The Human-Centered Computing (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.
Contents
- Ph.D. Degree General Requirements
- Ph.D. Supervision (main Ph.D. page)
- Ph.D. Course and GPA Requirement
- Cognate Core
- Ph.D. Qualifying Examination (main Ph.D. page)
- Admission to Candidacy (main Ph.D. page)
- Ph.D. Students Earning a Master’s Degree
- Performance Evaluation and Termination of Ph.D. Students (main Ph.D. page)
- Communication Skills (main Ph.D. page)
- Ph.D. Final Examination (main Ph.D. page)
- Checklist for Ph.D. Degree (main Ph.D. page)
Human-Centered Computing Ph.D. Degree General Requirements
To earn a Ph.D. degree, a student must satisfy a minimum of 90 graduate-level credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. Up to 30 credits from a prior master’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering taken either at the University of Florida or from another accredited institution may be transferred and counted towards the Ph.D. degree. Students must apply for the credit transfer during their first term of enrollment. Approval by the graduate school is necessary for the credit transfer. Beyond the first 30 credits counted toward the Ph.D. degree, students must complete at least 30 credits at the University of Florida campus. Additionally, students must satisfy the following requirements before earning the degree:
- Satisfy the CISE graduate-level course and GPA requirements.
- Pass the written and oral qualifying examinations.
- Pass the admission to candidacy examination (defend a dissertation proposal).
- Write and successfully defend a Ph.D. dissertation.
Human-Centered Computing Ph.D. Course and GPA Requirement
- 90 credit hours beyond the Bachelor’s degree. (May include 30 hours from Master’s program)
- 4 supervisory committee members (1 member from outside CISE)
- A Ph.D. qualifying exam
- Ability to pursue research (typically demonstrated by research publication)
- A dissertation proposal and oral defense on a specific topic
- A dissertation
- A dissertation defense
- 5 years limit for Ph.D. from admission to candidacy
| 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 |
Sample:
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 | |||||
Cognate Core
Each student designs a cognate area consisting of three courses in a cohesive area and approved by the student’s committee.
Examples of Previously Approved Cognate Areas
To receive approval, send the following items by email to the entire committee:
- A short description of the cognate area
- The 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.
Ph.D. Students Earning a Master’s Degree
A Ph.D. student in CISE is allowed to earn a MS-On-The-Way or MS-en-route-to-PhD prior to Admission to Candidacy by satisfying the following conditions:
- Meeting all the MS degree requirement (either Computer Science or Computer Engineering),
- Obtaining the approval of their advisor (chair of the PhD supervisory committee), and the department chair, and
- Notifying the Graduate Academic Advisor of CISE of their intent to get MS degree one semester prior to the degree semester.
The link below contains information for pursuing this option. Please check with Adrienne L. Cook for more information and review the Master’s En Route options.