GRADUATE PROGRAMS

    Interdisciplinary programs promote intellectual growth and offer distinct challenges to conventional thinking. They address areas that are too broad or too complex to be dealt with adequately by a single academic discipline. Interdisciplinary programs are essential for the education of graduate students involved in Technogenesis projects, i.e., projects concerned with the nurturing of technology from concept to realization. It is also the case that some interesting scholarly areas involve the blending of two or more academic disciplines, e.g., management science juxtaposes operations research and business. Students interested in an interdisciplinary program at either the master's level or the Ph.D. level may proceed as follows:

• The student outlines in writing the program that he or she would like to undertake and submits it to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

• If the Dean Graduate Studies approves the program, an interdisciplinary advisory committee is appointed to study the program.

• If the committee accepts the program, the student and the committee prepare a Study Plan and submit it to the Dean of Graduate Studies for approval.

• One member of the committee is appointed to be the student's Faculty Advisor and the committee performs the usual departmental functions.

    In addition, Stevens offers a variety of specific interdisciplinary programs. These programs are described below.

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Master of Science - Construction Management

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Master of Science - Information Systems

    The following tracks are designed to meet the increasing need for information technology professionals with both managerial and technical skills. These interdisciplinary programs involve the School of Technology Management and the Computer Science department. For complete description and additional information about the Master of Science - Information Systems program, please refer to the School of Technology Management section of the Catalog.

• Computer Science Concentration
• E-Commerce Technical Track
• Information Security
• Integrated Information Architecture Track
• Quantitative Software Engineering Track
• Systems Engineering Track
• Telecommunications Management Track

Master of Science - Telecommunications Management

    The School of Technology Management administers the interdisciplinary graduate program in Telecommunications Management. This program, which leads to a Master of Science degree, is offered jointly with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. A four-course graduate program leading to a Graduate Certificate in Telecommunications Management is also available. Please refer to the School of Technology Management section of this catalog for a complete description of this program and its courses.

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Integrated Product Development

    The increasing demand placed on the military and commercial sectors to improve the quality and reliability of engineering systems while cutting costs in a rapidly changing technological world are creating new challenges for industry and government personnel responsible for planning and leading multidisciplinary product development projects. The traditional disciplinary engineering programs do not address the skill set, competencies, and practices needed for integrated product development. The Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering, a leader in engineering education, is offering both graduate certificate and degree programs in Integrated Product Development that stress the design, manufacture, implementation, and life-cycle issues of engineering systems. The programs focus on innovative designs and methodologies, and on new materials and process technologies in new product development. The programs aim to provide an innovative view of the landscape of product development to practitioners from different engineering disciplines, to enhance their practice of engineering today and to position them for career growth in the global economy.

    The Integrated Product Development degree is an integrated Master of Engineering degree program focusing on the integrated and multidisciplinary aspects of product development. The core courses emphasize the design, manufacture, implementation, and life-cycle issues of engineering systems. The remaining courses provide a disciplinary focus. The program embraces and balances qualitative as well as quantitative aspects, and utilizes state-of-the-art tools and methodologies. It aims to educate students in problem-solving methodologies, modeling, analysis, simulation, and technical management. The program trains engineers in relevant software applications and their productive deployment and integration in the workplace. A full description of this program can be found in the Mechanical Engineering department section.

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Microelectronics and Photonics Science and Technology

    The Physics and Engineering Physics, Electrical and Computer Engineering (EcE) and Materials Engineering each offer a Master of Engineering degree with an interdisciplinary concentration in Microelectronics and Photonics Science and Technology. Students are required to take the departmental degree core courses and EE/Mt/PEP 507 Introduction to Microelectronics and Photonics. A full description of the program can be found in the Chemical, Biomedical and Materials Engineering department section.

Product-Architecture and Engineering Program

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Doctoral Program (Interdisciplinary)

    An interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Integrated Product Development may be arranged by the Dean of Graduate Studies at the request of the student. To oversee and approve such a program, the Dean of Graduate Studies, on the advice of faculty responsible for the programs involved, will designate a professor from each of the pertinent disciplinary areas to serve on a special advisory committee. The committee chairman will ordinarily be the professor who supervises research.

