The program prepares its graduates to respond to the needs and challenges of the ever-changing world and provide them the knowledge, skills, ethics, creativity and critical thinking skills necessary for professional competence and life-long learning.

The PhD in Engineering is an interdisciplinary degree with a strong research emphasis. The program prepares candidates for both academic and industry careers. Interdisciplinary graduate degrees have been advocated in recent reports by the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council, among others. This degree provides five concentration areas, namely, (a) Cyberspace , (b) Engineering Education , (c) Engineering Physics , (d) Micro and Nanoscale Systems , and (e) Materials and Infrastructure Systems .