PhD in Aerospace Engineering

All PhD applicants must hold a MSc degree (with thesis) from an accredited university.  Students with an ME degree or non-thesis MSc degree may apply after completing a 1-year exploratory research program.

All interested applicants must complete and submit the Technion application form

Our faculty has the following additional admission requirements:

• Applicants must be in contact with a potential advisor at the Technion.  The advisor must submit a letter of interest supporting the student’s application. Recommenders may send the recommendation without the form directly to the Graduate Addmission office.
• 2 reference letters (must include a letter from the student’s MSc advisor). Recommenders may send the recommendation without the form directly to the Graduate Addmission office.
• A 1-2 page research statement.  This statement should summarize your research accomplishments and describe your research interests.
• A interview may be requested based on the recommendation of the graduate studies committee.

International Students

The GRE exam is optional, but encouraged, for international applicants.  Interested applicants should contact the Aerospace graduate studies office (ae.g.ad@technion.ac.il) for further details.

All admission decisions are determined by the Technion graduate school and the Aerospace graduate studies committee.

Excellent MSc students have an opportunity to transition to a PhD degree.  There are two different options to pursue this path.

PhD Direct Track

Eligibility

1. The student completed at least one full semester after the approval of his/her research subject.
2. The student completed at least 50% of the required course work, with a GPA of at least 90.
3. Students who graduated Cum Laude (an average of at least 85) from a four-year BSc degree, or graduated Summa cum Laude from a three-year BSc study program, may apply after one semester, provided that they have an approved research topic, and after having completed at least one third of the required credits (but not less than eight credit points).

Transfers are only possible within your current department and with the same advisor(s).

Interested students are required to submit:

• A proposal – a concise summary of the student’s current work towards the Master’s degree and a research plan for the Doctorate. The summary will include:
  • Introduction
  • Research goals
  • Research hypothesis
  • Work program
  • Preliminary results (if there are any).
• A recommendation from the advisor, the co-advisor and the consultant (if applicable).
• A recommendation letter by a faculty member not involved directly with the research, on the research level and its suitability for doctoral research.

PhD Special Track

The PhD special track is an excellence track designed for candidates holding a bachelor’s degree in science or engineering, who have completed their bachelor’s degree with honors (GPA of at least 90), or who have been on the president’s list in the last 4 semesters of their study, and have demonstrated exceptional research ability during their undergraduate studies.

Completion of the PhD degree includes both coursework and research.  Program details can be found on the Technion graduate school website.

A summary of the major completion milestones is provided below.

• Completion of 11 credit points of coursework, including 2 credit points in Academic Writing for PhD Students (course no. 3280016)
• Submission of a research proposal within the first year of study
• Holding a candidacy exam within one month of submission of the research proposal
• Submission of a doctoral thesis
• Passing a final exam

All PhD students are required to hold a seminar presenting their work.

Degree Duration

Students receiving scholarship (internal) are expected to complete the PhD degree within 42 months of admission.

Students not receiving scholarship (external) are expected to complete the PhD degree within 12 semesters.

Accepted full-time students receive a tuition waiver and a subsistence scholarship (meeting the Graduate school criteria).

Scholarships are available for  PhD students with high academic achievements. Scholarships are awarded in portions (1-7) according to the Graduate school criteria. Currently they range from 240-300$ per portion. Scholarships carry a full or partial tuition waiver and are awarded for a period of  42-48 months for PhD students (depending on the track of studies).

Scholarship information including criteria, duration, etc. can be found here