The following are minimum requirements for a student in the Department of Energy Resources Engineering to remain in good academic standing regarding course work:

No more than one incomplete grade at any time
A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.25
A grade point average (GPA) of 2.7 each quarter
A minimum of 15 units completed within each two quarter period (excluding Summer Quarter).

Unless otherwise stated by the instructor, incomplete grades in courses within the department are changed to 'NP' (not passed) at the end of the quarter after the one in which the course was given. This one quarter limit is a different constraint from the maximum one-year limit allowed by the University.

Academic performance is reviewed each quarter by a faculty committee. At the beginning of the next quarter, any student not in good academic standing receives a letter from the committee or department chair stating criteria that must be met for the student to return to good academic standing. If the situation is not corrected by the end of the quarter, possible consequences include termination of financial support, termination of departmental privileges, and dismissal from the University.

Students funded by research grants or fellowships from the department are expected to spend at least half of their time (a minimum of 20 hours per week) on research. Continued funding is contingent upon satisfactory research effort and progress as determined by the student's advisor. After Autumn Quarter of the first year, students receive a letter from the department chair concerning their research performance. If problems are identified and they persist through the second quarter, a warning letter is sent. Problems persisting into a third quarter may lead to loss of departmental support including tuition and stipend. Similar procedures are applied in subsequent years.

The Ph.D. degree is awarded primarily on the basis of completion of significant, original research. Extensive course work and a minimum of 90 units of graduate work beyond the master's degree are required. Doctoral candidates planning theoretical work are encouraged to gain experimental research experience in the M.S. program. Ph.D. students receiving financial assistance are limited to 10 units per quarter and often require more than three years beyond the M.S. degree to complete the Ph.D.

In addition to University and the Department of Energy Resources Engineering basic requirements for the doctorate, the Energy Resources Engineering Ph.D. degree has the following requirements:

Complete 135 units of total graduate work (90 units beyond the master's degree). The 90 units are composed of a minimum of 36 units of research and a minimum of 36 units of course work. At least half of the classes must be at a 200 level or higher and all must be taken for a letter grade. Students with an M.S. degree or other specialized training from outside ERE are generally expected to include course Energy storage and conversion: Solar Cells, Fuel Cells, Batteries and Supercapacitors, course Fundamentals of Energy Processes, and course Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, or their equivalents. The number and distribution of courses to be taken is determined with input from the research advisors and department graduate program committee.
To achieve candidacy (usually during or at the end of the first year of enrollment), the student must complete 24 units of letter-graded course work beyond the M.S. degree, pass a written exam, develop a written Ph.D. research proposal, and choose a dissertation committee.
The research advisor(s) and two other faculty members comprise the dissertation reading committee. Upon completion of the dissertation, the student must pass a University oral examination in defense of the dissertation.
Act as a teaching assistant at least once, and enroll in course Doctoral Degree Teaching Requirement or course Teaching Experience in Energy Resources Engineering.
Complete 4 units of course ERE PhD Graduate Seminar. These units do not count toward the 36 units of course work required for the Ph.D. degree.

36 units of course work is a minimum; in some cases the research advisor may specify additional requirements to strengthen the student's expertise in particular areas. The 36 units of course work does not include required teaching experience (course Doctoral Degree Teaching Requirement or course Teaching Experience in Energy Resources Engineering) nor required research seminars.

The dissertation must be submitted in its final form within five calendar years from the date of admission to candidacy. Candidates who fail to meet this deadline must submit an Application for Extension of Candidacy for approval by the department chair if they wish to continue in the program.

Students following the Ph.D. program in Energy Resources Engineering must hold an M.S. degree (or equivalent), although it need not be in Energy Resources Engineering.

After the second quarter at Stanford, a faculty committee evaluates the student's progress. If a student is found to be deficient in course work and/or research, a written warning is issued. After the third quarter, the faculty committee decides whether or not funding should be continued for the student. Students denied funding after the third quarter are advised against proceeding with the Ph.D. proposal, though the student may choose to proceed under personal funding.

