The Doctor of Philosophy Program

Computer Science Department

Colorado State University

The Computer Science Department at Colorado State University offers a program of study leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science. Possible areas of interest are detailed in the "Research Page".

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

ADMISSION PROCEDURES

Once the Department receives a complete application, the admissions committee reviews the application and promptly notifies the applicant of their decision.

Students may be admitted for fall or spring semesters.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND FEES

REGULATIONS FOR THE PH.D. DEGREE

• Course work must include a minimum of 72 credit hours beyond the Bachelor of Science degree (includes thesis credits).
• A minimum of 32 credit hours must be earned at Colorado State University (includes thesis credits).
• A Master of Science degree from an accredited college or University may be accepted for up to 30 credit hours.

1. Exactly 2 credit hours of CS692 (Department Seminar).

2. 3 credit hours (500 level or higher) outside of the CS department (see restrictions below).

3. At least 8 regular credit hours at the 600 level within the CS department (see restrictions below).

4. At least 4 regular credit hours at the 500 level in each of the three course groups (12 credit hours total; see course groups and restrictions below).

5. In addition to the 25 credit hours required by #1-#4 above, 11 more regular course credits are needed to bring the total to 36. These may be a combination of CS department courses at the 400 level or above or out of department courses at the 500 level and above (see restrictions below).

6. Teaching requirement: 1 course. (Note: The graduate committee may waive requirement based on a student's previous experience or current teaching opportunities.

7. Research exam: Each Ph.D. student is required to take the written Research Examination. This examination determines critical thinking skills and background knowledge.

8. Thesis proposal defense (preliminary exam): Each Ph.D. student is required to take the oral Preliminary Examination (see below). This exam centers on, but is not limited to, the student's proposal for dissertation research. Passing this examination admits the student to Ph.D. candidacy.

9. Thesis defense: The final examination (see below) of a Ph.D. candidate is the defense of the dissertation and related subject areas. Regulations concerning the format and conduct of the final examination are contained in the Colorado State University Bulletin.

Course Restrictions:

Course groups:

To encourage breadth, courses are grouped into three groups as follows:

Group I (AI & Theory):

• CS510 (Image Computation)
• CS520 (Analysis of Algorithms)
• CS540 (Artificial Intelligence)
• CS545 (Machine Learning)

Group II (Systems):

• CS530 (Fault Tolerant Computing)
• CS551 (Principles of Operating Systems)
• CS553 (Algorithmic Language Compilers)
• CS555 (Distributed Systems)
• CS557 (Advanced Networking)
• CS560 (Foundations of Fine-Grain Parallelism)
• CS570 (Advanced Computer Architecture)
• CS575 (Parallel Processing)
• CS580 (Advanced Networking)

• CS514 (Software Product and Process Evaluation)
• CS517 (Software Specification and Design)
• CS518 (Distributed Software System Development)
• CS533 (Database Management Systems)
• CS556 (Computer Security)

• CS692 and CS699 may not be used to satisfy requirement #3 (600 level courses).
• Courses that are cross-listed in the CS department can not be counted toward requirement #2 (outside course).
• All out of department courses applied toward requirement #2 or requirement #5 must be approved by the graduate committee.
• Grades of 'B' or better can be used to satisfy Ph.D. requirements. Grades of B- or worse cannot be used to satisfy any of the requirements above.
• All regular courses must use conventional grading; no pass/fail options allowed.
• The graduate committee may waive requirement #6 based on a student's previous experience or current teaching opportunities.
• Up to 10 credit hours earned after completion of a Master of Science degree may be accepted for transfer if approved by the Department Graduate Committee.
• Work done more than 10 years before the completion of the Ph.D. program cannot be used to satisfy any degree requirement.
• Students should obtain and review the University requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy program upon entering graduate study. Each Ph.D. candidate is responsible for adherence to all Colorado State University regulations for graduate study.
• Entering graduate students are assigned a temporary advisor. The University requires that after two semesters of study or 12 credit hours earned, a graduate student will have selected an advisory committee (an advisor, two additional Computer Science faculty members, and one faculty member from another department) and will have planned a program of study approved by the advisory committee.
• Evaluation and feedback on a student's progress are important to both the student and the department. Every fall semester, the entire faculty meets to evaluate the progress of each Ph.D. student. Prior to this meeting each student should meet with his/her advisor to prepare a report describing the student's progress, including course work, research, teaching, and thesis. A cumulative GPA that falls below 3.0 will place a student on probation. The cumulative GPA must be raised above a 3.0 by the end of the following semester to avoid dismissal from the University.

