Program Overview
This program allows students to pursue graduate study and
research in interdisciplinary areas that cross two or more
disciplines in different departments or in program areas not
currently associated with an existing department.
The interdisciplinary program
spans the fields of engineering, science, business, and
even law. In principle, a program of study in almost any
imaginable concentration area in engineering can be designed.
In practice, many students have developed programs in one
of three concentration areas: materials
science and engineering, environmental
& technological hazards engineering, and information
technology & engineering. A fourth concentration
area, bioengineering, is currently attracting student interest
and encompasses the interface between engineering and biological
science.
The concentration area in
materials
science & engineering involve course work in mechanical,
electrical, chemical and civil engineering, computer science,
chemistry, and physics. Environmental
& technological hazards engineering concentration
area has components primarily from chemical and civil engineering,
and environmental science, and secondarily from industrial,
biological, and petroleum engineering, chemistry, business
and sometimes law. Information
technology & engineering concentration area encompasses
the disciplines of industrial, electrical and mechanical
engineering, and computer science, information systems and
decision science, library information systems, and others.
Likewise, bioengineering concentration area involves agricultural,
civil, mechanical, chemical, and industrial engineering,
chemistry, and the biological sciences.
Degrees awarded through this
program do not provide a direct route to professional engineering
practice. Students with degrees in a pure or applied science,
who are considering registration as professional engineers,
are advised to consider first pursue a second baccalaureate
degree in engineering. Go
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Degree
Programs
The interdisciplinary degrees of M.S. in Engineering Science
and Ph.D. in Engineering Science are offered. The M.S. program
requires emphasis in at least two areas of study not available
within a single department; the Ph.D. requires minors in
at least two sub-areas of specialization within one or more
academic departments, in addition to the major concentration
area of study.
M.S. Program
The M.S. in Engineering Science
program--offered with both thesis and non-thesis options--provides
an opportunity for study in areas not represented by departments
within the college. Students can enter the program with
a baccalaureate degree in any field of engineering or in
a pure or applied science.
Requirements are 30 semester
hours, including six hours of thesis credit, or 36 semester
hours of course work with no thesis. Additional course work
may be necessary, however, for students lacking the prerequisites
for graduate courses required as part of their program.
At least one-half of the
course work must be engineering courses and at least one-half
of the total course work must be at the 7000 level. Additionally,
at least 18 hours of required course work must be completed
after admission to the program. A plan of study, approved
by the student's advisory committee, should be submitted
to the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
in the College of Engineering by the end of the first semester
of enrollment.
Ph.D. Program
The college accepts qualified
students with bachelor's or master's degrees in engineering
or a pure or applied science to work toward a Ph.D. in this
interdisciplinary program. A student may plan a course of
study with a major professor from any department in the
college. The program must be approved by an advisory committee
consisting of at least four members of the graduate faculty
(including the major professor), and by the coordination
council of the concentration area through the Associate
Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the college. The
Dean of the Graduate School makes the final approval of
the program of studies. At least two members of the student's
committee must come from departments offering the Ph.D.
degree.
The student usually will
be required to complete a minimum of 54 semester hours of
approved course work beyond the bachelor's degree and prepare
a dissertation acceptable to his or her advisory committee
and the Graduate School. At least half of the course work
(27 semester hours) must be taken in courses offered by
engineering departments within the college. Requirements
include 24 hours of course work concentrate in at least
two minor areas of specialization within one or more academic
departments. The advisory committee must include representatives
from the minor areas. The remaining 30 semester hours of
course work must contain no more than 15 hours in any one
department. Go
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Admission
and Financial Assistance
Admission is open to students
without baccalaureate engineering degrees. Students wishing
to work toward a degree through the Interdepartmental Program
in Engineering Science should contact an appropriate faculty
adviser in the college before applying for admission. "Engineering
Science" should be indicated as the proposed field
of study.
Financial assistance is not
available directly through the Interdepartmental Program
in Engineering Science. Students requiring financial assistance
should pursue support through their faculty advisers. Go
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Administration
Mehmet
T. Tumay
Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies
Telephone 225/578-9165
Julius
P. Langlinais
Associate Dean
Telephone 225/578-5703
This interdepartmental
program draws on all graduate faculties in this college,
as well as other colleges at LSU. Go
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