51视频-Dearborn鈥檚 College of Engineering and Computer Science has been pouring a ton of energy into its doctoral programs over the past few years. CECS鈥 four departmental Ph.D. programs recently kicked off their affiliation with 51视频-Ann Arbor鈥檚 Rackham Graduate School. And now, the college is preparing to launch an entirely different breed of doctoral program 鈥 this one designed for fully-employed, part-time students coming from the auto industry.
Most notably, the new doctoral program in Automotive Systems and Mobility is not a Ph.D.; it鈥檚 actually a different type of terminal degree called a Doctor of Engineering or D.Eng. 鈥淭raditional Ph.D. programs typically focus on people who want to have an academic career,鈥 explains Dewey Jung, an associate professor of mechanical engineering who鈥檚 helping spearhead the launch of the new program. 鈥淏ut we also wanted to serve a student whose goal is to grow as a technical leader in the space they鈥檙e already working in. That鈥檚 what a Doctor of Engineering is. It鈥檚 actually a more common kind of degree in Europe, where the educational goals tend to be more application oriented. So we are importing a bit of that Euro flavor because we see meaningful demand here for that type of degree.鈥
Jung said that demand is primarily coming from people who are currently employed in the local auto industry, but want to advance into research-oriented leadership roles in their fields or companies. That quality makes them obvious candidates for advanced education, but it can also make them a tricky demographic to serve. Because of their work commitments, fully employed students often pursue their studies part-time. And that, Jung told us, puts them at greater risk of attrition 鈥 or of producing dissertation research that鈥檚 obsolete by the time they鈥檙e able to finish their degree.
The beauty of the D.Eng program is that those potential liabilities morph into strengths. Take the research component of doctoral programs, for example. Since a prospective D.Eng student is already working in the industry, they have a field of expertise. And why not, Jung says, simply allow that to feed their research as D.Eng students? 鈥淔or the part-time student, if your research and work are on two completely different things, the educational efficiency is very low. If they overlap, there鈥檚 built-in synergy between work life and student life.鈥
In fact, as part of their application to the D.Eng program, students will be asked to demonstrate their employer鈥檚 commitment to their education. That could be financial support or allowing some work time to be devoted to program-related research. In the latter case, Jung says, the distinction between work and school would be practically non-existent.
Jung is confident people employed in almost any area of the industry should be able to find a home in the program, due to its highly multidisciplinary design. In all, the D.Eng features nine different core research areas, ranging from autonomous vehicles to power trains to fleet electrification. And leaders from all four CECS departments, including Oleg Zikanov (ME), Sang-Hwan Kim (IMSE), Taehyung Kim (ECE), Jie Shen (CIS) 鈥 plus, CECS Dean Tony England and Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Research Yi Lu Murphey 鈥 were directly involved in creating the program.
And that, when you add it all up, means students could complete a relevant, doctoral degree, part-time, in just four years, all while never leaving their job and putting themselves in a position for a better one at the end of it all. They鈥檒l still be really busy, Jung says. But part-time doctoral students may now have a clearer path to the finish line.
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Are you interested in learning more about the D.Eng in Automotive Systems and Mobility at 51视频-Dearborn? Visit the official program page to read more or apply.
