Overview

By the end of the PhD, students are expected to have produced original work making a significant contribution to knowledge in the field of engineering. At the same time, the Department expects that students will leave with the wider skills necessary to be successful in either an academic or a non-academic career.

The Department of Engineering offers PhD studies in a wide variety of subjects:

Energy, Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery

Building on research in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics to develop a systems view of energy generation and utilisation, particularly in ground and air transport, to mitigate environmental impact.

Electrical Engineering

Pursuing fundamental electrical, electronic and photonic research at the material, device and system levels with a focus on creating integrated solutions in the fields of nanotechnology, sensing, energy generation, energy conversion, displays and communications.

Mechanics, Materials and Design

Extending fundamental and applied research in mechanics, materials, and design, exploiting cross-disciplinary partnerships across the University; and building on existing strengths to develop excellence in bioengineering and healthcare systems research.

Civil Engineering

Advancing the mechanics of civil and structural engineering systems within the broader context of the design, construction and operation of sustainable infrastructure and the stewardship of Earth’s resources and environment.

Manufacturing and Management

Developing new understanding of manufacturing technology, operations, strategy and policy, in close partnership with industry, in order to improve industrial performance.

Information Engineering

Developing fundamental theory and applications relating to the generation, distribution, analysis and use of information in engineering and biological systems.

Teaching

Although the course is a research degree, PhD students are entitled to attend all lecture courses within the Department. They should discuss with their supervisors which courses would be most beneficial to their research.

Additionally, first-year students are normally required to take two master’s-level taught modules (selected from a list of over 100 modules) as part of their first-year assessment, and will participate in regular seminars, which will equip them with essential skills in research practice and communication. Students may also be expected to engage in additional researcher development activities.

All doctoral research takes place in University of Cambridge facilities. However, the Department and its supervisors have strong links to other institutions both in the UK and around the world. After their first year, students may therefore apply for permission to undertake research in other institutions for extended periods of time. All necessary practical arrangements are the responsibility of students and their supervisors.

One to one supervision	PhD students can expect to attend at least eight one hour-long individual meetings with their supervisor every calendar year. This is in addition to daily contact with the research group in which they are placed.The University of Cambridge publishes an annual Code of Practice which sets out the University’s expectations regarding supervision.
Seminars & classes	Over the course of the first year, students will attend approximately 24 hours of seminars targeted at developing their research and communications skills.
Lectures	Most students will attend two 16-hour lecture courses in the first year.
Literature_reviews	Conducting a literature review is a normal part of the PhD writing process.

Placements

The Department is flexible in permitting students, with the support of their supervisors, to undertake research in an industrial setting. Permission to work away from the University is required. However, students may not undertake any paid work in an industrial setting during the course of the PhD.

Feedback

Throughout the PhD, students can expect to receive feedback from their supervisors, who they will meet for regular supervisions, and assistance from those working in the same research group. Supervisors will also submit a termly report on students’ progress which will be made available via the CamSIS self-service system.

Every student is also allocated an advisor, who is available for consultation alongside the supervisor. Additionally, in the first year, students will receive feedback from coursework assignments and the Researcher Development Course leaders in the first year.

Assessment

Thesis

The PhD is assessed through the examination of a thesis, including an oral (“viva voce”) examination. The thesis must not exceed 65,000 words (including appendices, footnotes, tables and equations), and must not contain more than 150 figures.

Written examination

First-year students are normally required to take two master’s-level taught modules (selected from a list of over 100 modules) as part of their first-year assessment, and will participate in a regular seminars, which will equip them with essential skills in research practice and communication.

Expected Academic Standard

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK High II.i Honours Degree.

If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country.

Students currently undertaking a taught Master’s degree at Cambridge must achieve a mark of 70 per cent to be allowed to continue to the PhD degree. Students currently studying for a Master’s degree by research must satisfy their examiners that they are capable of continuing to the PhD degree.

Successful applicants will have a background in engineering, science or a related subject.

University Minimum Academic Requirements

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Language Requirement

IELTS (Academic)

Element	Score
Listening	7.0
Writing	7.0
Reading	6.5
Speaking	7.0
Total	7.0

TOEFL Internet Score

Element	Score
Listening	25
Writing	25
Reading	25
Speaking	25
Total	100

CAE

Score: Grade A or B (with at least 193 in each individual element) plus a language centre assessment.

CPE

Score: Grade A, B, or C (with at least 200 in each individual element).

Should You Get Your PhD in Engineering?

Is it worth it to continue the academic track towards an engineering PhD, or are you be better off going into the industry, paying back those student loans?

