Quantum Science and Engineering: Degree Requirements

The QSE M.S. degree requires a minimum of 32 credit hours. The course sequence for each of the tracks is shown in Table 1:

1. Quantum Nanotechnology (required courses in black and green)
2. Quantum Theory (required courses in black and orange)
3. Quantum Algorithms and Computation (required courses in blue and black)

The information presented in this table is also contained below in text-only format.

The QSE Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 41 credits. The course sequence for each of the tracks is shown in Table 2:

1. Quantum Nanotechnology (required courses in black and green)
2. Quantum Theory (required courses in black and orange)
3. Quantum Algorithms and Computation (required courses in blue and black)

The information presented in this table is also contained below in text-only format.

Students who have already taken courses, in other departments or at other institutions, that they believe satisfy the requirements of a required course for this degree may request that a course requirement be waived. Such applications must be submitted to the graduate program advisor and Associate Program Director in writing. Applications must be accompanied by a) documentation of the content covered in the prior course (e.g. syllabus, copies of homework or exams) and b) evidence of satisfactory completion of the prior course. Applications will be evaluated and approved / denied by the graduate committee, typically in consultation with the UD instructor of the course for which a waiver has been requested. Students whose requests are approved will select, in consultation with the graduate program advisor, Associate Program Director, and their advisor, a different course to take to meet the total number of credits required for the degree. The graduate program advisor will complete a course substitution form to document the approved substitution.

All Ph.D. trainees will be encouraged to participate in internships with our corporate and national lab partners. There are three goals for this internship program. First, we want trainees to understand the industry context in which the skills they are learning will be used. For this reason, trainees will typically participate in internships during the summer after their first year. Second, the internships will create a network of contacts upon which trainees can draw after graduation. Third, we want the needs of industry to be continuously brought back into our research programs. 

Qualifying exams

Ph.D. students are required to pass qualifying exams to enter candidacy. Qualifying exams should generally be scheduled in Year 2 but must be completed by the end of Year 3. If a student does not pass the qualifying exam by the end of Year 3, the student will be asked to leave the program. In the case of extenuating circumstances, the student may petition the Graduate Committee for an extension.

The qualifying exams comprise two parts: a written and an oral exam. The written paper, which serves as a dissertation proposal, is prepared by the student. The student’s advisor should review the paper to ensure that it conforms with these requirements and may offer constructive feedback to the student. After this review, the paper should be sent to the student’s committee at least two weeks before the date of the qualifying exam. The paper should be no longer than 12 pages in length (single space, 12 pt font, Times New Roman or equivalent) including figures. Substantial references, demonstrating that students are familiar with the background literature in the field, should be included in the paper and are not included in the 12 page maximum. References should be in a standard format that complies with NSF guidelines.

The paper must include the following sections:

• Introduction and Motivation explaining the importance of the research problem
• Background summarizing the scientific foundations and important prior work in the field.
• Statement of the Research Problem that will be the focus of the student’s dissertation research, including a statement of hypotheses to be tested.
• Proposed Approach describing the methods to be employed in conducting the research. This section should include citations to references that established the techniques to be employed and a description of why these techniques are appropriate for the proposed research.
• Timeline of the proposed research
• Progress to Date describing the student’s efforts on the project thus far. Demonstration of substantial progress and/or results is not required.

Additional sections as appropriate to the proposed topic and field are welcome.

When students preparing to take their qualifying exam are the lead author of a published or submitted journal or full-length conference paper, they may request that this paper be accepted in lieu of the written qualifying exam paper. The graduate committee will approve or deny this request. If the request is granted, the student will be expected to submit to her/his committee both the approved paper and a short (approximately 3 page) description of specific future research plans and timeline.

The student should prepare an oral presentation with slides. The slides should cover all of the required sections of the written paper and should include a final slide with a tentative project timeline. The presentation should be designed to be 30 minutes in length if delivered without interruption. Students should expect frequent interruptions to discuss the slide content and to probe the student’s knowledge of the material presented and how it relates to underlying scientific principles. To ensure the examination adequately tests the student’s ability to synthesize knowledge from courses and apply it to a research project, examiners are free to ask questions about any scientific topic related to the proposed project, including topics covered in either the written paper or oral presentation. All background knowledge probed should be germane to the proposed project. Exams typically take between 90 and 120 minutes. This should include a hard stop at least 10 minutes prior to the end of the examination to permit time for the faculty to deliberate without the student in the room.

Evaluation Criteria

Students will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Has the student demonstrated the ability to integrate foundational material and concepts in order to understand the scientific foundations of the research problem?

• Does the student understand the scientific underpinnings of the approaches to be employed?

• Has the student demonstrated knowledge of the important prior results in the field?

• Has a clear research problem or objective been identified and clearly explained?

• Does the proposed approach describe a feasible path to addressing this research problem?

Based on these evaluation criteria, the committee shall form a consensus on whether the student Passes, Passes Provisionally, or Fails the examination. Feedback should be provided to the student. A “Passes Provisionally” shall entail whatever provisions and timeline the committee deems necessary to address the shortcomings that resulted in that outcome. The advisor is responsible for ensuring these provisions are met and shall notify both the student’s committee and the graduate program director in writing how the provisions were met. In the event a student fails the examination, the committee should explain the reasons for the failure. The student shall, at the discretion of the advisor, be permitted to retake the exam one additional time within six months.