Study towards the Ph.D. degree requires a strong background in an area of specialization and an ability to carry out independent research. Students must complete, in order:

Precandidacy Status

A student must apply for and be admitted to precandidacy status before taking the Preliminary Exam. There are two ways to enroll as precandidate:

By requesting a change of program from Master to Precandidate after at least one term of enrollment in the MSE/MS program. By applying for admission into the doctoral program with a BSE/BS degree or a MSE/MS degree or equivalent. To be admitted as a precandidate, the student's GPA must be above 6.5 out of 9.0 (equivalent to 3.5/4.0) in relevant courses. Admission is determined by the Graduate Committee.

Students admitted directly to the doctoral program may also earn a Master degree, by fulfilling the Master degree requirements concurrently with the Doctoral degree.

Preliminary Exam

To become a Ph.D. candidate, a student must demonstrate a high level of competency by passing a Preliminary Exam. To take the exam the student must: (i) be accepted as a Precandidate, and (ii) have had research experience as a Research Assistant or have completed successfully three credits of directed study (AE 590) supervised by a faculty member in the department. Precandidates must be registered in the department during the term in which the exam is taken.

The Preliminary Examination in Gas Dynamics
The written part is based on the following courses:
- AE 520 Compressible Flow I
- AE 522 Viscous Flow
- AE 525 Introduction to Turbulent Flows
- AE 532 Molecular Gas Dynamics
- AE 533 Combustion Processes
The oral part is based on the same material and covers the areas of: viscous flow, compressible flow, gas kinetics, combustion processes, and turbulent flow.

The Preliminary Examination in Structural Mechanics
The written part is based primarily on the following courses:
- AE 416 Theory of Plates and Shells
- AE 510 Finite Elements in Mechanical and Structural Analysis I
- AE 514 Foundations of Solid Mechanics
- AE 518 Theory of Elastic Stability I
- AE 540 Intermediate Dynamics
- AE 565 Optimal Structural Design
- ME&AM 512 Theory of Elasticity
The oral part is based on the same material and consists of four sections: structural mechanics, mathematics, dynamics, and one of the following: fluid mechanics, gas dynamics, or flight dynamics and controls.

The Preliminary Examinations in Flight Dynamics and Control Systems
The written part is based on the following courses:
- AE 540 Intermediate Dynamics
- AE 550 Linear Systems Theory
and on selected material from the following courses;
- AE 445 Flight Dynamics of Aerospace Vehicles
- AE 548 Astrodynamics
- AE 551 Nonlinear Dynamical Systems
- AE 573 Dynamics and Control of Spacecraft
- AE 575 Flight and Trajectory Optimization
- AE 579 Control of Structures and Fluids
- AE 580 Linear Feedback Control Systems
- AE 584 Avionics, Navigationand Guidance of Aerospace Vehicle

Candidacy

Candidacy status is achieved upon successful completion of the Preliminary Exam and meet other academic credit requirements as described in the Rackham Student Handbook.

Dissertation

The student must perform original research, present a written dissertation, and defend the dissertation at a final oral presentation. The research is done under the supervision of a faculty adviser in the Aerospace Engineering department and a dissertation committee. Students are encouraged to begin research in their first year of graduate study.

Ph.D. Degree

The Ph.D. degree is awarded upon successful completion of a Ph.D. dissertation, a Ph.D. defense, and other academic credit requirements. See the Rackham Student Handbook for details. Students should have taken a minimum of 16 graduate courses beyond the bachelor's degree. There is no foreign language requirement, and there are no specific course requirements.