GRADUATE STUDENT HANDBOOK

June 2001

Department of Ceramic and Materials Engineering

School of Engineering

607 Taylor Road

Piscataway, New Jersey 08855-8065

Graduate Program in

Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering

It is the policy of the Graduate Program in Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, to make the benefits and services of its educational programs available to students without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, handicap, marital status, or veteran status.

Table of Contents

*. Introduction *

2. Admission Requirements *

2.1 M. S. Program *

2.2 Non-degree Students *

3. M.S. Degree Requirements *

3.1 Course Requirements *

3.2 Master’s Thesis *

4. Ph. D. Requirements *

1.1 Qualifier Examination *

4.1.1 Purpose of the Qualifying Exam *

4.1.2 Application to take the Qualifying Exam. *

4.1.3 Written Examination *

5.1.4 Oral Exam *

4.2 Thesis Proposal *

4.3 Additional Course Requirements *

4.4 Thesis Requirements *

5. Thesis Conferences *

6. Scholastic Standing *

5. Appeals Procedure *

6. Financial Aid *

Appendix I: Manufacturing Masters *

Appendix II-Suggested Curriculum *

Courses in the Department *

Suggested Courses outside the Department *

1. Introduction

This Handbook describes the degree requirements for the graduate program in Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering and clarifies the procedures used for admission into the M.S. and Ph.D. programs, for granting or denying degrees, and for guaranteeing students due process.

Students should consult the Graduate School catalog for additional information regarding the general policies and procedures of the Graduate School.

2. Admission Requirements

Deadlines for all graduate students are March 1 for fall term admission and November 1 for spring term admission. You can access the graduate catalogs [and homepage] and directly download the application from the Rutgers Website: http://www.rutgers.edu If can’t easily access the web site, please write:

Office of Graduate and Professional Admission

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

18 Bishops Place

New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901-1103 USA

Admission is recommended by the Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Admissions Committee and must be approved by the dean of the Graduate School.

Foreign nationals can only have full-time student status. US Citizens or Permanent Residents may have either full-time or part-time student status. Part-time students are subject to the same admission requirements as that for full-time students.

M. S. Program

The requirements for admission into the Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering Program are:

A bachelor’s degree with a expected minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0-point scale.
Three letters of recommendation.
The general Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The subject GRE in engineering is not required.

In addition, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of all foreign applicants whose native language is not English. A minimum score of 600 is expected. Students who obtain a TOEFL score below 600 may be accepted in exceptional cases, but will be required to attend classes in the Program in American Language Studies (PALS).

Students with bachelor’s degrees in closely related areas such as Chemistry, Physics, or another of the engineering disciplines must discuss with the graduate director a program of remedial courses and reading. Some suggested texts which might be read prior to the first semester are:

Introduction to Ceramics, W. D. Kingery, H. K. Bowen, and D. R. Uhlmann, John Wiley & Sons, 1976.

Or Fundamentals of Ceramics, Michael W. Barsoum, McGraw-Hill, 1997.

and

Introduction to the Principles of Ceramic Processing, James S. Reed, John Wiley & Sons, 1988.

Materials Science & Engineering an Introduction, W. D. Callister, Wiley & Sons, 1994.

Non-degree Students

Qualified students may apply to the Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering graduate program for nonmatriculated (nondegree) status. Students must have academic credentials that are comparable to those required for regular admission. Transcripts are required. Initial application is made through the Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering program. The completed application materials are then submitted to the Nondegree Graduate Study program. Nondegree students must either be US Citizens or Permanent Residents.The graduate director must approve the course schedules of nonmatriculated students. After completing 12 credits of relevant graduate courses with a grade of B or better, a nonmatriculated student may apply for matriculated (degree) status.

The criteria for admission into the regular degree programs for nonmatriculated students are the same as for regular degree students. Claudia Kuchinow can provide more information to interested students.

3. M.S. Degree Requirements

Master of Science degree candidates may follow either a thesis or a non-thesis program of study. The thesis program requires 24 credits of course work, 6 credits of research leading to a master’s thesis, and the final defense of the thesis.

In the non-thesis program, the candidate must complete 30 credits of course work, submit a tutorial paper on a subject approved by the Graduate Director and present the paper in front of a committee of three faculty.

