Requirements & Courses

Requirements

Courses

Required Core Courses (22 credit hours)

• BME 5700, Mathematics of Imaging Science (3 credit hours)
• ESE 5981, Seminar in Imaging Science and Engineering (1 credit hour)
• BME 5933, Computational Methods for Imaging Science (3 credit hours)
• ESE 5200, Probability & Stochastic Processes (3 credit hours)
• ESE 5994, Practicum in Imaging Science (3 credit hours)
• BME 8992, Research Rotation (3 credit hours)
• ESE 5932, Computational Methods for Imaging Science (3 credit hours) or ESE 5130, Large Scale Optimization for Data Sciences or BME 5440, Biomedical Instrumentation
• ESE 5890, Biological Imaging Technology (3 credit hours) or other physics elective
• One machine learning elective

At least 12 credit hours in elective imaging coursework must be completed that span any of the following categories:

• Computational Imaging & Theory
• Imaging Sensors & Instrumentation
• Image Formation & Imaging Physics
• Translational Biomedical Imaging
• Medical Physics 

Progression of Courses (typical)

• BME 5700, Mathematics of Imaging Science (3 credit hours)
• ESE 5981, Seminar in Imaging Science & Engineering (1 credit hour)
• BME 8992, Research rotation (3 credit hours)
• Elective (3 credit hours)

Students take the qualifying exam in July of their second year. Each student is assigned a qualifying exam committee of three Imaging Science program faculty members. The committee is appointed by the co-directors; students will be given the opportunity to nominate committee members, but the committee members are selected by the co-directors. One qualifying exam committee member is designated as chair of the committee. The research advisor will not be a member of the qualifying exam committee. The qualifying exam consists of a written research report, due to the committee two weeks prior to the exam and a research presentation, 20 minutes in length, followed by 40 minutes of Q&A.

Finding a Thesis Research Mentor

Because the PhD is a research degree, the student is expected to become integrated within a research group. By the end of the first year semester of study, the student should have found a thesis adviser who will oversee his/her PhD research and assume financial responsibility for stipend, tuition, health insurance, and student fees. The thesis adviser must be a faculty member in Imaging Science PhD Program Committee with the title of Professor, Associate Professor, or Assistant Professor. Failure to find a research adviser by December 31 will result in the student being placed on probation that can last up until May 31. During that time, the student must continue to seek a research adviser. Failure to find a research adviser by May 31 will lead to dismissal from the PhD program and termination of funding.

Research Presentation/Thesis Proposal 

Before the end of the student's third year, the student will give an oral presentation of his/her proposed PhD project, with the necessary background to support it, to the Thesis Committee. The dissertation proposal should be completed by the end of the third year. The proposal and presentation will include a thorough survey of the field, a discussion of those areas in need of further research and a tentative but clear definition of the problem on which the student intends to focus the dissertation. The student must present a written proposal to the committee at least two weeks in advance of the exam.  The format and length of the proposal should be approved by the mentor; at a minimum the proposed work should have clearly stated goals and timelines.  Many students choose to use a format based on NIH proposals (e.g. R21). 

The format of the exam is as follows. The student should present the proposed research for approximately 30 minutes. Following the presentation, the committee discusses the proposal with the student to evaluate the scope, merit and progress of the proposed research. With the student removed from the meeting, the dissertation committee votes on the outcome of the exam and completes the exam form, following which the committee meets with the student and the advisor.

Dissertation 

The scope of the dissertation should be equivalent to three good journal papers. In the best case, papers describing the contributions of the dissertation are accepted in peer-reviewed journals. In many cases, such papers are a combination of accepted papers and those submitted prior to the defense.  Different subfields of imaging science have varying standards that should be recognized by the committee as part of the evaluation process. In some subfields, combining multiple contributions into a larger, more impactful paper is a preferred practice, while in other subfields a larger number of smaller papers is a preferred practice. The evaluation of the quality and impact of the dissertation and resulting papers is ultimately assigned to the dissertation committee.

Upon completion of the dissertation, the doctoral candidate must work with the graduate program advisor to submit the PhD Dissertation Defense Committee approval and schedule the defense at least one month in advance. The candidate presents the dissertation in a public forum and successfully defends the dissertation before the Dissertation Defense Committee.  The dissertation must be approved by the dissertation committee as part of the final examination.

Teaching Requirements

After successfully completing the qualifying process, but before the dissertation defense, doctoral students must complete the mentored teaching experience (MTE). The MTE is fulfilled by completing McKelvey’s MTE training and serving as Assistant in Instruction for one semester in an approved course, documented by registration in EGS 8010-28: Mentored Teaching Experience.