SSE PhD Programs

The programs leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree are designed to develop the student's ability to perform research or high-level design in Systems Engineering, Financial Engineering, Engineering Management and/or Enterprise Systems. Admission to the Doctoral program is made through the school's Committee on Doctoral Admissions (CDA) and is based on a review of the candidate's scholastic record, professional accomplishments and the fit between his/her research objectives and those of the available SSE faculty. All admitted students must have the potential to advance the state of the art in their field of research. The CDA is chaired by the SSE Associate Dean for Research with representation from each of the major Doctoral programs.

For domestic students, admission to the Doctoral programs in SSE requires that the candidate has graduated from an ABET accredited undergraduate program, preferably in engineering or science. A Master's degree is usually required before a student is admitted to the Doctoral program. A student's Master's level academic performance and/or career must reflect his/her ability to pursue advanced studies and perform independent research. Typically a GPA of 3.5 or better at Master's level and 3.0 or better at the undergraduate level is required for admission to the Doctoral program. International students must also demonstrate proficiency in the English language prior to admission by scoring at least 550 (210 for computer-based) on the TOEFL examination.

All Doctoral applicants are required to submit Graduate Record Exam (GRE) results. However, applicants who are completing an SSE Master's degree, have an exceptionally strong record and have a strong reference from an SSE faculty member who is familiar with their work may appeal for a waiver of the GRE requirement. In addition, applicants who believe that they have shown exceptionally strong evidence of their research capabilities in their selected Doctoral field may also appeal for a GRE waiver along with submission of their completed application. All appeals to waive the GRE requirement must be made in writing to the SSE Associate Dean of Research describing the reasons for the request. Applicants may submit GMAT scores in lieu of GREs for the Doctorate in Engineering Management and Enterprise Systems.

In addition, each applicant must submit a current resume or curriculum vitae, three recommendations and a Statement of Purpose. The Statement of Purpose should be limited to three pages and describe the applicant's academic interests, proposed course work, research interests and rationale, general career objectives and desired full/part-time student status. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the available Doctoral advisors on the SSE website sse.stevens.edu/nc/people/faculty/ and identify those who they believe are most closely aligned with their desired areas of research in their Statement of Purpose. The Statement of Purpose not only represents the student's interests, motivations and goals, but also is a reflection of his/her ability to communicate effectively and reflects the maturity of his/her research aspirations. Each applicant must also submit an example of his/her written technical work. This work should be written solely by the applicant; published work, if available, is most desirable. All applications for part-time studies must include a letter of commitment from the applicant's employer.