Personal tools
You are here: Home → Academics → Graduate → Ph.D. in ICS
 

The Ph.D. Program in Information and Computer Sciences

 

Description

The Ph.D Program in Computer Science is designed for students who want to contribute to the study of the description and representation of information and the theory, design, analysis, implementation, and application of algorithmic processes that transform information.

Students receive advanced training in the scientific principles and technology required to develop and evaluate new computer systems and applications. Our curriculum covers all major areas of computer science, with active research in artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, human-computer interaction, software engineering and computer systems.

 

Admissions

An applicant may be admitted with a Bachelor's degree or with an M.S. degree in computer science or a related field. If the applicant enters without the M.S., the applicant will earn the M.S. before proceeding to the "PhD portion" of the program.

Applications are accepted for both Spring and Fall semesters. The applicant should attend to the fact that requirements are imposed by both the Graduate Division and the ICS Department, and ensure that materials are sent to the proper recipient.

Deadlines

Fall Admissions:
International Applicant: January 15th
Domestic (U.S.) Applicant: March 15th
Spring Admissions:
International Applicant: August 1st.
Domestic (U.S.) Applicant: September 1st.

Graduate Division Requirements

It is important for you to carefully read the information on the Graduate Division Admissions page as well as this page. (For academic policies, degree requirements, etc. see the Graduate Division Site Map.)

ICS Requirements

Applicants with Bachelor's degrees must satisfy the admission requirements of the ICS master's program. Please read this first.

Applications should include all forms listed in the next section. Official transcripts of your coursework and degrees to date are required. The general GRE scores (Analytic, Quantitative, Verbal) are required. (There is no specific cutoff score. Scores are evaluated in light of your application as a whole. The GMAT will be considered as an alternative if the GRE is not available in time for your application deadline, but you must notify us of the substitution.) The Computer Science GRE is not required, but in the case of applicants entering without a M.S., a score at the 85th percentile or better may save you from having to take "deficiency" courses (see Coursework for the ICS master's program).

Applications should include a statement of purpose. In this statement, describe your motivations for entering the program, including research and teaching interests. A Ph.D. is a fundamentally different kind of endeavour than the coursework-oriented education you may be familiar with, so we take your ability to articulate your objectives seriously. Send the statement of purpose to the ICS department along with your ICS Express Information Form (below).

Applicants should arrange for up to three letters of reference addressing your potential for graduate coursework, research and teaching to be sent to the PhD Chair in care of the ICS department.

Applicants from foreign countries must have sufficient financial support, must be proficient in English, and must submit a TOEFL (minimum 600).

Admission Forms

Application Checklist

If you send your application materials to the wrong office your application may be delayed or even denied as being incomplete. The materials that are required by the Graduate Division will be forwarded to the ICS Department once the Graduate Division determines that your application is complete. It is your responsibility to communicate with Graduate Division to ensure they have all of the required materials. Until they do, we won't see your application.

 

Ph.D. Degree Requirements

Graduate Division Ph.D. Degree Requirements

As with admissions, requirements are imposed by both the Graduate Division and the ICS Department. Please begin by reading the Graduate Division Degree Requirements page. You may want to bookmark the Graduate Division Site Map.

ICS Ph.D. Degree Requirements

Note: the program was redesigned effective for new students admitted fall 2006. Students under the "old qualifier system" should visit this page for their ICS requirements.

Background

The ICS Ph.D. program is designed with the following objectives: (1) Certify the student's core competency in computer science and address any deficiencies in this competency as efficently as possible, so that the bulk of the student's Ph.D. program is focused on research. (2) Prepare the student to do research through an apprenticeship with a faculty member, assessing readiness to do research with a research portfolio that is analogous to a professional tenure and promotion portfolio.

I. Core Competency

The Ph.D. student shall demonstrate core competency in computer science by meeting the following two requirements:

A. Masters Degree:

Students shall complete a Masters' degree in Computer Science or related field.

  1. What counts as "related" is at the discretion of the graduate program chair, assisted by the admissions committee.
  2. Those who enter without a MS shall go through the ICS MS program as part of their degree process.
  3. Students are considered to be in the "PhD portion" of their studies once they meet the requirement for the MS degree, even if it has not yet been awarded.
B. Qualifying Exam:

The qualifying exam will cover core knowledge of computer science at the level that might reasonably be expected of a job interviewee with a master's degree. A study guide is available here.

