OBJECTIVES
STRUCTURE & REQUIREMENTS
STUDY PLAN
OBJECTIVES
The Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) of the Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering program are to produce graduates who will be able to:
- Synthesize scientific and technical aerospace engineering knowledge to identify, formulate and solve research challenges, and effectively disseminate the results to a variety of audiences.
- Work across multiple disciplines and develop their individual academic, professional and career focus.
- Keep abreast of the latest advances in aerospace science and engineering that contribute to the advancement of knowledge for the benefit of society.
STRUCTURE & REQUIREMENTS
Candidates with a Master’s Degree
The Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (AERO) program (for Candidates with a Master’s Degree) consists of a minimum of 60 credit hours. The required program credits are distributed as follows: 3 credits of Program Core courses, 21 credits of Program Elective courses, 36 credits for a PhD Research Dissertation and two zero-credit PhD Research Seminar courses. The table below presents a summary of the Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering program structure and requirements. All the Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering program courses, with the exception of the Seminar in Research Methods and the PhD Research Dissertation, have a credit rating of three credits each.
Summary of Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Degree Program Structure and Requirements (for Candidates with a Master’s Degree)
Category
|
Credits Required
|
Program Core
|
3
|
Program Electives
|
21
|
AERO 703 PhD Research Seminar I
|
0
|
AERO 704 PhD Research Seminar II
|
0
|
AERO 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam
|
0
|
AERO 796 PhD Research Proposal Exam
|
0
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
36
|
Total
|
60
|
Candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree
Summary of Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Degree Program Structure and Requirements (for Candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree)
Category
|
Credits Required
|
Program Core
|
12
|
Program Electives
|
24
|
AERO 703 PhD Research Seminar I
|
0
|
AERO 704 PhD Research Seminar II
|
0
|
AERO 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam
|
0
|
AERO 796 PhD Research Proposal Exam
|
0
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
36
|
Total
|
72
|
Criteria for Admission
Applicants for the Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Degree Program must satisfy Khalifa University (KU) general graduate admission requirements as well as program specific requirements. The general requirements are available on KU webpage through the link below. Requirements are also detailed under the full admission requirements below.
/postgraduate-admissions
STUDY PLAN
Schedule of Delivery (Study Plans)
Typical Study Plans for Students with MSc
Typical study plans for full-time and part-time students enrolled in the PhD in Aerospace Engineering program admitted with MSc qualification are shown in the following table. Each student must select the technical elective courses in consultation with her/his advisor.
Typical Study Plan for Full-Time Students
|
|
Semester 1
|
Semester 2
|
Year 1
|
ENGR 701 Research Methods in Engineering
Technical Elective 1
Technical Elective 2
|
Technical Elective 3
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
AERO 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam (WQE)
|
Year 2
|
Technical Elective 4
Technical Elective 5
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
Technical Elective 6
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
AERO 796 PhD Research Proposal Examination (RPE)
|
Year 3
|
Technical Elective 7
AERO 703 PhD Research Seminar I
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 704 PhD Research Seminar II
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
Year 4
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
PhD Research Dissertation Examination
|
Typical Study Plan for Part-Time Students
|
|
Semester 1
|
Semester 2
|
Year 1
|
ENGR 701 Research Methods in Engineering
Technical Elective 1
|
Technical Elective 2
Technical Elective 3
|
Year 2
|
Technical Elective 4
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
AERO 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam (WQE)
|
Year 3
|
Technical Elective 5
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
AERO 796 PhD Research Proposal Examination (RPE)
|
Year 4
|
Technical Elective 6
AERO 703 PhD Research Seminar I
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
Technical Elective 7
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
Year 5
|
AERO 704 PhD Research Seminar II
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
Year 6
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
PhD Research Dissertation Examination
|
Typical Study Plan for Students with only BSc
Typical Study Plan for Direct BSc to PhD admitted students
Typical Study Plan for Full-Time Students
|
|
Semester 1
|
Semester 2
|
Year 1
|
ENGR 701 Research Methods in Eng.
