Doctor of Engineering

The Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng. or D.Engr. or Eng.D. or Dr.Eng. or Dr.-Ing.) is an academic degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and research in engineering or applied sciences. In most of the countries it is the terminal research doctorate degree in engineering or applied science.

It is awarded by many American universities including UC Berkeley^[1], Texas A&M^[2], and Southern Methodist University^[3]. It is equivalent to a PhD degree in engineering/applied sciences. To be admitted as a doctoral student, one must hold a Master's degree (rarely a Bachelor's degree) in engineering or related science subject and pass a comprehensive entrance exam. The student must complete necessary course work, be taught examinable courses, perform independent research under supervision of a qualified doctoral advisor, and pass the thesis defence. The D. Eng. takes three to six years (full time) to complete and has compulsory taught components and coursework/projects.

In the United Kingdom, an engineering doctorate was traditionally used as a higher doctorate, awarded on the basis of a significant contribution to some field of engineering over the course of a career. However, since 1992 some British universities have introduced Engineering Doctorate (EngD) schemes. The programme is undertaken over four years. Students conduct PhD-equivalent research and undertake taught business and technical courses whilst working closely with an industrial sponsor. Successful candidates are awarded the degree of Doctor of Engineering (EngD) and are addressed as doctor.

A Doctor of Engineering degree awarded by universities in China, Japan, and South Korea is equivalent to a PhD degree in Engineering awarded in the USA. To be admitted as a doctoral student, one must hold a masters degree (M.S., M.Eng., or M.Sc.) in the same or related subject and pass a comprehensive entrance exam. The student must complete necessary course work, perform independent research under supervision of a qualified Doctoral Advisor, and pass the thesis defense. It usually takes more than three years for a student with an M.S. Degree to complete his/her doctoral study. However there are few areas of study(such as Materials Science, Polymer Technology, and Biomedical Engineering) where both Doctor of Science and Doctor of Engineering can be awarded depending upon the graduate school which houses the department.

In Germany the PhD Degree in Engineering is called Doktor Ingenieur (Dr.-Ing.) and is usually earned after four years of studying on a research project and completing a thesis. A student starting doctoral studies needs to hold a Master's Degree or the Diplom-Ingenieur (Dipl.-Ing.) degree.

In France the degree of "Doctor-Engineer" (docteur-ingénieur) was a former applied science research degree. It was discontinued after 1984 and engineers whishing to go on in research now pass a PhD.

References

1. ^ Graduate Programs - Degrees Offered Within SEMM
2. ^ TAMU
3. ^ http://www.smu.edu/Lyle/Departments/EMIS/Programs/DEEM.aspx

See also

• Engineering Doctorate, a PhD-level degree awarded in the UK.
• Engineer's degree