The answer depends on what you want from your engineering career.

Do You Enjoy Research?

The greatest advantage of the PhD is that it gives you experience in carrying out detailed research. Your Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees are focused on learning things that are already known, but the PhD teaches you to find out new things, to carry out experiments, to report data, and learn from your mistakes.

Ideally, you become a subject matter expert in your chosen focus. That puts you in a great position for jobs that require that specific expertise, or where research skills are highly valued.

Preet Anand, CEO of technology company BlueLight, says that you need to think about what role you want. “A PhD is incredibly important for anyone involved with scientific innovation and research. However, if your aspirations are to be involved with implementation and quickly moving into the business side, a PhD is probably not effective from a time-ROI perspective. It’s especially not helpful if you’re working in software, where the speed of innovation in industry is quicker than the speed of academia.”

Forensic engineer Robert McElroy specializes in technical failure analysis related to automobiles, heavy trucks, and all types of industrial vehicles, and is an internationally recognized expert on the causes of industrial and transportation accidents. He stresses that his PhD has both commercial and technical benefits. “As a serial entrepreneur and forensic engineer, without the PhD, I could never have accomplished what I have been fortunate enough to achieve.”

An Engineering PhD Opens Doors…

Karen Thole, Department Head of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, explains that the usefulness of PhDs in industry quite depends upon the industry itself.  “Many high tech industries continue to develop “tools” to help their engineers determine better designs.  The development of such tools generally requires a graduate level understanding.  And, a company’s tools are what set apart the competition.  For example, there are several companies that make gas turbine engines with the basic architecture being the same.  What sets companies apart, however, are those that do their own tool development such as predictive codes, design codes, standard work practices, etc.  As tools improve, it helps to advance technology and develop better engines.  To improve the tools, however, it requires a high level of understanding of the physics, which is where PhDs come in.  The more technologically advanced the company, the more it takes some sort of research center, which generally employs PhDs.”

“I have yet to find a jobless, homeless PhD in engineering.”

Naturally, this means that some industries have far more demand for PhDs than others. “The aerospace industries as well as the high tech electronics industries both look for PhDs,” says Thole. “They’re generally the ones which require ME and EE disciplines.”

David Gantshar, CEO of engineering recruiters Shepherd Search Group Inc. notes that the value of a PhD often depends on the character of the senior management. Companies founded or led by PhDs tend to have more respect for those who have been through the same academic training. “A PhD is highly valued in some circumstances and not necessary at other times,” he says. “For a vice president of engineering or another senior executive position, it can be a big plus, especially if the company president himself has a PhD. The PhD degree reflects intense and successful research and would be valued in an R&D environment. If the president of the organization has one, he/she will value those individuals that are “on par” academically and offer credentials similar to those around the table. However for a senior engineering or manager’s position, it is rarely required.”

… Unless It Closes Them

However, one problem faced by many PhDs is that they’re often regarded as “too academic,” and therefore not suited to the pace and pressures of commercial engineering.

Credit: NASA

Whether or not that’s true, it’s certainly a perception you have to battle with, as Gantshar notes. “It really depends on the organization. Some companies might see a Ph.D. as too research oriented and would identify the engineer as insufficiently hands-on. We have seen many instances where a PhD has actually worked against a candidate in these circumstances and the individual with less academic credentials is selected based upon these perceptions.”

What About Non-STEM PhDs?

If you’re thinking of going into the management role, then it may be worth considering a PhD which proves your business credentials. Combined with your engineering experience, it can give you a major advantage over other managers.

Sonja Fisher recently completed her PhD in business. “It has been very helpful,” she says, with evident pride. “I am getting opportunities left and right. I seem to be more in demand since getting my PhD.”

Should You Get Your PhD?

If you’re looking for a research role, a job requiring very specific expertise or a position in a company that’s known for innovation or R&D, then a PhD can pay great dividends. According to the latest Engineering Income and Salary Survey, on average, you’ll earn about 35% more than an engineer with a Bachelor’s degree – typically about $30,000 a year. That’s a huge payoff for those few years of research.

Equally importantly, a PhD will give you a level of job security that a lesser degree won’t give you. “I have yet to find a jobless, homeless PhD in engineering.  That’s my simple answer,” grins Thole. Not only that, but it opens up new opportunities. “The PhD really allows you to tailor your own career a bit more.  Generally companies want their PhDs to seek out new ideas and think bigger about the field.  So, it presents more opportunities to do what you want.”