Core Course 1
Core Course 2
Core Course 3
|
Technical Elective 1
Technical Elective 2
Technical Elective 3
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
Year 2
|
Technical Elective 4
Technical Elective 5
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
AERO 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam
|
Year 3
|
Technical Elective 6
AERO 703 PhD Research Seminar I
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
Technical Elective 7
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
AERO 796 PhD Research Proposal Exam
|
Year 4
|
Technical Elective 8
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 704 PhD Research Seminar II
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
Year 5
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation
Final Doctoral Dissertation Exam
|
All courses in the study plan are 3 credit hours each. PhD Research Seminar I & II are zero credit each.
Core and Elective Course
Program Core Courses:ÌýStudents must complete the core courses listed below.
Code
|
Title
|
Cr.
|
ENGR 701
|
Research Methods in Engineering
|
3
|
ENGR 703
|
PhD Research Seminar I
|
0
|
ENGR 704
|
PhD Research Seminar II
|
0
|
AERO 795
|
PhD Written Qualifying Examination
|
0
|
AERO 796
|
PhD Research Proposal Examination
|
0
|
In addition, students with BSc degree must complete three courses from the following list:
Code
|
Title
|
Cr.
|
AERO 781
|
Advanced Aerodynamics
|
3
|
AERO 782
|
Advanced Aerospace Materials & Structures
|
3
|
AERO 783
|
Advanced Flight Mechanics
|
3
|
AERO 784
|
Advanced Space Systems Engineering
|
3
|
Program Electives Courses
Students with MSc degree must complete a minimum of 21 credit hours, while students with BSc degree must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of technical elective courses from the Aerospace (AERO) Engineering Department’s approved list of doctoral-level electives. However, a maximum of 6 credit-hours doctoral level courses from other engineering disciplines can be taken to fulfill the requirement of the technical electives. This is subject to the approval of the student’s advisor/s and the graduate studies committee. At least two of these electives (6 credit hours) must be approved PhD level courses with a substantial mathematical component. The approved doctoral level technical electives 3 credit hours courses are:
AERO 701
|
Nonlinear Structural Dynamics
|
AERO 702
|
Advanced Composite Materials and Structures
|
AERO 703
|
Numerical Methods in Aerofluids
|
AERO 711/ MEEN 701
|
Fracture Mechanics and Fatigue
|
AERO 712/ MEEN 702
|
Damage Mechanics of Solis and Structures
|
AERO/ MEEN 723
|
Advanced Combustion
|
AERO/ MEEN 761
|
Advanced Process Dynamics and Control
|
AERO/ MEEN 764
|
Optimal Control
|
AERO 765
|
Advanced Orbit Design for Planetary Missions
|
AERO 722
|
Theories of Plates and Shells
|
AERO 777
|
Aeroelasticity and Flight Loads
|
AERO 771
|
Engineering Sustainability in Aerospace Systems
|
AERO 794Ìý
|
Selected Topics in Aerospace Engineering
|
PhD in Aerospace Engineering Dissertation
- AERO 799 PhD Research Dissertation (36 credit hours)
The PhD in Aerospace Engineering program requires the students to complete a minimum of 36 credit hours of PhD Research Dissertation that involves novel, creative, research-oriented work under the direct supervision of a full-time faculty advisor from the Aerospace Engineering Department at Khalifa University, and at least one other full-time faculty who acts as a co-advisor. The outcome of research should demonstrate the synthesis of information into knowledge in a form that may be used by others. The research findings must be documented in a formal Dissertation and defended successfully in a viva voce examination. Furthermore, the research must lead to publishable quality scholarly journal articles.
- AERO 795 Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) (0 credit hours)
The primary objective of the Written Qualifying Exam (WQE) is to ensure that students pursuing a doctoral degree in Aerospace Engineering have a graduate-level understanding of the undergraduate fundamentals of Aerospace Engineering. The PhD WQE evaluates a student’s understanding of the fundamental principles and her/his ability to apply them to solve problems in three topical exam areas. ÌýThe syllabi for the topical exam areas are taken from the Aerospace Engineering undergraduate core courses in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Khalifa University. The list of topical exam areas for the PhD in Aerospace Engineering and their corresponding undergraduate courses are given below.
