The Doctor of Engineering program in Aerospace Engineering (DEAE) is a unique program that emphasizes system design and management skills. The program also requires students to successfully demonstrate their abilities in a broad spectrum of aerospace technology, mathematics and original research.
General Outline
Qualifying Examination
Project Committee
Plan of Study
Foreign Language and Research Skills (FLORS) Requirements
Project Research and Comprehensive Examination
Internship
Residency Requirements
Graduation Requirements
To earn the DE degree students must:
An important requirement of the DEAE program is a minimum of twelve months of industrial internship in an industry or government organization. Because this internship is a degree requirement, and because neither the University nor the Department of Aerospace Engineering can guarantee internship employment, students must indicate in writing before they have completed their first semester how the internship requirement will be satisfied.
Sections 5.2 through 5.10 contain detailed descriptions of these requirements.
A seven-step outline of a typical DE program is as follows:
Step 1: After earning the MSAE or MEAE degree (or equivalent) the student applies for admission to the DEAE program. A student judged to be capable of earning the degree is admitted to the program as a DEAE aspirant.
Step 2: The aspirant selects or (upon request) is assigned a major advisor based upon the aspirant’s area of interest. The major advisor assists the aspirant in selecting courses for the first year of study and the preparation of an initial plan of study including the formation of an initial project committee: see Section 5.2. The aspirant must be classified as a full-time graduate student as defined in Table 1.8.
Step 3: After completing the first year of study with a GPA of at least 3.5/4.0 (grades of D or F do not count toward the DEAE degree) the aspirant requests the preparation of a qualifying examination: see Section 5.3.
Step 4: After passing the Qualifying examination the aspirant forms a Project Committee and prepares a final plan of study: see Sections 5.2 and 5.4.
Step 5: The aspirant completes the final plan of study and satisfies the FLORS (Foreign Language or Research Skills) requirement: see Sections 5.2 and 5.5.
Step 6: The aspirant prepares for the project research and comprehensive examination. An important component of this is a documented, original design/project plan which becomes the focus of the project report. This original project plan must be approved by the aspirant’s project committee. After committee approval the aspirant defends the original project/research plan. Section 5.6 describes the requirements for the project research and comprehensive examination. After passing the comprehensive examination the aspirant is a candidate for the D.E. degree.
Step 7: The candidate completes the D.E. project according to the original or modified project plan of Step 6 and writes a project report. The latter must be approved by the project committee. After approval by the project committee the candidate defends the project report: Section 5.7.
The residency requirement described in Section 5.8 can be satisfied during any of Steps 1-7.
The project report must be completed within eight years after being admitted to the DEAE program. In cases which require more than eight years the dissertation committee may grant an appeal for an extension of this period.
The sequence of steps described here is typical. In special situations this sequence may be altered. However, any changes in the sequence must be approved by the project committee and by the department graduate advisor.
After two semesters of course work beyond the Master's degree, the aspirant must take a Qualifying Examination. The Qualifying Exam tests the student's breadth of knowledge and demonstrates his or her ability to apply this knowledge to engineering design and management problems. The Exam consists of four parts, covering the areas of design and management, mathematics, and two of the following six areas: structures, materials, aerodynamics, dynamics, controls and propulsion. A student is allowed only two attempts to pass the Exam.
After successfully completing the Qualifying Examination, the student forms a Project Committee. This Committee acts as an advisory group throughout the student's program, particularly during the project research. The Committee assists the student in planning his or her program, approves the Plan of Study, and administers the Comprehensive Examination and the oral defense of the project.
The Project Committee has a minimum of five members, including at least one from the Engineering Management programs. The Committee chairman must be an Aerospace Engineering faculty member. Where possible, an appropriate industrial adjunct professor can be a member of the Committee.
The plan of study is a form which includes the following information:
The minimum course requirements for the DEAE are: at least 60 semester credit hours beyond the BSAE degree (or equivalent). The requirement for 60 hours beyond the BSAE degree can be reduced if an aspirant has obtained the MSAE or MEAE degree (or equivalent).
These 60 hours must be distributed as follows:
In addition, the DEAE student must complete a 12 month industrial internship requirement: see Section 5.1. To obtain credit for this, the DEAE student must also enroll for a minimum of 12 semester credit hours of industrial internship.
Any credit hours earned while completing the MSAE or MEAE (or equivalent) degree can be used to satisfy a portion of the requirements a) through c), provided those credits are appropriate to the overall DEAE program of the aspirant. Unique situations can be accommodated with the combined approval of the AE department graduate advisor and the aspirant’s major advisor.