  EXAMINATIONS

  RESEARCH EXAMINATION

  The Research Examination is intended to be a strong predictor of success in Ph.D. research. The student will meet with his/her advisor to develop a topic and prepare an initial bibliography for the exam. The student will prepare a written report on the selected topic, including a critical review of related literature. The student will also have an oral exam, based on the written report.

  A detailed description of the PhD Research Examination can be found by following this "link". Students prepared to take the Research Examination can find an MS Word version of the exam request form "here". This form should be completed and returned to the department secretary. The form used by faculty to evaluate Research Exam performance is available Here.

  PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

  Following successful completion of the Research Examination, each student will prepare a dissertation proposal and take the Preliminary Examination.

  Passing this examination admits the student to Ph.D. candidacy. The dissertation proposal should be prepared in close consultation with the student's advisor, and should be available to all committee members at least one week prior to the examination. It should reflect an extensive critical literature survey, and contain an accurate assessment of the state-of-the-art in the area of research, a precise statement of the problem to be solved, motivation for pursuing the research, and evidence to the effect that there is a good likelihood the problem is solvable with reasonable effort.

  It is expected that a student will take the Preliminary Examination within 2 1/2 years of passing the Research Examination. To extend beyond 2 1/2 years, the student must request a waiver from the Graduate Program Committee.

  Successful completion of the Preliminary Examination results in agreement between the student and the committee as to what will constitute successful completion of the dissertation research. The committee may choose to reconvene the examination to allow the student to further research the problem, complete additional course work, or revise the dissertation proposal document.

  Graduate School regulations govern the Preliminary Examination. The GS Form 16 is used to report the examination results to the Graduate School. Failure to successfully complete the examination on the second trial mandates dismissal from the program.

  DEFENSE OF DISSERTATION (Final Examination)

  The Defense of Dissertation must be held in accordance with the Graduate School deadlines. At least one month before the final examination, the advisor will inform the student and the committee members of the nature and scope of the examination. The student must notify the Department at least two weeks prior to the Defense to ensure that the Defense is publicly announced so that all interested faculty and graduate students may attend.

  The Defense of Dissertation, which primarily concerns the results described in the dissertation, is conducted by the student's Graduate Advisory Committee with the advisor as chair.  It is open to the public, and typically follows the format of a seminar presentation, followed by questions and answers.  A part of the exam and the deliberations of the committee may then be conducted in private.

  Candidates who fail their Defense of Dissertation may present themselves, with permission of the committee, for one additional reexamination not earlier than two months, nor later than twelve months, after the date of the failure.

  ROUGH SCHEDULE GUIDELINES

  The time required to complete a Ph.D. is highly dependent upon the candidate. Thus, it not possible, nor even desirable, to establish a strict time line. That said, timely progress toward the degree is essential and is the responsibility of the candidate. In order to assist in planning, here is a guideline for when critical milestones toward the degree might be completed.

  Students entering without a Masters first earn a Masters and their schedule might be:

  • First 2 years, Masters
  • Year 3, Breadth requirement, Research Exam Complete
  • Year 4, Proposal and Preliminary Exam
  • Year 5, Complete Dissertation
  Students entering with a Masters
  • Year 1, Course work/Breadth Requirement
  • Year 2, Research Exams Complete
  • Year 3, Proposal and Preliminary Exam
  • Year 4, Complete Dissertation
  There are two important deadlines to keep in mind when assessing progress toward a Ph.D. First, as stated above, the Computer Science Department ordinarily imposes a limit upon the number of semesters a graduate student can receive financial support. The second deadline is one that should never come into play, but nonetheless, it has arisen as an issue in the past. It is Colorado State policy that after ten years, course credits expire and may no longer be used toward a degree.

Students who enter with an M.S. degree from another (accredited) institution receive credit for 30 regular credit hours toward total credits and requirement of 36 regular graduate credits. Students may petition the graduate committee to have specific courses from their transcript count toward the outside course requirement and the breadth requirement (from the three groups). Such students must still meet all of the other requirements at CSU, and must take at least 21 hours of 500-level or above courses at CSU.