Understand scientific and engineering challenges. Realize the computational theories and methods behind the solutions. Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) at Michigan Technological University is a PhD program engaging faculty and students in interdisciplinary research and teaching, focusing on computational aspects of science and engineering.
Tackle Emerging Problems
This distinctive degree tackles emerging problems in engineering and science through the investigation and application of current software and hardware technologies. This degree's flexibility, unique status as interdisciplinary breadth, gives students the resources and environment to explore challenges in:
- Energy efficiency—combustion processes and emissions
- Environmental studies—ground, water, and air pollution
- Molecular Dynamics, Density Functional Theory—simulation of atomic, molecular, and mechanical behavior
- Computational Chemistry—simulation of chemical processes
- Bioinformatics—genetic sequencing and recombinant studies
- Social simulation
- Weather forecasting
- National Defense—bio/chemical terrorism, intelligence
Projects include mechanical behavior of aerospace-grade polymer composites and aluminum alloys, modeling and control of hybrid electric vehicles, 3-D simulation of flow in ceramic injection molding, computational simulations of forced and natural convection turbulent flows, complex embedded electronic systems, land-use modeling, advanced programming, seismic source mechanisms of tectonic and volcanic earthquakes, mining of large-scale biological data, atmospheric chemistry, finite element analysis, and so much more.
Applying to the CSE Doctoral Program
To ensure that students have the necessary preparation to succeed, the program requires that students have a rigorous academic background in an engineering, technological, or scientific field. Therefore, in most cases, the program requires that a student have a master’s degree in an engineering, technological, or scientific field to be admitted into the program.
Applications are accepted for fall, spring and summer semesters. Applicants should, however, be aware that most types of financial aid begin in the fall semester. To ensure full consideration for financial aid, applications for fall admission should be received by February 1 of the same year.
Among other things, the application asks for official transcripts of all university work, TOEFL scores (if English is not a student’s native language), and a Statement of Purpose. GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scores are required. It may also be helpful when a student’s application is evaluated if they have taken a GRE subject examination.
In addition to what is asked for on the application form, the CSE program requires that a student’s application include two letters of reference. Reference letters may be submitted with the application or sent separately. An application, with or without letters of reference, should be sent to the Graduate School.
Degree Options
Curriculum
The rules for the minimum number of credit hours one must accumulate for the Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) program must also satisfy the Graduate School requirements. These courses must be approved by the advisor or co-advisors and the CSE Program Director on the Degree Schedule form. They will form the basis for the computational part of the qualifying exams.
The interdisciplinary nature of the CSE program means that core courses from a variety of departments will be useful to the PhD students. Listed here are only those courses that specifically appear under the “CSE” course designation.
Computational Science and Engineering Courses
Students may also choose from a wealth of other appropriate courses offered by departments throughout the University. Examples include:
Electives
Students can check Degree Completion Timelines for a detailed checklist of items necessary to complete their degree, as well as a personalized Degree Completion Timeline that shows which items they have already completed and what remains to be completed in the future. Reviewing the timeline example for the Doctor of Philosophy degree can help students stay on track before and after arriving on campus.
High Performance Computing Research
The Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) PhD program prepares students for research and teaching in academic, corporate, and government settings.
Students have access to high-performance facilities on campus, including the centrally managed high-computing clusters Superior and Portage. Superior has 32 TFLOPS of CPU and 13 TFLOPS of GPU computing capacity. Intended for testing, educational, and gateway computing, the Portage cluster has 3 TFLOPS of CPU and 2 TFLOPS of GPU computing capacity. Other research computing systems are available as well.
Computational Science and Engineering Research Institute
CSERI was created in 2002 as a home for researchers to collaborate on computational problems and techniques of common interest, to facilitate the development of long-range research programs, to support the CSE PhD program. CSERI provides access to medium- and large-scale computational facilities that would not otherwise be available.
Current Students
The Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) PhD program is an interdisciplinary program, meaning the faculty and courses for the program come from all the Colleges across the University.
The degree you seek will be challenging and give you opportunities to learn new skills, practices, and knowledge. The skills and knowledge will be the building blocks of starting a path of lifelong learning in the field of CSE.
We encourage you all to interact with all your fellow students and faculty. Go beyond your comfort zone and work with different researchers (students, faculty, staff). You will have many opportunities to work in teams, reach up and pair with new students, and build your technical skills, team-work, and professional skills in the process. This is an opportunity to start building or expanding your professional network.
The faculty and staff are here to help you succeed. Ask questions, reach out for help. Don’t wait until the end of the semester if you need assistance.
This graduate handbook is provided as a document to answer your basic questions. For more information, please reach out to your advisor or the graduate director.