UB - University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Doctor of Philosophy Program

Program Description

The Ph.D. program provides an advanced level of study and training for the development of research-level scholars with expertise in human factors, operations research, or production systems. Students graduate from the program having demonstrated, by means of their dissertations, their ability to make original and significant contributions to the fields of:

• Human Factors Engineering/Ergonomics
• Operations Research
• Production Systems Engineering

Admission to the Ph.D. Program

Students may be admitted to the Ph.D. program if they hold a bachelor's or master's degree in engineering or any of the mathematical, physical, behavioral, or health sciences. Admission to the Ph.D. program requires a demonstration of a high level of performance in previous academic studies and unusual promise for making significant research contributions. Those students who are admitted directly to the Ph.D. with a bachelor's degree will have the option to earn an M.S. degree during their course of study.

If you are currently enrolled as an M.S. student, you may apply to the Ph.D. program at any time. Consideration for admission to the Ph.D. program for M.S. students is not automatic—you must apply. A suitable time to apply would be your second semester of graduate study, before taking the Ph.D. Breadth Exam (see Section 3.4 in the Graduate Handbook for more information). If the information available to the admissions committee is insufficient for an accurate appraisal of your candidacy, you may be asked to reapply.

The Ph.D. committee may solicit written comments on your application from all departmental faculty members, check your record in all courses taken, review your performance on the Core Exam, and look for evidence of your potential for research (e.g., an M.S. thesis or other independent work).

The application to the Ph.D. program by students currently enrolled in the M.S. program should be in the form of a letter, addressed to either the Director of Graduate Studies or the Department Chair, that requests consideration for admission to the Ph.D. program. The letter should be submitted to the Departmental Graduate Secretary.

Course Requirements

Each Ph.D. student must select an initial area of specialization among Human Factors Engineering, Operations Research, or Production Systems Engineering. The student's basic course requirements depend on the selected area of specialization.

These are only basic course requirements. Many Ph.D. students will take additional courses from all of the disciplines represented in the program.

Those students who enter the program with advanced degrees will be able to transfer credits for previous work and thereby reduce the number of required courses. After reviewing the student’s academic record, the academic advisor may grant transfer credits in writing and enter them into the university records.

A maximum of 30 credit hours may be transferred from an M.S. degree or other graduate work. Students may apply those credits to waive the course. However, students are still responsible for course content in those courses included on the Ph.D. core examination.

Credit Hour Requirements

Beyond the basic requirements, the courses taken in a Ph.D. program are determined by the student's objectives, interests, background, and experience.

The equivalent of at least three years of full time graduate study beyond the baccalaureate degree is required for completion of the Ph.D. program. At least one year must be in full time residence. In general, formal coursework (including that taken for the M.S. degree) takes two or three years, while the dissertation effort demands, in general, at least one year of full time concentration in residence. The Ph.D. program requires a minimum of 72 credit hours of work.

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering impose limits on dissertation credits which are applicable toward graduate degree requirements. Additionally, a maximum of 30 credit hours from a Master's degree may be applied toward the 72 credit hour requirement for the Ph.D. degree. Of these, no more than six credit hours may be derived from a master's thesis.

A minimum of 12 credit hours of dissertation research is required. At most 24 hours of dissertation credit may be applied toward this minimum. The variable credit dissertation exists to allow students flexibility to take additional content courses. It does not impact the expectations for the scope and effort of the dissertation. Hours earned from supervised teaching and research, and the Departmental Seminar do not count toward the 72 hours needed.

Important milestones of the Ph.D. program include: formation of the Ph.D. committee, successful completion of the Breadth and Advanced Examination, proposal defense, and dissertation defense.

The Ph.D. is not a degree conferred on the basis of credit hours accumulated, tests passed, or time elapsed. Students in the program commit themselves to excellence in their fields, and to whatever amount of study and effort the attainment of excellence may require.

Ph.D. Breadth Examination (B-exam)

This examination tests the candidate’s ability in the broad range of subjects covered by the core courses and selected elective courses. It is required for formal acceptance into Ph.D. candidacy, and is normally taken following the candidate’s coursework in core subjects and sufficient electives.  The written portion of the B-exam consists of five separate questions, one on each of the core courses for a ISE specialization and selected (and approved) electives if required to obtain five questions. The examination is closed-book and is given over a four-hour time period. The department faculty meet after this written exam has been graded and place students in three categories: (a) pass; (b) fail; and (c) undecided. For students in the undecided category only, a take-home question is given to test the ability to integrate concepts and information across core and elective courses. This take-home portion is defended orally several days later before faculty in the candidate’s subject area and other departmental faculty. The candidate may prepare written materials and presentation materials for this part of the exam. The department faculty then decide on the pass/fail status of students who were placed in the undecided category. 