  1. Exams are designed and given by a committee of the faculty convened by the graduate program chair.
  2. Students shall take the qualifying exam in the first semester of the PhD portion of their studies.
  3. Students may attempt the qualifying exam only twice.
  4. Students must pass this qualifying exam no later than end of the first year of their PhD studies.
  5. Failure to pass within the time period of B4 (i.e., by the second attempt) leads to dismissal from the program.
  6. The exam committee may specify one of three results of a qualifying exam: (1) Unconditional pass; (2) conditional pass; (3) failure, requiring a second attempt or dismissal from the program. A "conditional pass" may include conditions such as that the student take and pass a given course with B+ or better the next time it is offered. Conditional passes are used when a student demonstrates reasonable competency in all but one or two specific areas.

Once students meet the requirements of this exam, Form I may be processed.

II. Research Readiness and Professional Capacity

 

Students must pass the seminar course ICS 690 in each semester of the "PhD portion" of their program.

 

By the end of the first year of the PhD portion of studies, the student will choose by mutual consent or be assigned a PhD program adviser. (This need not necessarily be the final PhD dissertation adviser.) The adviser will guide the student in preparing a portfolio that includes the following.

  1. Statement of purpose: A one to two page statement, written by the student, of the student's professional interests in research, teaching, service, and/or product development.
  2. Evidence of Core Competency: Documentation of the accomplishments of part I.
    • Evidence of MS degree
    • Results of qualifying exam and evidence that any conditions have been met.
    • (Optional:) Other evidence, such as professional employment in Computer Science.
  3. Evidence of Scholarly Ability: Evidence of ability to identify, critically analyze, and research a problem, and of written communication skills, in the form of two or more items authored by the student and reviewed by doctoral level scholars. The first item (literature review) is required; at least one of the remainder must be supplied.

    • Written Literature Review in the proposed area of study of 20-30 pages double spaced, following the graduate division dissertation format and reviewing at least 20 published works. (The student may elect to change the area of study at the proposal stage.)
    • Thesis by the student from MS Plan A.
    • Publication(s) in reviewed journals or conferences. Evidence of quality such as acceptance rates or citation indexing should be provided.
    • Technical report(s) on research project(s) that were supervised by a faculty member and read and approved by two other faculty members. ICS 699 projects may be included.
  4. Other Evidence of Professional Capacity (Optional): At the discretion of the student and the advisor, other material may be included in the portfolio. A professional vita of employment, professional presentations, reviewing of papers for conferences and journals, competitive fellowships, patents, teaching, and service on committees or as graduate student representatives contribute to the candidacy decision. Letters of reference may also be included. Students should report all forms of research, teaching, and service to the community and to the discipline when preparing their portfolios.

Students shall submit their portfolio annually beginning in the year after passing their qualifier, and must have their portfolio approved by the end of their 3rd year of the Ph.D. portion of their studies, or be dismissed from the program. The portfolio is approved by a two-thirds majority vote of a quorum of the ICS faculty (typically at a faculty meeting). The portfolio shall be distributed to the faculty two weeks in advance of the meeting at which it will be voted upon. The graduate program chair shall designate one faculty to argue for the student's case and one to argue against the student. (Both may vote as they see fit.) The portfolio must be approved before undertaking the Proposal Defense.

(The following sections III and IV have no change from prior policy, and are derived from Graduate Division requirements)

III. Proposal Defense.

Before commencing the final dissertation research, the student shall give a public defense of his or her PhD proposal. Students prepare a research proposal that includes a literature review in the chosen topic area (this usually is but is not required to be derived from the literature review from the portfolio) and a description of research topics to be investigated. This work should be done under the direction of an appropriate faculty adviser.

After forming a committee, students take an oral examination covering their general preparation for the research involved, as specified in the General and Graduate Information Catalog.

Once the student passes the proposal defense, Form II may be processed.

IV. Final Defense

Students then conduct their research and write a dissertation under the direction of the adviser.

The dissertation must be presented to and approved by a doctoral committee, as specified in the General and Graduate Information Catalog.

Effective Date

The new program will be effective for all students entering the Ph.D. program from fall 2006 onwards.

Grandfathering: All students in the ICS Ph.D. program before fall 2006 will continue under the prior ("old") system, unless they elect to change as described under Conversion.

Conversion Students in the prior program may petition the ICS Graduate Chair to be converted to the new program. These students may "try out" the new qualifier exam before deciding whether to convert. All requirements of the new program will apply to students undertaking this conversion. The exam committee may take the student's prior qualifying exam record into account when determining the outcome of the new qualifying exam.

Document Actions