Ph.D. Degree Qualification

The procedure for Ph.D. qualification is identical for individuals who entered the department as an M.S. or as a Ph.D. student. For students completing an M.S. in the department, the student formally applies to the Ph.D. program in the second year of the M.S. degree program. The student is considered for admission to the Ph.D. program along with external applicants. The admission decision is based primarily upon research progress and course work.

There are two steps to the qualification procedure. Students first take a written exam that is offered just before the beginning of Autumn Quarter. The exam focuses upon synthesis of knowledge acquired from the core courses in ERE. Typically, students are expected to have expertise in the materials of the following classes:

course, course, course, course, course, course (or course), course, course (or course)

The exams have a goal of allowing students to exhibit capability to solve engineering problems in the subject.

Students continuing from the M.S. program within the department take the written exam at the beginning of their first quarter as Ph.D. students. Students who completed their M.S. outside of the department take the written exam at the beginning of their fourth quarter as Ph.D. students. A student who does not pass the exam may in some cases be allowed to take the exam a second time; however this is a decision of the examining faculty committee. Any student who does not pass the written exam is considered to have failed the qualifying exam. Any student who is deemed to have not made sufficient research progress may not be allowed to take the written exam and research progress is taken into account for pass, fail, and retake decisions.

The second step of the Ph.D. qualifying procedure includes a written Ph.D. proposal and oral defense. Each student must select a committee of three faculty members, including the advisor(s), who read the proposal and attend the oral defense. The other committee members should be chosen in consultation with the advisor(s). One of the committee members can be a senior research scientist, or an external researcher, where appropriate. In the case of a coadvising situation, the committee may include a total of four members (three is also acceptable in this case).

The body of the written proposal, including references, should be 25-35 pages in length (note the 35-page maximum). The written proposal can additionally include, as appendices, papers that have been published or submitted, but the student should not expect the committee to read the material in the appendices. Templates (11-point font, normal margins) for the proposal should be used and are available on the department's website.

The proposal, with approximate lengths for the various sections, should include:

Introduction and literature review, including key unanswered research questions (4-8 pages)
Problem statement and research progress to date, including formulations, data and methods used (or to be applied), initial results and discussion, etc. (15-25 pages)
Proposed work, intellectual/practical merit, timeline (3-5 pages)

References

The proposal must be provided to the committee, both as hard copy and via email, a minimum of two weeks prior to the oral defense. This two-week lead time is a firm requirement. The oral proposal should be scheduled for two hours. This will include a formal talk, of length 35-40 minutes, followed by questions from each committee member. Questions may be on the proposed research as well as the general field of study. The student can pass, pass with qualifications requiring more classes or teaching assistantships, or fail.

Students who completed their M.S. in the department must prepare and defend their proposal in their third quarter, not counting summer, as a Ph.D. student (this will typically be spring quarter). Students who completed their M.S. outside of the department must complete the proposal in their fourth quarter of study, not counting summer (which will typically be fall quarter of their second year). In either case the advisor may request a one-quarter delay for extenuating circumstances such as a major change in research focus between M.S. and Ph.D. programs, serious health issues, etc. Note that this request must originate from the advisor, not the student.

Students who have passed the qualification procedure and later wish to change their degree objective from PE to ERE, or vice versa, may petition the graduate standing committee. A switch of degree objective is not automatically granted. Petitions are made in writing and must include a brief explanation of the request for a change in degree objective and a plan to make up subject matter deficiencies. At minimum, students who petition are expected to complete ultimately all courses listed as contributing subject matter to the written exam in the area of their degree objective with a minimum grade of 'B'. The graduate standing committee decides whether petitions have merit and if additional steps are needed to address deficiencies. Such switches in degree objective are considered provisional until all conditions have been met.

ERE-PHD - Energy Resources Engineering (PhD)

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Director of Graduate Studies