Degree Requirements
CISE Ph.D. program
Core course requirement
Computer Engineering (CEN) is a discipline that embodies the science and technology of design, construction, implementation, and maintenance of software and hardware components of computer systems and computer-controlled equipment.
Computer Science (CSE) combines a strong engineering oriented technical basis with a flexible interdisciplinary component and an emphasis on communication skills. This flexibility will be increasingly important in the future as computers become important tools in an ever-increasing number of fields.
Required Core Courses
Other Core courses
Select 2 from the following
Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing
Human-Centered Computing (HCC), as a discipline, focuses on the intersection of technology, people, and design.
The HCC Ph.D. program emphasizes understanding people, developing new technology, and designing engaging experiences for a variety of target users, domains, and contexts.
The highlight of the program includes a self-defined “cognate area” which allows the student to choose a set of three courses that inform their interdisciplinary training to strengthen the foundation of their thesis research.
| Ph.D. Student with Prior Master’s Degree Credit Hours | Ph.D. Student without Master's Degree Credit Hours | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | N/A | From prior Master’s Degree (Maximum allowed) |
| 9 | 9 | Program Core Courses: - CAP 5100 – Human-Computer Interaction - CEN 5728 – User Experience Design (UX Design) - CAP 5108 – Research Methods for Human-Centered Computing |
| 9 | 9 | CISE required graduate-level courses May take up to 3 credit hours CIS 6905 for two Semesters Excludes: - CIS 6910 - CIS 7979 - CIS 7980 |
| 9 | 9 | Cognate Area Focused group of related graduate courses in a specific area and approved by the student’s committee |
| 30 | 60 | In addition to the courses listed below, other graduate-level courses excluding courses numbered 6971 or 7980. See cognate course listing for additional examples. - CIS 6905 Individual Study - CIS 6910 Supervised Research - CIS 6930 Special Topics in CISE - CIS 7979 Advanced Research |
| 3 | 3 | CIS 7980 – Research for doctoral dissertation and advanced research |
| 90 | 90 | Total (Minimum |
Note: Courses within the HCC Ph.D. core are designated by HCC.
| Student without a Master’s Degree | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
| Fall Semester | - CEN 5728 User Experience Design (UX Design) - Grad Electives (6 Hours) | - Qualifying Exams - CISE Electives - Grad Electives (6 Hours) | Cognate Electives (6 Hours) | - Grad Electives (12 Hours) - Research Hours | - Grad Electives (12 Hours) - Research Hours |
| Spring Semester | - CAP 5100 Human-Computer Interaction - CAP 5108 Research Methods for Human-Centered Computing - Grad Electives (6 Hours) | - CISE Electives (6 Hours) - Grad Electives (6 Hours) | - Cognate Electives (6 Hours) - Grad Electives (6 Hours) | - Grad Electives (12 Hours) - Dissertation Proposal | Dissertation Defense |
| Summer Semester | |||||
| Student with a Master’s Degree (30 Credit hours credit for Master’s Degree) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
| Fall Semester | - CEN 5728 User Experience Design (UX Design) - Grad Electives (9 Hours) | - Qualifying Exams - CISE Electives - Grad Electives (6 Hours) | - Cognate Electives (6 Hours) - Grad Electives (3 Hours) - Dissertation Proposal | Dissertation Defense | |
| Spring Semester | - CAP 5100 Human-Computer Interaction - CAP 5108 Research Methods for Human-Centered Computing - Grad Electives (6 Hours) | - CISE Electives (6 Hours) - Grad Electives (6 Hours) | - Cognate Electives (6 Hours) - Research Hours | ||
| Summer Semester | |||||
Each student designs a cognate area consisting of three courses in a cohesive area and approved by the student’s committee. Send the following items by email to the entire committee:
- Short description of the cognate area
- List of course numbers and titles
- Syllabi for the courses
Once approved by email, the student must submit the form below to the graduate advising office with the signatures of all committee members.
Other course requirements
- 24 credits of CISE graduate-level courses, excluding 6910, 6940, 7979, 7980; CIS 6971 or 6935 may account for 3 credits for thesis-option CISE master’s.
- Note: May take up to 3 credit hours CIS 6905 to count as CISE electives for two semesters.
