| PREVIOUS | UP | NEXT | CONTENTS |
The Ph.D. is a research degree offered through the Graduate School. It is awarded to a candidate who has demonstrated breadth in Computer Science in general, and depth in a research specialty within Computer Science. The latter is exhibited through the writing and defense of a dissertation that reports substantial original contributions in an approved area of research.
A student who has been accepted by the Graduate School is formally admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. by the University at the recommendation of the student's supervisory committee. Admission to candidacy occurs after the student:
An application for candidacy must be submitted to the Graduate School no later than the last day preceding the semester of graduation. For the degree to be conferred, the approved Program of Study form must be completed and the dissertation completed and publicly defended.
Each of these steps is described below. Most of the steps involve completing and submitting a properly signed form. Forms and assistance are available from the Graduate Coordinator.
Program of Study. Course work listed on the approved Program of Study form must comprise at least 50 semester hours of graduate work and dissertation research, exclusive of independent study. Graduate course work applied toward an M.S. degree may be included. At least 14 semester hours of dissertation research (CS 7970) and 36 semester hours of graduate course work must be included. The courses taken must satisfy the course requirements.
The student must maintain a B average or higher in course work listed on the Program of Study form; grades less than B- are not acceptable. All courses listed on the Program of Study form must be at the 5000 level or above. CS 6930, independent study, and Computer Science courses numbered below 6000 cannot be used.
One year of study must be spent in full-time residency at the University (i.e., the student must enroll for a minimum of 9 hours per semester for two consecutive semesters, summer optionally excluded). After the residency requirement is fulfilled, registration for 3 semester hours of CS 7970 (Ph.D. Dissertation Research) is considered a full load.
The Program of Study form should be filed with the department in the second semester of study and with the Graduate School prior to taking the qualifying examination. The Program of Study form must be submitted to the Graduate Records Office no later than the last day of the semester preceding the semester of graduation.
Comprehensive and oral qualifying examinations. The curriculum and examination requirements for Ph.D. students are designed to certify that all students who receive a Ph.D. degree have a working knowledge of those core topics in computer science that are deemed fundamental by the faculty, plus an in-depth understanding of material relevant to their area of research specialization. The breadth of a candidate's computer science knowledge is evaluated in a written comprehensive examination which consists of three parts. Depth of knowledge in a research specialization is evaluated with a qualifying examination, consisting of a written component and an oral defense of the candidate's dissertation proposal. The comprehensive examination must be passed prior to completion of the fifth semester of study, not including summer enrollment. Subject to this time limit, failed exams may be repeated without the need to re-take those parts previously passed. These exams are described in greater detail in section 2.1.
Dissertation proposal. Subsequent to passing the Comprehensive Examination covering core areas of computer science, all Ph.D. students must pass a Qualifying Examination, as specified by the graduate school. The Qualifying Exam consists of two parts, a written examination covering the candidates chosen area of specialization and an oral examination involving a defense of the candidate's written thesis proposal. Students should pass their qualifying exam, which includes receiving committee approval for their dissertation proposal, by the end if their sixth semester of study, not counting summer enrollment. A copy of the dissertation proposal will be retained in the student's departmental file. For guidelines on preparing proposals, consult "Discussion on PhD Thesis Proposals in Computing Science" by H.C. Lauer. Copies are available from the graduate coordinator and from the thesis editor.
Completing program of study. A Ph.D. student is expected to devote the necessary time to courses and research in order to make satisfactory progress toward the degree. Satisfactory progress includes personal participation in the research and teaching environment of the department on a day-to-day basis.
Dissertation. The completed dissertation must be published either in its entirety (through a legitimate publisher of the student's choice or through University Microfilms) or as one or more articles accepted for publication in approved scholarly journals. An abstract of each dissertation must be published in University Microfilms' Dissertation Abstracts International. Detailed policies and procedures concerning the dissertation are contained in ``A Handbook for Theses and Dissertations'' published by the Graduate School.
| PREVIOUS | UP | NEXT | CONTENTS |