Course Requirements

All students who pursuing a thesis masters are required to enroll in one semester of “Teaching Engineering Laboratory” (usually in their second year). Otherwise, there are no course requirements other than those required by the graduate school. A minimum of 18 semester hours must be taken within the Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering curriculum. A suggested option for Ceramic Manufacturing Masters Degree is contained in Appendix I.

3.2 Master’s Thesis

Students writing a master’s thesis must choose a thesis advisor who will supervise their research project. In consultation with the graduate director, a thesis committee will be appointed consisting of at least three members, including the thesis advisor who will chair the committee.

All members of the thesis committee must be members or associate members of the graduate faculty of the Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering graduate program. One additional non-program member is permitted if appropriate, but must be approved by the graduate director. Substitutions in the committee membership may be made only by the graduate director and will occur only if a member is unable to serve or if a student’s thesis topic changes requiring modification of the committee.

A final draft of the thesis (with all figures and references included) must be given to all committee members and the graduate director at least two weeks before the thesis defense date. The thesis must be approved by the thesis advisor and accepted by the other members of the student’s committee. A final version of the thesis in bound format must be submitted to the graduate director along with the degree candidacy form after successfully defending the thesis.

If a student fails his/her final thesis defense examination, the student will be allowed one more attempt to rewrite and defend the thesis. Alternatively, at the recommendation of his/her committee, the student may switch to the nonthesis option and additional courses to raise his/her course credits to 30. Failure to pass the repeated thesis or non-thesis presentation will result in a recommendation for dismissal from the Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Program.

4. Ph. D. Requirements

The credit requirements for the Ph.D. degree are 48 credits in graduate course work and 24 credits of research leading to the Ph.D. dissertation. The Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering program requires that at least three courses be taken outside the program. Exception may be discussed with the graduate director. Suggested courses are listed in Apprendix II.

In addition, a student who has been admitted to the Ph.D. program, must pass the Ph.D. qualifying examination which consists of an oral and written portion. There are no foreign language requirements for the Ph.D.; however, a student must demonstrate proficiency in English. Students continuing beyond the M.S. must submit a Change of Status form.

Qualifier Examination

The following requirements apply to students entering the graduate program Fall Semester 1996 or later. The exam will be offer in the latter part of May each year for first year students. All first year students who wish to proceed to a Ph.D. should take this exam at the end of their first year. Exceptions may be granted by unusual situations by the graduate director in consultation with the students advisor.

4.1.1 Purpose of the Qualifying Exam

The exam should determine whether the candidate demonstrates the intellectual ability of a Ph.D. and is capable of conceiving, organizing, proposing and conducting high quality independent research.

4.1.2 Application to take the Qualifying Exam.

Students are expected to have a 3.5 grade point average or above in graduate courses but may be permitted to take the qualifiers with a 3.25 grade point average or above if approved by the committee described in 3 below.
Application must be made to take the exam and a letter of recommendation from the advisor must be sent to the graduate director .
A standing committee consisting of four members of the faculty plus the advisor, or if the advisor is already on the committee, one alternate, will review the application for approval. The committee will be appointed by the graduate director and rotated each year.

4.1.3 Written Examination

The following four courses serve as the basis for the written qualifier exam but are not required:

1) 150:527 Thermodynamics of Ceramic Systems

2) 150:532 Kinetics of Ceramic Systems,

3,4) two of the three properties courses:

150:513 Mechanical Behavior of Ceramics,

150:509 Adv. Electronic Ceramics

150:506 Adv. Glass II

Two of these courses are offered in the Fall and three in the Spring

Fall

150:527 Thermodynamics of Ceramic Systems

150:513 Mechanical Behavior of Ceramics (exempt for students who have had mechanical properties of ceramics course)

Winter

150:532 Kinetics of Ceramic Systems

150:509 Adv. Electronic Ceramics

150:506 Adv. Glass II

The exam will consist of 16 questions, four on each subject. Students must answer twelve questions three on each subject. The written exam requires 8 ½ hours, usually beginning at 8:00 and ending a 4:30.

4.1.3.1 Writing and Grading of the Written Exam

All members of the faculty participate in writing questions to the written exam in the above subjects.
A committee consisting of the faculty members teaching the courses in the core curriculum assemble the exam and subsequently the entire graduate faculty critique the exam.
The exams is graded blind by those submitting the questions answered by the student.
An average grade of 7.0 and above constitutes a passing decision. Students failing the exam may only retake the exam one time.

