For David Jacome the decision to enroll in the Ph.D. program at Stevens Institute of Technology was an easy one for a number of reasons. Familiar with northern New Jersey from both his childhood and undergraduate college, Jacome was well aware of the University’s stellar reputation and commitment to students.
“I remember visiting Stevens many times,” he recently recalled. “Everyone was dedicated to making the University an exceptional place for students.”
Jacome is one of 80 Ph.D. candidates who enrolled this fall at Stevens, marking the largest incoming group in the University’s 140-year history.
The most recent group of candidates comes from around the world. Students from 10 countries enrolled for the fall 2010 semester with China, United States, Turkey and Greece representing the highest number of students.
There are also a number of candidates who work for the Federal government and are pursuing advanced degrees in fields like systems engineering and mathematics.
A degree from Stevens, said student Sean Brandt, will “help me make good decisions in defense acquisition programs.” Brandt describes his current position as “a federal civilian employee of the Department of Defense, and my job is to serve soldiers who fight for our country and be a good steward of taxpayer dollars.”
The three most popular majors, by the number of students enrolled, are Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.
“From my perspective, there are two unique strengths that Stevens has: extensive connections within industry and government, and a diverse range of research initiatives,” said Nicholas Payne who is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of Materials Science. “I have had a number of professors who have been very influential in their respective fields and have been able to share valuable insights. Also, the wide range of research going on here gives Stevens a heightened degree of relevance that not every school enjoys.”
Payne pointed out that while a number of engineering schools are only known for being strong in a particular discipline, “Stevens is strong and rigorous across the board.”
Stevens offers Ph.D. degrees in 20 concentrations including: Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Chemical Engineering , Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, Enterprise Systems, Environmental Engineering, Financial Engineering, Infrastructure Systems, Materials Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Nanotechnology, Ocean Engineering, Physics, Systems Engineering and Technology Management.
Stavros D. Tsarpalis, who recently began working towards his Ph.D. in Financial Engineering, said he chose Stevens because of the excellent faculty, top-notch environment and the fact that it is strategically located to New York City.
“The Financial Engineering program here at Stevens molds together the best from academia and the enterprise world,” he said.
Jacome sums up his experience thus far this way: “Everyone in the department works together to present research ideas through seminars, conference participation, publications, and in the writing of grant proposals. This makes the program at Stevens competitive when compared to other universities and unique to those who consider pursuing an advanced degree.”
