Doctorate (PhD)

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the highest academic degree awarded by the university and is conferred upon students who demonstrate outstanding original scholarship during advanced study. It signifies that the student is able to conduct independent research and has both a broad basic knowledge of all areas of the field and a comprehensive knowledge of one area.

Course requirements

A Ph.D. student must complete a minimum of 90 credits of graduate study, of which at least 27 must derive from graded courses, with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. The Ph.D. program is intended to be completed in five years from entering the graduate program with a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field, or about four years if the student already has a master's degree in computer science or a related field.

To graduate, doctoral students must satisfy a breadth of knowledge requirement, adhere to an appropriate credit distribution, enroll in the graduate seminar, comply with the ethics requirement, and complete the major milestones for the degree, including the preliminary exam, research defense, and final defense.

Ph.D. students in computer science have the option to earn a Master of Science (M.S.) along the way while progressing toward their Ph.D. This allows students to receive an M.S. degree based on completed Ph.D. coursework and requirements.  

Examinations

Ph.D. candidates must pass two major examinations before their dissertation defense. The Ph.D. qualifying examination must be completed by the third academic year semester, not counting summers. This examination includes written and oral components designed to assess broad knowledge in computer science, verbal and writing abilities, and the potential for successful doctoral research.

The Ph.D. preliminary examination is typically taken near the completion of coursework and must occur at least six months before the dissertation defense. This oral exam is conducted before the student’s advisory committee and evaluates the student’s research progress and dissertation proposal. The student presents the results of their current research investigations along with an outline of a proposed Ph.D. dissertation. The examination committee may also pose written, open-ended questions in advance of the oral exam.

Dissertation and defense

The Ph.D. dissertation represents the culmination of independent research and must demonstrate originality, the significance of the problem studied, the effectiveness of the research methods, and the achievement of research objectives. The final Ph.D. examination is an oral defense of the dissertation, where the student must present and justify their work. The committee evaluates the research based on its originality, importance, methodology, clarity, and the student’s expertise in the subject area.