5.1.4 Oral Exam

4.1.4.1 Timing of the Oral and Approval to take the Oral

The oral is taken only by students successfully passing their written exam.
The oral is taken within a short period, usually two weeks after the written exam.
If a student fails the oral, he/she may take the exam one more time. This second exam would be soon thereafter, approximately two weeks.

4.1.4.2 Composition of Oral Exam

Whereas the written exam tests a students knowledge of the science and engineering of ceramics, the oral is intended to test the students ability to extend the knowledge and apply it to research.
The oral will be one hour.
Three problems will be presented to the student in an envelope two hours before the exam. The student will choose one of these to answer. After analyzing the problem, the student will present his/her analysis of the problem in front of the standing committee. The student will be required to answer related questions which apply knowledge from the core curriculum. The problem given the student will not require detailed knowledge of a specific subject but will be open ended and will be generally of the type in which an experimental or theoretical research problem will be analyzed. The questions will be of the type shown below and will be carefully screened by the committee.

Example: To strengthen a ceramic material a particulate composite is proposed whose particles are oxidizable or nitridable and the matrix is not. The material is strengthened by subjecting it to an oxidizing or nitriding atmosphere after being fully densified. Only particles near the surface oxidize or nitride and when they oxidize or nitride they expand putting the surface in compression. Model the process and describe the considerations in selection of the matrix and the particles. Suggest some possible materials. Also suggest a step wise process for carrying out the experimental program.

4.1.4.3 Writing and Administering the Oral

The oral is given by an oral committee consisting of a standing committee of four members of the faculty plus the advisor, or if the advisor is already on the committee, one alternate.
The committee will be appointed by the graduate director and will rotated each year.
Each member of the committee will vote pass or fail on the performance in the oral exam. Three out of five pass votes will constitute a passing decision. This vote will be final on the first try but on the second try a discussion should take place to consider the overall performance of the student since arriving at Rutgers as a graduate student before making a final decision.

4.2 Thesis Proposal

The student will submit to his/her thesis committee a written proposal two weeks in advance of his/her second year thesis conference.
Approval of the thesis proposal by the committee will be necessary at the second year thesis conference before a student is admitted as a Ph.D. candidate.
Normally this thesis conference will be in the third or fourth semester.

4.3 Additional Course Requirements

The course is 150:524 Advanced Materials Characterization is required for all Ph.D. students starting Fall 1999 and thereafter. All Ph.D. students are required to take one semester of “Teaching Engineering Laboratories,” usually in their second year, starting Fall 2000.

4.4 Thesis Requirements

During the first year, student should select a thesis advisor, a thesis topic, and a thesis committee.

The thesis topic is agreed upon by the student and the thesis advisor. The thesis committee, which consists of the thesis advisor, at least two other members or associate members of the electrical engineering faculty, and an outside member, is selected by the student and the thesis advisor, in consultation with the graduate director.

Substitutions in the committee membership may be made only by the graduate director and will occur only if a member is unable to serve or if a student’s thesis topic changes requiring modification of the committee. In cases other than these, approval rests with the Dean of the Graduate School.

The thesis committee must be kept informed of the student’s progress and must agree to follow the student’s work and assist in its development. The committee shall also agree to give ample and early warning of any reservations regarding the student’s progress and must specify in writing the changes required for dissertation acceptance.

The Ph.D. thesis should be submitted to the thesis committee and the graduate director at least two weeks before the final thesis defense examination. The thesis should be in final form with all figures and references.

The final thesis defense must be announced and is open to the public. The thesis committee meet privately with the candidate after the thesis presentation, at which time the candidate is questioned about his/her thesis. The thesis advisor and all but one of the other committee members must approve in order for the student to pass the examination. In the case of two or more dissenting members, an attempt should be made to reconcile the differences. If resolution of the differences is not possible, the dissertation must be judged unsatisfactory. Appeals may be referred to the dean of the Graduate School-NB.

The committee members must sign the student’s Ph.D. candidacy form and, if the thesis is approved, the title page of the thesis. If approval is not unanimous, a letter from the dissenting members indicating the reasons for disapproval must be sent to the dean of the Graduate School-NB and copies sent to the graduate director, the other committee members, and to the student.

