Ph.D. Degree requirements

1. CS 900 - Computer Science Seminar.
2. Seven CS graduate courses (three credits or more) beyond the MS or fifteen CS graduate courses beyond the BS plus a reseach tool for a total of 16 courses.
   a. Two must be implementation intensive.
   b. At least one course must be chosen from four different breadth areas.
3. Breadth examination that includes four different examination topic areas: one topic must be selected from the Theory Area; the other three topics must be selected from three different areas (which can include a second theory topic).
4. Research tool. A research tool represents knowledge and skills in another discipline that can help the student carry out his or her research plan. This is typically satisfied by taking a non-computer science graduate level course.
5. Depth requirement. Under the direction of a depth adviser and a depth committee, the student carries out some preliminary research that is likely to lead to a dissertation topic. The student must produce two written reports (a literature survey and a research report) and make a presentation as part of an oral examination on the material.
6. Dissertation Research: A minimum of two semesters of registration in Doctoral Research is required. However, doctoral students at candidacy must register for 999 each semester during the academic year, even if the minimum requirement has been met.
7. Dissertation. The student must complete original research and present and defend a dissertation describing that research. The research is carried out under the supervision of a faculty member dissertation adviser and a dissertation committee of at least five members, including one from outside the department.

Implementation Intensive Courses

Implementation intensive courses include: CS 812, CS 819, CS 820, CS 830, CS 835, CS 870.

Examination Topic Areas

The list below identifies the six topic areas used for both the M.S. comprehensive exam and the Ph.D. breadth exam.

Breadth Course Areas

The list below identifies the seven breadth course areas and the introductory (800-level) graduate courses in each area. It is also acceptable to satisfy an area requirement by taking an advanced course (900-level) in the specified area. (Note that there are courses in the curriculum that are not in any of the identified groups.)

* Not all breadth courses form the basis for exam topics. There are no exams in the following courses: CS 818, 819, 820, 821, 823, 835, 851, 858, 860, 867 and 871.