{"id":20606,"date":"2022-07-13T09:45:38","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T13:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?page_id=20606"},"modified":"2024-04-04T12:39:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T16:39:29","slug":"handbook","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/fiber-and-polymer-science\/handbook\/","title":{"rendered":"FPS Graduate Handbook"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

The Fiber and Polymer Science Ph.D. requires 72 credits for graduation. Full details are provided in Section II: Program Structure. All students are required to take FPS 770 Introduction to Polymer Science and TMS762 Physical Properties of Fiber Forming Polymers and two semesters of FPS 801 along with two additional courses from the list given in the Appendix. Students must also successfully defend a critical literature review and research proposal and a final dissertation defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span><\/span>

Roadmap to Graduation<\/h2><\/a>
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Semester 1<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Take FPS770 (Fall) or TMS762 (Spring), FPS801, and one or two additional courses from the list given in the Appendix. Find a research advisor from program faculty and a research project in consultation with research advisor. Program faculty can be found in the Fields of Graduate Instruction<\/a> under FPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semester 2<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Take TMS762 (Spring) or FPS770 (Fall), FPS 801, and, if qualifier courses have not been completed, take one or two of the courses from the list given in the Appendix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semester 3<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Complete required coursework (minimum of six 3-credit courses) and create Plan of Work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semester 4<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Defend prelim exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semester 4 \u2192 graduation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Perform research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Semester<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Defend dissertation and get dissertation approved by ETD.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/span><\/span>

I. Program Introduction<\/h2><\/a>
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The Ph.D. degree symbolizes the ability of the recipient to undertake original and scholarly work at the highest levels without supervision. The degree is, therefore, not granted simply upon the completion of a stated amount of course work but rather upon demonstration by the student of a comprehensive knowledge base and high attainment in scholarship. The student demonstrates this ability by passing a series of courses, creating a written critical literature review and original research proposal, defending an oral preliminary examination, writing a dissertation reporting the results of an original investigation, and making a final oral defense of the research before the student\u2019s advisory committee and other interested members of the university community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A minimum of 72 credit hours is required of students entering the program with a B.S. degree, or a minimum of 54 credit hours beyond the M.S. degree is required. (Students, who enter the Ph.D. program directly upon completion of an M.S. at NC State, may be allowed credit for up to 30 hours of their M.S. and thus would require 42 additional credit hours to complete the Ph.D.) Most of these credit hours are expected to be research credits (FPS 893 or FPS 895). The student generally selects courses, in consultation with their advisory committee, so as to prepare for admission to candidacy for the degree and to carry out their proposed research. (Students are admitted to candidacy after meeting the course requirements and passing the preliminary oral examination.) The Fiber and Polymer Science program requires successful completion of a specific set of four qualifying courses plus a minimum of 2 additional graduate courses plus two semesters of FPS 801 (which may be waived for students who have taken TC, TE or TMT 601). These additional courses (which should be selected with input from the advisory committee) can be part of an \u201cofficial minor\u201d, which will require approval from the Minor Director of Graduate Programs, or can be courses chosen to provide a better foundation for the research work. The coursework must be followed by the successful defense of a research proposal, after which the student is a candidate for the Ph.D. degree. The student must subsequently submit and successfully defend a dissertation, based on a body of their original research. Upon successful completion of the above requirements, the committee can recommend that the doctorate be awarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anticipated time for completion of the Ph.D. program is four years for a student entering from a B.S. degree and three years for entry from an M.S. degree. The minimum time required (in exceptional cases) is two years beyond entry if the student obtained an M.S. degree from NC State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students are expected to comply with the university guidelines on course load unless special justification for an exception has been made and approved by the Graduate Program Director and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School in advance. Such exceptions will normally not be allowed to extend beyond one semester. A maximum of 15 credit hours per semester is allowed if the student is self-funded and 12 credit hours if the student is funded. A maximum of 9 credit hours for any combination of FPS 893, 895, 899, and 830 are permitted in any single semester. At least 18 credit hours of research are required and more are expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a complete summary of procedures governing the Ph.D. degree, see the appropriate sections of the Graduate Catalog <\/strong>and The Graduate Handbook<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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II. Program Structure<\/h2><\/a>
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II. A. Overview<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The program contains \u201cmilestones\u201d that shall be met by the student. These consist of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n