    To earn a doctoral degree, a student needs to complete at least 90 credits of which at least 30 are thesis credits. The mix of credits will be decided upon by the student's principal advisor. Doctoral study plans typically include all core course subjects in concurrent engineering.

     Doctoral students are also required to successfully complete two days of qualifying examinations. The first day will be devoted to the concentrated area of study and will cover topics studied in the core courses. The second day of examinations will be organized by the student's doctoral committee and will include selected topics from the student's focused area of concentration. The student, with guidance from the student's doctoral committee, will also present the thesis proposal and an oral defense of the thesis as per the guidelines published in the Graduate Student Handbook.

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Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program Involving Physics and Materials

    An interdisciplinary Ph.D. program is jointly offered by the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics and the Materials Program in the Department of Chemical, Biomedical and Materials Engineering. This program aims to address the increasingly cross-cutting nature of doctoral research in these two traditional disciplines, particularly in the area of solid state electronics and photonics and in the area of plasma and thin-film technology. The interdisciplinary Ph.D. program aims to take advantage of the complementary educational offerings and research opportunities in these areas offered by both programs. Any student who wishes to enter this interdisciplinary program needs to obtain the consent of the two departments and the subsequent approval by the Dean of Graduate Studies. The student will follow a study plan designed by his/her faculty advisor(s). The student will be granted official candidacy in the program upon successful completion of the qualifying exam that will be administered according to the applicable guidelines of the Office of Graduate Studies. All policies of the Office of Graduate Studies that govern the credit and thesis requirements apply to students enrolled in this interdisciplinary program. Interested students should follow the normal graduate application procedures through the Dean of Graduate Studies.

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The Systems Integration Initiative:
The System Design and Operational Effectiveness Program

   The curriculum in the SDOE Program is focused on the requirements of system integrators across a multitude of domains in the commercial and aerospace sectors. A synopsis of the topical clusters is reflected in the figure. These topical clusters were identified in collaboration with our partners in the aerospace and defense, telecommunications, IT, and automotive industries. Courses within the program address all these functional clusters. A more detailed description of these clusters can be obtained from the SDOE Program website (http://www.stevens.edu/engineering/sdoe).

    The delivery mechanism of our courses is also unique. All courses in our program are offered in a unique week-long modular format or offered in a completely web-based format. Modes of instruction of the SDOE program have been structured to allow flexibility. The week-long modular format minimizes time away from “home base” while live and intensive weeklong courses, and associated group exercises, ensure development of team building skills, leadership development, and the real-time negotiation and tradeoffs that characterize reality. Participants are given reading assignments prior to the instructional week. Further, participants pursing a degree or graduate certificate have ten weeks subsequent to the instructional week to complete their homework assignments and projects.

Systems Engineering Master’s Degree in the SDOE Executive Education Program

    The Systems Engineering degree is a multidisciplinary program that includes a blend of engineering, systems thinking, and management subjects. The increasing complexity of systems, the pervasive realities of global competitiveness, the enhanced focus on cost and profitability, and ever more challenging customer expectations have led a number of premiere organizations in the defense and commercial sectors to assume the role of system integrators. These organizations are increasingly adopting an evolving business model that emphasizes the selling of functionality, a solution, or a capability, instead of focusing on selling and providing systems, system elements, and products. The curriculum emphasizes the development of large-scale, complex, and multifunctional systems in a number of domains, while also addressing the requirements of time-to-market focused organizations in the commercial sector. Core course in the SDOE Program have a strong case study and project orientation to facilitate understanding of the concepts discussed.

    Admission to the SDOE program generally requires an undergraduate degree in engineering or related disciplines with a "B" average or better from an accredited college or university. Outstanding applicants in other areas may be conditionally admitted subject to the satisfactory completion of several introductory courses within the program. Specific requirements are determined on an individual basis depending upon the student’s background. It is required that any applicants requesting research assistantship appointments and applicants to the Ph.D. program provide evidence of the ability to carry out independent work. Examples of such evidence include the master's degree thesis work and/or completed work-related projects. GRE scores are not required, but may be submitted in support of the application. International students must demonstrate their proficiency in the English language prior to admission by scoring at least 550 (210 for computer based) on the TOEFL examination. Applications for admission from qualified students are accepted at any time.

