cs phd requirements

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The Graduate Field of Computer Science seeks to produce well-rounded researchers who have demonstrated both breadth in computer science and depth in specific areas of concentration. Although the program is designed to be flexible, students in the CS Ph.D. program must complete several requirements imposed both by the Field and by the Cornell Graduate School:

Field Requirements

• competency requirement
• breadth requirement
• project requirement
• teaching requirement

Graduate School Requirements

• special committee
• minor requirement

Each of these requirements is described in some detail below, followed by a FAQ that answers some of the most common student questions. Because no document can hope to cover all the nuances, students who have questions or concerns should consult their advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS).

The Field requirements were most recently updated in Fall 2018. Students matriculating in Fall 2018 or later must fulfill the new requirements. Students who matriculated into the Ph.D. program earlier may choose to fulfill either the new requirements or the previous requirements.

The Competency Requirement

The Field believes that knowledge of Computer Science at the undergraduate level is an indispensible foundation for doctoral study in CS. Ph.D. candidates are expected to demonstrate competency at the high undergraduate level in four areas of computer science: Artificial Intelligence, Programming Languages, Systems, and Theory. This requirement can be discharged in one of three ways:

• by demonstrating competency through one's prior coursework;
• by taking a course for grade credit (acceptable courses are listed below, subject to change);
• by taking the final exam in one of these courses, if permitted by the instructor.

Students who have earned a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science are automatically deemed to have satisfied the competency requirement in all four areas. Students with no prior degree in CS may still be exempted from one or more of the four competency requirements based on their prior coursework. Requests for such exemptions are to be accompanied by documentation concerning the relevant prior coursework (course website, detailed syllabus, list of assignments when possible) and will be judged on a case-by-case basis by the DGS in consultation with the faculty in the relevant area.

Each area is required to offer students at least one of option 2 or 3. Whichever method is chosen, the requirement must be fulfilled with acceptable performance, as judged by the Field. For option 1, acceptable generally means with a grade of B+ or higher for graduate courses, A- or higher for 4xxx-5xxx courses.

The acceptable courses are:

• Artificial Intelligence: CS 4700/5700, CS 4780/5780 
• Programming Languages: CS 4110/5110, CS 4120/5120, or CS 6110
• Systems: CS 4410/5410, CS 6410, or 6412
• Theory: CS 4820/5820 or CS 6820

This requirement must be fulfilled by the time of the A exam.

The Breadth Requirement

Ph.D. students must take at least five 5000/6000-level courses for grade credit. Note that only certain 5000 level courses count. These courses must cover at least three different CS areas and all three CS research styles. The requirement is intended to expose students both to the research problems and techniques associated with different research areas, and also to the different value systems of various computer science research styles that differ in how they evaluate and validate research results.

Courses taken to satisfy the competency requirement can be used to count towards the breadth requirement. Courses at the 7000 level do not count, nor do courses from other fields (however, see Exceptions below).

The areas are as follows:

• Algorithms and theory of computation , including algorithms, complexity theory, cryptography, logical and type-theoretic foundations of computer science.
• Artificial intelligence , including robotics, computer vision, natural language processing, information organization and retrieval, and machine learning.
• Systems , including concurrency, parallel computing, networks, distributed computing, and data management.
• Programming languages and methodology , including applied logic, automated reasoning, and compilers.
• Scientific computing and applications , including graphics and computational biology.

The research styles are the following:

• Theoretical . The theoretical research style is characterized by constructing formal models of computation that are validated primarily by mathematical proof.
• Systems . The systems research style focuses on how to improve computing platforms by making them faster, more reliable, more secure, etc. Validation is primarily empirical or experiential.
• Applied . The applied research style develops new methods for using computers to solve problems of interest. Validation is achieved primarily by demonstrating empirically that these methods are effective for the problem.

The following table summarizes the breadth requirement. It represents the classification of CS graduate courses into areas and research styles. Students must take five 5000/6000-level courses, covering at least three rows of this table and all three columns.

Please find course listing information here:

http://https://www.cs.cornell.edu/courseinfo/listofcscourses

*CS5820 will count for breadth during the Fall 2021 semester only.

*CS 5740 (Ith), 5650 (Ith), 5786, 5830, 5850 approved through Spring 2022.

As with the competency requirement, the breadth requirement must be fulfilled with acceptable performance, as judged by the Field. A grade of B or better is generally acceptable.

The list of courses that satisfy the area and research style requirements of the breadth requirement are subject to change as faculty develops new courses.

The Project Requirement

Ph.D. students are required to satisfy the project requirement by writing a significant piece of software. One way to satisfy the project requirement is by taking a course with a significant coding component and having the instructor for the course certify that the project satisfied the project requirement. The student is typically expected to get a grade of B- or better in the course. The project requirement can also be satisfied by projects outside of classes, for example, as part of independent research, your thesis research, or as part of a summer job. In these cases, the chair of your special committee needs to certify that you satisfied the project requirement.  *Note external projecs require a deliverable or artifact that can be inspected by your Chair of your special committee.

The Teaching Requirement

Ph.D. students must serve as a teaching assistant for at least two semesters or teach a course for at least one semester. Contact with students is valuable both as preparation for a possible academic career and for the experience in communicating ideas to groups, which is important in any setting, academic or otherwise.

We recognize that the Field requirements as stated above may not be universally appropriate, especially in nontraditional areas such as computational biology that may require significant coursework outside of computer science. In such exceptional cases, students are encouraged to formulate an alternative course of study in consultation with the special committee and to present a proposal to the Field for approval.

As a Ph.D. student, you must be in residence for at least six semesters, or four if you already hold a Master's degree at the time of enrollment. The advisor or DGS awards one residence unit after the satisfactory completion of each semester of full-time study. Fractional units may be awarded for unsatisfactory progress.

The Special Committee

Before the start of your fourth semester, you must form a special committee. The special committee consists of a chair and two or more minor members.

When you specify the members of your committee, you must specify the areas of concentration they represent. These must be areas officially recognized by the Graduate School associated with the committee member's field. The Field of Computer Science has five official areas of concentration, listed here along with their associated subareas:

• operating systems
• fault tolerance
• distributed systems
• database systems
• digital libraries
• machine architecture
• parallel computing

Theory of Computation

• complexity theory
• cryptography
• human-computer interaction
• information retrieval
• natural language processing
• computer vision
• machine learning
• knowledge representation and reasoning

Programming Languages and Logics

• programming methodology
• programming environments
• program logic and verification
• automated reasoning
• type theory and program analysis
• programming language design

Scientific Computing and Applications

• computer graphics
• computational biology and bioinformatics
• scientific computing

The chair of your special committee represents your major area of concentration and is normally your thesis advisor. The chair can be any member of the Field of Computer Science. The Computer Science area is only for graduate students in other fields who wish to minor in Computer Science. It may not be specified as either a major or minor area of concentration for Ph.D. students in CS.

The two minor members of your special committee represent your minor subjects (see The Minor Requirement below).

While it suffices to have only three people on your special committee, there are many advantages to having more. Your committee members can often provide useful advice. Being on your committee also means they are more likely to know your work better, which helps if you want them to write letters of reference for you. Note that only three special committee members need to be from Cornell. The rest can be from other institutions or from industry.

The Minor Requirement

The minor requirement is a Graduate School requirement, not a CS Field requirement. All Ph.D. students at Cornell must have two minors. For Ph.D. students in Computer Science, the Field requires one of these to be external to Computer Science and one to be internal.

The external minor must be in a field other than CS. The minor requirements are up to the minor field. Related fields such as Operations Research, Applied Mathematics, Cognitive Science or Electrical and Computer Engineering are common choices. However, any minor field is acceptable. When you choose your minor field, you must also choose an area of concentration in that field and minor advisor who is a member of that field. The external minor advisor serves on your special committee and will work with you in setting your minor requirements. Typically, this involves knowledge of 3-4 graduate courses in the field, but expectations can vary depending upon the field. Before settling on a minor field, a student should find out about that field's requirements.

There are no additional requirements for the internal minor, except that the minor area of concentration must be different from the major area of concentration.

The A exam (Admission to Candidacy Exam) is an oral exam. It is a final test of your preparedness for undertaking thesis research. The content and coverage of the A exam is determined by the special committee and discussed with the student beforehand. Often, the student at an A-exam will describe the problem to be attacked in the thesis and give some preliminary research results. But an A-exam might instead have the student present an in-depth survey of a research area. Occasionally the A-exam serves as an opportunity to present completed research that is unrelated to the thesis topic. Some committees expect the student to prepare a written document prior to the exam, which might cover content that will be discussed at the exam or complement that content.

Students normally aim to take the A exam in their third year of graduate study. Students are required to have completed the competency requirement and to have at least two units of residency prior to the A exam. In addition, students must attempt the A exam before beginning their seventh semester of study. (More details of the university's requirements can be found in Cornell's Guide to Graduate's Study.) Although students have normally made substantial progress towards completing the breadth requirement before taking their A exam, it is not necessary to have completed this requirement before the A exam. (Note that your minor advisor may require you to have taken some courses in your minor before your A exam; you should check with them.)

The B exam is your thesis defense. It is strongly recommended that a draft of your thesis be provided to your committee three to four weeks prior to the B exam. In most cases, it should require only minor editing after the exam. However, during a B exam, the committee may ask for revisions, in which case it is possible that the student will pass the B exam but not yet have full approval of the thesis itself. The Ph.D. degree is awarded after you have passed the B exam and filed an approved dissertation with the University, and completed all the other requirements above. The University requires a minimum of two units of residency between the A exam and the B exam. Most students complete their B exam within four to six years after their arrival at Cornell.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some of the more common questions and concerns that students have. Again, you are encouraged to consult with your advisor or the Director of Graduate Studies if you have concerns not covered here.

What should I do over the summer?

There are lots of opportunities. Some popular options include doing research with a faculty member, often your advisor or potential advisor (this is particularly appropriate as you get further along in the program), teaching a course, or doing a summer internship. We believe that it is in your interest to spend one or more summers as an intern in an industry research lab or at some other University. Doing so exposes you to other perspectives on the field and to the priorities driving the industry; it can really help later when you enter the job market. We'll suggest many options and can help you find a good match to your interests. Your advisor may also have contacts that would lead to interesting internship opportunities. For foreign students, internships should satisfy the requirements for practical training under a student visa, hence no special visa approvals should be required. Most students spend at least one or two summers as interns, usually during their first three years at Cornell.

What happens at the annual Field meetings?

The Field of Computer Science meets annually to review each student's progress. The DGS summarizes progress towards requirements, presents a summary of courses taken and grades received, and indicates whether the student has taken or is scheduled to take an A exam. For students who have been at Cornell for a few semesters, the emphasis of the discussion is on progress toward identifying a research topic, forming a special committee, and launching a research program that will lead to a dissertation. Normally, the student's current advisor will briefly describe the student's recent progress.

The goal of this meeting is to understand how we can best help the students establish themselves as researchers, publish their work, and graduate within the normal time period. If a consensus emerges that a particular student may not be heading toward successful completion of the degree program, the field will discuss appropriate action, which always depends on the specific situation. While students are occasionally asked to leave the program, this happens very rarely. In any case, no student is ever asked to leave the program without first being given a warning and time to correct the situation, except in the case of serious violations of the University code of conduct.

I took some courses as an undergraduate prior to coming to Cornell that appear to be identical to the ones listed under the competency requirement. Can I get out of those parts of the requirement?

Yes, possibly. Requests for such exemptions are to be accompanied by documentation concerning the relevant prior coursework (course website, detailed syllabus, list of assignments when possible) and will be judged on a case-by-case basis by the DGS in consultation with the faculty in the relevant area.

I was enrolled as a Ph.D. student at another institution for two years before transferring to the Ph.D. program at Cornell. I took several graduate courses as part of my studies. Can I count these towards my requirements here?

Maybe. You should negotiate the transfer of credit with the DGS and your advisor, who will consult with relevant faculty to decide whether it is appropriate to treat the prior coursework as a substitute for Cornell Ph.D. requirements.

How do I create a special committee?

Most students enter Cornell with a good idea of what area they want to specialize in. Those who do not still have strong areas of interest. By reading recent research papers, faculty web pages, and course descriptions, you should pick courses taught by faculty members you might enjoy working with. Focus on areas for which you believe you have talent, good ideas, or interest. Being a TA for a faculty member with whom you may want to work is often a good idea, especially if the course is in the general area of your interests and talents.

Faculty members are generally available to talk to graduate students about potential research topics in their area, and most students will talk to a few before joining a research group. It is common for a faculty member to suggest working with the student for a period of time, perhaps a semester, before considering the relationship "official". Some students will approach a potential advisor soon after arriving on campus, but others may take some time to shop around. All students should try to identify an advisor by the end of their first year at Cornell.

If your interests change over time, or if things just are not working out, you or your committee chair (advisor) may decide to reconstitute your committee. This is not considered a bad thing and will not leave a blot on your record. All field members have an interest in seeing our students do the best and most innovative work they are capable of, and if this means changing advisors or topics, so be it.

Do I need to complete my graduate coursework prior to taking the A exam?

Most students who take an A exam will have satisfied the majority of their field requirements, and many will have completed their minor. (For some minor fields, this is a requirement; read the rules published by the minor field that you select!) The special committee will typically let you schedule the A exam prior to the completion of your coursework.

What is the rationale for having an external minor requirement? Some fields at Cornell don't require that.

The competency and breadth requirements relate to the CS field itself, but we want our students to be scholars familiar with a world beyond their area in CS. The minor requirement reflects that philosophy. Note that the CS Field accepts any proposed minor, even one completely unrelated to the student's program of study.

How do I report on my progress towards satisfying the requirements?

This is not your problem. The graduate office maintains a file on each student which includes a checklist for the various requirements. Each year, prior to the annual review of student progress, the graduate office will update these checklists. Of course, if you think that your record is missing pertinent information (e.g., if you are told you need to take a course that you have already taken), you should let us know.

I am primarily interested in [vision/graphics/HCI/security/architecture] and was disappointed to see that the competency requirement emphasizes other areas. Why am I being penalized, in the sense that a theory, systems or languages student would have fewer requirements than I do?

The competency requirements reflect the field's consensus that the corresponding courses cover a core set of concepts and material with which any computer scientist needs to be familiar and comfortable, simply to be able to participate in normal dialogue with other computer scientists. We do not view this as a "penalty" on people who work outside these core areas, but rather as a type of common background that provides a context for interacting with colleagues.

The requirements are designed to be flexible. Our course requirements work out to fewer than one per semester for an average student. Obviously, some courses will prove to be more interesting or more directly relevant than others, but our hope is that many students will discover new areas of interest by taking courses outside of a narrow research focus.

In any case, there is the Exceptions clause; if you can make a strong case that the requirements as we have stated them will inhibit your progress in research in your chosen area of study, and if you are able to formulate a good-faith alternative program in consultation with your advisor, then the Field will be happy to entertain a proposal.

Why are there requirements in [AI/programming languages/theory...] and not in [graphics/databases/...]

We recognize that computer science is evolving rapidly. Areas that were considered central ten years ago may be more peripheral now. While the areas for the competency requirement represent the faculty's consensus of material that every computer scientist should know, this is a topic we frequently revisit.

CS PhD Course Guidelines

The following program guidelines (a.k.a model pogram) serve as a starting point for a discussion with the faculty about areas of interest.   This description of the Computer Science PhD course guidelines augments the school-wide  PhD course requirements .   Students should make themselves familiar with both.

Course Guidelines for Ph.D. Students in Computer Science

We expect students to obtain broad knowledge of computer science by taking graduate level courses in a variety of sub-areas in computer science, such as systems, networking, databases, algorithms, complexity, hardware, human-computer interaction, graphics, or programming languages.

Within our school, CS courses are roughly organized according to sub-area by their middle digit, so we expect students to take courses in a minimum of three distinct sub-areas, one of which should be theory (denoted by the middle digit of 2, or CS 231). Theory is specifically required as we expect all students to obtain some background in the mathematical foundations that underlie computer science. The intention is not only to give breadth to students, but to ensure cross-fertilization across different sub-disciplines in Computer Science.

Just as we expect all students obtaining a Ph.D. to have experience with the theoretical foundations of computer science, we expect all students to have some knowledge of how to build large software or hardware systems , on the order of thousands of lines of code, or the equivalent complexity in hardware. That experience may be evidenced by coursework or by a project submitted to the CHD for examination. In almost all cases a course numbered CS 26x or CS 24x will satisfy the requirement (exceptions will be noted in the course description on my.harvard). Students may also petition to use CS 161 for this requirement.   For projects in other courses, research projects, or projects done in internships the student is expected to write a note explaining the project, include a link to any relevant artifacts or outcomes, describe the student's individual contribution, and where appropriate obtain a note from their advisor, their class instructor, or their supervisors confirming their contributions.  The project must include learning about systems concepts, and not just writing many lines of code.   Students hoping to invoke the non-CS24x/26x/161 option must consult with  Prof. Mickens ,  Prof, Kung,  or  Prof. Idreos  well in advance of submitting their Program Plan to the CHD.  

Computer science is an applied science, with connections to many fields. Learning about and connecting computer science to other fields is a key part of an advanced education in computer science. These connections may introduce relevant background, or they may provide an outlet for developing new applications.

For example, mathematics courses may be appropriate for someone working in theory, linguistics courses may be appropriate for someone working in computational linguistics, economics courses may be appropriate for those working in algorithmic economics, electrical engineering courses may be appropriate for those working in circuit design, and design courses may be appropriate for someone working in user interfaces.

Requirements

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS) requires all Ph.D. students to complete 16 half-courses (“courses”, i.e., for 4 units of credit) to complete their degree. Of those 16 courses, a Ph.D. in Computer Science requires 10 letter-graded courses. (The remaining 6 courses are often 300-level research courses or other undergraduate or graduate coursework beyond the 10 required courses.)

The requirements for the 10 letter-graded courses are as follows:

• Of the 7 technical courses, at least 3 must be 200-level Computer Science courses, with 3 different middle digits (from the set 2,3,4,5,6,7,8), and with one of these three courses either having a middle digit of 2 or being CS 231 (i.e., a “theory” course).   Note that CS courses with a middle digit of 0 are valid technical courses, but do not contribute to the breadth requirement.
• At least 5 of the 8 disciplinary courses must be SEAS or SEAS-equivalent 200-level courses. A “SEAS equivalent” course is a course taught by a SEAS faculty member in another FAS department. 
• For any MIT course taken, the student must provide justification why the MIT course is necessary (i.e. SEAS does not offer the topic, the SEAS course has not been offered in recent years, etc.). MIT courses do not count as part of the 5 200-level SEAS/SEAS-equivalent courses. 
• 2 of the 10 courses must constitute an external minor (referred to as "breadth" courses in the SEAS “ Policies of the Committee on Higher Degrees [CHD] ”) in an area outside of computer science. These courses should be clearly related; generally, this will mean the two courses are in the same discipline, although this is not mandatory. These courses must be distinct from the 8 disciplinary courses referenced above.
• Students must demonstrate practical competence by building a large software or hardware system during the course of their graduate studies. This requirement will generally be met through a class project, but it can also be met through work done in the course of a summer internship, or in the course of research.
• In particular, for Computer Science graduate degrees, Applied Computation courses may be counted as 100-level courses, not 200-level courses.
• Up to 2 of the 10 courses can be 299r courses, but only 1 of the up to 2 allowed 299r courses can count toward the 8 disciplinary courses. 299r courses do not count toward the 5 200-level SEAS/SEAS-equivalent courses. If two 299r’s are taken, they can be with the same faculty but the topics must be sufficiently different.
• A maximum of 3 graduate-level transfer classes are allowed to count towards the 10 course requirement.
• All CS Ph.D. program plans must adhere to the SEAS-wide Ph.D. requirements, which are stated in the SEAS Policies of the Committee on Higher Degrees (CHD) . These SEAS-wide requirements are included in the items listed above, though students are encouraged to read the CHD document if there are questions, as the CHD document provides further explanation/detail on several of the items above.
• All program plans must be approved by the CHD. Exceptions to any of these requirements require a detailed written explanation of the reasoning for the exception from the student and the student’s research advisor. Exceptions can only be approved by the CHD, and generally exceptions will only be given for unusual circumstances specific to the student’s research program.

Requirement Notes

• Courses below the 100-level are not suitable for graduate credit.
• For students who were required to take it, CS 2091/2092 (formerly CS 290a/b or 290hfa/hfb may be included as one of the 10 courses but it does not count toward the 200-level CS or SEAS/SEAS-equivalent course requirements nor toward the SM en route to the PhD.

Your program plan  must always comply  with both our school's General Requirements, in addition to complying with the specific requirements for Computer Science. All program plans must be approved by the Committee on Higher Degrees [CHD]. Exceptions to the requirements can only be approved by the CHD, and generally will only be given for unusual circumstances specific to the student’s research program

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Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

last edited: December 2020

This document lists the combined requirements of the Graduate School and of the Department of Computer Science (COMP) and supersedes all previous issues. Reference is occasionally made for further details to the  Graduate School Handbook (GSH). Apparent errors in the present document should be called to the attention of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Please note: Computer Science Graduate students cannot apply for both MS and PhD degrees in the same semester. An MS student (or a PhD student ‘pursuing MS degree along the way’) must take COMP 992 in the same semester as applying for the MS degree. Students admitted as an MS student that need to switch to PhD at the end of year 2, can do so by either applying for the MS degree or foregoing the MS degree. The MS program has a 5-year clock.

Please also refer to the Graduate Program Policies document for explanation of several issues not discussed in detail in this document.

Table Of Contents

• Admission to Doctoral Program

Administration

Course requirements.

• Program Product Requirements

Doctoral Written Examination

Research plan discussion, doctoral oral examination, dissertation, final oral examination, residency & time limit, other requirements, milestones (by semester) and required forms.

• Teaching as a Doctoral Student & COMP 915
• Composition of Dissertation Committee

Admission To Doctoral Program

Admission to the doctoral program is by a vote of the Department faculty and is determined by performance on the Preliminary Research Presentation and Exam (PRP), course grades (we expect a positive Calingaert score computed over all courses taken as a graduate student at UNC), admissions information, accomplishment on assistantships, and other testimony from the faculty. Admission is normally considered following the PRP.  Students who have been major contributors to a paper submitted to a well-known, refereed conference or journal may apply for a waiver of the PRP exam.

Financial support from the department will normally not be provided beyond the fourth semester for students who have not been admitted to the doctoral program.

When a student enrolls, a faculty member is appointed to serve as the student’s academic adviser. As the student’s research interests become defined, the student should change to a research adviser as appropriate. Changes in adviser should be reported to the Student Services Manager. Additional details can be found in the Graduate Program Policies document.

The Graduate Studies Committee (a standing committee of the Department faculty, chaired by the  Director of Graduate Studies ) interprets degree requirements, approves plans of study, and acts on petitions from students to the Department and to the Graduate School.

A full-time Graduate Student Services Manager maintains student records, answers student queries, and directs student requests to the Graduate Studies Committee and to the Graduate School. All student requests should be made through the Student Services Manager, usually on CS forms or Graduate School forms . The Student Services Manager ( [email protected] ) office is in Room 142 of the Fred Brooks Building. The Manager will handle the forms or forward them to the appropriate office.

The following are  minimum  requirements. The student’s committee may impose further requirements as it judges appropriate. Unless otherwise specified, “course” means a 3-hour graduate-level course. Two 1.5-hour courses may be accepted as equivalent to one 3-hour course. Taken “as a graduate student” does not necessarily mean at UNC-CH, and it permits the course to have been taken as a UNC-CH post-baccalaureate Continuing Education student.

Primary concentration.   Three or four courses of which at least two support in depth the specific dissertation topic and at least one supports more generally the area of computer science in which the dissertation topic falls. The courses do not need to be related to each other, except in that they support the dissertation. These courses may have been taken as an undergraduate and may have been counted towards an undergraduate degree.

Breadth requirement.  Each student must take an additional 6 courses to fulfill a breadth requirement.  Courses are classified into the following 4 categories.

• Theory & Formal Thinking
• Systems & Hardware
• Applications
• Outside of CS

The set of six breadth courses must meet the following criteria.

• At least one course in each of the 3 CS categories, and at the 600 level or above.
• Normally no more than 2 courses in any category but students may petition to apply 3 in a category outside of their thesis research area(s).
• All 6 courses must have been taken as a graduate student. Courses taken at UNC that satisfy the guidelines for the set of breadth courses will be accepted automatically. The Graduate Studies Committee will consider courses taken at another graduate program, or equivalent professional experience, and/or graduate courses taken during undergraduate study, on a case by case basis (course waiver forms must be submitted for consideration).
• PhD Computer Science graduate students that have a non-CS background can petition  GSC  (with justification) in order to consider exceptions for the breadth requirement.
• At most 1 CS course in the set of 6 courses can be at the 500 level or COMP 455. (We may consider 2, by petition to the Grad Studies Committee, for students with non-CS backgrounds doing interdisciplinary research.) COMP 550 is not allowed to be in the set.
• The non-CS courses must support either the dissertation research or the field of computer science, and be at the 400 level or above. If the course is not on the standard list, it must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.

The student’s mastery of content will be determined by the course grade in the six courses satisfying the breadth requirement: a P- or better must be obtained in each course, and a Calingaert score of 0 or higher must be obtained on the six courses combined.

The Calingaert Score is a weighted average of course grades, where the weights are chosen so that a score of 0 reflects an average letter grade between a P+ and an H-. The weights for the letter grades are as follows:

For example, the Calingaert Score for three courses with letter grades P+, H-, and H would be (-1 + 1 + 3)/3 = +1.0 (assuming the three courses carry the same number of credit hours). The name recognizes Dr. Peter Calingaert, professor emeritus, who devised the measure when he was Director of Graduate Studies.

Background Preparation.  In addition, each student must demonstrate mastery of the subjects considered to be essential or required preparation for our graduate program. The following UNC courses define the required preparation for our program (for a more detailed description of course contents, consult the UNC course catalog).

Computer Science

• COMP 311 Computer Organization (offered as COMP 411 prior to Fall 2020)
• COMP 210 Data Structures (offered as COMP 410 prior to Fall 2020)
• COMP 550 Algorithms and Analysis
• COMP 421 Files and Databases
• COMP 520 Compilers
• COMP 530 Operating Systems
• COMP 524 Programming Language Concepts
• COMP 541 Digital Logic and Computer Design
• COMP 455 Models of Languages and Computation

Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics

• MATH 233 Calculus of Functions of Several Variables
• COMP 283 Discrete Structures or MATH 381 Discrete Mathematics
• MATH 347 Linear Algebra for Applications
• MATH 661 Scientific Computing I (Introduction to Numerical Analsis)
• STOR 435 Introduction to Probability

Typically most of this material will have been part of the student’s undergraduate education, but it is entirely normal to include one or more courses in the M.S. Program of Study to satisfy this requirement. Each student must detail their Background Preparation ( Form CS-01 ) showing when and where the material above was mastered. In case of uncertainty about the material required in a particular course, consult an instructor of the course or the instructor(s) of courses that include the material as a prerequisite.

The program advisor and the Graduate Studies Committee review background preparation. However, the advisor takes the primary responsibility for signing off on CS-01. For each required background, advisor will do one of the following:

Minor in Other Fields. The election of a minor field is optional and infrequent. Interested students can find more details under Graduate Program Policies .

Program Product Requirement

Each student is required to have programmed and documented a product-quality program product. A program product is a piece of software that is developed for the use of people other than the developer and for which there is evidence that it can be maintained by other developers after the initial developer is no longer working on it. This means that the student must demonstrate experience in the design, development, and documentation of a software product of significant size and complexity, preferably as part of a team. This requirement can be satisfied in one of the following ways.

• An undergraduate software engineering course, such as COMP 523 ,
• Graduate course programming assignments or projects at UNC,
• RA programming assignments at UNC, or
• the organization that you worked for has a software development process (this precludes, for example, a single person who asked you to build something)
• the requirements were given to you
• the software will be used by other people
• the code will be maintained by someone else after you completed it

The project options must be approved by two faculty members.  The student must file Form CS-13 to document completion of the requirement.

Preliminary Research Presentation And Exam

In the Department of Computer Science, the Comprehensive Paper Option of the Writing Requirement serves as the Doctoral Written Examination. It is identical to the written form of the M.S. Comprehensive Examination. If failed, the examination may be retaken, once only (except by petition).

The Department of Computer Science requires each PhD student to discuss their planned dissertation research with at least 3 potential members of their dissertation committee. This discussion is meant to precede the proposal-formulating phase and can be used to get preliminary feedback from the committee members on the planned research (as well as get the faculty member’s consent to serve on the dissertation committee).

After consulting with their advisors, students could choose to set up either individual meetings with the prospective committee members, or could schedule a group meeting with their advisors and committee members. In these meetings, students may want to briefly summarize their research to date and provide a brief overview of the planned future directions. Slides may be used to guide the discussion but are not required. This discussion is not expected to go into as much detail as a proposal meeting would. The CS-12 form is submitted after the discussion.

The Doctoral Oral examination may be taken by any student who has passed the Doctoral Written examination, and whose program of study has been approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.

The examination, normally two to three hours in length, will be administered by the student’s doctoral committee. The scope of the examination will be selected by the committee, which will inform the student in writing of its selection well in advance. The scope will be limited to testing areas of weakness identified on the Doctoral Written Examination, preparation for research, and subjects judged by the committee to be relevant to the area of the student’s dissertation. If, after passing the Doctoral Oral examination, the student undertakes dissertation research in a different area, the doctoral committee appointed for the new dissertation may require the student to take a further Doctoral Oral examination on the new area.

If failed, the examination may be retaken, once only (except by petition), after a lapse of at least three months ( GSH: Doctoral Degree Requirements ).

The candidate must present a dissertation constituting a worthwhile contribution to knowledge developed by the independent research of the candidate, meeting scholarly standards of organization, presentation, and literary merit, and prescribed standards of form ( GSH: Doctoral Degree Requirements  and the Graduate School document  Guide to Theses and Dissertations ). The advisor and at least two other members of the student’s committee will read carefully the entire dissertation.

Proposal. A cooperative meeting of the student with his or her doctoral committee will be held to discuss the feasibility of the student’s proposed research. At least one week before meeting, the student shall submit to the committee a brief written dissertation proposal defining the scope of the proposed research and the planned method of attack on the research problem. The committee will either approve or reject the plan at this meeting. The student is responsible for arranging the time and place of the meeting. The meeting can either precede or follow the Doctoral Oral examination, by either a short or a long interval, at the discretion of the student and committee. The student is expected to call a committee meeting at least every six months to discuss the progress of the dissertation.

Committee Composition.  The student’s doctoral committee consists of at least five persons, a majority of whom must be regular members of the COMP Graduate Faculty. Other committee members may be faculty from other institutions, scholars from industry, or others whose expertise is relevant to the dissertation ( GSH: Doctoral Degree Requirements ). At least one committee member must hold the rank of Associate Professor or higher. The student names the committee by submitting the “Report of Doctoral Committee Composition” form. For each proposed committee member who is not on the Graduate Faculty, a curriculum vitae  should be submitted with the Report of Doctoral Committee Composition form to the Student Services Manager. The dissertation adviser serves as committee chair, unless the adviser is not a COMP faculty member, in which event a COMP faculty member serves as chair.

The student must register for at least six credit hours of dissertation, COMP 994 ( GSH: Registration ).

The Final Oral examination normally consists of a public dissertation defense confined to the subject area of the dissertation. The student presents his or her research for 50 minutes; questions follow from the committee and from the audience. If the committee feels it necessary, it may supplement the dissertation defense by a private examination on other material. Before the defense can take place, the adviser and at least two other members of the student’s committee must agree that the dissertation is in substantially finished form. The defense should be announced at least two weeks in advance. The student must apply by the deadline to the Graduate School for award of the degree ( GSH: Graduation ).

Residence Credit.   Four semesters of residence credit must be earned. At least two of these must be earned by continuous registration for no fewer than six semester hours per regular semester or summer session, although registration during the summer is not required for continuity ( GSH: Residence Credit ). The residence credit hour requirement requires UNC-CH registration (i.e., no transfer credit). Note that a semester in residence is not identical to a semester of residence  credit.

• Details of Residence Credit Computation

Time Limit.  All requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed within eight calendar years from the date of the student’s first classification as a doctoral student by the Graduate School, whether in Computer Science or in another graduate program.

If a student is admitted directly to doctoral study, as indicated in the letter offering admission, the eight years begin upon first registration. If a student is permitted by faculty vote to  bypass the M.S. degree , or to  continue beyond the M.S. degree , the eight years begin at the start of the regular term or summer session that immediately follows the faculty vote or that in which the M.S. is conferred.

Although the department tries to keep track of degree time limits, the Graduate School’s interpretation is controlling, and students are responsible for meeting the time limits.

As much as two years of time spent in active military service, the Peace Corps, or VISTA will not be counted against the time limit, provided that the Graduate School is informed. Also, a student may request a leave of absence for a definite, stated time, not to exceed one year. If the Department and Graduate School approve, the duration of the leave is not counted against the time limit ( GSH: Doctoral Degree Requirements ).

COMP 915: Each student must take COMP 915. For students interested in teaching a course in the department, they must have completed this course before they can be assigned for teaching.

Each student is strongly urged, but not required, to spend at least one summer in employment as a professional computer scientist.

A doctoral written examination, a doctoral oral examination, and a final oral examination covering the dissertation and other topics as required by the examining committee must be passed. Students must be registered the semester(s) in which exams are taken. Students must be registered for COMP 994 (minimum of three credit hours) in the semester in which the dissertation is defended ( GSH: Registration ).

If degree requirements change during a student’s stay in the Department, the student has the option of continuing under the old rules or switching and satisfying all the new rules. In other words, the student can elect any point in time during his or her stay in the Department and satisfy all the rules in effect at that point.

An exception to any rule may be requested for cause by petition. Decisions made by individual faculty members or by committees may be appealed to the Department faculty as a whole.

Doctoral students are expected to contribute to department outreach efforts by volunteering to demonstrate research projects or engage with visitors during community outreach events. Students are encouraged to contribute three to six hours of outreach per academic year.

The following schedule represents typical progress toward the Ph.D. degree. Failure to complete certain milestones may result in a student being deemed as making unsatisfactory progress and could impact funding.

By the end of semester 3

• Complete the Preliminary Research Presentation or apply for a PRP waiver.

By the end of semester 4

• Gain admission to PhD candidacy through PRP and faculty vote.

By the end of semester 5

• Discuss research plan with at least three (potential) committee members; submit Form CS-12 .

By the end of semester 6

• Name the remaining members of the doctoral committee (Graduate School form).
• Submit Plan of Study ( Form CS-06 ) with background preparation ( Form CS-01 ) approved by the committee.

By the end of semester 7

• Submit a dissertation proposal to the committee; hold meeting for approval of proposal  or
• Pass the Doctoral Oral examination.

By the end of semester 8

• Submit dissertation proposal  and  pass the Doctoral Oral examination.
• Apply for Admission to Candidacy for a Doctoral Degree (Graduate School form).

At any time

• Satisfy the program product requirement; submit Form CS-13 .
• Submit course waiver forms as appropriate.

Every six months after approval of the dissertation proposal

• Meet with the committee to discuss dissertation progress.

By the end of semester 10

• When dissertation is in substantially finished form, announce dissertation defense, giving two weeks’ notice.
• Pass Final Oral examination (dissertation defense).
• Submit completed and signed dissertation to the Graduate School.

College of Arts & Sciences

Ph.D. Program

Admission to the ph.d. program.

The Ph.D. program accepts applications annually to begin study during the following Fall semester; we do not currently solicit applications to begin study in Spring semesters. Students may apply for the Ph.D. program before or after earning an M.S. degree.

Ph.D. students in good standing receive financial support during the first five academic years of their program, including tuition, health insurance, and a service stipend assistantship.

Information about the application process may be found below or by visiting our FAQ for Prospective Students .

Application Timeline

Applications are accepted online beginning in mid-July. Visit the Graduate School application page to begin an application.

Final submission deadline: January 15

Applications received by the final submission deadline are eligible for a full review including financial aid consideration.

The admissions committee begins reviewing applications after the priority submission deadline and notifies admitted students in early March.

Admissions Requirements

Successful Ph.D. applicants will hold a B.S. or M.S. degree in computer science or a closely-related field or will have significant coursework or professional experience in computer science. A strong background in computer science topics including data structures and algorithms, hardware and architecture, and computer programming; as well as mathematics including discrete mathematics, probability and statistics, linear algebra, and calculus is expected. Prior research experience and/or publication, either in an academic or professional setting is favored.

All applicants must meet the requirements specified by the Graduate School in their application FAQ . Additionally, our program requires a TOEFL score of at least 90 or an IELTS score of at least 7.0 to apply.

Ph.D. Program Requirements and Milestones

The Ph.D. program requirements include completing graduate-level coursework; passing a core and area qualifying exam; completing PhD seminar courses; completing an Apprenticeship in Teaching program; and proposing, writing, and defending a research dissertation.

The information below is an overview of these requirements. The official requirements, procedures, and policies are kept in the Graduate Student Handbook .

Ph.D. Coursework

Ph.D. students must complete coursework equivalent to the M.S. Computer Science requirements, consisting of either 30 credits (10 courses) or 24 credits (8 courses) plus the writing of a Master’s Thesis. Upon completion of this requirement, Ph.D. students who have not yet earned a Master’s degree may apply to receive an M.S. in Passing (equivalent to an M.S. Computer Science) from Georgetown.

Ph.D. students who complete an M.S. degree prior to joining the program may receive Advanced Standing credit equivalent to some or all of this requirement, effectively reducing the total number of courses needed.

Qualifying Examinations

Ph.D. students must satisfy two qualifying exam requirements: the core qualifying requirement and the area qualifying requirement.

The core qualifying requirement evaluates a student’s breadth of computer science knowledge and is completed by earning strong grades in three courses at Georgetown. This requirement can be (and often is) completed simultaneously with the coursework requirement above.

The area qualifying requirement evaluates a student’s depth of understanding in an area of their choice and consists of a written literature review to be read and assessed by a committee of faculty.

Ph.D. Seminars

Ph.D. students must take a total of three seminar courses designed to explore current literature and research across computer science disciplines. These seminars are taken after completing the coursework and qualifying requirements.

Apprenticeship in Teaching Workshop Program

Ph.D. students must complete the Apprenticeship in Teaching (AT) Program administered by Georgetown’s Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship. This program consists of a series of workshops on teaching pedagogy. It may be completed at any time in the program but it usually done after the qualifying process is complete.

Dissertation Proposal and Defense

Ph.D. students must propose, perform, and defend a novel research project of significant importance or impact in the form of a written dissertation.

Students must first select a research topic and write a proposal outlining the scope of the problem; prior work in the area; and a blueprint for performing research work and measuring success or completion. This proposal is presented to a committee of faculty who must approve the proposal.

Upon completion of the research work, a written dissertation detailing the results must be written and defended publicly before the faculty committee who must unanimously approve the work.

Timeline of Degree Milestones

Ph.D. students entering the program immediately after completing a B.S. typically complete the degree in five years; the timeline below is based on a five-year course of study.

Email forwarding for @cs.stanford.edu is changing. Updates and details here . CS Commencement Ceremony June 16, 2024.  Learn More .

PhD | Candidacy Requirement

Main navigation.

Students are expected to be admitted for candidacy by the end of the second year of doctoral study.

Eligibility requirements:

• Students have permanently aligned.
• Have completed three (3) foundation /breadth requirements, this could be a combination of foundation and breadth courses taken as a current CS PhD student (foundation waivers do not count). For more information, please visit: Foundation & Breadth Requirements .
• Have completed at least a three-unit graduate level course with each of the four instructors who are members of the academic council as a CS PhD student.

Units that count towards candidacy:

• Courses taken as a CS PhD student to satisfy foundation and breadth requirements.
• Rotation units and courses taken outside the CS Department as long as they are taught by a Stanford faculty.
• A total of 10 units of PE courses.

Units that do not count towards candidacy:

• Any foundation courses that are waived.

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility for candidacy, please email [email protected] .

Candidacy makes you eligible for a larger stipend and sets in motion your five-year timeclock to complete the rest of your PhD requirements. The increase in stipend goes into effect during the quarter following submission and approval of the candidacy form.

Submit your Candidacy form (PDF) to [email protected] by the Preliminary Study List Deadline of the quarter you are applying for.  You can find more detailed information on how to file for candidacy by visiting the university-wide Student Services site.

Candidacy for Doctoral Degree Application

On the form the student must list 135 units of courses (either completed or planned, a total of 10 units of PE courses can be counted towards this) . The form is reviewed and signed first by the student's permanent advisor. The advisor's signature indicates the academic adequacy of the proposed program of study. The form is then reviewed by the PhD Student Services Office to make sure that it accurately reflects the University and Departmental requirements. The candidacy form serves as a "contract" between the Department and the student. The Department acknowledges that the student is a bona fide candidate for the PhD and agrees that the program submitted by the student is sufficient to warrant granting the PhD upon completion. The Department may not change requirements unilaterally. The student may petition the Department for modification of their program.

Candidacy expires five years from the candidacy forms date of submission, rounded to the end of the quarter. In special cases, the Department may extend a student's candidacy, however, is under no obligation to do so. 

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2023-24 edition, computer science, ph.d..

Computer Science encompasses both theoretical and practical aspects of design, analysis, and implementation of computer systems, as well as applications of computing to numerous other fields. Core research areas include: (1) artificial intelligence and machine learning, (2) bioinformatics, (3) computer architecture, (4) embedded systems, (5) graphics and computer vision, (6) database systems and information management, (7) multimedia and gaming, (8) networks and distributed systems, (9) programming languages and compilers, (10) security, privacy, and cryptography, (11) design and analysis of algorithms, and (12) scientific computing.

The Ph.D. degree in Computer Science (CS) is a broad and flexible program, offering students opportunities for in-depth graduate study and cutting-edge research, covering a broad range of topics in Computer Science.

Required Courses

Each student must complete at least 47 units of course work with an average GPA of at least 3.5 for Ph.D. students. In addition, students must receive at least a B in each course counted toward filling these requirements. The set of core and elective courses chosen by a student must be approved by the student’s research advisor before advancement to candidacy. Faculty associated with each research area will provide suggested curricula for that area to guide students in their selection of courses. These curricula will also help Ph.D. students to prepare for their candidacy examination (see below) which must be taken in a specific research area.

Students must complete three quarters of COMPSCI 200S , four core courses, and seven elective courses. The course requirements are as follows:

Students must select four areas from the list of seven areas given below. From each area, they must select at least one of the courses listed for that area.

Seven elective courses selected from any ICS graduate program, except COMPSCI 290 , COMPSCI 296 , COMPSCI 298 , and COMPSCI 299 , any course with a suffix of “S", "W", or "P" (e.g., 209S), and any non-COMPSCI course with a prefix "29" (e.g., 295).

Notes/Restrictions:

1. At most, two COMPSCI 295 courses are allowed.

2. At most, two upper-division undergraduate courses are allowed, from the list below:

3. At most, two courses from combined 1 and 2 above are allowed.

4. At most, two courses are allowed from non-ICS UCI graduate programs, with written consent of the advisor.

5. Any course that was used toward an undergraduate degree cannot be used toward graduate requirements.

Ph.D. students are required to serve as teaching assistants for at least two quarters.

Prior to Advancement to Candidacy

Prior to advancement to candidacy a student must complete all required coursework and pass all comprehensive examinations/thesis; affiliate with an advisor by the end of the sixth quarter in the program; complete a research project with an advisor to demonstrate research aptitude.

Advancement to Candidacy Examination

The objective of the candidacy examination is to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of an area of computer science and readiness to carry out independent research at the doctoral level in that area. All requirements for candidacy including the candidacy examination must be completed by the end of the third year (or, for students entering the program with an M.S. in Computer Science, by the end of the second year). If the student does not pass on the first trial, the student will be allowed until the end of the first quarter of the fourth year to advance to candidacy. Consult the ICS Graduate Office for policies regarding committee membership. The format is an oral examination during which the student is tested on knowledge relevant to the chosen area of specialization. Each area is defined by a set of topics and reading list, which are maintained by the Computer Science Department office. New areas or changes to existing areas must be approved by a majority vote of the CS faculty in accordance with the Department’s bylaws. The current areas include the following: Algorithms and Data Structures; Computer Architecture and Embedded Systems; Database Systems and Multimedia; Computer Networks; Distributed Systems; Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; Informatics in Biology and Medicine; Computer Graphics and Visual Computing; Cryptography and Computer Security; Computational Neuroscience; Scientific Computing; Systems Software.

The examination is graded pass or fail. In order to pass, the Candidacy Committee must unanimously approve the final outcome. In the case of a fail, the examination may be retaken once. Students who fail on the second try will be recommended for disqualification from the doctoral program.

The advancement exam must be passed at least three quarters prior to the doctoral dissertation and final exam.

Doctoral Dissertation Topic Defense

The student must produce a substantial written document representing the dissertation plan. This must include the proposed dissertation abstract, a dissertation outline, and a detailed plan for completing the work. A dissertation defense committee is formed in accordance with UCI Senate regulations. The dissertation committee must unanimously approve the student’s proposal. At the discretion of the student’s advisor, the student may be required to give an oral presentation of the proposed plan to the committee. This must be completed by the end of the fourth year. It is expected that this will be done at least a year prior to the final examination and before most of the dissertation research and writing are undertaken. The idea is for students to demonstrate that they have a clear plan for carrying out the research for their dissertation. It also gives the student an understanding of what will be expected for final approval of the dissertation.

Doctoral Dissertation and Final Examination

Ph.D. students are required to complete a Ph.D. dissertation in accordance with Academic Senate regulations. In addition, they must pass an oral dissertation defense which consists of a public seminar presenting results followed by a private examination by the doctoral committee and other interested members of the Computer Science Department faculty.

Students entering the Ph.D. program with an M.S. in Computer Science must advance to candidacy within two years. All others must advance within three years. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. is six years, and the maximum time permitted is seven years.

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• PhD Requirements

Introduction

This page defines the requirements set forth by the Department of Computer Science for a student to earn a graduate degree in computer science, and to remain in good standing in the graduate program. These requirements are designed to allow students the flexibility to create programs of study that match their particular interests and needs, with the recognition that computer science is an evolving and interdisciplinary field. However, each student’s program of study and progress toward the degree must meet these minimum requirements. The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS, [email protected] ) is responsible for monitoring satisfactory progress toward the degree and certifying completion of degree requirements to the Duke Graduate School as a representative of the Faculty of Computer Science.

Besides the requirements of the Department presented in this document, there are other requirements and regulations mandated by the Graduate School, many of which are not presented here. They include, for example, specific deadlines to file to receive a degree in a given semester, as well as rules governing language proficiency, minimum  GPA, and minimum and maximum periods of residency at Duke. In the event that anything you read in these pages conflicts with Graduate School policies, then those policies shall apply at the discretion of the Dean of the Graduate School.

Selected Graduate School Policy and Procedure Pages:

• Academic Policies
• Guide for the Electronic Submission of Dissertations (PDF)
• Preparing to Graduate
• Responsible Conduct of Research
• Standards of Conduct

By the end of the second semester in the PhD program, every student must identify a faculty member who agrees to serve as an advisor. The advisor must be a full member of the Graduate Faculty (as defined in Appendix A of the Appendix section below) who holds a primary or secondary appointment in Computer Science. When naming an advisor, the student must submit a short description of research progress to date, and a one page description of the research topic area in which the faculty member has agreed to advise the student. Upon termination of an advising relationship, the student must name a new advisor within one semester, by following the procedure above . Note: Declare the advisor and upload the research topic area description and progress to date through Gradcentral.

Each graduate student must nominate a set of members of the Graduate Faculty who agree to act as the student’s supervisory committee. The supervisory committee is a standing committee chaired by the student’s advisor, and must meet the additional requirements on composition and approval specified for various degree milestones. Although the supervisory committee is a standing committee, the student must explicitly request that the committee be approved before each milestone. Declare the committee and request approval before each milestone through Gradcentral . 

Note: As one continues to develop and refine research ideas, additions or changes to the supervisory committee are permitted and sometimes expected.

Research Initiation Project (RIP)

Each PhD student must complete a substantial Research Initiation Project (RIP) before the end of the second year. The student conducts the research under the supervision of a faculty advisor and a supervisory committee approved for RIP. Do all steps for the RIP milestones using Gradcentral. The committee must include, besides the advisor, at least two other faculty members with appointments in Computer Science, or other members approved by the DGS. The DGS must approve the committee and any changes to it at least one week before an RIP milestone.

RIP has two required milestones:

• A project proposal and public presentation are due by the end of the second semester. The committee provides guidance and feedback, and assesses the readiness of the student in carrying out the proposed research. Note:  In case of scheduling difficulties, the public presentation may be deferred, upon approval by the DGS, up to the end of the second week of the third semester; however, the complete proposal document must be delivered to each committee member by the end of the second semester.
• A  final report and public defense of the completed work are due before the end of the second year. The committee evaluates whether the student is making good progress, and whether the student has demonstrated the ability to do novel research, which is the goal of the PhD program. The committee may require, at its discretion, an additional milestone involving a written progress report and public presentation by the middle of the fourth semester. Written documents for all RIP milestones must be uploaded to Gradcentral at least two weeks prior to the respective presentation dates. If the outcome of the committee evaluation at the second RIP milestone is negative, the student will be placed on one-semester departmental probation. (Refer to Good Standing section below.)

Preliminary Exam

Each PhD student must pass a preliminary exam, which entails a public presentation before an approved committee on the research progress to date and a plan for subsequent years leading up to the dissertation defense. The preliminary exam assesses a student’s preparation to continue in his or her chosen field, as well as the likelihood of successful completion of a dissertation. A preliminary exam report must be uploaded to Gradcentral at least two weeks prior to the exam date. The committee must include, besides the advisor, at least three other members of the Graduate Faculty. Do all steps for the Preliminary exam using Gradcentral .

At least three  of the committee members must have appointments in Computer Science. At least one of the committee members must be from outside Computer Science or hold an appointment in another department . The DGS and the Graduate School must approve the committee at least one month (30) days before the exam date.  Any changes must be approved at least one week before the exam date. A PhD student must pass the preliminary exam and file the committee-approved report with the DGS office before the end of the third year. An extension beyond the end of the third year requires petition to the DGS and approval of a dean. Failure to pass the preliminary exam and file the approved report before the end of the fourth year will result in termination from the PhD program. Before the preliminary exam, the student must complete the qualification requirement. See next section after Milestones.   Upon passing the preliminary exam, the student advances to PhD candidacy.

NOTE: Please see Appendix B, Milestone Documents and Presentation Guidelines section below for more details about the expected length and content of a preliminary exam.

Dissertation

Each PhD candidate must complete a doctoral dissertation and defend it in a public presentation  before an approved committee. The candidate must deliver the full dissertation to each committee member through Gradcentral at least four weeks prior to the defense; minor modifications suggested by the committee may be incorporated within 30 days after the defense and by the semester deadline for the degree. The dissertation must be formatted and submitted for publication to the Graduate School in accordance with their regulations. The requirements on committee composition and approval are the same as those for the preliminary exam.  In addition, the DGS and the Graduate School must approve the committee before the student can apply for graduation in DukeHub. The dissertation defense should be completed within two calendar years of the preliminary exam. A dean must approve extensions beyond four calendar years.

See Appendix B below for information about Guidelines for Milestone Documents and Presentations.

Please see PhD Course Requirements for detailed information.

PhD students are required to participate in the teaching mission of the Department for one semester during their first three semesters.  Most students will TA for at least 2 semesters. This requirement can be met by satisfactorily serving as a teaching assistant or instructor for a Computer Science course. In either case, at the end of the semester, the faculty member supervising the course will submit feedback on the student’s service. Based on this feedback and the evaluations by the students in the course, the Department’s Teaching Excellence Committee assigns a rating of excellent , satisfactory , or unsatisfactory for the service. Unsatisfactory performance must be made up with another term of service.

The Department will award a graduating PhD student a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching if the following conditions are met:

• The student has successfully served in the teaching mission of the Department for three semesters (or the equivalent in effort), where 1) at least one semester of service is for an undergraduate Computer Science course at the introductory level; and 2) at least one semester of service is as an instructor.
• The student is nominated for this distinction by at least one faculty member who has supervised the student on teaching.
• The student must submit a teaching portfolio and have it approved by the Teaching Excellence Committee. The portfolio should include a 2-page teaching statement and supporting documents such as sample instructional materials created by the student.

Every student is required to discuss research progress in a formal capacity with all the members of their supervisory committee at least annually. In a given year, this requirement can be met by a full committee meeting, or by a series of one-on-one meetings with each member of the committee. The Department conducts an annual progress review of all graduate students. Each student is required to submit a set of written materials as input to the annual review (see Appendix D for deadlines and details). Faculty members provide written feed-back on these materials. In the case when a student fails to make satisfactory progress, the Faculty may place the student on departmental probation (see section below on Good Standing.) The progress review documents are uploaded and evaluated using Gradcentral .

See Appendix C for additional details about the procedure for the Annual Progress Review.

All entering graduate students must attend and participate in the first offering of CPS 701S after their matriculation. This “immigration course” clarifies the goals and requirements of the graduate programs and exposes the students to methods, best practices, and ethical and professional issues for research in computer science. The Department’s Admissions Committee and DGS pair each entering student with a member of the Faculty who will act as a faculty mentor, before an advisor is identified.

The faculty mentor shall meet with the student early in each semester, and additionally as appropriate. The responsibility of the faculty mentor is to discuss the student’s research interests and goals, and guide the student toward a suitable match with an advisor. The faculty mentor also reports on the student’s progress as input to the annual progress review if the student has not yet identified an advisor.

For additional, more detailed information, please see Mentoring for CS Graduate Students .

Students maintain good standing in the graduate program by complying with the requirements and regulations set forth by the Department, the Graduate School, and the University. A student who is not in good standing can be placed on departmental probation , e.g., by the supervisory committee or Faculty for lack of progress, or by the DGS because for failure to meet degree requirements or violation of the Department’s House Rules .

The terms of probation will specify a concrete set of goals for the student to accomplish within a deadline. The probation period gives the student a chance to address issues raised by the committee or the Faculty. Failure to meet the goals by the deadline will result in termination from the program.

Within 10 days of receiving a decision of departmental probation or termination from the program, students have the right of a formal appeal in writing to the Department Chair. The appeal will be heard by the Department’s Graduate Curriculum Committee or a special committee appointed by the Chair.

Clarification of Terms

The Graduate School classifies Graduate Faculty into two categories: full members and term members . All tenure-track faculty members at Duke are full members of the Graduate Faculty; other cases of full membership require approval of the Dean. Faculty members who are not full members of the Graduate Faculty, as well as expert researchers outside Duke University, may serve as term members; such memberships must be nominated by the DGS and approved by the Graduate School. Note: Inclusion of expert researchers outside Duke in supervisory committees is common, and is encouraged when appropriate. Students should notify the DGS office in advance so there is enough time to collect from external committee members information required for nominating them for membership in the Graduate Faculty.

The i-th semester (into a graduate program) refers to the i-th semester (Fall or Spring) since the student’s date of matriculation into the program. Summer terms are not counted.

The n-th year (into a graduate program) refers to the n-th year since the student’s date of matriculation into the program. The year starts from the first day of class in a Fall or Spring semester (depending on the semester of matriculation), and ends on the last day of the final examinations in the following Summer term or Fall semester (respectively). Note: Unless pre-approved otherwise, a Leave of Absence from the program does not stop the clock as far as the graduate requirements are concerned.

Regular courses include those approved by the University for repeated periodic graded offerings. CPS 590 offerings, if graded, are also considered regular courses. CPS 701S and CPS 791 are not regular courses.

Guidelines for Milestone Documents and Presentations

Table 2 gives the standard length guidelines for documents and presentations required by the various degree milestones. These standard lengths are only guidelines. Minor deviations are common and expected. Supervisory committees have discretion to request or permit significant deviations from the standard length guidelines, although these must be negotiated in advance.

Students should allow adequate time to incorporate review comments from the advisor before submitting a document to the committee, and adequate time to incorporate review comments from committee members before the document is due. The document for a milestone must be delivered to all committee members for final review well in advance of the public presentation, unless they agree to accept it later; see the section Completing the Milestones for the lead time required for various milestones. The approved final versions of all milestone documents must be filed at the DGS office.

Public presentations associated with degree milestones should proceed in three phases: 1) the student gives a prepared talk and answers questions from the supervisory committee and other attendees; 2) the student discusses the work with the committee in a private session; and 3) the committee discusses the work in a private session. Other faculty members may attend the private sessions with approval of the committee.

Students are responsible for negotiating with committee members to schedule and announce each public presentation and to file the necessary paper-work in conformance with published deadlines. The DGS office assists with this process. Note: Students should begin the scheduling process early. Scheduling is often time-consuming and difficult toward the end of a semester, and the Graduate School requires the student to apply for graduation in DukeHub by a deadline well before the end of the semester in which a degree is received.

Additional guidelines on the documents and presentations for specific milestones are provided below. The supervisory committee has discretion to set standards for content of documents and presentations. It is critical that students discuss expectations with each committee member in advance. Stu-dents may provide additional material such as supplementary report text or publications for consideration by the committee.

PhD RIP It is expected that a successful RIP will lead to publishable work. Students are encouraged to publish RIP final reports externally, with approval of the committee.

PhD Preliminary Exam A preliminary exam re-port should 1) define a research problem suitable for dissertation research, 2) survey the literature in the area, 3) present the student’s preliminary research in the area, and 4) outline objectives and plans for continuing research. The prepared talk should summarize the content of the report and may provide additional supporting detail in selected areas. The report and presentation together should provide sufficient detail for the committee to judge four criteria for a successful defense: 1) the proposed research is of suitable scope and scale for a PhD dissertation; 2) the candidate has mastered previous work in the area; 3) the candidate’s preliminary research demonstrates sufficient aptitude and mastery of research methods and tools; and 4) the candidate meets standards of scholarship and presentation necessary to earn a doctoral degree.

Students may publish preliminary exam reports externally with approval of the committee.

PhD Dissertation and MS Thesis PhD dissertations and MS theses present research that makes a substantial contribution to knowledge. The supervisory committee has full discretion to define content standards for dissertations, theses, and their presentation.

The Graduate School publishes all dissertations and theses. Students must format these documents according to standards set by the Graduate School, and must submit a draft document to the Graduate School for a format check before a Final Exam Card required for the defense can be issued. See the Graduate School website for details.

In some situations, public access to dissertations and theses should be embargoed (i.e., restricted) for a period of time. Students must consult their supervisory committees for the appropriate embargo option. Project-Based MS Students pursuing the project (non-thesis) option for their MS degree must request from their advisor a note to the Graduate School, at the time they apply for graduation in DukeHub, stating that they are ready to graduate. The supervisory committee has full discretion to define content standards for the MS project reports and their presentation.

Table 2: Guidelines on lengths of milestone documents and presentations. Document lengths in this table assume the standard (double-spaced) thesis format defined by the Graduate School. However, there is no departmental requirement to use the standard thesis format for documents submitted to supervisory committees; some faculty members may prefer a single-spaced format with wide margins. Also, note that there are no standard length guidelines for MS theses/reports and PhD dissertations; individual  circumstances vary widely.

Procedure for Annual Progress Review

The Department conducts an annual progress review of graduate students. The purpose of the review is to recognize and reward achievement, deliver constructive guidance to students, and assess the effectiveness of the graduate program. The DGS office gathers information from students and faculty and maintains records for each student as well as progress measures for the graduate program as a whole. The DGS and the Department’s Graduate Curriculum Committee prepare this material for discussion during an annual progress review meeting of the faculty.

Students must submit written material as input to each annual review. through Gradcentral . These materials include 1) an updated curriculum vitae, 2) a brief (1- or 2-page) research summary with a bibliography of the student’s publications and works-in-progress, and 3) a short (1-page) progress statement including a self-assessment of progress for the previous year, a statement of goals for the following year, and an updated schedule of planned milestone completions. This process of planning and documenting progress and accomplishments will be valuable for students, and it will facilitate more detailed feedback from the Faculty. Each year, the DGS office publishes deadlines and additional guidelines for submitting these materials.

Faculty mentors or advisors and supervisory committee members report on student progress at each annual review. Faculty advisors must provide written feedback for students on the materials submitted for review. Instructors of graduate courses should also provide feedback on students’ course performance since the last annual progress review. Faculty post comments in Gradcentral.

In a typical year, supporting materials from students will be due by the end of the fall semester, and reports from faculty advisors and supervisory committee members will be due within two weeks after the beginning of the spring semester. The Faculty will complete the annual progress review by mid-February.

An important function of the annual progress review is to identify students who are not making adequate progress in the judgment of the Faculty as a whole. As a result of the review, the Faculty may place at-risk students on departmental probation (see section on Good Standing), with a probation period of no less than eight weeks.

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• Computer Sciences, Ph.D.

The Department of Computer Sciences offers the master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees in computer sciences.   Research specialty areas include artificial intelligence, computational biology, computer architecture, computer graphics, computer networks, computer security, database systems, human–computer interaction, numerical analysis, optimization, performance analysis, programming languages and compilers, systems research, and theoretical computer sciences. The department’s Graduate Advising Committee (GAC) advises all computer sciences graduate students except students who are in dissertator status. See department website for faculty interests, research activities, courses, facilities, and degree requirements.

Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online .

Students with a strong background in computer sciences or a related field are encouraged to apply for admission. At a minimum, the applicant should have had some programming experience, including courses in data structures and machine organization, and should have had a year of college-level mathematics at the calculus level or above. Applicants are evaluated based on their previous academic record, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. All applications must be submitted online. Admission is very competitive. Aid is offered to about half of the students to whom admission is offered. Aid is usually in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships, or research assistantships. For more information on admissions, visit the department website .

Contact [email protected] with questions about admissions in the traditional M.S. or the Ph.D. programs.

Graduate School Resources

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid.  Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Program Resources

Funding is offered to about half of the students to whom admission is offered. Funding is usually in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships, or research assistantships.  Because computer science skills are in demand, students who are admitted without funding are often able to find graduate assistantships  on campus.  The department website provides information on funding  options and offers suggestions for those who are admitted without department funding.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Major requirements.

Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements , in addition to the program requirements listed below.

MODE OF INSTRUCTION

Mode of instruction definitions.

Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.

Evening/Weekend: ​Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules.  Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.

Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.

Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats.  Contact the program for more specific information.

Online: These programs are offered 100% online.  Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.

CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS

Required courses, additional qualifying breadth courses requirement.

Ph.D. students must take one course from each of the bands 1, 2, 3 and 4 listed below. Two of the four courses used to satisfy this requirement must be numbered 700 or above; the remaining two courses must be numbered 500 above. Grades in all courses used for breadth must be at least AB. COMP SCI 839  can be used to satisfy breath in the band declared by the course instructor at the time of course offering.

One course taken as a graduate student at another institution may be counted for breadth.  A request for this must be made in writing to the faculty member designated to approve equivalence for the respective course on the breath list. The request should indicate the corresponding UW–Madison course, include a transcript showing a grade equivalent to AB or better, and provide a course syllabus and description.

Graduate School Policies

The  Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures  provide essential information regarding general university policies. Program authority to set degree policies beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with the degree program faculty. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.

Major-Specific Policies

Prior coursework, graduate work from other institutions.

Subject to faculty approval, one graduate course taken elsewhere may be used for breadth. Other than that, no credits of graduate coursework from other institutions are allowed to satisfy requirements.

UW–Madison Undergraduate

No credits from a UW–Madison undergraduate degree are allowed to satisfy requirements.

UW–Madison University Special

With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 15 credits of coursework numbered 300 or above taken as a UW–Madison University Special student. Coursework earned ten or more years prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

At the end of any regular (nonsummer) semester, a student is considered to be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) if the following conditions are all satisfied:

• Before achieving dissertator status: the student has completed at least 6 (if full load) or 3 (if part load) credits of approved courses during the semester.
• After achieving dissertator status: the student has satisfactorily completed at least three credits of courses approved by the student’s major professor.
• The student has removed all Incomplete grades from any previous regular semester or summer session.
• The student has passed any required exams and procedures within designated time limits.

Any graduate student who fails to make SAP during two consecutive regular semesters (fall and spring, or spring and fall) will be dismissed from the department at the end of the subsequent summer session. Any graduate student who fails to make SAP due to missed deadlines will be dismissed from the department at the end of the subsequent summer session.

ADVISOR / COMMITTEE

A member of the graduate advising committee must formally approve all graduate schedules each semester until a student is in dissertator status.

CREDITS PER TERM ALLOWED

Time limits.

Students must pass the qualifying process by the end of the sixth semester.

The preliminary exam must be taken within two regular (nonsummer) semesters after the deadline for the qualifying exam.

A candidate for a doctoral degree who fails to take the final oral examination and deposit the dissertation within five years after passing the preliminary examination may by required to take another preliminary examination and to be admitted to candidacy a second time.

Doctoral degree students who have been absent for ten or more consecutive years lose all credits that they have earned before their absence.

Grievances and appeals

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:

• Bias or Hate Reporting  
• Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
• Office of the Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs
• Dean of Students Office (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
• Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
• Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
• Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
• Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
• Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
• Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
• Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)

Students should contact the department chair or program director with questions about grievances. They may also contact the L&S Academic Divisional Associate Deans, the L&S Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Administration, or the L&S Director of Human Resources.

Take advantage of the Graduate School's  professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career. 

The Department of Computer Sciences hosts many professional development opportunities including: job fairs, workshops, seminars, talks, employer information sessions, mentoring and student socials. The Department of Computer Sciences student organizations, Student-ACM (SACM) and  Women's ACM (WACM),  are active partners in providing professional development opportunities for computer sciences graduate students.

• Articulates research problems, potentials, and limits with respect to theory, knowledge, or practice within the field of study.
• Formulates ideas, concepts, designs, and/or techniques beyond the current boundaries of knowledge within the field of study.
• Creates research, scholarship, or performance that makes a substantive contribution.
• Demonstrates breadth within their learning experiences.
• Advances contributions of the field of study to society.
• Communicates complex ideas in a clear and understandable manner.
• Fosters ethical and professional conduct.

Visit the CS website to view our department faculty and staff .

• Requirements
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Contact Information

Computer Sciences College of Letters & Science cs.wisc.edu

Angela Thorp, Graduate Program Manager [email protected] 608-262-7967 Department of Computer Sciences Room 4297, 1210 West Dayton Street, Madison , WI 53706

Mollie Stolbov, Graduate Program Manager [email protected] Department of Computer Sciences Room 4292, 1210 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706

Admissions Inquiries [email protected]

Graduate Program Handbook View Here

Graduate School grad.wisc.edu

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Doctor of Philosophy - Computer Science

Advisory committee.

The Ph.D. advisory committee is the same as the Master of Science in Computer Science degree except that it must have a minimum of four members, a majority from the department and at least one from another department.  This is a STEM program.

Degree Plan

The degree plan should be completed by the student in consultation with the chair and the advisory committee. Requirements for the Ph.D. in computer science degree include:

• At least 30 credit hours of graded graduate coursework (excluding 681, 684, 685 and 691).
• Three breadth CSCE courses, one selected from each of these sets: Theory (627, 629), Systems (605, 611, 613, 614 and 678) and Software (604, 606, 634, 655, 656, 670, 671, 672 and 713). These must be passed with a grade of B or better. These count toward the requirement of 30 hours of graded graduate coursework.
• At most, six credit hours of approved non-CSCE graded graduate coursework (excluding 681, 684, 685, 691). This counts towards the requirement of 30 hours of graded graduate coursework.
• One to two credit hours of CSCE 681 (Graduate Seminar).
• At least 18 credit hours of CSCE 691 (Research). Normally, the number of CSCE 691 hours will be increased to meet the required total number of credit hours.
• A total of at least 96 credit hours (or at least 64 credit hours if the student has a prior approved and related master’s degree).

Courses That Cannot Be Used on Any Degree Plan:

• In CSCE, we do not allow 601, 602, 603, 701, 705, 706, 707, 708, 709.
• In ECEN, we do not allow 714, 749.
• In STAT, we do not allow 624 and 654.
• In MATH, we do not allow 679.
• In CYBR, we do not allow 601.
• Any course that contains material required of our undergraduate computer science or computer engineering majors.

Other Degree Plan Information:

• Texas A&M undergraduates who have taken 410 cannot use 611 on their degree plan. If the Texas A&M undergraduate receives an A in 410, they satisfy the Systems breadth requirement for the CPSC degrees.
• Texas A&M undergraduates who have taken 431 cannot use 606 on their degree plan. Texas A&M undergraduates who receive an A in 431 satisfy the Software breadth requirement for the CPSC degrees.
• Texas A&M undergraduates who have taken 420 cannot use 625 on their degree plan. This course is not stacked normally but overlaps by about two-thirds (2/3).
• Texas A&M undergraduates who receive an A in 411 satisfy the Theory breadth requirement.
• 401/701 (always)
• 402/702 (always)
• 403/703 (always)
• 410/611 (sometimes)
• 413/713 (always)
• 421/633 (always)
• 433/627 (always)
• 435/735 (sometimes) 
• 440/640 (sometimes)
• 445/656 (always)
• 447/679 (always)
• 451/652 (always)
• 452/752 (always)
• 463/612 (always)
• 465/765 (sometimes)
• 469/614 (always)
• 477/703 (always)
• Texas A&M undergraduates can receive credit for both courses in an undergrad/grad course pair under Fast Track.
• Prerequisites listed for CSE graduate coursework are given to inform students of the knowledge they are expected to have to be successful in the graduate course. While the department does not block registration based on prerequisites for graduate courses, students are still responsible for ensuring they are prepared to meet course prerequisites. If students have concerns regarding preparation for a particular class, they should contact the instructor of the graduate course for more information regarding expectations.

CSCE 684 Hours:

• Any international student who wishes to go on to do curricular practical training must have one credit hour for each semester they are on the internship of CSCE 684 on their degree plan. Any CSCE 684 hours are in addition to the required total credit hours of the degree plan.
• If you are an international student, we recommend you place at least one credit hour of CSCE 684 on your degree plan when you submit it. This way if you receive an internship offer, you will not be rushing to have 684 added to your degree plan.
• Domestic students do not need to register when they are on an internship. However, if they are gone for a year without registering, they must apply for a leave of absence. Otherwise, they will need to reapply for admission.

For additional information and clarification, please see the graduate catalog and the department’s graduate program webpage .

PhD Requirements

Requirements presented as a Table.

Breakdown of Credit Hours

• Total number of hours required for a Ph.D.: 96 (64 with an approved M.S.)
• Must complete a minimum of 48 credit hours of coursework (16 with an approved M.S.), of which 20 credit hours must be CS coursework (12 with an approved M.S.).
• Must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of 500-level coursework (16 with an approved M.S.), of which 12 credit hours must be CS 500-level coursework. Courses in computer science numbered CS 500-CS 590 or CS 598 are considered advanced coursework.
• Must complete a minimum of 32 credit hours of Thesis Research (CS 599).

Note: CS 597 (Independent Study) and CS 591/491 (Seminar) may be applied towards bullet 2 above, but cannot be applied to bullet 3 above. Independent study coursework completed at other departments will be treated similar to CS 597 hours. A maximum of 16 credit hours of independent study coursework can be applied toward the degree.

Advanced Coursework

Courses in computer science numbered CS 500 - CS 590 or CS 598 are considered Advanced Coursework. Students must complete 24 credit hours (16 with an approved M.S.) of advanced coursework. In addition, 12 hours of the advanced coursework must be computer science courses.

Program of Study (Core Requirements)

The Program of Study is designed to allow students some flexibility to develop their curriculum in accordance with the Ph.D. graduation requirements outlined above and with the expectations of their advising/thesis committee. The Academic Office assigns students three committee members within the first month of starting the Ph.D. program. Students setup a time with their Program of Study committee to discuss their area of interests and determine what required courses must be completed and develop a strategy for meeting educational and career goals as well as the Ph.D. coursework requirements. For more detailed information, visit Program of Study .

Thesis Hours

A minimum of 32 hours of Thesis Research (CS 599) is required. Students may register for the advisor’s section of CS 599 after they successfully complete their qualifying examination. The CS 599 Thesis Advisor Agreement form must be on file prior to enrolling for thesis hours and prior to taking the qualifying exam.  ( Effective Fall 2022, registration in CS 599 hours during the term of the Qualifying Examination will not be approved. Students can register for CS 597 Individual Study credits until they pass the qualifying examination. )

Additional Requirements

• CS 591 section PHD must be taken in the first semester. A maximum of 4 credit hours of CS 591 can be applied toward the Ph.D. degree.
• The minimum program GPA is 3.0.

Effective Spring 2022, CS TA appointments which meet the following criteria will fulfill the PhD TA requirement : A 50% teaching assistantship or a 25% solo teaching assistantship for an entire term completed by the end of the 5th year, with a satisfactory performance evaluation by the department.  TAships for any CS 591 course will not count towards the TA requirement.

Ph.D. with Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Option

The Ph.D. with a concentration in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) is an interdisciplinary program which focuses on computationally oriented research. All Ph.D. degree requirements apply PLUS the following additional requirements.

• Students must take 12 credit hours of coursework relevant to their CSE research areas, selected with the approval of their advisor, from one or more departments outside Computer Science.
• CSE 500-level courses may be used to satisfy the advanced coursework (500-level) requirement.
• The Ph.D. thesis must address some aspect of CSE.
• The doctoral committee should include a faculty member from outside computer science whose interests are relevant to the student's research.

Ph.D. Requirements Table

A) phd students admitted for fall 2022 (or later).

• A teaching assistantship for an entire term, with a satisfactory performance evaluation by the department, is required by the end of the 5th year.
• International Students must show demonstration of English proficiency (equivalent to that necessary to be a TA-see Financial Aid) before taking the Qualifying Exam.
• Qualifying exam
• Preliminary exam
• Final exam or dissertation defense
• Dissertation deposit
• Minimum GPA: 3.0

PhD Students Admitted Fall 2021 or Prior

Graduate Advising

The Graduate Academic Office, a guiding hand for CS graduate students, assistance is available every weekday.

PhD in Computer Science

The PhD in Computer Science program provides students with the advanced coursework and groundbreaking research opportunities they need to contribute at the forefront of the world’s fastest-growing fields. Forging knowledge in 15 core areas like artificial intelligence, data science, programming languages, and human-centered computing, you’ll gain significant expertise in conducting and presenting the results of your research. Ultimately, you’ll produce and defend original work that contributes to critical discourse in your chosen area.

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Khoury College doctorate students gain deep knowledge and invaluable experience—preparing you for a research career in academia or industry.

Khoury Computer Science PhD graduates have found prestigious positions across industry and academia.

Tenure-track faculty:

• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• University of British Columbia (UBC)
• Indiana University
• University of Maryland
• University College London
• NC State University
• UMass Boston
• City University of Hong Kong

Postdoc research scientists:

• University of Paris
• Virginia Tech
• Microsoft Research
• GE Global Research

Senior software engineers and industry leaders:

Students graduating with a PhD in Computer Science will:

• Gain a broad understanding of computer science fundamentals, spanning a substantial portion of the following core areas: artificial intelligence and data science, human-centered computing, software, systems, and theory
• Gain significant expertise in at least one research area in computer science
• Produce and defend original research in an area of computer science
• Be able to communicate research results effectively in both oral and written forms

Our flagship campus in Boston is just minutes away from esteemed universities, exciting start-ups, and leaders in tech, finance, health care, and more.

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Fall 2023 or Later

These guidelines apply to students who started the PhD program in the Fall 2023 or Later. For earlier guidelines, please see Fall 2015 to Spring 2023 guidelines .

1. Introduction

The PhD degree at the USC Computer Science department prepares students for a career in research. The goal of the program is to nurture talented minds via research and formal coursework, to produce future thought leaders in computer science. The program accepts students who have completed a four-year Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; a Master’s degree is not a requirement for entry. Once admitted to the program, a student must complete a set of requirements to graduate with the PhD degree. These requirements are described next.

2. Unit Requirements

A student is required to complete a total of at least 60 units, at least 40 of which must be at the 500 level or above (beyond the bachelor’s degree and including the required courses as listed in the requirements below). A student must maintain a 3.0 GPA to remain in good academic standing.

3. Course Requirement

Mandatory courses: Each student is required to complete CSCI 670 (4 units), and two semesters of CSCI 697 (1 unit each, 2 maximum). In addition, students are required to pass two semesters of CSCI 698 (1-2 units each, no maximum) as part of a teaching requirement. CSCI 698 is coursework related to a teaching requirement and is described in Section 6.

In addition to the mandatory courses, each student must complete five (5) CSCI courses at the 500 level and above, each of 4 units. No more than two (2) of these courses (8 units total) may be at the 500 level; the remaining must be CSCI courses at the 600 level. Directed Research units or thesis credits do not satisfy this requirement.

Students are strongly advised to take at least one of their elective courses in an area of Computer Science that is different from their proposed area of research. The PhD advisor is expected to provide guidance on this matter to the student. The CSCI 670 course requirement may be waived only by taking the midterm and final exams with the ongoing class (no homeworks or quizzes), and achieving satisfactory scores.

CSCI 697 and CSCI 698 may not be waived.

4. Biannual Review

Every Fall and every Spring semesters, the faculty will review each PhD student in the program. This is a rigorous review. Each student must submit a current CV and a list of publications and/or achievements. Each student’s faculty advisor will also submit a written statement assessing the student’s research and progress. The review, based on these inputs, will result in an evaluation of:

• “At or exceeds expectations”,
• “Mostly at expectations and improvements needed” (with a specific list of improvements for each student), or
• “Below expectations” (with a specific list of actions that must be taken).

After the first two semesters, students who do not have a faculty advisor will automatically receive a “Below expectations” evaluation.

Students must earn a “At or exceeds expectations” or “Mostly at expectations and improvements needed” evaluation on the most recent review before they will be allowed to take the Qualifying Examination or Dissertation Defense.

For each student who earns a “Below expectations” review, the student’s faculty advisor (if any) and the Associate Chair for PhD Affairs will develop a remediation plan to be completed within 12 months.

Two consecutive “Below expectations” reviews or failure to achieve the remediation plan may be used as grounds for removing a student from the PhD program.

5. Seminar and Thesis Proposal Attendance Requirement

Each PhD student must attend four (4) Department seminars and/or PhD Thesis Proposals each semester.

6. Teaching Requirement

All PhD students must pass CSCI 698: Teaching Practicum in two or more semesters before they can graduate with a PhD. Enrollment in CSCI 698 requires a PhD student to concurrently serve as a TA for a Computer Science or Data Science class. Every student must TA for two semesters to fulfill the teaching requirement. Every student must TA at least one undergraduate class, unless by exceptional approval by the Associate Chair for PhD Affairs.

7. Qualifying Examination

All doctoral students must pass a Qualifying Examination in Computer Science. Before passing the Qualifying Examination, students must have completed all their course requirements.

The Qualifying Examination is administered by a guidance committee consisting of the dissertation advisor and four (4) other faculty members. The student’s dissertation advisor will act as the chair of the guidance committee. The committee must include at least three (3) faculty members who have an appointment in Computer Science, and at least one committee member must be tenured in the Computer Science Department. The committee must also include one tenured/tenure track USC faculty member from another department whose primary appointment is not in Computer Science. All guidance committees must be approved by the Associate Chair for PhD Affairs, the Dean’s office, and the Graduate School. The guidance committee may include faculty from other universities, in addition to the five members from USC.

The Qualifying Examination has two parts: Written and Oral. A student must have an “At or exceeds expectations” or “Mostly at expectations and improvements needed” result from the most recent Biannual Review and at least a 3.0 GPA in order to attempt the Qualifying Examination.

Students may take the Written portion of the Qualifying Examination prior to completing their course requirements. The Written portion of the Qualifying Examination should be taken during the student’s 4th semester in the PhD program. The Written portion is in the form of a paper. Students must work with their Qualifying Examination committee to determine the topic and scope of the paper. The criteria for the paper written in fulfillment of the Written portion of the Qualifying Examination are as follows:

• Minimum 15 pages in the ACM Computer Science Style.
• Writing style must be of publishable quality, as determined by the guidance committee.
• Must include at least 30 scholarly references.

The student will pass the Written part of the Qualifying Examination with their committee’s consensus. If a student does not pass the Written portion of the Qualifying Examination, they may retake it one additional time. The student must retake the Written portion of the Qualifying Examination within at least six (6) and at most 12 months of the initial attempt.

The Oral portion of the Qualifying Examination must be taken by the end of a student’s 3rd year. It is closed to the public. The Oral portion of the Qualifying Examination will assess a student’s ability to provide a 30-minute presentation on the topic covered in the Written portion and to show adequate mastery of that topic, reflected both in the quality of the presentation and the ability to answer questions from the committee. The student will not be allowed to take the Oral portion of the Qualifying Examination without having passed the Written portion. If a student does not pass the Oral portion of the Qualifying Examination, they may retake it one additional time. The student must retake the Oral portion of the Qualifying Examination within at least six (6) and at most 12 months of the initial attempt. Postponement of any part of the Qualifying Examination will be treated on a case-by-case basis by the Associate Chair for the PhD Program.

8. Thesis Proposal

The thesis proposal presents a summary of planned future research to be carried out until graduation, contextualized by work already completed. Like for the Qualifying exam, the Thesis Proposal consists of two parts: a written part, in the same format as the written portion of the Qualifying Exam, and an oral presentation. The written part must be submitted to the student’s faculty committee at least two weeks before the scheduled oral presentation. The thesis proposal committee is administered by a guidance committee consisting of the dissertation advisor and four (4) other faculty members. The student’s dissertation advisor will act as the chair of the guidance committee. The committee must include at least three (3) faculty members who have an appointment in Computer Science, and at least one committee member must be tenured in the Computer Science Department. The committee must also include one tenured/tenure track USC faculty member from another department whose primary appointment is not in Computer Science.

The oral part of the Thesis Proposal is a presentation open to the public. The presentation must be announced at least one week in advance. The announcement must include the presentation title and abstract, the venue, date and time, as well as the names of the guidance committee members. The presentation is expected to be 45 minutes long at a minimum, with time for questions at the end. All current PhD students are encouraged to attend and participate in the public questions-and-answers session. A portion of the questions-and-answers session may be closed at the discretion of the student’s guidance committee.

The Thesis Proposal must be made by the end of a student’s 5th year in the program, although it is strongly recommended that students do so by the end of their 4th year. Only students who have passed the Qualifying examination (both Written and Oral), may schedule a Thesis Proposal presentation. The guidance committee will assess the thesis proposal for novelty, substance, and feasibility, and decide whether to approve the proposal. If a student’s Thesis Proposal is not approved, the student may make one additional proposal. The student must make the additional Thesis Proposal within at most six (6) months of the first attempt.

9. Dissertation and Defense

A dissertation involving original research completes the requirements for a PhD degree. A Defense of the dissertation must be held as a public oral examination. The Defense must be announced at least one week in advance. To schedule the Defense, the student must have passed the Thesis Proposal. The Defense announcement must include the dissertation title and abstract, the venue, date and time for the examination, as well as the names of the dissertation Defense committee members.

The student must provide the complete written dissertation to the committee at least five (5) business days before the scheduled defense.

The dissertation defense committee must have at least three (3) members, of which at least two must have an appointment in Computer Science. The student’s dissertation advisor will chair the committee. At least one committee member must be tenured in the Computer Science Department. The committee must also include one tenured (or tenure-track) USC faculty member from another department whose primary appointment is not in Computer Science.

Specific upload deadlines and instructions can be found on the USC Graduate School Thesis Center website https://graduateschool.usc.edu/current-students/thesis-dissertation-submission/ .

10. Time Limits

A student must pass the Qualifying Examination within four years of being admitted to the PhD program. The dissertation Defense must be completed within seven years of being admitted to the PhD program (six if the student arrives with a relevant Master’s degree).

After seven years in the PhD program, the student may not be eligible for any Teaching Assistantship funding from the Computer Science department. An extension to either time limit (Qualifying Exam and Defense) requires approval of two-thirds of the Computer Science faculty. In no case may the granted extensions exceed the time limits set by the USC Graduate School.

11. Absences

Doctoral students may be granted a maximum of 24 months (not necessarily consecutive) leave-of-absence by the Department Chair, or by a committee appointed by the Department Chair with the approval of the Graduate School. During these absences, the clock defining the time limits for the qualifying and defense examinations is suspended. The clock is resumed when the student returns from the leave-of-absence. Any leaves longer than 24 months, or leave applied for within four months of the expiration of a time limit, requires an approval of two-thirds of Computer Science faculty. Absences longer than 24 months also require USC Graduate School approval.

12. Transfer Requirements

Students with a relevant MS degree from another university may transfer up to 30 units towards their PhD degree. At most two courses may be substituted for the allowed two 500- level courses in the course requirement. No substitutions are allowed for the 600-level courses.

13. Petitioning for MS Degree

After satisfying the PhD course requirements and completing a minimum of 28 units with a GPA of 3.0, a current CS PhD is eligible to petition for a Master's degree in Computer Science.  This will require the approval of your faculty advisor(s) and the Associate Chair of the department.  The docusign process can be found here .

14. Existing Students and the new PhD Requirements

These requirements shall apply to all students admitted to the Computer Science PhD program for Fall 2023 or thereafter. Students admitted prior to Fall 2023 may choose to have these requirements applied to them. To do this, the student must submit to the Department an approval letter signed by the student’s PhD advisor.

Published on November 22nd, 2022

Last updated on November 2nd, 2023

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The CS Policies/Procedures Manual is online and is incorporated in the CS Grad website. The website contains all current information on the CS policies/procedures, in addition to other helpful information and links. 

The Purdue Graduate School manual contains the minimum requirements, but CS policies may exceed the Grad School requirements and are considered the primary policy to follow in those situations.

The doctoral program is designed to prepare students for a career in computer science research. The program includes coursework to provide core computer science knowledge, coursework to provide knowledge in the intended area of research, and extensive research training and experience.

Invitation to participate:

Information Session on the CS Doctoral Requirements with the Graduate Study Chair

Thursday, September 14th, at 5:30 pm in LWSN 3102

The doctoral program requirements are:

• One research orientation course
• Ethics Training
• Two initial research courses
• Core course requirement
• Advisory Committee
• Area-specific requirements
• Research credits
• Preliminary Examination
• Annual Review

Graduation Candidacy Information

Changes in Requirements

Policies and Procedures Manual

Sample Ph.D. Timeline

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1. Research Orientation

The research orientation requirement consists of three parts: (a) the research orientation course, (b) the ethics training, and (c) the initial research courses.

a. Research Orientation Course

Students must, in their first year, take “ CS 59100 Research Seminar for First-Year Graduate Students ”.  This course introduces students to the research of CS faculty and includes lectures on how to conduct, present, and review research.

b. Ethics Training

Students must complete this multiple part training in the first year.

• Students must be present for the ethics lecture that is part of " CS 59100 Research Seminar for First-Year Graduate Students ".
• Go to  CITI Program: Responsible Conduct of Research .
• Register with “Purdue University” as your Organization Affiliation;
• Complete the  Course Responsible Conduct of Research Training – Faculty, Postdoctoral, and Graduate Course
• Forward the certificate of completion to the Graduate Office by email at  [email protected]
• participation  in discussions with colleagues on RCR topics related to their specific research programs (e.g., through group meetings, coursework, orientations, professional development activities, or other organized events.) OR
• participation/viewing panel discussions around topics identified as most relevant by the College of Science researchers. There will be a one hour event each spring semester to fulfill this. These will be announced by the Grad Office whenever available.
• Each student researcher is responsible for self-reporting their activities here: https://webapps.ecn.purdue.edu/VPR/RT/login

Further information on Responsible Conduct of Research

c. Initial Research Courses

Students must take two initial research courses by the end of their third semester.  Students take an initial research course by registering for at least 3 credits of “CS 69900, Research PhD Thesis”. To register for research, use the Scheduling Assistant in myPurdue. Only one initial research course can be taken per semester or per summer.  Each student must identify a faculty supervisor and work with that faculty supervisor to define and conduct a research project. At the end of each course, the student must write a report that is formally evaluated by the faculty supervisor. The two initial courses may be supervised by the same or by different faculty members .

Beginning PhD students (in first two years) doing research with a faculty member other than their initial advisor may discuss whether to formally change the advisor of record. If both the initial advisor and the proposed new initial advisor agree, an email to the grad office can be sent to request an update. Email confirmation from both advisors is needed before myCS can be updated. Students in their third year and beyond should have a plan of study approved identifying their permanent advisor. See Plan of study below for additional details. 

2. Core Course Requirement

Students must satisfy this requirement by the end of their fourth semester by passing one theory core course and one systems core course with an average grade of at least 3.5.

The theory core course must be chosen from the following set: {“CS 58000 Algorithm Design, Analysis, And Implementation”, “CS 58400 Theory of Computation and Computational Complexity”, "CS 58800 Randomized Algorithms"}.

The systems core course must be chosen from the following set: {“CS 50300 Operating Systems”, “CS 50500 Distributed Systems”, “CS 53600 Data Communication and Computer Networks”}.

For the purpose of this requirement, a grade of A+, A, A-, B+, B, and B- counts as 4.3, 4.0, 3.7, 3.3, 3.0, and 2.7, respectively, must be earned.

3. Plan of Study

Students must submit a draft plan of study by the end of the fifth week of their fifth semester (not including summer semesters), and are expected to revise it and to submit as final, as directed by the CS Graduate Office, by the end of classes that semester. The plan of study lists (a) the student’s advisory committee, and (b) the courses the student plans to use to fulfill the degree requirement. The draft of the plan of study is submitted electronically and must be approved by the student's advisory committee and by the CS Graduate Committee, see Instructions for Filing a Plan of Study .

a. Advisory Committee

The student must identify a Ph.D. research supervisor and then consult with the research supervisor to define an advisory committee. The advisory committee consists of

• the student’s research supervisor (a.k.a. “major professor”, or “advisor”), who serves as chair.
• two or more additional faculty members.
• a research supervisor who is not a CS faculty member may be approved as a co-chair along with a co-chair from CS.
• a majority of committee members must be CS faculty . Faculty from other Purdue West Lafayette departments may be approved to serve on the committee.
• committee members from outside Purdue West Lafayette may be approved, but they must be in addition to the required three committee members from Purdue West Lafayette.

The plan of study must include at least six graduate level CS courses and only CS graduate courses, with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5. The six courses must be taught by a faculty member whose primary appointment is in the CS department. The courses must include the two courses used to satisfy the core course requirement. The remaining courses must be three-credit, level 50000 or 60000, non-individual CS courses. CS 50100, 50010, 50011 and certain CS 59000/69000/59200/59300 courses may not be used.

Students admitted to the doctoral program Fall 2017 or later may list at most one approved variable title CS 59000/69000/59200/59300 lecture course. Please check the Variable Title Courses page to determine if a course has been approved for inclusion on a PhD plan of study.

All courses included in the plan of study must have a student evaluation component, and they must be graded in the usual manner so they can be used to compute the GPA. In particular, courses graded on a pass/no pass or satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis cannot be included in the plan of study. A student receiving a grade lower than C- in a course on the plan of study will have to repeat or replace the course. If a course is repeated, only the last grade, even if lower, is used to compute all GPAs involving that course.

Courses taken as a graduate student from other institutions may be accepted with the approval of the student's advisory committee , the Graduate Committee, and the Graduate School.  The minimum acceptable grade for such courses is B- or the equivalent. Please refer to these  Instructions for Transfer of Courses (PDF).  Requests must be submitted to the CS grad office within the first six weeks of the fall or spring semester.

The courses on the plan of study cannot have been used to satisfy requirements for an undergraduate degree, nor can they cause the student's doctoral plan of study to include courses used for more than one master's degree.

4. Area-Specific Requirements

Students must satisfy any additional requirements specific to their area of research . Students must consult with their major professor to ascertain area-specific requirements.  Students are responsible for knowing and completing area-specific requirements by the assigned deadlines.

5. Research

Ph.D. research experience is planned, supervised, accumulated, and demonstrated by forming an advisory committee , by taking graduate level computer science courses , by conducting thesis research, by passing a preliminary examination, and by writing and defending a thesis.

a. Research Credits

The credits used to satisfy the Ph.D. degree credit requirement consist of (1) all credits for the courses that appear on the plan of study, and (2) all “CS 69900 Research Ph.D. Thesis” credit hours with a grade of S. At least 90 total credit hours are required. For example, if a plan of study lists 18 credits, an additional 72 research credits of CS 69900 with a grade of S are required.

At least one-third (i.e. 30) of the total credit hours used to satisfy the Ph.D. degree credit hour requirement must be earned while registered for doctoral study at Purdue West Lafayette.

b. Preliminary Examination

Students must pass a preliminary examination that tests competence in the student’s research area and readiness for research on a specific problem. The content of the examination is at the discretion of the examining committee. The examination may include a presentation by the student of papers relevant to a chosen research topic, an oral examination over advanced material on the student’s research topic, a presentation by the student of the student’s preliminary research results, or a proposal of thesis research.

The examining committee consists of the student's advisory committee , and of an additional member, who is not on the advisory committee, who is approved by the Graduate Committee.

The preliminary examination can be taken as soon as the plan of study is approved, and as late as two semesters before the semester in which the thesis defense is held. The student should consult with their advisory committee to decide when to take the preliminary examination (e.g. if a final exam is taken Fall 2021, the prelim exam would have needed to have happened Fall 2020). 

Please see the Procedure for Arranging a Preliminary Examination.

The thesis must present new results worthy of publication. At least two academic sessions of registration devoted to research and writing must elapse between the preliminary and final doctoral examinations. The student must defend the thesis publicly and to the satisfaction of the examining committee, which consists of the student's  advisory committee  and of one additional faculty member who represents an area outside that of the thesis, and who is approved by the graduate committee.

The thesis should be defended at the latest by the end of the fourth semester following the one in which the student passes the  preliminary examination .

Defense Procedure Instructions

Thesis Format

In preparing a PhD dissertation, please read the graduate school templates information at:  http://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/research/thesis/templates.html  and choose the LaTeX Template. For the review of the format, schedule a Formatting Consultation prior to your defense at  https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/research/thesis/appointment.html  .

Thesis Deposit Process

6. Annual Review

Each doctoral students’ academic and research progress is evaluated annually by their major professor and the Graduate Committee.  Students receive written feedback and guidance to support progress.

The Ph.D. requirements described above apply to all students entering or re-entering the Department of Computer Science at West Lafayette ("the Department") as degree-seeking graduate students in the summer session of 2016 or later. Here is an archive of the 2013 , 2010 ,  2009 ,  2006 ,  2002  and  2001  Doctoral Program Requirements.

Students are governed by the degree requirements in effect when they enter the Department as degree-seeking students.  For students re-entering, the date of the most recent re-entry determines the degree requirements.  Students who wish to take advantage of subsequent changes may apply to the Graduate Committee to be governed by all degree requirements in effect at a specified subsequent time.  Choosing features from different sets of requirements is not permitted.

For information about the commencement ceremony, please visit www.purdue.edu/commencement .

In order to graduate, you must declare candidacy for the semester in which you intend to graduate by the designated deadline. You declare candidacy by using the Scheduling Assistant within myPurdue and registering for either CAND 99100, 99200, or 99300 (Form 23 is no longer used). 

If you are declaring candidacy for multiple degrees (both PhD and MS) within the same semester, please register for candidacy for one degree, and then contact [email protected],  to let them know information on the second degree. Candidacy will only show on your schedule for one degree, but we will work with the Registrar's Office and Grad School to make sure expectation for both degrees is recorded in their systems.

CAND 99100: This the candidacy to register for if you are currently taking any courses and/or research. Doctoral students must register for research in proportion to their efforts during each session, and must be registered for at least one credit of research in this semester. Research registration should be commensurate with actual research and writing efforts. (International students registering for candidacy and less than full-time, need to request approval for a Reduced Course Load from ISS; at least one credit if not funded or at least three credits if funded.)

Special candidate registration may be allowed for those students needing to only deposit (CAND 992) or defend/deposit (CAND 993). If allowed, please note:

• Early deadlines apply (you can find the deadline calendar on the Grad School website,   https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool , and select Academic Calendar).
• Students cannot be registered for any credits in this semester (research or coursework).
• Students MUST be registered in research the semester prior to enrolling in one of these candidate types (including summer if research (which includes writing/formatting thesis) was performed).
• Students may still hold an RA appointment (and TA appointment, if remaining for the full semester despite defending and/or depositing early).
• Candidates who register for this special registration and who do not meet the early deadline, will be switched by the Grad School to CAND 991 and required to register for credits.  If you’re funded or on Research in Absentia, you need to make sure you are funded for a minimum of 3 credits, so check your schedule if you miss the early deadline and notify  [email protected]  immediately to assist you with modifying the number of registered credits.

CAND 993  (Exam-Only Candidacy): Candidacy for those that ONLY need to defend AND deposit their thesis.  Please note that there is a fee to register in CAND 993.

PLEASE NOTE: Being registered as a candidate does not automatically register you for the commencement ceremony itself. If you plan to participate in commencement, you must respond by using the Commencement tab on myPurdue. It will be added to your myPurdue account after a specified date in the semester you have registered as a candidate.

Graduation Deadline Calendar: https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/about/calendar/deadlines.html

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Sample Ph.D timeline

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The PhD program provides advanced depth and breadth of computer science, and culminates in a dissertation that makes a significant and original contribution to computer science research under the guidance of a faculty member.

Admission to the program is either after the completion of a master’s degree equivalent to our MSc program or directly from an undergraduate program (referred to below as "Direct Entry PhD").

  Program Overview

Program requirements:  

Four (if admitted after a Master's degree) or eight (if admitted to the Direct Entry PhD) graduate courses in computer science. These courses must satisfy a breadth requirement to ensure a broad and well-balanced knowledge of computer science. 

A doctoral dissertation that demonstrates original and advanced research in computer science.

Program Length:

4 years for PhD after a recognized Master’s degree 

5 years for Direct Entry PhD after a Bachelor’s degree 

Guaranteed Funding Period:

43 months if master's degree was completed in this department

48 months if master's degree was completed elsewhere 

60 months for Direct Entry PhD 

Research Areas 

Faculty members of the Department of Computer Science offer supervision in a wide range of topics in computer science.

Visit our research interests page for more information . 

All PhD students are assigned a supervisor or research group based on the research interests indicated in their application. Supervisors advise on course and research topic selection and provide continuing help during the student’s research. 

Funding, Awards, and Tuition

We offer a funding package to all of our full-time PhD students. This package includes the cost of tuition, earnings from a guaranteed teaching assistant position, and additional funding for costs of living. Applicants are automatically considered for entrance awards and are encouraged to apply for external awards for which they are eligible.

Visit our funding, tuition fees, and awards page for more information .

Admission Requirements 

Minimum requirements for the phd program: .

Completion of an appropriate master's degree (except for Direct Entry PhD) 

A standing that is equivalent to at least B+ (U of T 77–79% or 3.3/4.0) 

English-language proficiency according to the requirements . 

Minimum Requirements for the Direct Entry PhD: 

Completion of an appropriate bachelor’s degree with a minimum A– equivalent average in relevant courses for consideration 

English-language proficiency according to the requirements .

Applications are evaluated in their totality: grades, statement of purpose, letters of reference, and any supplementary information submitted are all taken into account.

Admission decisions are made in the context of all other applications in the same admission cycle. For this reason, the graduate office and individual faculty cannot respond to requests for evaluation of applications in isolation. Admission to our graduate programs is very competitive and meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission: only 5–10% of applicants receive an offer of admission. 

Non-Canadian Degree Equivalencies 

For information on degree equivalencies, please use the School of Graduate Studies’ International Credentials Equivalencies Tool .

We do not require a third-party credential evaluation assessment, such as WES. 

Applicants without a prior degree in Computer Science 

It is possible to gain admission to our graduate programs with an undergraduate degree in a field other than computer science. All successful applicants, however, must have a background in basic university-level mathematics and substantial experience in computer science. Specifically, we look for: 

second-year courses in calculus, linear algebra, and probability; 

a third- or fourth-year course in algorithm design and analysis; and 

a third- or fourth-year course in computer systems, e.g., operating systems, database systems, computer architecture, or computer networks. 

GRE Test Scores 

Applicants who do not have a Canadian university degree are strongly encouraged, but not required, to submit scores from the GRE General Test . 

GRE institution code: 0982 U of T computer science code: 0402 

Application Process 

Applications will be open for September entry each year. Applications for Fall 2024 are now closed. Applications for Fall 2025 will open in October 2024.

Find more information on the application process here .

Peer-matching program for applicants from underrepresented groups

The Toronto Graduate Application Assistance Program (GAAP) is a student-run, volunteer-led program that provides feedback on application materials to applicants from underrepresented groups applying to our thesis-based programs. In this peer-matching program, prospective students will be matched with a current student (or recent graduate) who will provide feedback on the statement of purpose (SoP) and CV.

For more information, please visit  https://sites.google.com/view/torontogaap .

Questions? 

Visit the frequently asked questions (FAQ) page to get answers to common questions . For questions not answered in the FAQ, contact the Graduate Office by email at [email protected] . 

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PhD Requirements

The doctor of philosophy in computer science is above all a degree of quality that is not conferred simply for the successful completion of a specified number of courses or years of study. It is a degree reserved for students who demonstrate both a comprehensive understanding of computer science and an ability to do creative research. Each PhD student will produce a significant piece of original research, presented in a written dissertation and defended in an oral examination. The expected level of quality is such that one or more conference or journal articles could be based on the research described in the dissertation. Along the way students will likely generate several other research papers, many of them co-authored with their dissertation advisor and other graduate students. 

Graduate Admissions

PhD Degree Plan

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Ready to apply? Start your application on Slate, the centralized application portal for graduate admissions at the University of Oregon.

The structure of the PhD program described here is intended to facilitate the process of learning how to do research. Throughout the program students will take courses intended to build a foundation of knowledge that is essential for advanced research. During their first year in the program, students begin with work on a directed research project under the close supervision of a faculty member. In the middle stages of the program, students will take fewer courses and spend most of their time building a foundation of knowledge in their research area and learning how to identify and solve open problems under the guidance of the Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC). The final step is to propose an independent research topic, conduct the research, and then write and defend a dissertation.

Academic Advisor 

The Graduate Program Coordinator will assign an academic advisor to each student admitted to the PhD Program. The academic advisor does not have to be in the student's potential research area. In fact, it is recommended that in the first few years in the program the academic advisor not be the student's eventual dissertation advisor in order to provide a different perspective for the student. A student can change his or her academic advisor by making a request to the Graduate Education Committee (GEC). Towards the latter years of the PhD program, it is common for the academic advisor and research advisor to be the same individual. 

Division of Graduate Studies Policies (Extremely Important) 

It is essential that all PhD students be familiar with GradWeb and the Division of Graduate Studies policies through careful review of the Graduate Studies website . For example, they should note the Doctoral Policy and Procedures pertaining to time limit, residency and continuous enrollment. Students who have any questions about these matters should consult with the Graduate Program Coordinator. 

Course Requirements 

PhD students who enter the program without a master's degree in computer science are required to take 48 credits in graduate classes. They must also meet the breadth and depth requirements .

Breadth and Depth Requirements

PhD students may be awarded a master's degree after completing all of the MS degree requirements and applying for graduation. 

PhD students must earn a minimum grade of B- and an overall GPA of 3.5 in the six courses they use to satisfy the breadth and depth requirements. 

PhD students must take an additional 24 credits of graduate-level courses, 12 of which must be from 600-level courses. Courses numbered 510, which appear on the approved course list, may be included in any 500-level credits. For graduate level courses taken in other departments on campus, a petition to the Graduate Education Committee is required. 

Students who enter with a master's degree may petition the Graduate Education Committee to waive any of the above course requirements, indicating how their prior graduate work corresponds to the above courses. See the Graduate Program Coordinator for the petition. 

Minimum Annual Enrollment 

Prior to candidacy, all PhD students are expected to enroll in at least six credits worth of 600-level courses each year. These six credits can be any 600-level course used to complete the breadth, depth, or elective requirements, as described above. Note that Research (CIS 601), Dissertation (CIS 603), and Readings (CIS 605) cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. After candidacy, PhD students are encouraged to continue participating in 600-level courses. 

Directed Research Project

Each student must complete a directed research project under the close supervision of a faculty member. The goals of the Directed Research Project (DRP) are two-fold. One is to give a PhD candidate an early opportunity for a research experience under supervision of a faculty committee. The other is to give an early assessment of the candidate's research potential in the department's environment. To achieve these goals, the DRP is to be completed in a timely fashion (see DRP timeline). 

The scope of a DRP should be somewhere between an undergraduate honors and a master's thesis. A desired result of a DRP is a publishable paper or a departmental technical report. 

A DRP consists of the following components: literature review, research, possibly software artifact, written report in the form of the DRP final paper, public presentation of the results, and the exam by private questioning from the committee members. 

Formation of the DRP Committee : The student and the faculty sponsor agree on a project, committee members, timeline and deliverables The DRP committee consists of the faculty sponsor and two other CS faculty members, one preferably outside the immediate project area. A faculty member of another department with a "participating" appointment in the CS Department can count as one of the two CS members.

The DRP Contract : The student writes up a DRP contract that includes project description, DRP committee members, time line and deliverables (about 2-4 pages), attaches a copy of the APPROVAL FOR THE DRP CONTRACT FORM with signatures, and submits it to the GEC for approval by turning it in to the Graduate Program Coordinator. This form can be obtained from the Graduate Program Coordinator. See DRP timeline regarding submission of this form.

Research Credits : The student will register for 4-6 credits of 601 Research during each of the terms in which the research will be conducted, possibly for less in the initial and/or final term of the project. See DRP timeline for deadline for completion of the DRP.

The DRP Paper : The DRP paper reports the results of the student's research project in a professional format and style. Two weeks prior to the scheduled presentation, the student must submit the paper and other deliverables to the DRP Committee.

The DRP Presentation and Questioning : The student, in consultation with the faculty sponsor, must schedule the DRP presentation through the Graduate Program Coordinator who will confirm and notify the faculty and graduate students. The DRP presentation is a public talk given in the department. It is followed by private questioning of the student by the DRP Committee and other faculty members. At the end of the exam, the DRP Committee agrees on the outcome of the DRP.

Possible Outcomes of the DRP : The possible outcomes are:

• Pass, with distinction,
• Conditional pass (e.g. perform some remedial work pertinent to the project) or,

A conditional pass will have a specified deadline for completion of the remedial work. Failure of a DRP could result from one or more of the following: not completing the DRP in a timely fashion; not fulfilling the contract; inadequacy in the quality of work performed; inadequacy of the written report and/or oral presentation; inability to answer questions pertaining to the project.

In case of a fail for the DRP, the student could be asked to leave the program or may be given the option of undertaking another DRP. The DRP can be repeated at most once, and the second DRP must be successfully completed within three quarters of residence following the decision.

The results of the DRP are indicated on the RESULTS OF THE DIRECTED RESEARCH PROJECT FORM, each committee member signs, and the form is then returned to the Graduate Program Coordinator. The student then must  submit their DRP report to CS archives .

DRP Timeline

APPROVAL FOR THE DRP CONTRACT FORM must be submitted by week eight of spring term in the student's first year.

RESULTS OF THE DIRECTED RESEARCH PROJECT FORM indicating completion of the DRP must be submitted according to the following schedule. This schedule presumes fall admission to the Ph.D. program. For off-cycle admission, the student should consult with GEC for precise deadlines.

Following the completion of a DRP, the student forms their Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC), chooses an area of research, and begins the process of preparing for the Area Exam. The milestone should be completed about one year after the DRP.

Dissertation Advisory Committee

Ph.D. Students will form a Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC) immediately upon completion of their DRP. The student's research advisor will be the chair of the committee. Just as with the DRP, the other two members of the committee are CS faculty, or one CS faculty and a faculty from another department with a "participating" appointment in CS. An outside member is optional for the early stages, but should be part of the Division of Graduate Studies mandated Dissertation Committee. (See the  Division of Graduate Studies Doctoral Dissertation Committee Policy ). The main role of the DAC will be to advise students during the phase of the Ph.D. program between the passing of the DRP and the scheduling of the dissertation defense. The DAC will take primary responsibility for evaluating student progress. Students will meet with their DAC at least once every academic year. Two weeks before the annual review meeting the student will fill out an annual review form and write a short research paper and submit both to their committee members. The annual meeting will include a private oral presentation at which the student will give a summary of their research and their goals for the coming year. There will be a short question and answer period, followed by a closed session where the committee will discuss the student's progress. The chair of the DAC will write a report and submit it to GEC.

Annual DAC review meetings must be scheduled before the fifth week of Winter Quarter, and held by the end on Winter Quarter.  Holding the DAC prior to this deadline is encouraged.

The Area Exam (formerly known as Oral Comprehensive Exam)

In consultation with the Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC), the student further defines their research area. This is described in a written study plan, which defines the area and contains a reading list. During the preparation period, the student should consult their advisor periodically to monitor progress. As an end result, the student writes a position paper. This paper should describe the research area, its main methodology and results, as well as the sub-area of the student's future research. After the paper is approved by the DAC, the student gives a public presentation covering the area as presented in the student's research paper, after which he or she will be quizzed by the DAC members. Upon completion of the talk, have the form signed by all DAC members and the head of GEC, and return it to the Graduate Program Coordinator. The student then must submit their Area Exam to CS archives . Find timeline details and other important information about this process on the CS Intranet .

Dissertation Proposal, Research, and Defense

The final phase in a student's PhD program is the dissertation. During this phase, the student forms the Dissertation Committee in consultation with his or her advisor, identifies a significant unsolved research problem, carries out the research required to solve the problem, and then writes and defends a dissertation. Find all dissertation requirements on the CS Intranet .

Limits of Financial Support 

Time limits: PhD students are eligible for GE funding from the CS department (henceforth referred to as "departmental support") during their first five years of graduate study at the University of Oregon. Eligibility is not a guarantee of funding. See the rules for yearly application for GE funding after the first two years in the program. 

For students who enter the MS program at the University of Oregon and then transfer to the PhD program, the five years of eligibility includes all time in the graduate program, including the MS program. 

This limit applies regardless of other funding a student may receive during the first five years of graduate study at the University of Oregon, including GE-R (research) support from CS and any kind of support from outside the department. 

While students are eligible for five years of departmental support, PhD students should typically find GE-R support in their research areas after the first two years. Moving from departmental support to grant-supported research assistantships both accelerates the progress of PhD research and makes department-funded GE positions available for incoming students. 

The time limits specified above pertain only to departmental support from department funds. If a student is grant supported, he/she may receive financial support beyond the five year eligibility limit. 

Annual Review

Students are reviewed on an annual basis (as outlined in section VII), and reappointment is subject to satisfactory academic performance and progress, as well as satisfactory performance in their GE-Teaching role. Failure to meet the deadlines for the DRP, Area Exam, and PhD Proposal are possible grounds for suspension or termination of financial support. 

In early spring term, the Dissertation Advisory Committee will report to GEC the quality of each student’s work. At this time, any areas of concern or commendation are discussed. These results are communicated to students via an official letter discussing their performance.

Office Space and Computer Accounts

Office space for unsupported PhD students is not guaranteed. Office space will not be given to students after they have completed their degree. Graduating students can continue their computer accounts, as alumni, for one year. 

Graduate Program - PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)

The PhD is a research degree, and is the most advanced degree that can be attained in Computer Science. Each PhD student works closely with a research advisor and an advisory committee, and publishes papers based on his or her work. Students may collaborate with researchers all over the world, travel to conferences, and have internships with government or leading industry research labs. Completion of the degree is accomplished by writing and defending a scholarly dissertation. Outstanding students with a desire to do cutting-edge research are invited to apply to the program.

Choosing a PhD in Computer Science

The NC State Graduate School requires all PhD candidates to complete 72 credit hours beyond the bachelors degree. If a candidate has earned a Masters degree from NC State and continues without a break into the PhD, up to 36 hours taken while in masters status may be used to meet the requirements for the PhD. If a candidate experiences a break between the Masters degree and the PhD, or earns a Masters degree from an institution other than NC State, up to 18 hours taken while in masters status may be used to meet the requirements for the PhD. Transfer credits require the approval of the student's Advisory Committee and the Director of Graduate Programs (DGP).

A summary of the curriculum requirements for the PhD is below.

All incoming PhD students must register for an orientation course: CSC 600 (Computer Science Graduate Orientation).

• Category 1: Theory CSC 503 (Computational Applied Logic), CSC 505 (Algorithms), CSC 512 (Compiler Construction), CSC 514 (Foundations of Cryptography), CSC 565 (Graph Theory), CSC 579 (Performance Evaluation), CSC 580 (Numerical Analysis), CSC 707 (Theory of Computation).
• Category 2: Systems CSC 501 (Operating Systems), CSC 506 (Parallel Architectures), CSC 510 (Software Engineering), CSC 520 (Artificial Intelligence), CSC 540 (Database Systems), CSC 561 (Graphics), CSC 570 (Networks), CSC 574 (Computer and Network Security).

The GPA of the four core courses must be 3.5 or better. CSC 720 may be substituted for CSC 520 and CSC 573 may be substituted for CSC 570. Special topics courses (CSC 59x or 79x) may not be used to satisfy core course requirements. Core course requirements must be met during the first 27 credit hours of the candidate's degree program.

The candidate must also take two CSC 700 level courses. One of these courses may be a CSC 791 (Special Topics) course with approval of the advisor and DGP.

• Courses cannot be double counted for both the core and the 700-level requirements.
• All Computer Science credits must be at or above the 500 level.
• To graduate, a student must have a minimum 3.0 average on all graduate course work, as well as all courses on his or her Plan of Graduate Work. Any student with a GPA less than 3.0 cannot hold an assistantship. A student's graduate study will be terminated if 18 or more credit hours at the 400 level or above have been attempted with a GPA of less than 3.0.

Advisory Committee and Plan of Work

All students in the Ph. D. program must have a graduate advisor who is a Full member of the Graduate Faculty in Computer Science. The graduate advisor serves as chair or co-chair of the committee. The choice of the advisor is key to the success of the student, and is normally based on a number of factors, particularly the interests and strengths of the student. Identifying and agreeing to work with an advisor is left up to the students and faculty. The DGP can help with suggestions of appropriate candidates.

Funding of Research Assistants is decided by the advisor, and is therefore an important consideration in selection of the advisor. A list of currently-funded research projects in the Department of Computer Science may be found here .

The advisory committee will consist of at least four Graduate Faculty members, one of whom represents the minor field if a minor has been declared. Even if a minor has not been declared, at least one committee member must have an affiliation outside the department (this requirement is usually easy to satisfy, since many of the Computer Science faculty are also affiliated with other programs, such as Computer Engineering, Operations Research, etc.). At least two of the committee members must have Computer Science as their “home” department.

The committee is formed, and the plan of work is submitted, after the Written Prelim Exam, but before taking the Oral Prelim Exam. It is a good idea to ask faculty members to join your committee at least one month (better: two) before the date you hope to schedule your Oral Prelim Exam. The committee is indicated on the Plan of Graduate Work , which is filed electronically by the student using their MyPack portal, and electronically routed for approvals. It is not necessary to know the precise exam date in order to submit the plan of work.

• include both a list of the course work to be undertaken (in all programs) and the dissertation topic.
• be developed by the student and his/her advisory committee.
• be approved by the committee and the DGP prior to submission to the Gradute School for final approval.

Written Prelim Exam

The Written Preliminary Exam is the first milestone in the student's PhD program. The purpose of this exam is to measure research aptitude, preparation (including knowledge of a specialization area), and proper research methodology. It is expected that the student will have conducted an extensive literature search of a problem area, identified a research problem, and obtained some preliminary research results in that area. The work for this exam must be substantially that of the student, with minor help from the advisor or others.

The student must first have an advisor, who helps him or her identify a suitable topic for the exam. In the semester the exam is to be taken, the student will register for up to 6 credits of CSC 890 (Doctoral Preliminary Exam). (Alternatively, the credits may be spread over two successive semesters.) Full-time PhD students who previously received a MS degree are expected to have passed this exam by the start of the 4th semester; PhD students who did not previously receive a MS degree are expected to have passed the exam by the start of the 5th semester.

The student, in consultation with the advisor, must submit to the DGP:

• the name of the advisor
• the names of up to five Computer Science faculty (not including the advisor, the DGP and the Department Head) who have expertise in the topic of the exam
• the title and a preliminary abstract of the paper

The DGP will form an examination committee consisting of the advisor, one of the five faculty knowledgeable about the subject area, and one other departmental faculty member (the DGP and Department Head are not eligible for this role). This information should be submitted at least 3 weeks before the proposed exam date.

The exam requires both a written report and an oral presentation. The report should be approximately 7000 words, and should include sufficient background information to be accessible to a non-specialist. If the report has already been submitted for publication and has multiple authors, the student must make clear that the work, and the writing, are mostly his or her own efforts. It is not acceptable to use a paper in which the writing or the work is substantially due to others, since this would not represent the student's independent efforts. The oral presentation is open to all faculty and students in Computer Science.

The examination committee is charged with determining if the student is capable of doing PhD level research. The examiners use a review form that should include detailed, specific comments in the categories (i) originality, (ii) technical quality, and (iii) presentation quality (includes the oral presentation). The student will be informed of the outcome immediately following the exam.

If the outcome of the exam is failure, the exam committee will determine if a retake is allowed. The conditions of the retake will be set by the DGP after consultation with the student and the advisor. The retake committee will be entirely separate from the original exam committee. If a retake is allowed, failure of the retake will result in termination of the student's Ph.D. program.

Oral Prelim Exam

In the Oral Prelim Exam, the student is expected to present a proposal for their dissertation research. They are expected to outline the expected research topics for their dissertation. The student should have made progress on that research so as to convince their committee that the research is both significant and feasible. As indicated by the name, this is a preliminary proposal for research and it is not intended that the major part of the research be already completed.

• a working title for the research project,
• a statement about the main research objectives and why the proposed work is important, relevant, and realistic,
• some background knowledge in the field, including a review of the literature and key research findings,
• a discussion of the methodology or approach to be used,
• a description of the strategy and timetable for the research project and any potential research challenges, and
• a list of references.

This examination is conducted by the student's advisory committee and is open to all Graduate Faculty members and Computer Science students. The oral examination is designed to test the student's ability to relate factual knowledge to specific circumstances, to use this knowledge with accuracy and promptness, and to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the field of specialization and related areas.

A unanimous vote of approval by the members of the advisory committee is required for the student to pass the Oral Prelim Exam. Approval may be conditioned, however, on the successful completion of additional work in some particular field(s). Failure to pass the preliminary oral examination terminates the student's work at this institution unless the examining committee recommends a reexamination. No reexamination may be given until at least one full semester has elapsed, and only one reexamination is permitted.

As the research progresses after passing the Oral Prelim Exam, it may be necessary for the research topics to change modestly. The student's advisory committee must be apprised of and approve the changes.

Final Oral Exam (Defense)

The Final Oral Examination is a public dissertation defense. Its purpose is to ensure that the student's completed work is indeed substantial and original, and to celebrate the student's scholarly achievement. Typically the student's oral presentation is one hour long. It is followed by a period for questions from the Advisory Committee and the audience.

The final oral examination is scheduled after the dissertation is completed. At least one semester must elapse between the Oral Prelim exam and the Final Oral Exam. The Request to Schedule the Doctoral Oral Examination should be submitted at least 3 weeks prior to the desired exam date.

The examination consists of the candidate's defense of the methodology used and the conclusions reached in the research, as reported in the dissertation. It is conducted by the student's advisory committee and is open to the University community.

A unanimous vote of approval of the advisory committee is required for passing the final oral examination. Approval may be conditioned, however, on the student's meeting specific requirements prescribed by the student's advisory committee. Failure of a student to pass the examination terminates his or her work at this institution unless the advisory committee recommends a reexamination. No reexamination may be given until one full semester has elapsed and only one reexamination is permitted.

Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is the document presenting the results of the student's original investigation in the field of primary interest. It must represent a contribution to knowledge, adequately supported by data, and be written in a manner consistent with the highest standards of scholarship. It is expected that the work described in the thesis be published in research journals and conferences.

The dissertation will be reviewed by all members of the advisory committee and must receive their approval prior to submission to the Graduate School. Information on the required form and organization of the dissertation, in addition to other regulations, is presented in the University's Thesis and Dissertation Guide . Style guidelines and templates for dissertations may also be found here . PhD candidates are strongly encouraged to attend an ETD workshop conducted by the Thesis Editor. Workshop schedules are here.

At the time of the dissertation's submission to the Graduate School, the student is also required to submit one copy each of the Survey of Earned Doctorate form and University Microfilms International Agreement form and to complete a brief, standard questionnaire about his or her experience as a graduate student at NC State. Students are encouraged to keep a copy of the Checklist for Submission of Theses and Dissertations to make sure they observe all the required steps.

The University also requires that all doctoral dissertations be microfilmed by University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI, including the publication of the abstract in Dissertation Abstracts International. The cost of this service is paid by the student. After the dissertation is available to the public the dissertation is sent off to be microfilmed. When the microfiche copy is returned to NCSU, it is available in the NCSU library. The Graduate School requests only an electronic version of the dissertation; no paper copies of the dissertation are required. The advisor may request a bound copy, however.

Graduate School deadlines for defenses and submission of theses are given here .

Continuous Enrollment and Time Limits

The Graduate School has a continuous enrollment policy. While pursuing a graduate degree, the student must be registered every Fall and Spring semester until completion. Otherwise, a student must request an official leave of absence from the Graduate School.

Additionally, the PhD student must be registered for at least one credit in any semester, including the summer, that he or she plans to defend the dissertation.

There are minimum registration requirements for all Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, and Fellows who are eligible for the Graduate Student Support Plan. Details may be found here .

A student working toward a doctoral degree is expected to be registered for graduate work at NC State for at least 6 semesters beyond the bachelors degree. See the Grad School Handbook for the complete discussion of residence credits.

All doctoral students must attain candidacy (pass the Oral Prelim exam) within six (6) calendar years from the date of admission and complete all degree requirements within ten (10) calendar years.

Colloquium Attendance

Many times each semester, researchers from inside and outside the University make hour-long public presentations on their work. Each PhD student must attend eight such presentations during the course of their degree for which they check in using their NC State ID and submit an online Colloquium Attendance Form for each. A schedule of seminars and colloquia in Computer Science may be found here.

Academic Progress Reporting

Each semester every PhD student is required to create or update an Academic Progress report. The report summarizes the student's PhD record to date, and the progress made in the most recent semester. The faculty as a whole review these reports and provide helpful comments to advisors. These comments, and the advisor's own comments, are summarized and sent to each student in a letter signed by the DGP.

• maintain steady progress of students towards achievement of the PhD
• focus attention on and offer help to students having problems
• improve the quality of advising and the overall quality of the PhD program
• recognize and reward outstanding student success

The MS “en route” (Non-Thesis) Option

A PhD student may receive a MS non-thesis degree “en route” to the PhD. The requirements are similar to the MS thesis degree, with the following differences:

• You must pass the PhD Written Qualifier (or Written Prelim) Exam (CSC 890), rather than submitting and defending a MS thesis. This exam requires a paper, and an oral presentation to an exam committee. The student may register for a maximum of 6 credits of CSC 890 for this purpose.
• Four core courses, two from each category, must be taken, rather than two.
• One 700-level (not a special topics or 79X) course must be taken

The curriculum requirements for the non-thesis option are summarized below:

To receive the “en route” MS degree, speak with the DGP during the semester in which you will fulfill the above requirements. Students receiving the “en route” MS degree will remain in the PhD program.

Patent Agreement

Graduate students must sign a statement agreeing to abide by the University's patent policies. This statement is now part of the Graduate Plan of Work. Patent and copyright procedures of NC State are available here . Students wishing to be exempted due to policies of their companies should contact the university's Office of Technology Transfer at 919-515-7199.

No minor is required. If you choose to pursue one, the minor department must be represented on your Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee may also approve courses outside of Computer Science in the absence of an official minor.

Students pursuing a PhD in another field, wishing to co-major in Computer Science, should consult with the DGP first. Generally, Computer Science must be represented on the student's committee by at least one faculty member, and the Computer Science PhD course requirements and Written Prelim exam must be passed, in addition to the requirements for the major PhD.

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Doctoral Programs in Computational Science and Engineering

Application & admission information.

The Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE) offers two doctoral programs in computational science and engineering (CSE) – one leading to a standalone PhD degree in CSE offered entirely by CCSE (CSE PhD) and the other leading to an interdisciplinary PhD degree offered jointly with participating departments in the School of Engineering and the School of Science (Dept-CSE PhD).

While both programs enable students to specialize at the doctoral level in a computation-related field via focused coursework and a thesis, they differ in essential ways. The standalone CSE PhD program is intended for students who plan to pursue research in cross-cutting methodological aspects of computational science. The resulting doctoral degree in Computational Science and Engineering is awarded by CCSE via the the Schwarzman College of Computing. In contrast, the interdisciplinary Dept-CSE PhD program is intended for students who are interested in computation in the context of a specific engineering or science discipline. For this reason, this degree is offered jointly with participating departments across the Institute; the interdisciplinary degree is awarded in a specially crafted thesis field that recognizes the student’s specialization in computation within the chosen engineering or science discipline.

Applicants to the standalone CSE PhD program are expected to have an undergraduate degree in CSE, applied mathematics, or another field that prepares them for an advanced degree in CSE. Applicants to the Dept-CSE PhD program should have an undergraduate degree in a related core disciplinary area as well as a strong foundation in applied mathematics, physics, or related fields. When completing the MIT CSE graduate application , students are expected to declare which of the two programs they are interested in. Admissions decisions will take into account these declared interests, along with each applicant’s academic background, preparation, and fit to the program they have selected.  All applicants are asked to specify MIT CCSE-affiliated faculty that best match their research interests; applicants to the Dept-CSE PhD program also select the home department(s) that best match. At the discretion of the admissions committee, Dept-CSE PhD applications might also be shared with a home department beyond those designated in the application. CSE PhD admissions decisions are at the sole discretion of CCSE; Dept-CSE PhD admission decisions are conducted jointly between CCSE and the home departments.

Please note: These are both doctoral programs in Computational Science and Engineering; applicants interested in Computer Science must apply to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science .

Important Dates

September 15: Application Opens December 1: Deadline to apply for admission* December – March: Application review period January – March: Decisions released on rolling basis

*All supplemental materials (e.g., transcripts, test scores, letters of recommendation) must also be received by December 1. Application review begins on that date, and incomplete applications may not be reviewed. Please be sure that your recommenders are aware of this hard deadline, as we do not make exceptions. We also do not allow students to upload/submit material beyond what is required, such as degree certificates, extra recommendations, publications, etc.

A complete electronic CSE application includes the following:

• Three letters of recommendation ;
• Students admitted to the program will be required to supply official transcripts. Discrepancies between unofficial and official transcripts may result in the revocation of the admission offer.
• Statement of objectives (limited to approximately one page) and responses to department-specific prompts for Dept-CSE PhD applicants;
• Official GRE General Test score report , sent to MIT by ETS via institute code 3514 GRE REQUIREMENT WAIVED FOR FALL 2024 ;
• Official IELTS score report sent to MIT by IELTS†  (international applicants from non-English speaking countries only; see below for more information)
• Resume or CV , uploaded in PDF format;
• MIT graduate application fee of $75‡.

‡Application Fee

The MIT graduate application fee of $75.00 is a mandatory requirement set by the Institute payable by credit card. Please visit the MIT Graduate Admission Application Fee Waiver page for information about fee waiver eligibility and instructions.

Please note: CCSE cannot issue fee waivers; email requests for fee waivers sent to [email protected] will not be considered.

Admissions Contact Information

Email: [email protected]

► Current MIT CSE SM Students: Please see the page for Current MIT Graduate Students .

GRE Requirement

GRE REQUIREMENT WAIVED FOR FALL 2024 All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Aptitude Test. The MIT code for submitting GRE score reports is 3514 (you do not need to list a department code). GRE scores must current; ETS considers scores valid for five years after the testing year in which you tested.

†English Language Proficiency Requirement

The CSE PhD program requires international applicants from non-English speaking countries to take the academic  version of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).  The IELTS exam measures one’s ability to communicate in English in four major skill areas: listening, reading, writing, and speaking.  A minimum IELTS score of 7 is required for admission.  For more information about the IELTS, and to find out where and how to take the exam, please visit the IELTS web site .

While we will also accept the TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language), we strongly prefer the IELTS. The minimum TOEFL iBT score is 100.

This requirement is waived for those who can demonstrate that one or more of the following are true:

• English is/was the language of instruction in your four-year undergraduate program,
• English is the language of your employer/workplace for at least the last four years,
• English was your language of instruction in both primary and secondary schools.

Degree Requirements for Admission

To be admitted as a regular graduate student, an applicant must have earned a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a college, university, or technical school of acceptable standing. Students in their final year of undergraduate study may be admitted on the condition that their bachelor’s degree is awarded before they enroll at MIT.

Applicants without an SM degree may apply to the CSE PhD program, however, the Departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Mechanical Engineering nominally require the completion of an SM degree before a student is considered a doctoral candidate. As a result, applicants to those departments holding only a bachelor’s degree are asked in the application to indicate whether they prefer to complete the CSE SM program or an SM through the home department.

Nondiscrimination Policy

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment.  To read MIT’s most up-to-date nondiscrimination policy, please visit the Reference Publication Office’s nondiscrimination statement page .

Additional Information

For more details, as well as answers to most commonly asked questions regarding the admissions process to individual participating Dept-CSE PhD departments including details on financial support, applicants are referred to the website of the participating department of interest.

Program Code: 219A CIP Code: 11.0701

General Education Requirements (44 Hours)

• General Education Requirements    

The science taken in Science Requirement of major fulfills part or all of the Science Inquiry. MAT 1110    fulfills the Quantitative Literacy requirement.

Major Requirements (67-69 Hours)

not including up to 12 hours counted in Area I (General Education), above

2.0 major GPA is required for graduation. Major GPA calculation will include all courses taken in the major discipline, plus any other courses under II. Minimum of 18 semester hours of courses taken to fulfill major requirements must be courses offered by Appalachian.

Computer Science (41 Hours)

• CS 1440 - Computer Science I (4)
• CS 2440 - Computer Science II (4)
• CS 2450 - Introduction to Computer Systems (3)
• CS 2490 - Introduction to Theoretical Computer Science (3)
• CS 3430 - Database (3)
• CS 3460 - Data Structures (3)
• CS 3481 - Computer Systems I (3)
• CS 3482 - Computer Systems II (3)
• CS 3490 - Programming Languages (3)
• CS 3667 - Software Engineering (3)
• CS 4100 - Senior Seminar (3)

Choose One WID

• CS 3100 - Junior Seminar (3) [WID] [WID]
• ENG 3695 - Technical Writing for Computer Science (3) [WID] [WID]

Choose One Capstone

Must complete 3 hours minimum

• CS 4800 - Capstone Project (3) [CAP] [CAP]
• CS 4510 - Senior Honors Thesis (1-3) [CAP] [CAP]

Mathematics (18 Hours)

• CS 1100 - Discrete Mathematics (3)
• MAT 1110 - Calculus With Analytic Geometry I (4)
• MAT 1120 - Calculus With Analytic Geometry II (4)
• MAT 2240 - Introduction to Linear Algebra (3)
• STT 3850 - Statistical Data Analysis I (4)

Computer Science Electives (12 Hours)

No more than three hours of CS 4900    may be included in Computer Science Electives. No more than three hours of CS 2530-2549    (Selected Topics) may be included in Computer Science Electives. Some graduate level classes may be chosen as electives with permission of the graduate school and the CS department.

• CS 2530-2549 - Selected Topics (1-4)
• CS 3240 - Mobile Device Programming (3)
• CS 3341 - Incident Response with Threat Intelligence (3)
• CS 3440 - Client-side Web Programming (3)
• CS 3463 - Simulation (3)
• CS 3500 - Independent Study in Computer Science (1-3)
• CS 3515 - Junior Honors Seminar (3)
• CS 3530-3549 - Selected Topics (1-4)
• CS 3750 - Applied Neural Networks (3)
• CS 3760 - System Administration and Security (3)
• CS 3770 - Computational Cryptography (3)
• CS 4435 - Server-side Web Programming (3)
• CS 4440 - Artificial Intelligence (3)
• CS 4450 - Data Communications and Networking (3)
• CS 4460 - Algorithms (3)
• CS 4465 - Computer Graphics (3)
• CS 4521 - Operating Systems (3)
• CS 4530-4549 - Selected Topics (1-4)
• CS 4550 - Theoretical Computer Science (3)
• CS 4570 - Human-Computer Interfaces (3)
• CS 4620 - Real-time Systems (4)
• CS 4680 - Embedded Systems (3)
• CS 4740 - Digital Image Processing (3)
• CS 4755 - Applied Machine Learning (3)
• CS 4900 - Internship (1-12)
• MAT 4310 - Numerical Methods (3)
• MAT 4990 - Numerical Linear Algebra (3)

Science Requirement

Complete a minimum of 8-10 semester hours from one of the following science sequences:

• AST 1021 - Introductory Astronomy I - The Solar System (3)
• AST 1022 - Introductory Astronomy II - Stars and Galaxies (3)
• BIO 1801 - Biological Concepts I (4)
• BIO 1802 - Biological Concepts II (4)
• CHE 1101 - Introductory Chemistry I (3)
• CHE 1110 - Introductory Chemistry Laboratory I (1)
• CHE 1102 - Introductory Chemistry II (3)
• CHE 1120 - Introductory Chemistry Laboratory II (1)
• GES 1101 - Introduction to Physical Geology (4)
• GES 1102 - Introduction to Historical Geology (4)
• GES 1103 - Environmental Change, Hazards, and Resources (4)
• PHY 1123 - General Physics I (3)
• PHY 1124 - General Physics II (3)
• PHY 1170 - Analytical Physics I (4)
• PHY 1180 - Analytical Physics II (4)

Minor (Optional)

Electives (7-9 hours).

Taken to total 120 hours for the degree.

Total Required (120 Hours)