Ph.D. Degree

Wondering what it takes to get a Ph.D. in Computer Science at MSU? This page tells you. If you are new to this page, you should read it all. Otherwise visit the section you want from the following table of contents.

Background

Division of Graduate Education Requirements

College of Engineering Requirements

Computer Science Department Requirements

o Admission into the Doctor of Philosophy Program

o Credit Requirements

o Course Requirements

o Progress Evaluations

· Timely and Satisfactory Progress

· Qualifying Exam

· Comprehensive Exam

o Defense

Application for the Ph.D. Program

Background

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is generally intended for students who have a B.S. or M.S. degree in Computer Science and who want to pursue a research and/or college-level teaching career. The program leading to the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science is rigorous and requires coursework, research, exams, and the writing of a dissertation.

In order to understand the requirements for the Ph.D. degree it is important to understand how the Ph.D. program is administered by the University. Since the Ph.D. degree is a graduate degree, it is ultimately managed by the Division of Graduate Education at MSU. Therefore, in order to earn a Ph.D. degree, a student must satisfy the requirements of

• the Division of Graduate Education
• the College of Engineering
• the Department of Computer Science

Division of Graduate Education Requirements

The Division of Graduate Education ensures the quality of a Ph.D. degree from MSU regardless of the College or Department in which the degree is earned by establishing a minimum set of requirements for all Ph.D. degrees at the University. Ph.D. candidates must therefore be aware of all of the procedures and requirements established by the Division of Graduate Education for the Ph.D. degree.

Every student is required to become intimately familiar with the Division of Graduate Education at MSU. This can be done by visiting

http://www.montana.edu/gradstudies

The Division of Graduate Education web site provides directions and forms for applying for graduate study at MSU. It also explains common requirements for the Ph.D. degree such as regulations regarding the composition of the committee.

In particular, Ph.D. students should pay special attention to the sections of the online graduate catalog that apply to the Ph.D. degree. The Graduate Catalog of Policies and Procedures can be found at

http://www.montana.edu/gradstudies/catalog.shtml

The specific requirements for the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science appear in an upcoming section, but these are only valid in the context of the requirements of the Division of Graduate Education and the College of Engineering.

College of Engineering Requirements

The Ph.D. requirements of the College of Engineering can be found at

http://www.coe.montana.edu/coe/depts/phd_engr/PhDrqmts-afterAug07.pdf

When reading this document, students need to be aware of the fact that the Ph.D. in Computer Science is a separate degree from the Ph.D. in Engineering (i.e. Computer Science is not an option of the Ph.D. in Engineering program).

Each student should also read the COE Graduate Student Handbook

Computer Science Department Requirements

Admission into the Doctor of Philosophy Program

Applicants to the Ph.D. program are required to fill out an online application.

Applicants to the Computer Science Ph.D. program must meet all College of Engineering and Division of Graduate Education admission requirements. In addition applicants must meet the following admission requirements of the Computer Science Department:

1. Graduate Record Exam (GRE): general GRE minimum scores of 700 (Q), 500 (V), 4 (AW) are expected from a good candidate. These GRE scores are just one metric used in determining admission and are advisory. It is possible in some circumstances that a student may be admitted into the Ph.D. program with GRE scores lower than these if other indicators are favorable.
2. Degree Requirements: a previous Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or a closely related discipline.
3. Grade Point Average (GPA): 3.30 GPA during the last two years of the applicant's most recent computer science or related degree.
4. Previous course work: acceptable previous coursework in most of the core areas of computer science, including
   • Computer Architecture
   • Networks
   • Operating Systems
   • Programming Languages and Compilers
   • Software Engineering
   • Theory of Computing

Applicants who cannot show proof of sufficient previous coursework or expertise in these areas may, at the discretion of the Computer Science Department, be admitted into the Ph.D. program with appropriate courses from the MSU Computer Science curriculum listed as deficiencies that such students must take in addition to the courses required for the Ph.D. degree.

5. TOEFL: at least 600 on the written TOEFL test, 250 on the computer-based TOEFL test (CBT), or 100 on the internet based test (IBT) for students from countries where the primary language is not English, and who do not have a previous degree from an English-speaking university. International students can find additional information about the application process by following this link to MSU's Office of International Programs: http://www.montana.edu/international/
6. Letter of Endorsement (highly recommended but not required): a letter of endorsement from a tenure-track member of the MSU Computer Science faculty who agrees to serve as the applicant's research and dissertation advisor.
   
   
7. Statement of Intent (highly recommended but not required): a 1-2 page statement of why you want to pursue a Ph.D. and what your research interests are.
   

Applicants must be aware that these are minimum requirements and do not by themselves guarantee admission into the Ph.D. program.

Credit Requirements

Students admitted to the Ph.D. program with a previous M.S. degree in Computer Science or a closely related area must complete a minimum of 36 credits to obtain the degree.

Students admitted to the Ph.D. program with a B.S. degree in Computer Science or a closely related area (but not an M.S. degree in computer science) must complete a minimum of 60 credits to obtain the Ph.D. degree.

