Doctor of Philosophy in mechanical engineering

The department's mission for the Ph.D. program is to foster creativity and excellence in students through in-depth training on applying advanced principles in mechanical engineering and related fields to conduct basic and/or applied research for the advancement of scientific knowledge. The program prepares graduate students for advanced placement in industry and/or faculty position in academia. 

The objective of our Ph.D. program is to train and prepare students to work independently, carry out scientific research endeavors, and assume leadership roles of research and development teams. 

Ph.D. candidates will be guided in their research work by our nationally renowned faculty who are working on the cutting edge of emerging technologies pertaining to manufacturing processes, nano-materials, energy storage and conversion technologies, composite materials, combustion, thermal-fluid sciences, acoustics and noise control, laser diagnostics, biomechanics, controls, robotics, and autonomous systems. 

Our locality in the city of Detroit provides us with ample opportunities to collaborate with researchers from automotive industry, medical centers and governmental research centers. Such collaborations allow our students to perform research work at the forefront of timely and emerging technologies. 

The department has three research thrust areas:

• Noise and vibration control
• Advanced materials and manufacturing
• Advanced propulsion and energy systems

In addition, many Biomedical Engineering courses are cross listed with Mechanical Engineering courses and are available for graduate students to take and be considered towards their degree. Graduate students must select a field of study in one of our three thrust areas.

Admission requirements

Admission to this program is contingent upon satisfying the following requirements:

•  Graduate School requirements
• Departmental requirements:
  • Students with a minimum overall GPA of 3.5/4.0 in their MSME program may be recommended for regular admission.
  • All applicants must have a full-time ME faculty member agreeing to serve as dissertation advisor before they can be admitted into the Ph.D. program.  
  • All students must have an MS in Mechanical Engineering or a very similar field. Applicants without an MS Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering are considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • Students with an undergraduate GPA of 3.5/4.0 or better may apply for direct admission to the Ph.D. program. Students with an undergraduate GPA less than 3.5/4.0 must complete a master's degree in mechanical engineering prior to consideration for admission to the Ph.D. program.
  • Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are recommended, but not required.
  • International applicants are required to submit a WES Evaluation for their transcripts. Note that the official transcript evaluation must be transmitted directly from WES to the Office of Graduate Admissions.
  • All students who have earned degrees from a country where English is not the native language must have a minimum TOEFL score of 79 from internet-based TOEFL (iBT) or 550 from a paper-based TOEFL (pBT), an IELTS score of 6.5, or an overall Duolingo score of 125.
  • All applicants must pay the $50 Application Fee.