Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

Completion of the PhD in computer science requires the following:
-A minimum of 90 quarter hours beyond the BA or BS degree
-Completion of a written dissertation that makes a significant contribution to the research literature in computer sciences
-Completion of a tool requirement.

Course selection

Of the 90 quarter hours, at least 36 must be at the 4000 level. Up to 24 credits may be taken in other relevant disciplines, as approved by the Computer Science Department Graduate Committee. Courses should be chosen in consultation with, and are subject to the approval of, the student's advisor.

Qualifying & Dissertation Examinations

Qualifying Exam
Every PhD student must pass the Qualifying Exam. It consists of two parts, the Breadth Requirement and the Written and Oral exam.
(a) Breadth Requirement
To fulfill the Breadth Requirement the student must take 5 graded courses (20 Quarter Credits) at the 3000 and 4000 level (not including independent study, internship, or independent research). At most, two may be at the 3000 level. At least three must be at the 4000 level. The course work should cover at least three distinct areas. Five areas should include a sequence of 3000 and 4000 level courses. The GPA in these courses must be at least 3.7/4.0. No course with a grade below a B may be used to fulfill this requirement. Graduate computer science courses taken at another university and transferred for credit at DU may be applied to the Breadth requirement up to a maximum of 2 courses (8 quarter credits).
(b) Written and Oral Exam
Before being admitted to this exam, the student must have fulfilled the Breadth Requirement.

The student selects an area of examination from the list of areas in Table 1. The Written part of the exam is a take home exam. It is a handed out on a Friday and is due the following Tuesday. The Oral Exam is held the following Friday. The take home exam consists of a set of research questions, a set of related papers and instructions. The student should prepare a written report of at least 10 but no more than 20 pages with answers to the questions. Study guides or other relevant material to prepare for the exam can be obtained from the chair of the examination committee. The oral portion of the exam is based on a student presentation in which the student explains and defends his/her answers. During the Oral Exam, questions in other areas of computer science may also be asked.

A failed exam may be retaken once (in the same or another area). Sufficiently prior to the exam date, the department chair will appoint an examination committee of three tenure-track faculty. One of the committee members must be in the area in which the examination will be held. The student’s advisor is allowed to be on the committee. The committee creates the take home exam and grades it. After the Oral Exam, the committee makes a recommendation to the CS faculty on whether the student passes or fails. If the faculty agrees, the committee recommendation stands. If there is a disagreement, the faculty as a whole decides.

Preliminary Examination
Following successful completion of the Qualifying 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 two weeks 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.
For full-time students, the Preliminary Examination must be taken within 5 quarters of passing the Qualifying Examination. 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. Table 1 shows a possible outline for the thesis proposal as a suggestion.
The examining committee consists of at least 3 Computer Science faculty members, including the advisor. The preliminary exam is a one hour oral closed exam.
If a student passed the preliminary exam, but subsequently switches advisor and hence topic, the preliminary exam must be repeated within one year to ensure capability of the student and feasibility of the project.

Possible Thesis Proposal Outline
1. Intro
a. Problem
b. Research questions, scope

2. Background
a. Lit search
b. Open Problems
c. Analysis with respect to research questions

3. Approach
4. Preliminary results
5. Plan for completion of work including timeline
6. Risks and risk mitigation
7. References

Thesis Defense
After the dissertation has been completed, the student must defend it in a final examination, as specified by the Office of Graduate Studies.

Tool requirement
It is strongly recommended that students satisfy their tool requirement by demonstrating proficiency in a modern computer typesetting system suitable for writing technical papers that include mathematical equations and graphics. The faculty advisor must approve the specific system used to satisfy this requirement. Other options include reading competency in two languages selected from French, German, and Russian; a series of outside courses in another discipline; or significant laboratory experience involving computer science.