| Language: | English |
| Duration: | 8 semesters (Normal), 12 semesters (Maximum) |
According to Article 40 of the Graduate Study Regulations, the Doctoral Program consists of at least 7 credit-bearing courses with a total of at least 21 credits, one seminar course, the Doctoral Qualifying Exam, the thesis proposal, thesis work, and the defense of the thesis before a jury. In addition, the department requires one ethics course. Students must obtain a grade of CB or higher in each credit-bearing course and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.
Students who cannot successfully complete the credit courses and the seminar course within 4 semesters, or whose cumulative GPA is below 3.00 at the end of this period, are not allowed to take the Doctoral Qualifying Exam and are dismissed from the program. The doctoral thesis must be defended before the end of the 12th semester.
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Program load | At least 7 credit courses (minimum 21 credits), one seminar course, the Doctoral Qualifying Exam, the thesis proposal, thesis work and the thesis defense |
| Duration | Normal duration 8 semesters; maximum duration 12 semesters |
| Credit-bearing courses | Completed within 4 semesters, all at graduate level |
| Minimum grade | CB or higher in each course; cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 |
| Mathematics | ME 540 |
| Core (pool) courses | At least 1 course from the departmental pool |
| ME graduate courses | At least 3 ME graduate courses, excluding ME 510, ME 521 and ME 540 |
| Courses outside ME | At most 3 courses from other departments |
| Ethics | ME 599 Research Methods and Ethics in Engineering (non-credit, S grade) by the end of the 4th semester |
| Seminar | ME 690 Ph.D. Thesis Seminar (non-credit, S grade) by the end of the 4th semester |
All courses in the program must be at the graduate level. Doctoral students may take undergraduate courses; however, these courses do not count towards their course load or doctoral credits. Additional courses taken after completing the required minimum course load of 7 courses are not included in the GPA but are shown on the transcript. Such extra-curricular courses are registered with NI (Not Included) status; the NI status cannot be changed after the semester's registration is completed, and an NI course can only be repeated with the same status.
Graduate students cannot withdraw from courses. A failed course must be repeated, and a course in the program that was failed or could not be taken must be taken in the first semester it is offered; with advisor approval, a failed elective may be replaced by another appropriate course. Students may also repeat a passed course to raise their GPA with the approval of the instructor, in which case the latest grade is valid.
Students must take at least 1 course from the department's core graduate course pool:
| ME 502 Advanced Dynamics | ME 526 Vibration of Continuous Systems with Comp. Met. (ME 532 Advanced Machinery Vibrations after semester 2022-1) |
| ME 503 Advanced Gas Dynamics | ME 537 Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics I |
| ME 504 Advanced Heat Transfer I | ME 541 Plasticity and Computer-Aided Metal Forming |
| ME 505 Advanced Heat Transfer II | ME 543 Theory of Elasticity |
| ME 511 Modern Control | ME 547 Introduction to Continuum Mechanics |
| ME 517 Advanced Fluid Dynamics |
In total, doctoral students must complete 3 pool courses over their graduate programs (Master's + Doctorate). Students who completed their Master's degree outside METU must apply to the Graduate Education Committee for approval of the equivalency of the mathematics and pool courses they have taken.
All doctoral students are required to take ME 540 to satisfy the mathematics requirement of the program. In total, doctoral students must complete 2 mathematics courses over their graduate programs (Master's + Doctorate). Students who completed their Master's degree at METU Mechanical Engineering typically satisfy the Master's-level mathematics requirement with ME 521.
The remaining courses are selected by the student and the thesis advisor to build expertise in the student's research area, subject to the following rules:
- At least 3 courses must be graduate courses offered by the Mechanical Engineering Department, excluding ME 510, ME 521 and ME 540.
- The program may contain at most 3 courses offered by other departments, subject to the approval of the Departmental Graduate Education Committee.
Students wishing to take credit-bearing courses from outside the department must have a thesis protocol, and their thesis advisor must indicate on the relevant request form ("Non-ME Courses Request Form: G7") that the course is appropriate, together with the justification. The form should be submitted by the last day of the registration week with an unofficial academic transcript and the course content attached. The Department of Mechanical Engineering decides whether the course can be counted as part of the student's normal course load.
Useful Resources:
Students must successfully complete the non-credit course ME 599 Research Methods and Ethics in Engineering and receive an S grade before the end of their fourth semester. This requirement applies to students who started their graduate studies in the Fall semester of 2016–2017 or later.
Students must successfully complete the non-credit course ME 690 Ph.D. Thesis Seminar and receive an S grade before the end of their fourth semester. The seminar course is designed to help students develop scientific communication skills and receive feedback on their research from faculty members and peers. The specific requirements for the seminar are announced by the course coordinators.
This requirement applies to students who started their graduate studies in the Fall semester of 2016–2017 or later.