
The Mechanical Engineering Department offers direct admission into its doctoral program for outstanding students with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. This special “fast-track” program allows a student to apply up to 18 credit hours from the coursework hours requirement to the dissertation hours requirement, while retaining the 78 credit hours required past the Bachelor’s degree. The minimum number of dissertation hours remains at 24 credit hours. A student admitted into this “fast-track” program must successfully complete a minimum of 36 credit hours of coursework and a minimum of 24 credit hours of dissertation with the total coursework and dissertation hours reaching a minimum of 78 credit hours. The expected program of study for most students in this track is 36 credit hours of coursework and 42 credit hours of dissertation. A minimum of 36 credit hours of the coursework must be from regularly scheduled, graduate-level courses, and cannot be one-on-one, directed study type courses. Additionally, students must satisfy the core course requirement for the Ph.D. degree.
Preliminary Exam: Students who obtain a cumulative GPA of less than 3.50 in the core courses will be required to take and pass a written preliminary exam. This written exam will consist of three parts, individualized for each student and covering the two major courses and the minor course with the lower grade. The Preliminary Exam will not cover any Mathematics courses since a grade of B+ or better is required for a Math course to count as a minor core course.
Qualifying Exam (QE): All Ph.D. students will be required to pass a qualifying exam consisting of written and oral components. The exam must be completed within 18 months of completion of all required coursework for the degree.
Dissertation: All Ph.D. students will be required to complete and successfully defend a dissertation. The dissertation must be original and of a scholarly level and must have the potential of being published in a leading technical journal in the field of interest.