South Dakota - School of Mines and Technology
PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Rapid City, USA
PhD
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
The Mechanical Engineering (ME) PhD program at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology allows students to reach the highest level of academic achievement. In addition to teaching in academia, program graduates can pursue careers at research centers in national laboratories and research & development (R&D) centers in automotive, aerospace, oil, and gas. Students will have a chance to work with faculty involved in research at the forefront of their fields and to publish in acclaimed journals.
They will conduct experimental/numerical/theoretical research in one of three areas-thermo-fluid sciences, solid mechanics & materials science, and robotics & controls. The program emphasizes flexibility, breadth, and depth: flexibility for the student and his/her doctoral committee to make choices; breadth across disciplines within and outside of mechanical engineering; and depth in one or more sub-disciplines. Graduates of the program will have demonstrated:
a) an ability to contribute new ideas, knowledge, applications, developments, and/or insights in an area of mechanical engineering;
b) a sufficient breadth of knowledge in their chosen areas within and outside of mechanical engineering;
c) an ability to formulate, and bring to meaningful completion, a research project.
NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES
The ME Graduate Studies and Research Program focuses on three primary areas of scientific research in mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics: fluid dynamics & thermal science, solid mechanics & material science, and robotics & controls. The research activities of the ME faculty involve both computational and experimental efforts across several departmental laboratories, including the Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics Systems (AIMS) lab; Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Production (CAMP); Experimental and Computational Mechanics Laboratory (ECML); Fluids, Thermodynamics, and Heat Transfer lab; Joining and Mechanics of Polymers (JMP) lab; Laboratory of Engineered Multifunctional Materials and Alloys (LEMMA); Powerful high-performance computing cluster; and Robotics and Computational Kinematics Innovation (ROCKIN) Lab.
Strong research collaborations exist among these laboratories as well as campus-wide research centers, such as:
• Additive Manufacturing Laboratory (AML)
• Arbegast Materials Processing and Joining (AMP) lab
• Center for Security Printing and Anti-Counterfeiting
Technology (SPACT)
• Composites and Polymer Engineering (CAPE) lab
• Surface Engineering Research Center (SERC)
Financial assistance is dependent on the department and funding that is available in a given year.
Financial assistance is available for graduate teaching assistants (GTA) and for graduate research assistants (GRA). A GTA handles laboratory sections, grades papers, or performs other assigned instructional duties. A GRA is compensated to conduct supervised research, which generally relates to the student’s thesis or dissertation research.
A full-time GTA or GRA is equivalent to approximately twenty (20) hours per week of assigned duties during the academic year. Part-time service is compensated in accordance with expected hourly effort. Completion of coursework and other degree requirements requires additional effort beyond compensated hours. Graduate assistants must be degree-seeking students and registered full-time (9 or 10 credits each fall and spring semester, and 2 credits each summer session) during the period of appointment.
Approximately 50% of all graduate students receive assistantships. Graduate assistants who hold a teaching or research assistantship are eligible for a tuition reduction that covers 100% of tuition and program fees for campus courses. The general activity fee and other miscellaneous fees as applicable are assessed at the regular rate. Specialty courses such as field camp and remedial courses are not eligible fore reduced tuition. For an out of state Master's student, the value of a 20-hour per week assistantship with tuition reduction is at least $25,000 for the academic year. Ph.D. stipends are typically higher. Additional summer support may also be available.
Admitted students will be automatically considered for research assistantship support based on the information provided in the admissions application. No further application materials are required. Financial awards are primarily granted to research students who begin enrollment in the fall. Graduate students wishing to be considered for financial assistance should submit their application and all required admission documents by February 15.
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