The Ph.D. Committee

Soon after a student passes the Ph.D. Breadth exam s/he will form a committee of faculty members who will work with the student closely on dissertation research. By the time the student is ready for the Ph.D. Advanced Examination (Prelim) s/he should have determined, at least in approximate terms, a research area, and should have identified a faculty advisor who is willing to supervise the work. This faculty advisor, sometimes called the "major professor" or "committee chair," will ordinarily head the committee that administers the advanced examination, defense of dissertation proposal, and dissertation defense. The major professor must be a member of the Graduate Faculty. This committee must include at least two other members of the university faculty who hold the rank of Assistant Professor or higher in the University Faculty.  The major professor can help identify faculty members who share an interest in the topic, and who would be willing to review the dissertation and serve on the examining committee. 

A student can always elect to have more faculty members on their committee than specified. These additional committee members do not have to be members of the graduate faculty or even faculty at UB. The Ph.D. committee will play a major role in setting requirements for the successful completion of your program. Be sure to follow their advice carefully. 

In addition, departmental policy allows the committee chair to elect to have an outside reader evaluate the Ph.D. dissertation. The outside reader is not part of the committee.

Ph.D. Advanced Examination (Prelim)

The Ph.D. Advanced Examination, sometimes called the "Prelim," is taken near the end of formal course work, before substantial dissertation research has begun.

The format of the exam consists of questions from the individual committee members to which written responses are required. Although questions do not necessarily have to pertain to the student's intended dissertation research, one of their purposes is to gauge the student's capability for pursuing research in his or her area of interest. Your Ph.D. committee chairman will discuss the precise format of the examination with you, as well as inform you of the deadline by which the written portion of the exam should be submitted. Generally, the time taken for the written component cannot exceed one month unless otherwise approved by your committee.

There are three possible outcomes associated with the Advanced Examination: Pass, Inconclusive, or Fail. Failing the Ph.D. Advanced Exam twice constitutes grounds for dismissal from the program. In the case of an Inconclusive outcome, the committee will specify the terms under which this evaluation can revert to a Pass. If, as determined by the committee, the terms are not carried out satisfactorily, a failure on the exam results. In this case, the student has one more opportunity to retake the exam.

Defense of Dissertation Proposal

When you have identified a research topic, thoroughly acquainted yourself with previous work in that area, and explored the topic well enough to have developed a credible research plan, write it all down in a clear and concise way, and you will have a dissertation proposal.

A copy of the proposal must be submitted to each member of your Ph.D. committee, and defended two weeks later in an oral examination of approximately two hour duration. Failing the defense of proposal twice constitutes grounds for dismissal from the program.

Schedule your defense after your major professor is satisfied that your topic is significant, your research plan is sound, and your qualifications are adequate to tackle the problem. Do not hesitate to discuss your proposal with the members of your committee in advance. Above all, do not postpone the defense until after you believe the work is substantially complete—if the committee discovers, for example, that your methodology is flawed, you may have wasted a great deal of time and effort.

You should not view the defense of proposal as an adversarial process. While the committee must necessarily ask probing questions to determine the extent of your preparedness, the soundness of your plans, and the significance of your proposed work, the committee is also likely to provide insights and guidance that could greatly improve your dissertation.

Once you have successfully defended your proposal, you should immediately prepare an Application to Candidacy. This form will list all of the graduate courses you have already taken, plus those additional courses you are planning to take to complete your course requirements. In addition, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) requires that you submit a copy of your proposed dissertation abstract to the SEAS Graduate Divisional Committee. See Section 6.1 in the Graduate Handbook for more information.

Defense of Dissertation

Before the Ph.D. is conferred, the student must successfully defend the dissertation in an oral examination administered by the committee.  The usual format is a presentation of the work in seminar form, punctuated by numerous questions from the faculty.

Time Limit for Degree

The time limit for finishing all Ph.D. degree requirements is seven years from the first registration date in the graduate program, excluding approved leaves of absence.

Petition for an extension of time limit requires departmental approval. The student must be currently making active progress toward the degree. The SEAS Divisional Committee will consider each petition and, in certain cases, it may set a deadline for completion of the program. The extension of time limit is normally granted for a period of one year or less. The ultimate (and only) authority to grant a time limit extension is the Graduate School.