- A minimum of 3 credits of CIS 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation.
- Other graduate-level courses including any research credits are at the discretion of the student and the student’s supervisory committee chair.
- Up to 6 credits of EGN 5949 (Internship) allowed.
- 6 credits of CISE graduate-level courses, exclude 6910, 6940, 7979, 7980; CIS 6971 may account for 3 credits for thesis-option CISE master’s. Note that the required CISE graduate-level credits increase accordingly to compensate for any waived core course credits.
- Note: May take up to 3 credit hours CIS 6905 to count as CISE electives for two semesters.
- A minimum of 3 credits of CIS 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation.
- Other graduate-level courses including any research credits are at the discretion of the student and the student’s supervisory committee chair.
- Up to 6 credits of EGN 5949 (Internship) allowed.
Students who have completed a master’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering from another university may petition to have courses that had been taken for their prior Master’s degree count towards the Ph.D. core course requirement. Such petitions will be accepted only after the Graduate Affairs Committee has determined that the outside course is similar in rigor and in scope to the equivalent course offered by the CISE Department.
If you believe that you have taken a course, including undergraduate coursework, that is equivalent to a graduate-level core course in our department, you will need to:
- Obtain a copy of your complete final transcript from your prior institution.
- Prepare a copy of the course syllabus and catalog description of the equivalent course as well as any supporting material such as exams, projects, and homework.
- Bring these items and a completed Equivalency Form to the instructor who teaches the core course for an equivalency decision.
- Return the completed Equivalency Form to the Graduate Academic Advisor.
Any core course that is waived will count toward the four core courses required to take the qualifying exam and will be counted as a neutral grade.
NOTE: The equivalency process differs from the process of either transferring your degree or transferring credits toward your degree. The transfer of credit process may be initiated with the grad advisor after the third week of classes.
Only graduate-level courses, earned with a grade of B or better (a B- does not count) may be transferred from an institution approved for this purpose by the Graduate School.
Transfer of credit may be considered from course work taken while holding a classification level of 0 (non-degree seeking), 6 (postbaccalaureate), 7, 8, or 9. Courses with “P” or “S” grading cannot be transferred.
To maintain the level of CS/CE core knowledge, Ph.D. students are required to obtain at least a 3.0 GPA in 3 of the required 4 core courses that will be counted toward satisfying the core requirement before they are allowed to take the written portion of the qualifying exam. Additionally, the three core courses must include either 1 systems and 2 theory OR 2 systems and 1 theory—see Core course requirements. Approved equivalent core courses are counted towards the minimum 3 core courses with 3.0 GPA in calculating the minimum GPA requirement.
To maintain the level of HCC Human-Centered Computing core knowledge, Ph.D. students are required to obtain at least a 3.0 GPA in 2 of the required 3 core courses that will be counted towards satisfying the core requirement before they are allowed to take the written portion of the qualifying exam.
Full-time, on-campus Ph.D. students must successfully complete 3 credits of CIS 6935 (Graduate Seminar) before graduation. The course awards one credit on an S/U basis and may be taken only once each semester. Off-campus Ph.D. students through distance learning are exempt from the seminar requirement.
Ph.D. students are not expected to register for the seminar course in their first two semesters when most students take a full load of regular 3-credit courses. The 1-credit seminar course can accompany CIS 7979 (Advanced Research) in later semesters, adjusting the total credits to satisfy the required semester credit load.
The instructor for this course will make all decisions in selecting eligible seminars and setting the minimum number of attendances which will constitute a satisfactory grade. All approved seminars, department colloquium talks, and Ph.D. dissertation defenses are qualified. Other talks may also be included based on recommendations from faculty.
Ph.D. minor
This minor is designed for students who have an interest in computer and information science and engineering. The program was created to provide students with the academic background necessary to understand the application of computers to scientific and engineering problems.
To obtain a Ph.D. minor, a non-CISE student pursuing a Ph.D. degree from another department must:
- Take four graduate courses in the CISE department with a grade of B or better in each.
- Have a CISE graduate faculty member serve as a minor representative on the Ph.D. committee of the major department
- Submit a qualifying examination administered by the CISE minor representative.
Questions?
Contact a CISE graduate academic advisor.