PhD—Curriculum

The PhD in Computer Science at Seidenberg promises the breadth and depth of education that you need to become a true computing innovator. The program requires students to complete a variety of 700- and 800-level PhD courses, and to conduct in-depth research for publication in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

Each student completes four semesters of research seminars and must pass qualifying exams in at least three major computing areas, one of which must be closely related to the student’s dissertation research. The research seminars taken across four semesters form the heart of Seidenberg’s research community. All first- and second-year PhD students attend this course; advanced doctoral students also participate.

These seminars form the central research focus of the curriculum: during them, students and faculty will discuss papers they have read and present their dissertation work in progress.

Program Requirements

For applicants with a master’s degree in computer science or a closely related area, the program requires 44 credit hours including:

  • 24 credit hours for advanced coursework (12 for breadth and 12 for depth)
  • 4 credit hours for research seminars to be taken over two semesters
  • 12 or more credit hours for the dissertation
  • Pass three qualifying exams, including the required Advanced Algorithm exam and a dissertation proposal exam
  • Successful oral dissertation defense
  • Completion of a teaching skill development program

Qualifying Exam Requirement

Each student needs to pass three qualifying exams, and one of them should be in the area in which the student will write the dissertation. The student may take the qualifying exam embedded in a course without taking the course. If a student fails in a qualifying exam, he/she must retake it. If a student fails in a qualifying exam twice, he/she must leave the program. All qualifying exams must be passed by the end of the second year.

PhD Computer Science Worksheet

Please click here to download PhD Computer Science Worksheet for curriculum details.