UAB School of Engineering

Program Objectives

For more than a decade, research-focused centers at UAB and elsewhere have brought together expertise from many disciplines to solve problems. This same problem-solving approach is now finding its way into academic programs through the implementation of interdisciplinary graduate education. It is the premise of these interdisciplinary programs that students must be educated in more than one area to remain competitive and have successful careers whether they choose to stay in academia or work in industry. Industries are particularly interested in graduate education that emphasizes breadth of knowledge as well as depth in a particular field. Today's professional must be able to change, focus, and move between disciplines in order to keep up with rapid market shifts and technological advances.

The Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Engineering takes advantage of unique resources and strengths at UAB. This program fosters interdisciplinary interactions between the School of Engineering and medical and biomedical units and the Schools of Business, Natural Science and Mathematics, and Public Health. Students in Interdisciplinary Engineering will have the opportunity to develop a plan of study and research topic which incorporates course work and faculty expertise from two or more of these disciplines.

The students enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Engineering Ph.D. program will gain the skills needed to succeed as independent and productive investigators in multidisciplinary analysis and design, with applications over a wide spectrum of science, engineering, health, and medical fields. The interdisciplinary program will:

provide a rigorous academic curriculum including course work in two or more disciplines,
provide collaborative interactions with students and faculty from a variety of disciplines,
provide unique opportunities for interdisciplinary research, and
facilitate continued development of high quality research programs supported by external funding.

Two tracks are available in the Interdisciplinary Engineering Ph.D. program - Computational Engineering and Environmental Health Engineering.

Program Requirements

The Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering promotes a research-based curriculum. A minimum number of core courses will be required of all students in the program, with additional course work directed by the student's graduate research committee based on the student's area of interest. Committee members must be selected from at least two different disciplines, and the planned curriculum must result in cross-training in two or more disciplines.

Students entering the Ph.D. program with a baccalaureate degree must, in keeping with UAB Graduate School Policies, complete at least 48 hours of course work prior to admission to candidacy. Up to 16 credits of the 48 can be as non-dissertation research credits, and up to 10 credits can be as lab rotations, seminars or directed study credits. Students entering the Ph.D. program with a Master's degree in a related field, M.D., DMD, etc., must complete at least 27 credit hours of course work prior to candidacy. Up to 6 credits of the 27 can be non-dissertation research credits, and up to 6 credits can be as lab rotations, seminars, or directed study credits.

The UAB Graduate School also requires that students complete at least two semesters as a full time student in candidacy, or accumulate at least 24 credits in research hours or course work in candidacy prior to granting of degree. At least 24 hours of dissertation research will be required for Ph.D. program graduates in Interdisciplinary Engineering.

All students in the IE program must complete the following core courses:

EGR 710, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Engineering, 3 hours
EGR 711, Methodology for Interdisciplinary Research, 3 hours
ME 792, Interdisciplinary Engineering Seminar - continuous enrollment

A Comprehensive Exam is required of all doctoral candidates. The exam may include both written and oral components, and will include presentation of the student's dissertation proposal. The exam will be administered by the student's graduate research committee. Upon successful completion of the Qualifying Exam, and completion of at least 48 hours of course work (in keeping with graduate school requirements), a student is admitted into doctoral candidacy.

A dissertation showing ability to conduct independent research, organizational, and presentation skills must be prepared on a topic in the research field of interest. Dissertation results are expected to be submitted for refereed scholarly publication. The dissertation must comply with UAB dissertation preparation guidelines. When the dissertation has been completed, doctoral candidates will present and defend their work before their graduate research committee and the public. This defense will constitute the candidate's final exam. The results of the examination must be reported to the Office of the Graduate School at least six weeks before the commencement at which the degree is to be conferred.

Program Admissions Requirements

Students applying to the Interdisciplinary Engineering Ph.D. program have completed an undergraduate degree in a supporting field, and must submit official transcripts and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores with their application. In general, a combined GRE score of at least 1100 (verbal and quantitative) and a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3 on a 4 point scale are required for admission. Students for whom English is a second language should have a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score no less than 550 (100 on new Internet Based IBT TOEFL). The Interdisciplinary Engineering Admissions Committee reviews all applications completed and submitted and will make all admission decisions.

Program Resources

High Performance Computing (HPC), High Fidelity Simulations (HFS), Tera/Penta-scale data mining/management/analysis, image processing, feature extraction, pattern recognition, and geometry reconstruction are the key enabling technologies in addressing 21^st century science and engineering problems.

These technologies are necessary for the development of cross-cutting toolkits to enhance research and development in interacting biological, chemical, medical, physical, business and finance and engineering phenomena associated with interdisciplinary engineering research.

In response to this need, UAB has made a strategic investment in establishing an Enabling Technology Laboratory (ETLab). The ETLab provides software and hardware infrastructure and support for high- performance parallel and distributed computing, numerical tools, information technology-based computing environments, and computational simulation to UAB and Southern Research Institute (SRI) researchers. In collaboration with UAB interdisciplinary investigators, the ETLab has established 6.0+ Teraflops high performance computing clusters, including a recently added IBM Blue gene with 2048 processors and visualization infrastructure with stereoscopic and high resolution large displays. Both hardware and software essential for interdisciplinary engineering research can be fully supported by this equipment.

A 3D laser scanner necessary for full three-dimensional modeling and reconstruction has been acquired by a collaborative team including faculty from the Schools of Engineering and Medicine. Access to this and other equipment, as well as clinical data available in the Radiology, Orthopedic, and Surgery departments and the School of Dentistry will be available to the students and interdisciplinary teams of faculty members participating in the interdisciplinary engineering program. These teams have already been collaborating on several sponsored and un-sponsored research programs in both computational engineering and environmental health engineering tracks.

Additional equipment to facilitate engineering research is available to Interdisciplinary Engineering students through the laboratories of the Departments of Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Civil, Construction, & Environmental Engineering. Additional equipment is available to students through participating faculty from other Schools across campus.

Program Tracks

Computational Engineering
Environmental Health Engineering

Applying to the Program

Information regarding formal admission to the UAB Graduate School and application materials can be found at the Graduate School website.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering will receive your application after all required documents have been received and approved by the Graduate School. Department faculty evaluates each application for admission as well as financial assistance.

If You Are Applying For:	Submit Application By:
Fall	July 1
Spring	November 1
Summer	April 1

General Admission Requirements
Apply for Graduate School Online

For additional information, contact:

Dr. David Littlefield
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
dll@uab.edu
(205) 975-5882