A final version of the thesis in unbound format must be submitted to the graduate director along with the degree candidacy form after successfully defending the thesis. After the final signature from the graduate director has been obtained on the candidacy form, the form and the two copies of the dissertation required by the Graduate School must be hand-delivered by the student.

5. Thesis Conferences

Each student following a thesis program, either masters or Ph. D., must present a thesis conference annually. The purpose of the thesis conference is: (1) to allow the thesis committee to be up-dated on the progress of the student, (2) to give the student practice in presenting research in front of an audience, and (3) to allow the student to rethink his/her thesis direction. The graduate director will schedule a thesis conference after consulting the advisor. If conflicts arise requiring rescheduling, the advisor and graduate directopr must be consulted. The content of the thesis conference depends on the students year in graduate school:

First year students: The student will emphasize the thesis direction in an approximately ½ hour presentation. Although other students are welcome, the audience will be primarily the students committee.

Second year students: Second year Ph.D. Students who have passed the qualifier exam will present the thesis proposal. A written document of 5-10 pages will be submitted to the committee two weeks prior to the presentation. The document will review the relivant literature on the subject of the thesis, state the progress made and outline the direction. The paper should answer the question: "What has been presented in the literature (or known research) on the subject and how am I advancing the subject." After a presentation of 30-45 minutes, the committee will question the student on his/her direction. Finally, the thesis committee will meet to decide whether the student understands his/her direction sufficiently to allow the student to become a Ph.D. candidate. M.S. students need not present a written proposal to the committee but must present the thesis direction to the committee.

Third year and longer: Student will present a regularly scheduled seminar on the research results of their thesis. All students are invited to attend.

6. Scholastic Standing

Students may not use more than one grade of C/C+ towards any degree. Students receiving three grades of C/C+ or below will be sent an academic warning letter and if, subsequently, they receive a fourth such grade they will be recommended for dismissal from the program.

The academic progress of post-qualifying Ph.D. students who have selected a thesis advisor is monitored, on a regular basis, by their thesis advisor and thesis committee.

All graduate students are encouraged to become familiar with the Rutgers University POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY. A copy of the policy statement can be obtained fromClaudia Kuchinow.

Appeals Procedure

Appeals of a decision to recommend dismissal from the graduate program must be made in writing to the Graduate Scholastic Standing Committee. The committee will consider the appeal and vote to sustain or rescind the original recommendation.

Student grievances concerning results on the Ph.D. Qualifier Exam. preliminary exam should be addressed to the graduate director. If the matter is not resolved satisfactorily, the student may appeal in writing to the Graduate Scholastic Standing Committee for a formal review.

Student grievances concerning course grades should be addressed to the instructor of the course. If the matter is not resolved satisfactorily, the student may appeal to the graduate director, who will attempt to resolve the dispute informally. If this attempt is unsuccessful, the student may appeal in writing to the Graduate Scholastic Standing Committee.

Students may appeal decisions of the graduate director, Graduate Scholastic Standing Committee, or graduate faculty, in writing, to the dean of the Graduate School-NB if they feel that the process by which the graduate program reached its decision was unfair.

Financial Aid

Fellowship: Several fellowships are available through the graduate program. They are the most competitive form of support. McLaren Fellowships are available for first year students only. The Howett Fellowship may support multiple years. The Corning Fellowship is offered to students studying fiber optics. This fellowship usually lasts two years.

Graduate Research assistantships (RA’s) are available for most students. These positions are supported by research grants of individual faculty members. Assistantships are made with mutual agreement between faculty and students after the student has been accepted for admission and offered a Graduate Research Assistantship. A list of the faculty and their research interests is given our Web site www.rci.rutgers.edu/~mjohn.

Fully Funded First Year Students(FFFY): This includes SOE fellowships and first year teaching assistantships (TA’s). The TA’s have very few or no duties during the first year and so are much the same as a fellowship. Assistance in teaching is performed by all students in their second year through enrollment in the course “Teaching Engineering Laboratory.” FFFY students will chose an advisor at the beginning of the second semester and begin research. The advisor will then continue to fund them through a Graduate Research Assistantship during subsequent years.

Accepting a research position in the program means the student is effectively taking a full time position (35 hours). The student is required to have no other job. However, students will be asked to serve as laboratory assistants in the Department, for which they are compensated. If a student has another job, the student will be asked to give us the other job or leave the Department.

