The Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department (CECS) and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) jointly offer the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) through the Graduate School.

Admission

Typically, students who apply to the Ph.D. program will have completed a master's degree. Applicants may be granted unconditional admission if they have a Verbal and Quantitative section score on the Graduate Record Examination General Test of 1200; who have a master's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Engineering Mathematics and Computer Science from an accredited program; and whose grade point average is at least 3.25/4.0 .

Applicants with master's degrees in other branches of engineering, computer science, chemistry, physics, or mathematics may be admitted conditionally and may be required to complete up to 30 hours of undergraduate courses before being admitted to degree status. Applicants with degrees in fields other than those enumerated in this paragraph will be directed to enroll as postbaccalaureate students and complete up to 30 hours in computer hardware and software courses and may be required to complete up to 24 hours of mathematics courses in order to provide a background adequate for admission to the Ph.D. program.

After the completion of nine (9) hours of post-baccalaureate courses, a student is reviewed by the program faculty to assess the student's capacity for doctoral-level work and to assist in developing an appropriate course of study. The review is based on an evaluation of the performance of the student in courses taken for credit in the CSE program. Upon recommendation of the program faculty, a student who fails this review may repeat it at the next offering; however, the repeat may not be taken more than twice.

Computer Science and Engineering provides a broad base in both hardware and software and in the application of computer concepts to other disciplines. The core curriculum covers essential mathematics, provides a background in computer software and hardware, and includes an introduction to computationally intensive applications.

Doctoral students must complete at least two courses (six (6) hours) in each of two core areas and must complete one course in each of the remaining two core areas. They must complete a sufficient number of additional approved electives to ensure a depth of preparation in the field of Computer Science and Engineering. The four core areas are: Computer Software Engineering, Computer Hardware Engineering, Computationally Intensive Applications, and Advanced Mathematics. Each student must also complete three (3) hours of Seminar (CSE 695), but no more than three hours of CSE 695 may be credited toward the degree.

• Computer Software Engineering core courses include: CECS 504, 530, 545, 550, 608, 619, 630.
• Computer Hardware Engineering core courses include: CECS/ECE 510, ECE 515, CECS 611, ECE 630, and ECE 516/CECS 525.
• Computationally Intensive Applications core courses include: ECE 520, 545, 550, 560, 614, 618/CECS 619/CECS 633, 650, 661, 662, 670; CECS 522, 542, 622, 628.
• Advanced Mathematics core courses include: CECS 508, 511/MATH 511, 563, 615; MATH 501, 581, 660, 662, 681.

Upon the completion of the formal course work required for the Ph.D., a student must pass a written preliminary examination for admission to candidacy. The student shall prepare a formal plan of study for review by the dissertation committee soon after the formulation of the committee. This plan must be approved by the CSE Coordinator.

Each student is also required to prepare a written dissertation proposal and present it to the dissertation committee for approval. The dissertation proposal should be a sufficiently complete statement of the proposed research so that the committee can judge the originality, significance and likely success of the research. It should contain a detailed review of the previous contributions of others in the proposed area, with supporting reference citations. It should contain a clear statement of the proposed contributions, emphasizing the facets that will make this work unique, and it should include enough supporting detail and preliminary results so that an assessment of likelihood of success can be made. Appearance, format and citations should be in conformance with the requirements of the Graduate School.

After the committee has approved the dissertation proposal, the committee shall prepare a written examination pertaining to the proposal as well as background areas. This examination is called the preliminary examination. Upon successful completion of this examination, the student is admitted to candidacy status by the Graduate School.