Best Universities for Engineering & Technology on PhDPortal

Universities	Location	Times Higher Education Ranking (2018)	TopUniversities Ranking (2018)	U.S. News & World Report Ranking (2018)
Harvard University	Cambridge, United States	–	13	41
Melbourne Business School	Melbourne, Australia	–	28	132
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)	Los Angeles, United States	–	30	44
University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, United States	–	75	171
Yale University	New Haven, United States	–	76	321
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	–	90	50
Bologna Business School	Bologna, Italy	–	110	–
National Technical University of Athens	Athens, Greece	–	113	138
Duke University	Durham, United States	–	119	155
University of Barcelona	Barcelona, Spain	–	121	255

Choose Between a Master’s, Ph.D. in Engineering

WHEN IT COMES TO employment, graduates with a bachelor’s degree in engineering are on solid footing, relatively speaking. With high salaries and some of the best odds of finding full-time work, they can escape the career angst that often plagues their peers with freshly-minted English or history diplomas.

Still, many engineers may find themselves wondering what a graduate degree could do for their career. 

“With the economy improving, significant numbers of job postings are now requiring higher levels of expertise,” says Ken Little, senior graduate career development adviser at Georgia Institute of Technology. At the same time, high-tech jobs are becoming more globally competitive, drawing applicants from all over the world, he says. 

Students looking to get a graduate degree in engineering can choose between a master’s program and a Ph.D. It’s a big decision, experts say, and one that can significantly affect a student’s career. [ 

Before choosing what kind of graduate degree to pursue, students should think about what they want to do with their lives after graduation, experts say.

Master’s degrees prepare students for careers in industry that don’t have a research focus, says Babatunde Ogunnaike, dean of the college of engineering at the University of Delaware. “If you want to work in research either in industry or in academia or for a government research lab, you need to get a Ph.D.,” he says.

Eddie Machek, who is earning a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Akron and who will start a doctoral program in engineering at Georgia Tech this fall, explains the difference between the degrees this way: “At a bachelor’s level you are going to go out and do what’s been done. At the master’s level you are going to be in charge of the people who are doing that stuff. In a Ph.D., that’s a whole other thing because you are doing the new stuff. You are in a lab.” 

Master’s degrees in engineering can be a great fit for recent graduates who want to specialize within engineering or for those already in the field who want to switch their focus, experts say. The degrees can be research-based, which is the more common option, or professional, which lack a research component.

“It opens the door for more specialized opportunities in the workforce,” Craig Menzemer, associate dean for graduate studies and administration at the University of Akron, said through email. “For example, a civil engineer with a bachelor’s degree may be expected to do a variety of day-to-day tasks, but a civil engineering major with a master’s who specialized in structures will have opportunities to work on structural-specific projects.” [ 

Aditya Srinath, who earned his master’s in industrial engineering from Purdue University in 2014, says he opted for the credential because it helped him bolster his professional skills rather than research skills. “A master’s strikes a good balance between having more education than a bachelor’s and not as much as Ph.D but still having a more rounded-out profile,” says Srinath, who works as a project engineer at 3M, which manufactures a wide array of products, including Post-it Notes. 

Engineering Ph.D.s provide even more specialization than master’s degrees, and a higher earning potential, but they also come with significant risks, experts say. 

Research jobs within government labs and industry are quite competitive, and tenure-track faculty positions are notoriously hard to come by, says George Haritos, dean of the college of engineering at the University of Akron. What’s more, sometimes employers in industry won’t hire Ph.D.s because they fear they are overqualified and would have to pay them too much, he says. 

Doctoral programs require students to put in a great deal of time and effort, experts say. Not everyone finishes the programs, and those who do are both gifted and passionate about their subject. 

Scottie-Beth Fleming, who is earning a doctorate in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, says she enjoys the independence that comes with a Ph.D. 

“With the master’s, a lot of times, your research is driven by the government or someone who is giving money and there is an expectation of what you are going to do,” she says. “In a Ph.D. you don’t have that expectation. You get to explore an area that maybe nobody else would explore.” [ 

Before making a final decision about what kind of advanced engineering degree to pursue, students should also look into the requirements of their field, says Susan Fisher, director of graduate programs at Purdue University’s engineering school.

For example, chemical engineering and biomedical engineering have more employment opportunities for Ph.D. students, she says. Civil engineering, on the other hand, has more employment openings outside academia for those with master’s degrees than for those with doctorates.

One way students can gauge whether they are ready for a Ph.D is to take a few research-focused courses either in undergrad or while in a master’s program, experts say. 

“The goal is to find out what you are truly passionate about and find a good way to apply that to the world,” Srinath says.