    Graduates from this program will be prepared to work effectively at the interface between engineering and management and to assume professional positions of increasing responsibility. The program consists of four core courses that must be completed if the applicant is pursuing a Master’s or Doctoral degree:

ALL students must take the following two course sequence:

• SDOE 625 Operational Effectiveness and Life Cycle Analysis
• SDOE 650 System Architecture and Design
  OR, the following two course sequence:
• SDOE 651 Agile Systems Engineering and Architecting
• SDOE 780 Agile Development Strategies

Plus, two of the following four options:

• SDOE 611 Modeling and Simulation or SDOE 670 Forecasting and Demand Modeling 
• SDOE 612 Project Management for Complex Systems
• SDOE 660 Decision and Risk Analysis or SDOE 675 Integrated Supply Chains
• SDOE 605 Systems Integration or SDOE 606 Accelerated Systems Integration and Testing

    A candidate may propose a customized track of six elective courses leading to other specialties with approval from a faculty advisor. At least two of the electives must be taken from the SEEM/SDOE curriculum. Students should review other sections of the graduate catalog for certificate options. Students are encouraged to take an integrated four-course sequence leading to a graduate certificate for the remaining four electives or four additional courses in systems engineering. Many certificates are offered on-line via web-based instruction.

    Students in the SDOE program are required to take either a 3-credit special project class (SDOE 800) or a 6-credit hour thesis (SDOE 900). Students should communicate with their academic advisor to develop a study plan to coordinate the thesis versus the project options and to match the student’s background, experience, and interests while satisfying the requirements for any of the programs.

Doctoral Programs in Systems Engineering

    The programs leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree are designed to develop your ability to perform research or high-level design in systems engineering or engineering management. Admission to the doctoral program is made through the departmental graduate admissions committee and is based on review of your scholastic record. A master’s degree is generally required before a student is admitted to the doctoral program. Your master’s level academic performance must reflect your ability to pursue advanced studies and perform independent research. Typically a GPA of 3.5 or better is required for admission to the Ph.D. program.

    Ninety credits of graduate work in an approved program of study beyond the bachelor’s degree are required for completion of the doctoral program. Up to 30 credits obtained in a master’s program can be included toward the doctoral degree. Of the remaining 60 credits, 15 to 30 credit hours of course work as well as 30 to 45 credit hours of dissertation work are required. Within two years from the time of admission to the doctoral program, you must form a Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC) and take a written qualifying examination that is intended to test your comprehension of undergraduate and master’s level engineering fundamentals associated with your general dissertation topic area.

    The candidate’s graduate advisor serves as the chair of the DAC, and the student should seek the assistance of his/her advisor in identifying faculty who might serve on the committee. The graduate committee should be composed of those faculty members who can best assist the student in completing his/her graduate research. Each member is added to the student’s committee after consenting to serve. For the Ph.D., the advisory committee must include a minimum of four members and its composition consistent with those guidelines contained in the Graduate Student Handbook. Committee members are expected to attend meetings as a collective body. Under unusual circumstances, a member of the committee may attend a meeting via video or telephone. However, a student’s advisory committee must be physically present at all such meetings. Faculty participation on graduate student committees is considered to be an important part of SEEM faculty responsibilities. To this end, full time SEEM faculty are expected to attend all committee meetings for students they advise or on the committees they serve.

    The written and oral components of the qualification examination must be successfully completed by all Ph.D. students. The intent of the examination is to establish that the student is qualified to pursue creative, original, independent research at a level expected of Ph.D. students. The written portion of the examination requires two weeks for completion. The oral component of the examination is administered two weeks after the completion of the written portion. Students must be registered during the semester that the examination is taken. Students may not schedule the qualification examination until they have an approved Study Plan. The qualification examination is administered by the student’s DAC and at most one negative vote by a committee member is permitted for the successful completion of the examination. All members of the student’s advisory committee must attend the oral portion of the examination. If performance on the examination is unsatisfactory, one full semester must lapse (15 weeks) before the examination is administered a second time. Students failing the examination twice will be dismissed from the program. At the discretion of the committee, a candidate may be allowed to change his or her degree option from a Ph.D. to a Master's. The result of the examination is recorded on a form furnished by the Registrar’s office on the day of the oral portion of the examination. This form must be signed by each member of the student’s advisory committee.

