Director of Graduate Studies

Dr. Mehmed M. Kantardzic, (502)852-3703, Email Dr. Kantardzic

General Information

The Computer Engineering & Computer Science Department (CECS) and the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department (ECE) jointly offer the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science & Engineering (CSE).  The Ph.D. degree program is intended for persons having an accredited masters and/or baccalaureate degree in computer engineering, computer science, or electrical engineering, but is available to those with other backgrounds. Applicants with other backgrounds should plan on taking some undergraduate background course work. Students interested in the Ph.D. degree program should consult the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science. The University of Louisville is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award doctoral degrees.

Admission Standards

The admission standards for the Ph.D. program in Computer Science and Engineering are as follows:

1. All admission applications for the program shall include:
   1. a completed application for the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies,
   2. an application fee,
   3. results from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE),
   4. at least two letters of recommendation, and
   5. official transcript(s) for all previous post-secondary coursework.  All transcripts not in English must be certified as authentic and translated verbatim into English.
2. The minimum requirement for admission is the baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution or current enrollment in an undergraduate Speed School program.  
3. The minimum undergraduate and graduate grade point average that will be considered for unconditional acceptance and admission to the program is 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale).
4. The minimum GRE score that will be considered for unconditional acceptance and admission is a combined Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning score of 1000 in the old GRE scale or 295 in the new scale.
5. Admission in good standing shall be made only if all admission credentials have been received, evaluated and approved and all academic requirements met.  A student may be admitted provisionally if academic requirements are met but application materials are incomplete (usually missing letters of recommendation or official transcripts and/or official score reports).  Students have one semester to furnish any credentials missing at the time of admission and may not enroll for a second consecutive term in provisional status.
6. Any conditional acceptance shall be made on an individual basis and shall require a statement of the rationale for the exception, plans for monitoring progress and performance and stated success criteria. Such justification must be provided in writing and must be accepted by the program chair and the Speed School Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.  This will allow consideration of special circumstances in which the potential for acceptable graduate performance has been clearly demonstrated by other means.
7. International students whose primary language is not English must show English language proficiency by either:
   1. total score of 80 or higher on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Internet-based test, or
   2. successfully completing the exit examination for the advanced level of the Intensive English as a Second Language Program at the University of Louisville, or
   3. demonstration of a degree award from an acceptable English language institution.

Academic Performance

The J.B. Speed School of Engineering has established the following performance policies:

1. The minimum grade point average requirement for good standing and satisfaction of degree requirements is 3.00 for all academic work completed while in graduate studies.
2. Any student who does not satisfy the published performance criteria shall be placed in probationary status.  Any student who remains in probationary status for two consecutive terms status may be considered for dismissal from the program.
3. Students receiving graduate assistantships (teaching, research or service) shall be provided adequate training and shall be required to understand and adhere to University policies related to these areas.  The performance of teaching, research and service duties by such students shall be periodically evaluated.  Students with teaching assistantships shall be evaluated annually.
4. Students who fail to meet performance goals or who do not meet other requirements as outlined in the admission letter, program requirements or the university catalog may be subject to academic dismissal from their programs.

All graduate students are expected to make steady and satisfactory progress toward the completion of degrees. Students who are not enrolled for a period of more than 12 months will be considered to have withdrawn from the program. Students who seek to return after such a period of time must contact the graduate program director.

Degree Requirements

The award of a Doctor of Philosophy degree indicates that a student has attained mastery of a field and has demonstrated the capacity to perform independent scholarly research. The following degree requirements are mandatory of all doctoral candidates:

1. The Program of Study must be completed with a 3.00 GPA or better for all academic work attempted in Graduate Studies.
2. At least two years of study must be spent at the University of Louisville.
3. One year must be spent in full-time residency (a minimum of 18 hours within a 12-month period or four terms of continuous part-time enrollment).
4. The applicant for a Doctor of Philosophy degree must pass an oral and/or written qualifying examination.  
5. Admission to candidacy must not be later than the end of the ninth month prior to the awarding of the degree. Students enter Degree Candidacy upon completion of all course work, qualifying exams, required research credit hours and other co-curricular requirements. Students who are enrolled in Degree Candidacy are considered full-time students. Enrollment in Degree Candidacy status must be continuously maintained year round (i.e. Fall, Spring, and Summer) until the degree is awarded.  
6. A dissertation is required of all candidates.
7. All candidates must pass a final oral examination. This is to be a defense of the dissertation and a demonstration of the candidate's mastery of his/her field.
8. Ordinarily the equivalent of three years of full-time graduate study is a minimum. However, the candidate must complete all requirements for the degree within four calendar years after passing the qualifying examination.

The requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree are explained in more detail at: http://louisville.edu/graduatecatalog/toc#Requirements_for_Graduate_Degrees.

Graduate Studies - Ph.D.

Normally, it is expected that the student will complete a Master’s degree before being admitted to the Ph.D. Program. However, qualified applicants may be admitted directly to the doctoral program after receiving a baccalaureate degree. These students will be required to complete an additional 30 hours of coursework at the 500 and 600 level under an individual plan developed in conjunction with the department’s Director of Graduate Studies. Also, remedial work may be specified for those applicants who, in the opinion of the faculty, do not have a sufficient background.

The minimum curricular requirements for the doctoral program are:

The Graduate Faculty of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering will be responsible for the teaching, training, and mentoring of graduate students and postdoctoral students within the Speed School. Membership in the Graduate Faculty shall be required to teach a course for which graduate credit is available and will be required to serve on a graduate student’s thesis or dissertation committee in either an advisory or chairmanship capacity. The Graduate Faculty of other units may serve as external members of the committees. Additionally, membership in the Graduate Faculty will be required to act as mentors for the supervision of research by students working toward degrees authorized through the Graduate Program within the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.

Members of the Graduate Faculty with an Ad hoc appointment can be approved by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs to teach a graduate course or serve as an advisor or chair (mentor) on a graduate thesis or dissertation committee for a limited and specified period of time upon request from the Departmental Chair.

The following departmental faculty have permanent appointments as Graduate Faculty of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering:

Badia, Antonio E.
Ph.D., Indiana University
Associate Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Chang, Dar-Jen
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Associate Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Cohn, Robert W.
Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Desoky, Ahmed H.
Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Associate Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Elmaghraby, Adel S.
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science
Chair of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Farag, Aly A.
Ph.D., Purdue University
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Frigui, Hichem
Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia
Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Graham, James H.
Ph.D., Purdue University
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Chair of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Horowitz, Barry
Ph.D., Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Imam, Ibrahim N.
Ph.D., Auburn University
Associate Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Kantardzic, Mehmed
Ph.D., University of Sarajevo, Bosnia
Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Kumar, Anup
Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Lauf, Adrian
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Lilly, John H.
Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Nasraoui, Olfa
Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia
Associate Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Ouyang, Ming
Ph.D., Rutgers University
Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Ragade, Rammohan K.
Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology
Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Rouchka, Eric Christian
D.Sc., Washington University
Associate Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Walsh, Kevin M.
Ph.D., University of Cincinnati
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Yampolskiy, Roman V.
Ph.D., University of Buffalo
Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering & Computer Science

Zurada, Jacek M.
Ph.D., Technical University of Gdansk
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering