Program Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy degree requires sixty credits beyond the baccalaureate degree, including eighteen of which must be earned as dissertation credit and forty-two of which is earned as curricular (non-dissertation) credit. All course work must be completed in accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School and the James and Patricia Anderson College of Engineering.   

The computer science doctoral program is designed to be flexible, in order to meet the individual student’s interests and to reflect the dynamic nature of the field. It is comprised of seven major stages:

1. Advisor/Program Selection: The first stage is devoted to the selection of a faculty advisor, taking course work, and the production of a Plan of Work in consultation with the student's faculty advisor. Students are encouraged to investigate the different areas of research available by talking with various graduate faculty members and attending research seminars held by the Department. Advisor selection must be done within the first semester of admission. The student will then begin course selection and outlining the Plan of Work. The approved Plan of Work must designate a primary area of research and a minor field outside the Department. The student is encouraged, in consultation with their advisor, to define his/her own primary and minor fields of interest by the selection of a cohesive grouping of available graduate courses. The Plan of Work must include at least eighteen credits in course work at, or above, the 7000 level. Fifteen of these credits must be in course work other than directed study (CSC 7990). Both CSC 6500 and CSC 6580 must be part of the students' plan of work.
2. Proficiency Assessment: In order to demonstrate knowledge of computer science fundamentals, Ph.D. students are required to fulfill the Core Course Requirements within the first three semesters of the admission, e.g., Fall 2023/Winter 2024/Fall 2024. This includes one course from each group with a letter grade of 'B' or better: (1) CSC 6500; (2) CSC 6580; and (3) CSC 6110 or CSC 5430/CSC 5431 or CSC 6430/CSC 6431 or CSC 6220 or CSC 6710. The final pass/fail decision will be made by the graduate committee, which considers core course requirements, GPA after admission to the graduate program, the letter from the research adviser and other evidence as determined appropriate by the graduate committee. Otherwise, the student will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.
3. Qualifying Examination: The Qualifying Exam is designed to determine the student’s capacity for critical thinking as evident in both written and oral presentations. By the end of the second year in the program, students are required to make their first attempt at this exam. In this exam, the competency of the student in their major area of the research is to be demonstrated in the form of a written document and accompanying oral presentation. The exam is offered in March and November, and the student will have two opportunities to pass both parts. Failure to pass both parts of the qualifying examination by the end of the fifth semester will result in the student's removal from the Ph.D. program. Upon successful completion of this requirement, a Report on Doctor of Philosophy Oral Examination form is submitted to the Graduate School.
4. Dissertation Committee Formation: With the approval of the Department Graduate Committee, the student establishes a Dissertation Committee that consists of four members. If there are co-chairs, the committee will consist of five members. At least two committee members are from the student’s home department, Computer Science. The Chairperson and one additional member must hold a Regular Graduate Faculty appointment in the Department of Computer Science. The committee will also include an external member from outside the department. This Committee is responsible for administering the prospectus and the dissertation defense of the candidate.
5. Candidacy: Candidacy is reached after the Plan of Work has been approved, the written qualifying examination has been passed, approximately thirty credits in course work have been completed, and the dissertation committee has been formed. Upon completion of these requirements, a Recommendation for Doctor of Philosophy Candidacy Status form is submitted to the Graduate School in order to advance the Ph.D. applicant to Candidate Status.
6. Prospectus: After completion of the written qualifying exam, the student will continue to develop the dissertation prospectus, a document that provides evidence that the prospective doctoral candidate has completed adequate preliminary research on the topic of the proposed doctoral dissertation. The principles for determining the scope of the prospectus are detailed in the Doctoral Dissertation Outline and Record of Approval form.
7. Dissertation: The final stage is devoted primarily to the research and preparation of the dissertation. The eighteen credits dissertation registration requirement is fulfilled by registering for the courses CSC 9991, CSC 9992 (Doctoral Dissertation Research and Direction I, II, including CSC 9991: 3 to 9 credits, CSC 9992: 1 to 18 credits, respectively), in consecutive academic year semesters. The dissertation research is presented and defended before the Dissertation Committee in a public lecture presentation.