Recive a PhD in 3 (years)

As I am nearing the end of my first semester in the PhD program at UMass Lowell, I have been looking forward to what requirements I would need to fill to graduate. The idea is that if I stay on track, I can graduate in 3 years. Basically, there are three major steps in the PhD program:

1. The Qualifying Exam
2. Research Proposal
3. Research Defense

As these steps need to be done in order, the idea to the fast track is getting the Qualifying Exam out of the way ASAP. This is probably not good advice for most situations. A good idea is to take at least one class from every professor in the department. Since I have my bachelor's degree in the same department, I have already taken classes from most of the professors.

I hope to take the qualifying exam next spring or next fall. The qualifying exam is two four hour tests, one open book, and one closed book. These exams are comprised of questions from every major topic area. For plastics engineering, they are: processing, materials, properties and design.

Here is a better description from the UML Website:


"The qualifying examination will be administered in January (and in May if there is sufficient demand for a second exam). It will be a two day examination covering the following topics: plastics processing, design, properties, and materials. Any changes to the format will be indicated by the doctoral coordinator when the specific examination date is announced. The student will receive a grade of pass or fail. A student who fails the exam on a marginal basis may make a second attempt with permission of the Graduate Study Committee. All decisions of the Plastics Engineering Department regarding passing of the qualifying exam are final."

http://www.uml.edu/college/engineering/Plastics/Programs%20of%20Study/Graduate/deng.html

I will give more details about the other two steps once I get past the qualifying exam.

Thanks for reading!