If at any time, the thesis advisor feels that a student is not making adequate progress in their research, the advisor can bring this to the attention of the Graduate Director. The student is warned of unsatisfactory progress. If the student does not make an effort to increase their productivity, support for the student may be terminated.

Appendix I: Manufacturing Masters

Masters in Ceramics Manufacturing Engineering

Considerable interest has been expressed by industry in hiring students with this background. The curriculum was decided upon after consultation with industrial ceramic manufacturers.

• Courses will be taken from three programs: (1) ceramic manufacturing courses will be taken in the Ceramics Program; (2) general manufacturing courses will be taken from the Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program of Industrial Engineering; and (3) business courses will be taken from the School of Business.

• Students my be either full time or part time. With concentrated study, full time students could complete the curriculum in one year. A necessary requirement for full time students is either industrial experience or an internship during the Summer preceding their studies. The Ceramics Department will help students find the internship.

Proposed Curriculum:

The total proposed course curriculum requires 33 credit hours (Normal 30 hours required Masters Degree taken on a part time basis.)

I. A total of 18 hours will be taken in the Ceramics Program, including:

1. Two Graduate Processing /Manufacturing Courses in Ceramic. Possible choices are listed below:

150:502: Adv. Powder Processing - Niesz

150:505: Adv. Glass I – Wenzel

150:506 Adv. Glass II - Sigel

150:508: Adv. Ceram. Met Systems – Greenhut

150:509 Electrical Ceramics - Safari

150:517 Adv. Refractories - McCauley

150:529: Colloidal Chemistry for Casting Slips –Riman

150:603: Whitewares – Haber

2. Two Semester Courses in Case Studies in Manufacturing Ceramics (Niesz)

6 hours (3 hours/semester)

II. Nine hours will be taken in Industrial Engineering with the following courses suggested:

960:379 Basic Probability and Statistics or 960:580 Basic Probability

540:433 Quality Engineering

540:568 Automation and CIM I

III. Two Business Courses are suggested from :

22:010:577 Accounting for Managers

22:390:587 Financial Management

22:630:586 Marketing Management

Appendix II-Suggested Curriculum

Courses in the Department

Fall Semester	Spring Semester
Every Year	Every Year
502 Adv. Powder Processing II /Danforth	506 Adv. Glass II/Sigel*
505 Adv. Glass I/Wenzel	509 Adv. Electronic Ceram./Safari*
513 Mech Behavior Ceram./Cannon*	532 Kinetics Ceramic Systems / Klein
522-23 Scanning Elect. Micro/Greenhut¶	508 Adv. Ceram. Met Syst../Greenhut
524 Adv. Ceram. Character/Cosandey¶	529 Colloid. Chem. Ceram./Riman
527 Thermodynamics/Matthewson	Case Studies in Manufacturing
Case Studies in Manufacturing

Every Other Year	Every Other Year
525 Prop Ceram Surfaces/Garofalini
551 Physical Metallurgy / Tsakalakos	516 Prop Noncrystalline Solids/Garofalini
Solid State Materials / Khachaturyan
Applied Math in Mat. Sci./Khachaturyan	552 Phase Trans. in Metals and Alloys / Tsakalakos
520 X-ray Diffraction /Mayo-Greenhut	566Electron Microscopy¶ / Cosandey
	517 Adv. Refractories/McCauley
	Morphology of Phase Tranf./Khachaturyan
Intermittent	Statistical Thermo / Khachaturyan
501 Adv. Powder Processing I /Riman
526 Crystal Chem. Ceram/McCauley	Intermittent
512 Adv. Ceram Microscopy / McCauley	510 Phys. Prop Crystals/Safari->Tsakalakos
Structural Defects in Solids	514 Mech Behv Ceram./Matthewson
Adv. Diffraction Analysis¶	Mechanical Behavior of Metals
Adv. Electron Microscopy¶ /Cosandey	Quantatative Metallography
	Structural Transformations in Solids / Tsakalakos
	511 Thermal. Anal. Ceram./McCauley
	Slip Casting of Ceramics / Haber

italicized courses are core courses * core includes 2 of 3 starred courses ¶one of these courses is required

Suggested Courses outside the Department

Chemistry

160:315 Organic Chemistry