Students who transfer into the Ph.D. program from another institution may be able to receive credit for graduate computer science courses taken at the other institution. Such cases will be handled on an individual basis.

Course Requirements

The program of study for the Ph.D. degree will be individually tailored with the assistance of the student's advisor. However, every program of study must include at least six (6) graduate level computer science courses (courses numbered 500 or above).The following sections elaborate the course requirements.

Theoretical Foundations

All students must take these two courses:

• CS 510, Computability (3 credits)
• CS 515, Algorithms (3 credits)

Applications and Systems

All students must take at least four courses from the following:

• CS 513, Computational Research Topics (3 credits)
• CS 518, Advanced Operating Systems (3 credits)
• CS 525, Graphics and Scientific Visualization (3 credits)
• CS 530, Data Mining (3 credits)
• CS 535, Advanced Database Systems (3 credits)
• CS 536, Advanced Artificial Intelligence (3 credits)
  
• CS 540, Distributed Computing (3 credits)
• CS 541, Advanced Networking (3 credits)
  
• CS 545, Parallel Computing Systems (3 credits)
• CS 550, Design and Translation of Programming Languages (3 credits)

Students may be required to take additional courses (possibly outside of the Computer Science Department) as part of their program of study. This will be determined by the student's advisor, program committee, and the Department Head.

Note: CS 690 (Doctoral Thesis) is the only course on the Program of Study (including deficiency courses) that can be taken pass/fail.

Thesis

All students must complete a thesis, also known as the doctoral dissertation. This is a formal publication of the results of a student's research work completed under the direction of the student's dissertation advisor.

• CS 690, Doctoral Thesis (18 credits)

Progress Evaluations

Timely and Satisfactory Progress

Description: In order to remain in the Ph.D. program, a student must sustain consistent and satisfactory progress towards the degree, including maintaining grades in accordance with Division of Graduate Education standards.

Timeline: Each Ph.D. student is evaluated yearly. This evaluation typically takes place at the beginning of spring semester.

Outcomes: There are three possible outcomes for the Timely and Satisfactory Progress evaluation:

• The student passes and continues with his or her studies.
• The student is put on probation and given one year to improve the quality of his or her graduate work.
• The student fails and is dropped from the Ph.D. program.

Qualifying Exam

Description: The Qualifier is an exam used to evaluate whether a student is minimally qualified to begin work on a Ph.D. degree. Any deficiency courses must be completed before the examination can be taken.

The Qualifying Exam is administrated by the program committee (the Department Head, the Ph.D. Program Coordinator, and the Student's Advisor). The student must inform the committee about the intention of taking the exam in written format (e.g. by e-mail sent to the Ph.D. program coordinator) not less than two months before the date when the examination is intended to take place. Please note the following:

• If the student has already earned an M.S. degree in computer science or a closely related field, the exam is waived due to the fact that the student has already passed an exam at the level of the qualifier or higher (e.g. an M.S. comprehensive exam). However, the student must still petition the program committee to have the exam waived - once the qualifying exam is passed, the 2 year period of preparation for the Comprehensive Exam begins.
• Students who have no M.S. degree must submit a research paper as first or second author to a well known conference or journal, and present the findings in a departmental seminar. The paper must be co-authored by at least one of the Computer Science faculty member. After a successful presentation, the student may petition the program committee to evaluate whether the Qualifying Exam has been passed. In some cases, the committee will delay its decision until the evaluated article is accepted for publication.

Timeline: The exam must be successfully passed within two years of commencing the Ph.D. program, regardless of the student's course load. It is recommended that the exam be taken during the first year of the Ph.D. studies.

Outcomes: There are four possible outcomes for the Qualifying Exam:

• The student passes and continues with his or her studies.
• The student passes conditionally, but must satisfy provisions specified by the program committee (such as completing certain courses with a satisfactory grade).
• The student fails, but is given a second chance to retake the exam within 12 months. The Qualifying Exam may be taken at most twice.
• The student fails and is dropped from the Ph.D. program.

Comprehensive Exam

Description: Near the end of the coursework specified on a student's graduate program of courses and after the student has established her/his doctoral committee and identified a research topic, the student must pass a comprehensive examination.

The exam is administrated by the student's doctoral committee and scheduled by this committee and the student. The student must inform the Ph.D. advisor and doctoral committee about the intention of taking the exam in written format (e.g. by e-mail) at least two months before the desired examination date.

To be eligible to take the Comprehensive, a student must have:

1. Passed the Qualifying Exam.
2. Passed all six CS 5XX courses that have been specified in the student's program of study from the areas of Theoretical Foundations, Systems and Applications.
3. Completed at least two-thirds (2/3) of the coursework required for the degree.

The Comprehensive Exam consists of the following:

1. A written thesis proposal, due to the student's doctoral committee at least one month before the public presentation discussed next.
2. A public presentation of the proposal during an open departmental seminar.
3. An oral clarification of the proposed research during a closed meeting with the student's doctoral committee.
4. The student can also be given an additional written examination on all courses from the program of study where a grade lower than a B was received.

