Ph.D. degree students must complete 12 hours of dissertation credit. All Ph.D. degree students are required to take a written qualifying exam in 8 out of 12 undergraduate mechanical engineering subject areas in the first Spring Semester following their admission to the Ph.D. program. Ph.D. degree students must take a comprehensive exam within 24 months after entering the degree program and 12 months prior to graduation. The exam consists of a written dissertation proposal and an oral presentation and defense of the proposal. The university has a well-equipped Electron Microscopy Center for materials characterization.
Most appointments are full time.
University fellowships are also available. Fees may change without notice. Private rooms and apartments are also available near campus. Approximately 37 percent of the students are from other countries. Columbia is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the Southeast and currently has a metropolitan population of around 500,000.