Program Requirements
In effect as of February 28, 2018
These requirements are in addition to Institute-wide requirements that apply to all doctoral students, as listed in the doctoral student handbook and catalog. Students that entered before February 28th, 2018 can find previous versions of the program requirements here.
ACADEMIC CATALOG
DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Breadth Requirement
For students entering with a Master's degree in computer science or related area:
You should immediately apply for recognition of your degree. Requests for recognition of MS degrees go through the CS curriculum committee for review. Upon recognition of your MS degree, you will gain 30 course credits toward your doctoral degree and the status of PhD student, automatically satisfying the breadth requirement.
For students entering without a Master's degree in computer science or related area:
You need to earn an A- or better in at least three graduate courses from the list of PhD-level courses (reported below) , with at least one coming from each category, and complete six CS 801 credits. In addition, you must earn a B+ or better in CS 601 “Algorithmic Complexity” (typically by examination). Student are also encouraged to take CS-960 research credits. The breadth requirement must be completed by the end of the 1st year. Upon completion you attain the status of PhD student.
Ph.D.-level Courses
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- CS-532 3D Computer Vision
- CS-541 Artificial Intelligence
- CS-558 Computer Vision
- CS-559 Machine Learning: Fundamentals and Applications
- CS-582 Causal Inference
- CS-587 Game Engine Design
- CS-598 Visual Information Retrieval
Systems and Languages
- CS-510 Principles of Programming Languages
- CS-516 Compiler Design
- CS-522 Mobile Systems and Applications
- CS-549 Distributed Systems and Cloud Computing
- CS-576 Systems Security
- CS-577 Reverse Engineering and Application Analysis
- CS-609 Data Management and Exploration on the Web
- CS-643 Formal Verification of Software
- CS-655 Forensic Analysis
- CS-676 Advanced Topics in Systems Security
- CS-677 Parallel Programming for Many-core Processors
- CS-696 Database Security
Qualifying Exam
The qualifying exam consists of two parts, one oral, and one written. The exam must be completed no later than a year after attaining the status of Ph.D. student, though it is recommended that students attempt it earlier. Upon qualification, Ph.D. students become Ph.D. candidates.
Oral Part
The oral part of the qualifying exam is an oral examination on a syllabus consisting of research papers, prepared jointly by the student and a committee that includes the advisor and two tenure-track faculty members. The goal is to establish scholarship in an area of research. The oral examination consists of a presentation, followed by open-door questions from the audience and committee and closed-door questions from the committee. The committee can pass, fail, or request re-examination (either written or oral).
Written Part
The written part consists of earning a B+ or better in CS 601 “Algorithmic Complexity” (typically by examination). Enrollees who enter the PhD program without the status of “PhD student” satisfy this part of the qualifying exam while clearing the breadth requirement.
Doctoral Signature Credit Seminar
PhD candidates must take the Doctoral Signature Credit Seminar (PRV 961) before their thesis proposal.
Thesis Proposal
Students must write and present a thesis proposal, where they lay out an intended course of research for their dissertation. The proposal should contain an explanation of the problem and why it is important, a sketch of the proposed solution, and background information that serves to indicate that the problem is unsolved and what prior or related approaches to this or similar problems have already been investigated. The written proposal must be distributed and read by a committee, comprising the persons that are expected to form the student’s dissertation defense committee. The presentation of the thesis proposal is open to the public and it is followed by open-door questions from the audience and committee and closed-door questions from the committee. The committee can pass, fail, or request additional material from the student.
Important Dates:
- The proposal document must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks before the presentation date.
- The presentation of the thesis proposal must be announced by email (on the CS-faculty and CS-PHD-students lists) at least one week in advance.
Dissertation and Thesis Defense
The department follows the Stevens-wide procedures for the dissertation defense, including committee composition. The defense must be announced at least two weeks in advance on the cs-faculty and cs-phd-students mailing lists; this is in addition to the required Stevens-wide announcement originating with the Registrar's office. At least one manuscript based on dissertation work must be published on peer-reviewed conference proceedings or journal, at the time of the dissertation defense, and the thesis document must be in the hands of the committee at least six weeks in advance. For more information please refer to the online catalog. The committee can ask major or minor revisions, or fail the student. If major revisions are requested, at least a month of time is required for the student to make the changes and submit an updated dissertation. The amount of time given to the student to make revisions will not exceed 9 months, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Timeline Summary
The following summarizes the major milestones in the CS PhD program.
- Admission to PhD program: every enrollee is assigned an advisor
- Attainment of status of PhD student:
- Students with recognized MS degree (upon joining)
- Completion of breadth requirement (by the end of 1st year)
Attainment of status of PhD candidate: Completion of the qualifying exam (1 year after attaining the status of PhD student, earlier recommended)
Completion of Doctoral Signature Credit Seminar (PRV 961)
Submission and defense of their thesis proposal (as mandated by Institute-wide regulations)
Submission and defense of their thesis (as mandated by Institute-wide regulations)
Research Credits (CS-960)
The following limits for research credits apply to doctoral students based on their status, as mandated by Institute regulations:
| Status |
Maximum Number of Research Credits (CS-960) |
| Enrollee (before becoming Ph.D. student) |
6 |
| Ph.D. Students (before becoming Ph.D. candidates) |
18 |
| Ph.D. Candidates |
No limit |
Past Program Requirements
Requirements in effect on November 2, 2016.
VIEW PAST PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
