DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
ACADEMICS
GRADUATE INFORMATION
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DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE ACADEMICS GRADUATE INFORMATION |
(The following text replaces the corresponding text in the 1999-2001 Graduate Bulletin. Changes since the printed 1999-2001 Graduate Bulletin are shown in blue-green.)
The Doctor of Philosophy is regarded as a research degree and is awarded on the basis of accomplishment in a recognized specialty in computer science. Such accomplishment should include scholarly mastery of the field, significant contributions to new knowledge in the field, and written and oral communication skills appropriate for the field.
The requirements for the Ph.D. include the following: a master's degree in computer science, or the equivalent; passing the preliminary examination; satisfaction of the course requirements; successfully defending a dissertation prospectus; and successfully defending a dissertation. A Ph.D. student may be admitted to candidacy only after completing the master's degree in computer science or the equivalent, and then passing the preliminary examination.
Students entering the program after earning a masters degree in computer science may have some or all of the above course requirements waived, upon approval of the Department Chair, based on having already taken equivalent courses at this university or at another institution.
The doctoral student must also complete at least twenty-four (24) hours of CIS 6980r Dissertation. A student may enroll in CIS 6980r only after being admitted to candidacy. In addition, a doctoral student must enroll in CIS 5920r Colloquium every semester she/he is registered as a resident student and the course is offered.
As early as is feasible in the student's program, the student should identify an area for dissertation research and secure an informal agreement with a faculty member to serve as the student's major professor. This agreement should include an understanding as to the area and timeline of the dissertation research. This agreement is then made formal by the Department Chair appointing that faculty member to serve in this capacity. In a similar manner the student must secure agreements with, and the Chair must approve, the remaining members of the student's Supervisory Committee: two (2) additional faculty members in the Department; one (1) member of the graduate faculty in another department. In addition, the Chair will appoint a member to serve as Departmental Representative. All members must hold doctoral directive status. The supervisory committee is responsible for approving an individual program of study, possibly including additional course requirements, and verifying that the student satisfies the following departmental requirements.
All students admitted to the program are required to compile and keep current a portfolio containing information relevant to the student's progress in the program, e.g., curriculum vitae, courses taken and grades received, sample programming and writing assignments, any professional publications, and semester activity reports. When preparing and updating the portfolio, students are expected to follow the current Guidelines for preparing the portfolio, which are published on the Web.
The portfolio is evaluated annually by the departmental Portfolio Evaluation Committee. This committee consists of a core that is appointed by the Department Chair, together with any other Department faculty with doctoral directive status who elect to participate. After each annual evaluation, the Portfolio Evaluation Committee will recommend whether the student should continue in the Ph.D. program.
Before a student is admitted to Ph.D. candidacy, the portfolio must include at least one example of writing by the student. This may be a research paper that has been accepted for a conference or journal. It may also be a project paper or thesis whose content and writing are judged by the Portfolio Evaluation Committee to be of publication quality.
In order to be advanced to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must do the following:
The preliminary examination process begins when the student's major professor notifies the Department Chair that the portfolio is ready for evaluation and the student is ready for an area exam. The date for the area exam is set at the discretion of the Department Chair, in consultation with the committee conducting the exam. Typically, area exams will only be held during the academic year. At least four (4) weeks prior to the date set for this exam, not counting weeks when the University is not in session, the student is required to submit a current portfolio.
The portfolio will then be reviewed by the Departmental Portfolio Evaluation Committee, for completeness and quality of work. This review includes verification that the master's degree or equivalent has been completed, and that the quality of the student's work meets departmental standards for Ph.D. candidates. If the portfolio is not found satisfactory, the area exam will not be taken by the student and the student may be advised to resubmit at a later time. If the portfolio is found satisfactory, the area exam may then be taken as scheduled.
The area examination covers the student's intended area of research. It has both written and oral parts. Both parts of the examination are conducted by the student's Supervisory Committee, which may delegate the responsibility to a larger area committee. The oral part is open to all Department faculty having doctoral directive status who elect to participate. Students who do not pass the area exam may be advised to retake both parts of the preliminary examination at a later time. A student who changes to a new research area after having previously passed this exam will be required to stand for a further exam over the new area.
The student must propose the research to comprise the dissertation formally to his or her Supervisory Committee in the form of a prospectus. The prospectus should consist of much of the background work for the dissertation, including:
In addition, as an appendix to the prospectus, publication plans should be presented. The research proposed should make clear and substantial advances in the state of knowledge in computer science, and the publication plans should be designed to affirm the quality and nature of the research. Publication should be in nationally recognized conferences and journals in the field. The prospectus must be successfully defended before the student's Supervisory Committee in an open meeting.
After completing the research proposed in the prospectus, the student must write a dissertation. The dissertation represents the fulfillment of the proposals made in the prospectus. The dissertation document must comply with all current university standards for style. The dissertation must be successfully defended before the student's Supervisory Committee in an open meeting. The dissertation must be successfully defended within five (5) years of admission to candidacy.