PhD Degree Requirements

The college expects that students starting work toward a PhD have a solid undergraduate and master's-level background in computer science. If you are unsure of your background, you should consult your advisor.

PhD students are required to:

• Actively participate in research under the guidance of an advisor
• Satisfy 6 Core Requirements (18 course credits) across the areas of Systems, AI, and Theory. (Transfer credits are not accepted to satisfy these requirements.)
• Pass the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences Qualifying Exam–portfolio
• Form a committee
• Propose a thesis
• Complete 18 dissertation credits
• Pass the Teaching Assistant Requirement*
• Pass the Residency Requirement: at least 9 credits, each semester, in back-to-back semesters which is usually satisfied with the dissertation credits
• Defend and submit a thesis

The PhD Student Handbook provides information and answers questions on a range of topics such as assistantships, dissertation process, forming a committee, and more. 

*In order to pass the Teaching Assistant Requirement, all PhD students must complete a semester long teaching assistantship. Half-time (10 hour) assistantships can be used to satisfy this requirement. In addition, all PhD students will complete COMPSCI 879 Teaching Assistant, Tomorrow's Faculty starting in the fall 2017. Priority enrollment will be given to new students who are employed as TA's in their first semester.

Sample PhD Program

The following schedule shows one way in which a PhD-only student could progress through the program to complete the PhD in four years. Because people have different backgrounds and different skills, your progress will almost certainly vary somewhat from this. It can be a helpful guide nonetheless. Students supported by an RAship will be able to make progress more efficiently if their synthesis project and dissertation are well aligned with the RAship.

Most PhD students are supported by research or teaching assistantships.