51¸£Àû

Systems Engineering PhD Program, (581)

The Systems Engineering Department of the 51¸£Àû offers study and research leading to the award of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Systems Engineering.  The Ph.D. degree involves required coursework, comprehensive qualifying examinations, and a research-based dissertation.  The Ph.D. degree may be pursued via resident or hybrid study (distance learning plus periodic temporary residence).

Students take graduate level course in systems engineering (as needed to pass the oral and written qualifying examinations), advanced graduate courses in systems engineering and an application domain, and perform research that leads to a dissertation involving some aspect of systems engineering.

Research topics may be selected from a broad variety of studies of the systems engineering process, applications of systems engineering to solving complex problems, systems level modeling and simulation, and systems suitability assessment.

Subject to approval of the student's dissertation committee chairman, dissertation research may be conducted away from 51¸£Àû at cooperating facilities.

Admission Requirements

• US Military Officers

• US Government Civilians (GS)

• International Students**

• Students must satisfy a one-year residency requirement. This may be met by completing an 51¸£Àû M.S. degree plus periodic extended stays (nominally two weeks per quarter) at an 51¸£Àû campus spread throughout the duration of the student's program. The M.S. degree may be completed before enrollment in the Ph.D. program.

• Applicants should possess an M.S. degree in Systems Engineering. Applicants with only a B.S. degree or an M.S. degree in another discipline will be required to take a number of systems engineering courses (equivalent to the coursework portion of an MSSE degree program) to pass the qualifying examinations.

• Applicants must submit a completed online application form and provide:

  • Certified copies of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts. Transcripts from 51¸£Àû are not necessary, but transcripts from other schools may be required of current and former 51¸£Àû students.
  • Results of a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test taken within the past five years. Applicants with graduate degrees with at least a 3.8 GPA, and no GRE results may request a waiver of the GRE from the Admission’s Office. Applicants with GRE results older than five years may submit those results along with a proxy letter. The SE Department Doctoral Committee will evaluate such letters to determine if the GRE requirement can be waived.
  • A letter of intent (approximately 1000 words) of specific areas of interest within the proposed major field of study.  The letter must include the following for the application package to be considered complete:
    • the applicant’s PhD research objectives
    • potential research alignment with department faculty
    • how a PhD fits into the applicant’s broader career path, professional, and personal goals
    • a tentative research plan and timeline, and practical logistics considerations
    • a statement of why this particular PhD program is an appropriate fit
  • At least two letters of recommendation regarding the candidate’s academic potential in order to assess his/her ability to conduct graduate level research. These letters should be written by someone who has earned a PhD degree, and should not merely attest to the applicant’s work ethic and drive, but must adequately assess the candidate’s ability to conduct doctoral level research, apply critical thinking, and write an appropriate dissertation proposal and dissertation. An ideal person would be an instructor or adviser from the candidate’s master’s program.  Concrete examples of an applicant’s qualifications and observed behaviors that indicate the applicant will be successful in the PhD program are preferred.
    • A writing sample solely authored by the candidate to assess his/her writing competency. An acceptable writing sample is one of the following in order of preference:
    • A submitted or published journal article or conference paper of at least 5 pages where the applicant wrote at least 60% of the paper, and where the applicant is the lead author and with at least 30 academic citations
    • A successfully completed master’s thesis or capstone or similar project with where the applicant is the sole author, and with at least 30 academic citations
    • A school essay assignment of at least 5 pages where the applicant is the sole author and with at least 30 academic citations
    • An unclassified document of at least 5 pages from work where the applicant is the sole author and with at least 30 academic citations
    • If none of the above are available, a 5-page literature review containing at least 30 academic citations about a field of systems engineering that the applicant plans to conduct their dissertation research within
  • Attestation by the student's sponsoring agency or nation that they are committed to tuition and salary support during the student's residence at 51¸£Àû. An additional entry to this attestation should include that the sponsor realizes that the primary deliverable from this effort is an even more valued employee who now has a doctoral degree. This means that the candidate must choose a dissertation topic that advances the body of knowledge of Systems Engineering and may not be directly related to activities of the sponsoring agency. 
  • Current results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Written English, only for international applicants not currently enrolled at 51¸£Àû whose native language is other than English or whose primary language of instruction was other than English. For specific test score requirements, see the 51¸£Àû Catalog section pertaining to International Students.

**International Students: Ensure that you read and understand the .

Degree Requirements

Nominal Systems Engineering PhD Student Timeline and Process​​              

The average time required for full-time students at major universities to complete engineering dissertations is between 4 and 5 years. Most full-time military and government students who are sent to Monterey by their sponsors have only 3 years to complete their dissertations. Such students must find a topic and begin to work as soon as possible. It is expected that part-time students will take longer than full-time students with many part-time students taking 6 to 8 years to complete. There is also a 5-year limit imposed by 51¸£Àû on completion of the dissertation after the student is advanced to PhD candidacy.

Systems Engineering PhD Program Exam Process​​​​​                  

A qualifying examination (consisting of both written and oral components) will be administered according to the procedures outlined in the 51¸£Àû Academic Council Policy Manual. This comprehensive examination will test the student’s mastery of the fundamentals and assess readiness to begin dissertation research. The written component of the examination must be taken and passed before the student may attempt the oral component of the examination. The oral component of the qualifying examination is the culmination of the course of study. The purpose is to test basic knowledge and creative ability and to demonstrate the student’s capacity to use material from the course of study. The oral exam is typically conducted by the student’s dissertation committee.

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Points of Contact: Further technical information on the SE Ph.D. program may be obtained by contacting