    Students pursuing the Ph.D. are required to complete research in the course of graduate study. To initiate the research effort students are required to pass a preliminary examination upon successful completion of the qualifying examination. The student is required to prepare a research proposal that describes the content of the research, the outcome anticipated, the contribution to the field of endeavor, and the creative content of the effort. This proposal must be in a written form and must be presented to his/her committee at a meeting where all committee members are present. Approval of the research effort is signified by signatures of each committee member on the cover page of the proposal. The signed research proposal must be delivered to the SEEM/SDOE student records office for inclusion in the student’s academic record. A student pursuing the Ph.D. degree should demonstrate, through the dissertation, the ability to carry out original and creative research. The results of the research should be sufficiently significant to be publishable in a major technical journal. The writing style, grammar, and spelling of the dissertation should reflect a high level of skill in written communication. Between the research proposal and the final examination the student is required to provide at least one progress report to his/her advisory committee at a meeting where all committee members are present. The time of this meeting is determined by the student’s DAC.

    At the completion of the research, you must defend your thesis in a public presentation. Doctoral candidates are encouraged to hold a private defense with his or her committee several weeks prior to the public defense. At that time, the committee should raise issues with the candidate prior to the public defense. The final examination must be scheduled through the Registrar’s office, at least two weeks prior to its administration. To pass the final examination, a degree candidate must have a favorable vote from a majority of the examining/advisory committee, with a maximum of one negative vote. If a student fails the final examination, there must be a lapse of one full semester (15 weeks) before rescheduling the examination. A student is allowed no more than two opportunities to pass the final examination.

SDOE Graduate Certificate Programs

    All graduate certificate programs require a minimum of 12 credit hours of course work. An undergraduate degree in engineering or related disciplines with a "B" average or better from an accredited college or university is generally required for graduate study in any one of our programs. Outstanding applicants in other areas may be conditionally admitted subject to the satisfactory completion of several ramp courses or introductory courses within the specific program. The specific requirements will be determined on an individual basis depending upon the student’s background. International students must demonstrate their proficiency in the English language prior to admission by scoring at least 550 (210 for computer based) on the TOEFL examination. Applications for admission from qualified students are accepted at any time.

    Each of the graduate certificate programs is a stepping stone towards the Master’s degree in Systems Engineering.

Graduate Certificate in Agile Systems Engineering

• SDOE 651 Agile Systems Engineering and Architecting: Methods, Processes and Practices
• SDOE 606 Accelerated Systems Integration and Testing
• SDOE 655 Robust Engineering Design
• SDOE 780 Agile Development Strategy

Graduate Certificate in Systems and Supportability Engineering

• SDOE 625 System Operational Effectiveness and Life Cycle Analysis (SYS 625WS is the web-based version)
• SDOE 640 System Supportability and Logistics
• SDOE 645 Design for System Reliability, Maintainability, and Supportability
• SDOE 650 System Architecture and Design (SYS 650WS is the web-based version)

Graduate Certificate in Systems Engineering and Architecting

• SDOE 625 Systems Operational Effectiveness and Life-Cycle Analysis
• SDOE 650 System Architecture and Design
• SDOE 612 Project Management of Complex Systems or Mgt 550 Introduction to Project Management (for students wishing to obtain an additional certificate in Project Management)
• SDOE 605 Systems Integration

Graduate Certificate in Value Chain Enterprise Systems

• SDOE 640 Supportability and Logistics (SYS 640WS is the web-based version)
• SDOE 665 Integrated Supply Chains
• SDOE 670 Forecasting and Demand Modeling Systems or EM 744 Advanced Data Analysis and Forecasting or SYS 611 Modeling and Simulation
• SDOE 675 Dynamic Pricing Systems or SDOE 660 Decision and Risk Analysis

Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Programs

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Master of Science - Construction Management

Master of Science - Information Systems

Master of Science - Telecommunications Management

Integrated Product Development

Microelectronics and Photonics Science and Technology

Product-Architecture and Engineering Program

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program

System Design and Operational Effectiveness Program

Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Programs