The Department of Computer Science and Engineering Technology, jointly with the Department of Engineering and Aviation Sciences, has established an Interdisciplinary program for a Ph.D. in Applied Computing and Engineering (PHACE) within the School of Business and Technology (SBT) at UMES. The PHACE offers prospective students a graduate program with strong foundations in theory and practice, meeting the needs of technical professionals including but not limited to those in the Eastern Shore of Maryland with more advanced learning in a specialized discipline of cybersecurity, electrical and mechatronics engineering, and applied computer science. The program will help students develop new technologies in emerging fields such as cyber operations, data and computational sciences, software engineering, robotics and automation, drone design, unmanned systems and control, mechatronics, computer networks, wireless communications, and the Internet of Things (IOT) for a wide range of applications including business, finance, agriculture, health care, automobile, aerospace, clean energy systems, etc. It will also prepare them, especially those with disadvantaged backgrounds, with the knowledge and tools necessary to take on computing and engineering leadership roles to shape the future of technology advancement.
The PHACE program will have the following concentrations:
- Concentration # 1: Cybersecurity
- Concentration #2: Data and Computational Science
- Concentration #3: Software Engineering
- Concentration #4: Mechatronics and Control
- Concentration #5: Communications and Networks
These areas of concentration align with the expertise and research focus of existing faculty in both departments and emerging research areas in related fields. The PHACE requires a minimum of sixty (60) credit hours of graduate-level coursework.
The sixty (60) credit hours of the Ph.D. in Applied Computing and Engineering are broken down as follows:
| (A) Core courses | 12 hrs. |
| (B) Free Electives | 12 hrs. |
| (C) Concentration courses | 24 hrs. |
| (D) Dissertation hours | 12 hrs. |
Admission Standards
To be considered for admission into the PHACE program, a student (US and international) must satisfy the university-wide requirements for admission to graduate programs as established by the University’s Graduate School. However, the graduate committees for the various concentrations may require higher academic standards for admitting students to the department’s graduate programs. In general, the applicant must have completed a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechatronics engineering, general engineering, or a closely related technical field from an accredited undergraduate program. The applicant must submit all documents each applicant required by the graduate school to the admission office of the graduate school. In addition, each applicant should also submit:
- A letter of intent describing his/her graduate studies goals and objectives.
- Three letters of reference from faculty, engineers, or supervisors that can certify his/her ability to pursue studies at the graduate level.