Technical and engineering management courses can be selected from the list of approved graduate courses of Table 2.1. A detailed description of these courses can be found in Appendix A.
The plan of study shall indicate for each course which requirement is being satisfied. Note well: one course can satisfy only one requirement. An example of a course distribution which satisfies the DEAE requirements is given in Table 2.5.
Table 2.5 Example of a DEAE Course Distribution which Satisfies all Requirements
| Course Number | Course Title | Credit Hours |
| At least 15 hours of Graduate Mathematics | ||
| AE 712 | Techniquies of Engineering Evaluation | 3 |
| Math 628 | Mathematical Theory of Statistics | 3 |
| Math 646 | Complex Variables | 3 |
| Math 648 | Calculus of Variations | 3 |
| Math 647 | Applied Partial Differential Equations | 3 |
Subtotal |
15 | |
| At least 15 hours of technical courses | ||
| AE 721 | Aircraft Design Laboratory I | 4 |
| AE 709 | Structural Composites | 3 |
| AE 743 | Compressible Aerodynamics | 3 |
| AE 722 | Aircraft Design Laboratory II | 3 |
| EECS 543 | Simulation in Engineering Systems | 3 |
Subtotal |
16* | |
| At least 15 hours of engineering management courses | ||
| EMGT 608 | Principles of Engineering Management | 3 |
| EMGT 806 | Finance for Engineers | 3 |
| EMGT 823 | Management of Internal Engineering Projects | 3 |
| EMGT 844 | Managing Software Development Projects | 3 |
| EMGT 867 | Advanced Operations Management | 3 |
Subtotal |
15 | |
| At least 15 hours of DE Project | ||
| AE 997 | D.E. Project | 15 |
Subtotal |
15 | |
Total Semester Hours |
60 | |
| Internship Credit Hours (These are extra for the DEAE program) | ||
| AE 990 | D.E. | 12 |
*It is not always possible to take the minimum hours required
** FLORS Requirement: see Section 4.5. This is in addition to the above course requirements.
Aspirants can satisfy the FLORS requirement by selecting one of three options as long as the dissertation committee chairman approves of that choice:
Option 1: Aspirants whose dissertation is primarily theoretical must demonstrate proficiency in computer science and complete three hours of graduate course work in instrumentation or experimentation.
Option 2: Aspirants whose dissertation is primarily experimental must demonstrate proficiency in computer science and complete three hours of graduate course work in computational methodology.
Option 3: All aspirants may elect to substitute a demonstration of reading proficiency in a non-native language (other than English) for the demonstration of computer proficiency. Such a language must be one with a significant body of literature in the area of the aspirant’s dissertation research. Examples of acceptable foreign languages in aerospace engineering are: German, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and Spanish.
Note well: These requirements are in addition to the courses taken as part of the plan of study.
The purpose of the project research and comprehensive examination is to determine whether or not the aspirant has an acceptable proposal for research/work leading to a successful project. This research/work and the ensuing project report must contain an original contribution of the aspirant to the field.
The project research and comprehensive examination consists of two parts:
Part 1: a written proposal outlining in reasonable detail the work or research plan to be done for the project. This written proposal must contain a historical outline (with references) of similar work done in the field.
Part 2: an oral examination during which the aspirant defends the proposed work or research plan. The aspirant is also expected to demonstrate proficiency in his/her area of specialization.
Note well: At least two weeks before the comprehensive examination is scheduled the aspirant must submit copies of the work or research plan to the project committee for review. The comprehensive examination will be conducted by the aspirant’s project committee. The examination must be public and reasonable questions from the public must be addressed by the aspirant.
Doctoral students are required to spend at least two semesters (this may include a summer semester) in residence study at The University of Kansas. During this residency the student must be a full time graduate student, see: Table 1.8. An appointment for teaching or research is acceptable as long as that activity is directed toward the aspirant’s or candidate’s degree objectives.
In addition, the DEAE student must complete a 12 month industrial internship requirement: see Section 5.1. To obtain credit for this, the DEAE student must also enroll for a minimum of 12 semester credit hours of industrial internship.
The project report must be completed within eight years after being admitted to the DEAE program. In cases which require more than eight years the project committee may grant an appeal for an extension of this period.
Doctoral students are required to spend two semesters, which can include a summer session, in residence study at the University of Kansas. During this period of residence, the student must be involved full time in academic or professional pursuits, which may include an appointment for teaching or research if the activity is directed specifically toward the student's degree objectives.
To be awarded the DEAE degree all of the following requirements must be satisfied:
The project report must be completed within eight years after being admitted to the DEAE program. In cases which require more than eight years the project committee may grant an appeal for an extension of this period.