The logistics of the Comprehensive Exam are as follows:

1. At least one month before the exam, a candidate must submit a written thesis proposal to the Ph.D. committee. This proposal is called a prospectus. The prospectus' organization and formatting must follow the format specified in the most recent NSF's Grant Proposal Guide (see the chapter on “Proposal Preparation Instructions” at http://nsf.gov.). The NSF Proposal Guide specifies the maximum size requirements for the prospectus. The minimum length of the prospectus (not including references, the author's CV, etc.) is 12 pages with margins not bigger than 1.25 inch on each side, filled with single-spaced lines and using font not bigger than 12 point. It is to the student's advantage to have the advisor check and approve the preliminary version of the prospectus before the Comprehensive examination.
2. A public presentation of the prospectus must be given after submitting the prospectus. It must be advertised for at least one week and will typically be held during an open departmental seminar.
3. The chair of the student's Ph.D. committee will work with the other committee members to design an oral exam based on the thesis proposal. The oral component (i.e. clarification of the proposed research) is typically conducted immediately following the public presentation of the prospectus, and may not be delayed for more than 2 weeks after the seminar.
4. If the student has received a grade lower than a B in any courses, a written deficiency exam will be given on that material within three weeks of the oral exam.

Prospectus

The written thesis proposal, also known as a prospectus, should be a clear presentation of the research plan. The document should include a clear problem statement, an explanation of why the problem is important, an overview of related background knowledge, an overview of preliminary work and results, a timeline that explains the future work to be done and a bibliography. The student should work closely with the advisor to produce a high quality prospectus.

Oral Clarification

During this exam, the student will be asked questions regarding the prospectus. The student may also be asked to present the research topic, identify specific problems to be examined during the research, and discuss possible approaches to solve them (such as presenting important literature related to the proposed research).

Optional Deficiency Exam

The deficiency exam will cover all courses where the student received a grade lower than a B. The exam will be closed-book, closed-notes. The questions will generally be at the level of questions posed on a final examination in a graduate course. However, the questions may require the student to demonstrate the ability to synthesize concepts from a wide variety of subjects in relationship to the Ph.D. topic and to reason both broadly and deeply about problems in Computer Science.

Timeline: The Comprehensive exam must be taken within four years of commencing the Ph.D. program, regardless of the student's course load. Furthermore, the exam must be taken within one year of completing the six required CS 5xx courses. Typically, this exam will be taken within two years of passing the Qualifying Exam.

The Comprehensive exam must be taken at least two semesters before the planned date of the Thesis Defense.  This is a minimal time interval allowed only for exceptional students.  Typically, the Comprehensive exam will be taken 2-3 years before the Thesis Defense.

Outcomes: There are four possible outcomes for the Comprehensive exam

• The student passes and continues with his or her studies.
• The student passes conditionally, but must satisfy provisions specified by the doctoral committee.
• The student fails, but is given the opportunity to retake the exam. A minimum of six months and a maximum of 12 months must elapse before the exam can be repeated. A student may take the Comprehensive exam at most twice.
• The student fails and is dropped from the Ph.D. program.

Defense

Description: The final examination for the Ph.D. degree is the Defense of Thesis. The Defense consists of two parts. One part is public and the other private. In the public part, the student presents a seminar on the thesis that is advertised on campus and is open to the public. In particular, most of the faculty and graduate students in the Computer Science department attend this seminar. The student's Ph.D. committee is required to attend.

The private part is usually held immediately after the public seminar. Typically, this is attended only by the student's graduate committee. The committee will have read the dissertation carefully and will ask the student questions about the dissertation, probe the student's knowledge of his or her dissertation topic, point out errors in the dissertation, congratulate the student on contributions made, and provide helpful comments.

The Defense will be held after the dissertation is deemed ready by the student and advisor. The actual Defense must be scheduled in accordance with Division of Graduate Education rules.

Publication Expectations: Each Ph.D. student must submit at least one paper on the dissertation topic to a mainstream journal. Paper(s) will normally be co-authored with the student's advisor and possibly others. Evidence of the submission must be presented at the time of the Defense of Thesis exam. This is a minimal requirement. A Ph.D. student will be more employable for an academic or industry position if the student has been involved in numerous publications. It is thus highly recommended that the student and advisor publish intermediate results along the way to the degree. Graduate students should note that this requirement is intended to help them establish their credentials in preparation for future employment.

Timeline: The Defense is expected to be taken within 3 years of passing the Comprehensive exam. The maximum time allowed between the comprehensive examination and the awarding of the Ph.D. degree is five years.  The minimum time (for exceptional students only) allowed between the comprehensive examination and the awarding of the Ph.D. degree is two semesters.

Outcomes: There are three possible outcomes for the Defense:

• The student passes and can graduate. The dissertation must be submitted to the Division of Graduate Education for final acceptance and publication.
• The student passes conditionally, but must make corrections and modifications to the dissertation to the satisfaction of the student's graduate committee before submitting it to the Division of Graduate Education for final acceptance and publication.
• The student fails and is dropped from the Ph.D. program. Note: The Defense can be held only once.

Application for the Ph.D. Degree

Visit the Division of Graduate Education for complete information regarding the application procedures.