The University of Tulsa's Petroleum Engineering Department

The Ph.D. degree represents the highest degree awarded by universities in the United States. The Ph.D. degree usually requires course work beyond that required by a master's degree program in the same discipline, but is primarily characterized by the Ph.D. dissertation requirement. The Ph.D. dissertation should contain significant original research and should contain material suitable for publication as a refereed manuscript, normally as a research journal article or articles. The recipient of a Ph.D. degree should possess a broad knowledge of his or her discipline and should be prepared for a lifetime of creative intellectual inquiry. The Ph.D. dissertation should establish the candidate's ability to read and comprehend the literature, to formulate a significant intellectual problem, to formulate the solution to the problem utilizing state-of-the-art knowledge and creativity, and to communicate the findings in a lucid, professional document, the Ph.D. dissertation.

Admission. An applicant must havea caccalaureate degree in engineering, physics, or mathematics from an accredited institution.

A student with a baccalaureate degree must meet the requirements for admission to a master's program within the division. Admission for Ph.D. work then requires at least a 3.5 grade point average in the first 30 hours of graduate work and approval of the graduate faculty in the department and the Dean of the Graduate School.

All applicants must take the General Tests of the Graduate Record Examination prior to admission and have an official copy of the scores submitted to the Graduate School.

It is emphasized that the above requirements are minimum requirements. It is expected that the qualifications of students entering the program will substantially exceed the minimum requirements. A student who meets only the minimum requirements in each of the above areas will, normally, be denied admission.

The number of candidates in this program, both part-time and full-time, is limited. Normally, part-time students are not admitted to this program. Applicants must designate their major fields of research interest.

Applicants usually are selected for admission on February 1 and September 1, but will be considered throughout the year.

All applicants from non-English speaking countries who have not received a degree from a U.S. university must satisfy English proficiency requirements (minimum TOEFL score of 80 on internet-based exam, 213 on the computer-based exam, or 550 on the paper exam). A minimum score of 6.0 on the IELTS examination may be substituted for the TOEFL.

Curriculum Requirements

The Ph.D. program requires at least 90 approved credit hours of graduate credit above the baccalaureate level, generally distributed in the following manner:

1. At least 20 credit hourse of research and dissertation (including mater's degree thesis).

2. At least 54 hours of graduate credit in course work and independent study, including a maximum of 9 hours of approved 6000 level courses listed in the Graduate Bulletin for graduate credit. A maximum of six hours of independent study will be allowed. The core courses, PE 7013, 7023, and 7063, must be included in the first 30 hours of graduate work.

3. At least 12 credit hours of course work must be taken outside the discipline.

Students working in the areas of reservoir simulation and well test analysis are expected to acquire necessary mathematical knowledge in differential equations and numerical analysis.

Students may be required to complete prerequisite undergraduate courses without graduate credit, resulting in a program of more than 90 credit hours. No more than 12 hours of transfer credit beyond the master's degree from an accredited institution may be counted toward the course requirements if acceptable to the advisory committee.

Other Requirements. See page 206 of the Graduate Bulletin.

Research Proposal. For a student who has passed his/her Ph.D. qualifying exams, the final step for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree requires that he/she prepare a typed research proposal five to fifteen pages in length which outlines the research proposed for the Ph.D. dissertation. The student's advisor may provide general suggestions on the preparation of this proposal but should not write the proposal. The completed research proposal must be submitted to each full-time faculty member and members of the dissertation committee.

The advisor will convene a meeting with the student and the dissertation committee at whic hthe student will present the research proposal. All faculty are invited to this presentation. This meeting should take place at least a year before the student's graduation. Subsequent to this meeting, the dissertation committee shall recommend one of the following:

1. The student shall be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.

2. The student shall make committee-recommended revisions to the proposal prior to being admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.

The advisor will notify the department chair upon the student's successful completion of all requirements.

Candidacy. A student cannot apply for candidacy untill the language requirement had been fulfilled, qualifying examinations have been passed, and the research proposal has been approved.

Dissertation. Each candidate must write a dissertation on the results of his research. The dissertation must demonstrate the candidate's ability to conduct independent research in the area of interest and must contribute to some field of science or engineering technology.

The dissertation must follow the Graduate Schools' recommended procedures for submission to the student's advisory committee, and before final typing of reproduction, must be presented to the full advisory committee for examination and review. A letter grade is not given for the dissertation; it is graded on a pass-fail basis.

Final Oral Examination. Each candidate must pass a final oral examination before the advisory committee. The examination will consist of a public defense of the dissertation and cover the general field of the dissertation as well as other parts of the program which may be chosen by the committee.

The advisory committee recommends the candidate to the Dean of the Graduate School for the Ph.D. degree upon successful completion of the final oral examination and acceptance of the dissertation. Passing grades must be obtained in all the dissertation hours to fulfill degree requirements.