The SoC offers two PhD degrees, one in Computer Science, and one in Computing. There are currently a Robotics track, a Graphics and Visualization track, a Scientific Computing track a Computer Engineering track and a Data Management and Analysis available in Computing.
Residency. At least one year (i.e., two consecutive semesters) of the doctoral program must be spent in full-time academic work at the University of Utah. When a student proceeds directly from an MS degree to a PhD degree with no break in the program of study (except for authorized leaves of absence), the residency requirement may be fulfilled at any time during the course of study.
Credit for Previous Courses. PhD students may count some hours of coursework from other graduate degrees toward the coursework requirements associated with the program of study. Unlike for the MS programs, credit for previous courses for PhD students is administered by the DGS so these courses do not need to be be officially transferred to the University. Approved courses are certified by inclusion of the appropriate SoC form in the student's file. All coursework on the program of of study is subject to approval by the student's supervisory committee and the DGS.
PhD students with a masters-level degree in a closely related discipline should work with their initial committee to create a program of study that can include graduate courses taken as part of their previous degree program. This program of study can include up to twenty total hours to be counted toward their PhD requirements, and can be used to satisfy some or all of the PhD required courses. Like all programs of study, it must then be approved by the DGS and the graduate school.
A student who has been accepted by the Graduate School is formally admitted to candidacy for the PhD by the University at the recommendation of the student's supervisory committee. Admission to candidacy occurs after the student:
- forms a supervisory committee,
- files an approved Program of Study form,
- completes the core course requirements,
- passes the written portion of the qualifying examination, and
- passes the oral portion of the qualifying examination
A PhD Supervisory Committee conducts the student's written qualifying examination, oral qualifying examination, and dissertation defense. This committee consists of five faculty members, at least three of whom must be from the SoC, and at least one member from outside the SoC. Any SoC regular faculty member may serve as a supervisory committee chair. Research or adjunct faculty may chair supervisory committees if accorded that privilege by the regular faculty. Individuals who are not faculty members may serve on supervisory committees if nominated by the regular faculty on the committee, and endorsed by the Graduate Studies Committee and School Director. For Computing degrees, further restrictions on committee makeup may apply. All official decisions of the committee are decided by majority vote.
Qualifying Examination. All PhD students must pass a Qualifying Examination, as specified by the Graduate School. The Qualifying Exam consists of a written part, to be conducted first, and an oral part.
The written part of the Qualifying Examination will cover the candidate's general area of specialization in sufficient depth to demonstrate their preparation for conducting PhD-level research. Each internal member of the student's supervisory committee will contribute one or more questions to this exam. The external member(s) of the committee can provide question(s) if they wish to. The supervisory committee will provide a written evaluation of this part of the exam, including an indication of whether or not the student will be allowed to proceed to the oral part of the Qualifying Examination. More details on the procedures for the written part are available here.
The oral part comprises the dissertation proposal defense. At the supervisory committee's option, it may also include follow-up questions relating to the written part of the exam. A majority of the supervisory committee should certify that the proposal is ready to be defended prior to conducting the oral part of the Qualifying Exam.
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.
Students should select 1 from each of the 3 categories:
Students should select two of the following courses for a total of 5 required courses:
Course Requirements for the PhD in Computer Science
At least 50 hours of graduate coursework is required, composed
of at least 27 hours of regular graduate coursework,
and at least 14 semester hours of dissertation research.
Independent study and seminars cannot be used as part
of the required 50 hours.
Of the required 27 semester hours of regular courses,
up to 6 may be graduate courses outside of CS.
Up to 20 hours of coursework taken elsewhere or counted
toward previous degrees can be counted toward the
27 hour regular course requirement with the approval
of the GSC.
Ph.D. students must demonstrate core knowledge in computer science by
passing 5 specified courses:
Students may not place out of this requirement by substituting or
transferring courses from other institutions. However, with approval of
the Graduate Studies Committee, a student may replace one or more of
these courses with a more advanced course offered by the School of
Computing in the same or related subject areas. Substitute courses must
be regular classes with exams and/or assignments, not seminar, readings,
or independent study classes. There is a list of pre-approved
substitutions listed on the GSC web page. Each advanced course can be
offered as a substitute for only one required course.
At most 9 credits of the 27 semester hours of regular graduate course
work required of PhD candidates can consist of CS5460, CS6100, CS6810,
CS5470, CS6210, CS6480, CS7520, i.e., the seven courses listed above..
Substitute courses are not subject to this 9 credit limit. For example,
if one advanced course is substituted for one of the listed core
knowledge courses, then 12 hours of core knowledge courses can be
counted towards the 27 credit requirement. If two advanced courses are
substituted, then all 15 hours or core knowledge courses can be counted
toward the 27 hours requirement.
There is a list of
pre-approved substitutions listed
here.
Each advanced course can be offered as
a substitute for only one required course.
Go to: Graduate Admissions