Upon completion of at least 48 units of course work (including transfer units), the preliminary examinations, and the research tool requirement, a student embarks on the research phase of the Joint Doctoral Program. In preparation for the research phase, the student is expected to spend at least a semester in advanced graduate courses, seminars, or directed reading courses where exposure to research material is emphasized. From these and other sources, the student gains the ability to understand the motivation for research in engineering and applied mathematics and learns to apply research techniques.
During entry to the program and through the period of the main body of course work at CGU and CSULB, the Program Committee will monitor the student's progress. Upon successful completion of the preliminary examinations, the student petitions the Program Committee to constitute the Doctoral Committee. The student chooses this committee with advice from the faculty advisor and with approval of the Program Committee. The committee must include at least two faculty members each from CGU and CSULB ; it must also provide breadth and depth in mathematics and engineering in the chosen faculty members. The Doctoral Committee supervises the student's progress through research preparation and dissertation writing; it also administers the qualifying and oral examinations for the degree. The chair of the Doctoral Committee is the dissertation supervisor.
With these advanced courses as background, and with the guidance of the Doctoral Committee, the student defines an area of proposed research and prepares a written Dissertation Proposal containing an outline of the research to be undertaken and references to relevant source materials. The Dissertation Proposal is presented to the Doctoral Committee at least two weeks prior to the Qualifying Examination. The appropriate form under "Doctoral Degree Forms" can be obtained from the CGU website www.cgu.edu (under Current Students, Registrar Information). The Qualifying Examination is an oral presentation to the Doctoral Committee describing the planned research. The student is expected to present evidence both as to the mathematical content and to the engineering application of the proposed research, supporting such evidence with references to previous research in both areas. The Doctoral Committee judges the fitness and quality of the Dissertation Proposal from this presentation and from the written proposal. It subsequently communicates its recommendations to the Program Committee. Only upon a positive recommendation may the student embark on a dissertation. In the event of failure, the qualifying examination may be retaken once after petition to the Program Committee.
After successful completion of the Qualifying Examination and certification that all other requirements are fulfilled, the student is advanced to candidacy. The appropriate form under “Doctoral Degree Forms” may be obtained from the CGU website. This must occur at least six months before the Final Oral Defense.
Upon completion of the research, the student will prepare the dissertation in accordance with CGU regulations. A final draft of the dissertation will be presented to each member of the Doctoral Committee at least three weeks prior to the final oral examination. The appropriate form under “Doctoral Degree Forms,” along with an abstract of the dissertation, must be filed with CGU’s Office of Admission and Records three weeks before the exam. This deadline is very strict and no exceptions will be made. Please see the CGU website under “Academic Calendar” for the final defense scheduling dates. The oral defense will normally be held on the campus of the dissertation supervisor.