- Aerospace Materials & Manufacturing
- Mechanics of Solids & Structures
- Dynamics & Control
- Aerodynamics
- Thermodynamics & Propulsion
- Astronautics
- Engineering Mathematics
- AERO 796 PhD Research Proposal Examination (RPE)(0 credit hours)
In addition to satisfying the taught courses and WQE requirements of the Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering program, the student is required to prepare and submit a research proposal and to pass the oral RPE before being allowed to progress further in the program
Mapping of Program Learning Outcomes to Level-10 Descriptors of QFEmirates
The following table shows the mapping of the Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering program learning outcomes to the Level-10 (PhD’s Level) Descriptors of QFEmirates.
Mapping of Program Learning Outcomes (±Ê³¢°¿â€™s) to Level-10 Descriptors of QFEmirates
QF EMIRATES LEVEL 10 DESCRIPTORS
|
PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
(±Ê³¢°¿â€™s)
|
KNOW
LEDGE
|
SKILLS
|
ASPECTS OF
COMPETENCE
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
Ìý
|
KNOWLEDGE
|
|
|
K1
|
comprehensive, deep and overarching knowledge at the frontier of a professional field of work or discipline and at the interface between different fields or disciplines
|
x
|
x
|
|
|
|
|
|
K2
|
new knowledge, as judged by independent experts applying international standards, created through research or scholarship, that contributes to the development of a field of work or discipline
|
|
x
|
x
|
|
|
|
|
|
SKILLS
|
|
|
S1
|
a range of mastered skills and techniques, including synthesis, evaluation, planning and reflection, required to extend and redefine existing knowledge or professional practice or to produce original knowledge
|
|
|
x
|
x
|
|
|
|
S2
|
advanced skills in developing innovative solutions to critical problems in research using highly developed cognitive and creative expert skills and intellectual independence
|
|
|
x
|
x
|
|
|
|
S3
|
highly developed expert communication and information technology skills to present, explain and/or critique highly complex and diverse matters to specialist academic, peer specialists/experts and/or professional audiences
|
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
|
|
Ìý
|
ASPECTS OF COMPETENCE
[Autonomy & Responsibility]
|
|
|
C1
|
can act with substantial authority, creativity, autonomy, independence, scholarly and professional integrity in a sustained commitment to the development of new ideas or processes or systems in challenging and novel work or learning contexts
|
|
|
|
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
C2
|
can account for overall governance of processes and systems
|
|
|
|
|
|
x
|
|
C3
|
can lead action to build and transform sociocultural norms and relationships
|
|
|
|
|
|
x
|
x
|
Ìý
|
ASPECTS OF COMPETENCE
[Role in Context]
|
|
|
C4
|
can originate and manage complex professional processes
|
|
|
|
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
C5
|
can lead and take full responsibility for the development and strategic deployment of professional teams and self
|
|
|
|
|
|
x
|
x
|
C6
|
can initiate and deploy qualities associated with professional leadership of peer groups and teams
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ìý
|
ASPECTS OF COMPETENCE
[Self-Development]
|
|
|
C7
|
can analyze and critique the state of learning in a specialized field and contribute to its advancement
|
|
x
|
|
|
x
|
|
x
|
C8
|
can self-evaluate and lead contributions to professional knowledge, ethics and practice including in unfamiliar and unpredictable learning contexts
|
|
x
|
|
x
|
|
x
|
x
|
C9
|
can consistently and sensitively manage highly complex and diverse ethical issues leading to informed, fair and valid judgements
|
|
|
|
|
|
x
|
x
|
Teaching and Learning Methods
Various teaching and learning methods will be used to deliver the Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering. Depending on the nature of the course and the associated learning outcomes, the teaching and learning methods include lectures, class discussions, hands-on projects, research projects, coursework, and use of some software tools such as Python, R and MATLAB.
Assessment Methods
A variety of methods are used to assess the performance of the students. Depending on the nature of the course and the associated learning outcomes, the assessment may include quizzes, examinations, assignments, projects, case studies, and presentations. The syllabus of each courses details the assessment methods that will be used and the weight for each component.