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Course Selection Approval:

No courses shall be taken without the prior approval of the student's advisor. Each student must prepare a tentative course plan and obtain the approval of his/her advisor and the Graduate Group Chair before the end of the second semester after his/her matriculation. A copy of the course plan will be maintained in the student's file. Any deviations from the course plan must be documented and approved by the Graduate Group Chair.

Obsoleteness:

The Ph.D. program, culminating in a successful defense of the doctorial dissertation, must be completed within a period of 10 years from the year of matriculation as a graduate student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science of the University of Pennsylvania.

PhD Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. requirements include the completion of a minimum of 20 course units of graduate level work beyond the undergraduate program with a grade-point average of at least 3.0, satisfactory performance in the PhD-related exams, presentation of a departmental seminar, completion of the teaching practicum, and the submission and successful defense of an original and significant dissertation. The required 20 course units may include research units (i.e., MEAM 999). The milestones in the PhD program are noted in the PhD Handbook.

PhD Degree Requirements

All doctoral students are required to take the following:

  • Three mathematics courses. The three mathematics courses must be selected from the following: ENM 520, ENM 521,  ENM 600, ENM 601, and ENM 603, AMCS 601, AMCS 602, AMCS 608 and AMCS 609. A student may take any graduate Engineering Mathematics (ENM) course or any graduate course offered by the Math Department with a petition approved by the Graduate Group Chair. It is recommended that ENM 520 and 521 be taken in the first and second semesters as they lay the necessary mathematical foundation for other MEAM/SEAS graduate courses.
  • One course in continuum mechanics (MEAM 530)
  • One in dynamics (MEAM 535)
  • One in transport processes (MEAM 570)
  • Six semesters of the MEAM seminar (MEAM 699)

Note: MEAM 530, 535, and 570 may be taken anytime in the first three years of the Ph.D. program.