Program Overview

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Doctor of Philosophy in the Field of Systems Engineering (STEM, On-Campus)

Overview

The systems engineering program provides a broad knowledge of the "systems approach" for designing and managing large-scale engineering systems throughout the life cycle, with faculty and students exploring case studies and methodologies from NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. corporations.

Graduate students can pursue their degrees in one of two focus areas: operations research and management science or systems engineering and integration.

The doctoral program is individually tailored for each student. It is designed to provide students with the ability to perform substantive research in their areas of choice. Students benefit from working closely with faculty members whose applications research has been successfully used by major organizations.

GW's graduate-level systems engineering programs are offered at the University's campus in Arlington, VA. They are also offered on-site at U.S. corporate offices and facilities.

This is a STEM designated program.

Admissions

The admission requirements below are for the on-campus program. Admission requirements for the online program are available separately.

• Admission deadlines:
  • Fall – January 15
  • Spring – September 1
  • Summer* – March 1 (non-F1 visa seeking applicants)
• Standardized test scores:
  • The GRE General Test is optional for all applicants. For applicants who want to submit scores, they must be submitted officially from ETS using the institutional code 5246.
  • The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or the PTE Academic is required of all applicants except those who hold a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from a college or university in the United States or from an institution located in a country in which English is the official language, provided English was the language of instruction.
  • Minimum scores:
    • Academic IELTS: an overall band score of 7.0 with no individual score below 6.5
    • TOEFL: 600 on paper-based or 100 on Internet-based
    • PTE Academic: 68
• Recommendations required: Three (3) recommendations required. If possible, one recommendation should be from your advisor at the institution from which you earned your highest degree.
• Prior academic records: Transcripts are required from all colleges and universities attended, whether or not credit was earned, the program was completed, or the credit appears as transfer credit on another transcript. Unofficial transcripts from all colleges and universities attended must be uploaded to your online application. Official transcripts are required only of applicants who are offered admission.
• Statement of purpose: Please write a comprehensive essay of 400 to 600 words, indicating your primary and supporting fields of study, your specialized interests, and the general subject area of your planned dissertation or professional project.
• Additional requirements:
  • Applicants whose highest earned degree is a master’s degree should have a grade-point average of at least 3.5.
  • Applicants without a master's degree must have a bachelor's degree with a GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.
  • All applicants should choose an area of focus that most closely matches their interests and note this on the online application.
  • All applicants must submit a resumé or CV.
  • Applicants to the doctoral program should identify one to three faculty members whose research interests most closely match their own and note this on the online application.

Requirements

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

• Credit requirements:
  • Students with a master of science degree must take a minimum of 30 credits, including at least 18 credits in coursework and at least 12 credits in EMSE 8999 Dissertation Research.
  • Students entering the program with degrees beyond a bachelor’s degree but without a relevant master’s degree can be required to take additional coursework beyond the required minimum of 18 credits.
  • Students entering the program with a bachelor’s degree (direct admits) must take a minimum of 54 credits, including at least 24 credits in coursework, at least 12 credits in EMSE 8999 Dissertation Research, and an additional 18 credits in either coursework and/or dissertation research.
• Course List:
  • Required courses:
    • EMSE 6765: Data Analysis for Engineers and Scientists
    • EMSE 8000: Research Formulation in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
    • EMSE 8001: Research Methods for Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
  • Electives: The remaining credits required for the degree are selected in consultation with the academic advisor.
  • Research: EMSE 8999: Dissertation Research (taken for a total of 18 credits)
• Additional requirements:
  1. To advance to the research phase, at the completion of their coursework students must have achieved a minimum GPA of 3.4 with no grade below B.
  2. Coursework must be finished within three years (five years for direct admits) of the start of the PhD program.
  3. Within three years of the start of the program (five years for direct admits), students must attempt the doctoral qualifying examination; they have a maximum of two attempts to pass the exam.
  4. Within five years of the start of the program (seven years for direct admits), students must complete their research proposal and successfully defend it before a committee of three members, at least two of which must be from the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering (EMSE).
  5. Within seven years of the start of their PhD program (nine years for direct admits), students must complete their research dissertation and successfully defend it to a committee of five members, at least three of which must be from the EMSE Department and one must be from outside the department.

Preliminary/Qualifying Examinations

The qualifying examination is the principal means of determining whether a student qualifies as a candidate for the doctoral degree and progresses to the second stage of the program. Its purpose is to ascertain whether the student's background and intellectual development are adequate to support doctoral research in the central field.

• Qualifying Examination Part I:
  • Part I consists of two parts: a two-hour, in-class exam covering EMSE 6765 and an eight-hour take-home exam covering EMSE 8000 and EMSE 8001.
• Qualifying Examination Part II:
  • Part II is a written and oral focus area exam.
  • Students must take this exam at the end of the spring semester following the successful completion of Part I.

Publication Requirements

Students have 18 months from completion of Part II of the qualifying exam to be accepted into a pre-approved conference for presentation on a topic relevant to their research. This presentation must be co-authored by their advisor.

Dissertation

• Proposal Defense:
  • After acceptance to a conference, students are required to present a written dissertation proposal to their research committee and to successfully defend the proposal in an oral defense.
• Final Examination/Doctoral Defense:
  • Once the dissertation has been completed and accepted by the faculty advisor and research committee, students can file a Request for Final Examination form with the doctoral coordinator.
  • The final examination is oral and open to the public.

Seminar and Colloquium Requirements

As described in the publication requirements section above, students are required to present at a preapproved conference on a topic relevant to their research. In addition, students also are encouraged to present and participate in departmental research seminars.

Graduation and Scholarship Requirements

Students are responsible for knowing the University’s minimum GPA requirement for graduation and scholarships. Consult the Graduation and Scholarship Requirements section in this Bulletin.