Degree Requirements

The Doctor of Engineering (DEng) requires 90 credit hours. Professionals may transfer up to 30 credit hours from a relevant master’s degree and/or other non-degree coursework into the DEng program, subject to faculty review. The program features research methodology and professional development coursework, advanced mathematics and statistics, a wide variety of engineering courses, and a culminating applied research project.

  • 12 credit hours of core curriculum and foundational courses
  • 27 minimum credit hours of technical depth courses
  • 12 minimum credit hours of professional and applied courses
  • A minimum 30 credit research thesis and dissertation

As you complete your first full semester, you will work through a fundamentals to establish your individual electronic Plan of Study (EPOS). Each student’s plan of study will be unique, designed to meet the needs of their individual background and interests. Advisory committees will work with students to develop a plan of study that best meets their individual academic needs and career goals. All students are required to have an approved Electronic Plan of Study in order to graduate from Purdue.

The Electronic Plan of Study serves as a contract between you, your faculty advisor, academic advisor, and Purdue University’s Graduate School. Your EPOS is a blueprint for successful completion of your degree requirements. The plan must be approved adhering to department and Graduate School policies. We strongly encourage students to have an approved Plan of Study on file by the end of their second semester.

The following courses are required:

  • ENGR 60100: Doctor of Engineering Fundamentals (1 credit)
  • ENGR 60200: Research Fundamentals (3 credits)
  • ENGR 60300: Doctor of Engineering Seminar (1 credit)

An additional 1 credit of graduate seminar is required. Students may retake ENGR 60300: Doctor of Engineering Seminar (1 credit) or take ENE 59500: Seminar in Engineering Education (1 credit). All seminars offer different content each time they are offered.

Please note Purdue University courses must be taken for Core Course requirements. Transfer credit may not be applied to the Core Course component.

These courses provide the foundational concepts and theories that are applied in a students desired technical field. These courses should equip students to gain significant knowledge, experience, and capability in a particular technology or technical domain directly related to a student’s career goals. 

Students will work with their advisor(s) and during ENGR 60100: Doctor of Engineering Fundamentals to identify a selection of Technical Depth Courses to fulfill this requirement and build an Electronic Plan of Study.

These courses provide additional training, expertise and practice in areas that are important to student’s professional development, but that might not be specific to one technical area. Examples include technical writing, pedagogical theory and practice, project management, product development, leadership development, grant and technical report writing.  

Students will work with their advisor(s) and during ENGR 60100: Doctor of Engineering Fundamentals to identify a selection of Professional and Applied Courses to fulfill this requirement and build an Electronic Plan of Study.

Doctor of Engineering students will earn course credit for a multi-semester applied research project in which they work closely with their industry partner/mentor and a faculty advisor. Measurable outcomes of the research project include a final report/dissertation and demonstration of expertise in the topic area. Other outcomes of research include knowledge dissemination (i.e. presentations at scientific or trades conference, white papers, internal reports, peer-reviewed manuscripts in archival journals, book chapters).

Students are expected to work with an industry partner for development, implementation and application of their research project.

Any courses listed on our courses page will fulfill this requirement, including available non-engineering courses.

All questions regarding courses and transfer credits should be directed to a student’s academic advisor.

Items of Note:

Transfer credits from a student’s Master’s degree will be evaluated and applied to specific components of the degree. Students will utilize ENGR 60100: Doctor of Engineering Fundamentals to propose how a previous master’s degree could be applied to DEng degree requirements.

Minimum credit requirements allow for maximum flexibility and the ability to tailor your degree plan to your specific areas of interest and goals. After you begin your studies at Purdue, an academic advisor will provide you with tools to map out a plan of study tailored to align with your specific goals.

Dissertation

The dissertation demonstrates the candidate’s ability to conduct substantial and significant research in the engineering discipline(s) selected. Candidates are expected to demonstrate mastery of the key literature in the field and use this to situate the specific project they propose. Students enroll in a College of Engineering doctoral research course to complete and receive credit for their dissertation research. Students are required to complete a minimum of thirty credit hours of doctoral research, a requirement that will be distributed across multiple semesters. The exact duration of this distribution depends on the individual student's progress in their dissertation research. In most cases, it is expected that a student will use their first year or two to formulate the research topic, develop the proposal, and conduct self-directed research under the guidance of their industry partner and with support from their Purdue faculty advisor. Successful completion of a preliminary exam is required at least one year prior to graduation and after no fewer than 9 credits of research.

At the conclusion of their program, or in the final semester, students will have a final oral defense of their dissertation research before a graduate committee of reviewers.

Distinction between a PhD and a professional Doctorate degree 

A PhD in Engineering is earned by demonstrating research independence in an engineering-related field of study and generation of new knowledge. A Doctor of Engineering is earned by completion of interdisciplinary professional coursework and demonstration of research independence in an engineering-related field of study, and direct application of the research to engineering practice in real-world, industry, commercial, defense, or other areas of operation and utilization. 

In each program, dissemination of knowledge is key to the training, but may differ depending on the context of each student’s unique context (i.e. presentations at scientific or trades conference, white papers, internal reports, peer-reviewed manuscripts in archival journals, book chapters).