Academic plan and regulations
The academic plan for any specialization within the Doctorate in Engineering Sciences Program consists of a total of 300 credits (80 in courses and 220 in thesis work), where 10 credits are equivalent to a weekly academic load of 10 hours for the student, in addition to the following requirements:
- 80 credits in graduate level courses, with at least one of them being Seminario de postgrado (Graduate seminar.)
- A thesis graded as 220 credits
- Candidature exam
- Internship in a foreign country
- Annual follow-up activity
- Three Transversal Skills workshops, with at least one of them pertaining to ethics.
- Certification of second language proficiency at an advanced level and applicable to the academic field.
- Have a research article of her/his authorship (main author) based on her/his research work towards the thesis, accepted for publication in an ISI-indexed scientific journal; or have a pending patent in the United States, Japan, or the European Union for an invention resulting from her/his doctoral research.
Additionally, the Doctorate Committee may assign any leveling courses necessary to ensure that each student is properly prepared for the doctoral program. Credits from any leveling courses do not count towards the total credit requirements established in the Academic Plan for the Doctorate in Engineering Sciences Program.
The academic plan for each student includes defining a research topic, which is proposed by the student’s thesis director and must be approved by the Doctorate Committee prior to the start of the second semester in the doctoral program. Each individual academic plan should contain advanced engineering courses aimed at preparing students to conduct research in their selected area. Any changes made to a student’s academic plan, for justified reasons, must be approved by the Doctorate Committee.
Graduate courses list
You can find the list of available courses for the Doctorate in Engineering Sciences Program by clicking the following link:
We advise that you review the course search instructions HERE
In addition to the courses included on the official list of graduate courses offered by the Engineering School, students may take any other graduate courses at the university that may be suggested by her/his advisor and approved by the Program Director.
All credits must receive a mark at the end of the semester. Only during the last semester the advisor may grade with an “I” (incompleto or incomplete) up to 50 credits associated to the research thesis.
Only the grades obtained in programmed courses will be considered for the purposes of calculating the grade point average. Credits transferred from courses taken at other institutions are excluded from the calculation.
Graduate students cannot remove courses from their academic plan at any point in the semester; only properly justified changes made during the first month of classes of each semester will be accepted.
Complementary courses
A complementary course is such that a student has not taken in undergraduate school and is a pre-requisite for her/his program. If considered necessary for her/his studies, at least 40 credits in leveling complementary courses may be required to those students that hold an academic degree or have professional qualifications in a discipline related to engineering. These courses are not to be a part of the student´s academic plan.
Graduate Requirements
- Be a doctoral candidate.
- Pass all of the courses and academic activities listed in the academic plan, maintaining a cumulative average grade of 5.0 or higher throughout the duration of the doctoral program, which must be completed within a maximum period of ten academic semesters.
- Complete and pass the required degree exam and doctoral defense.
- Complete a minimum stay in the Doctorate program of at least four semesters.
- Have no debt of any kind with the University.
Intermediate exit
The Doctorate in Engineering Sciences Program offers a Master in Engineering Sciences degree, as an intermediate exit option, to those students that have obtained 150 credits within their respective academic plan, distributed in 80 course credits and 70 research credits, and have passed the final exam established for the Master in Engineering Sciences Program to earned such degree.