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The Preliminary Examination is intended to assess a student’s understanding of the basic prerequisite concepts for entrance into the Doctoral program in Computer Science. It also insures that all incoming students have the ability to effectively reason with and integrate the underlying knowledge and concepts in the broad field of Computer Science. This ability is necessary to continue the student’s studies in the Doctoral program.

Students must successfully complete the Preliminary Examination within 12 months of entrance into the program. Students who join the program in August must take the exam in mid November. Students who join the program in January must take the exam in mid April. The Preliminary Examination covers three areas:

• Data Structures and Fundamentals of Programming
• Computer Operating Systems
• Design and Analysis of Algorithms

See the Preliminary Examination Guideline, the Reading List, and  in preparation for the Preliminary Examination.

Students who have passed the Preliminary Examination at the Ph.D. level  are expected to continue to broaden their general computer science background and to take courses in their areas of special interest. Before starting substantial work on a dissertation, the student is required to take the Candidacy Examination.

The Candidacy Examination is a comprehensive examination in the field of the major subject. The purpose of the Candidacy Examination is to assess the student’s readiness to conduct research in their chosen area.  The format of the Candidacy Examination will be determined by the student's Candidacy Examination Committee, which is composed of the student’s advisor and two other graduate faculty members.  The Candidacy Examination Committee must be approved by the Graduate Coordinator. The student must complete the Candidacy Examination at least one year before the Dissertation defense.

It is expected that a full-time graduate student entering the graduate program with a bachelor's degree will normally pass the Candidacy Examination prior to the end of the student's fifth calendar year at �Ը������� University. A full-time graduate student entering the Ph.D. program with a Master's degree is normally expected to pass the Candidacy Examination prior to the end of the student's fourth calendar year at �Ը������� University. Timetables for part-time students or students who transfer graduate credit from another institution will be set in consultation with the CS Graduate Coordinator. When an extension of this deadline seems to be necessary, both the student and the student's academic advisor must petition, in writing, the CS Graduate Coordinator. Extensions will only be granted by the CS Graduate Coordinator in consultation with the Graduate Studies Committee.

Candidacy Exam Guideline

The Candidacy Examination and the Research Prospectus are two distinct requirements, though they may be combined at the discretion of the Candidacy Examination Committee and the Dissertation Committee, chaired by the student’s advisor. The Candidacy Examination is expected to take place by the fourth semester or earlier, once all coursework has been completed. The Prospectus defense should occur by the sixth semester or earlier, after the dissertation topic has been identified and some preliminary research has been conducted.

Candidacy Exam Format

The Candidacy Examination consists of two parts: a written examination and an oral examination.

• Timeline: This examination will be taken when departmental requirements have been met, but it should not be taken later than nine months before the student expects to receive the degree. Students are not permitted to continue with the dissertation unless the candidacy examination requirement is satisfied.

• Committee Formation: The research advisor forms the Candidacy Examination Committee, which includes the advisor and two additional Computer Science graduate faculty members familiar with the student’s chosen research area.

• Reading List: In consultation with the committee, the advisor selects a set of papers and other materials considered fundamental in the research area and provides this reading list to the student.

• Written Examination: Approximately one month later, the written examination is administered. The student receives a set of questions prepared by the committee and submits written responses. Each committee member evaluates the student’s written answers.

• Oral Examination: The oral examination is typically held within a few weeks of the written exam. During this session, the committee discusses the student’s written responses, seeks clarification, and may pose additional related questions.

• Outcome: The committee determines the outcome (pass/fail) based on whether the student demonstrates familiarity with fundamental issues in the chosen research area, addresses them adequately, and shows readiness to engage in intensive research.

• Documentation: Upon successful completion of the Candidacy Examination, the  Report of Candidacy (DOCX)  form must be completed, signed by the advisor, the graduate coordinator, and the department chair, and then submitted to the college.

• Progression: Upon passing the Candidacy Examination, the student becomes eligible to enroll in  .

Prospectus Format

• Timeline: The Prospectus defense must be completed no later than the semester preceding the one in which the candidate intends to graduate.

• Format: The structure and format of the Prospectus defense are determined by the dissertation committee.

• Documentation: Upon successful completion of the Prospectus defense, the Approval of Dissertation Topic  form must be completed, signed by all members of the dissertation committee, the advisor, the graduate coordinator, and the department chair, and then submitted to the college.

A Dissertation describes original research performed by the student. The Dissertation topic must be approved by the advisor and Graduate Coordinator. A Dissertation committee, made up of graduate faculty, must be formed to assess the quality and value of the work. A public Dissertation defense is made by the student. The final Dissertation and defense must be approved by the advisor and Dissertation committee.

Summary of Doctoral degree requirements: Preliminary Examination, plus the Doctoral Plan of Work, plus three credits of CS 89191 Doctoral Seminar, plus nine credits major concentration course work, plus nine credits minor concentration course work, plus nine credits elective coursework or research, plus Candidacy Examination, and plus 30 credits of CS 89199 Dissertation I along with the Dissertation and defense.

DISSERTATION TOPIC AND PROSPECTUS

All students writing a dissertation are required to file a Notification of Approved Dissertation Topic and Prospectus form, which is to be signed by members of the Dissertation Committee and submitted to the Department Office for Coordinator and Chair Signature then the office will submit to Graduate Affairs.

The dissertation prospectus normally includes an outline of the parameters of a projected dissertation topic, indicating a clear statement of the problem to be undertaken, the procedure or methodology to be used in the research, a preliminary review of the literature substantiating the need for the study, and where appropriate, a discussion of the principal sources for acquiring information. Affirmation of completion of the prospectus will be contained in the Notification of Approved Dissertation Topic and Prospectus form. Each member of the Dissertation Committee will be required to approve the prospectus and indicate such approval on the Notification of Approved Dissertation Topic and Prospectus form.

The CS Graduate Coordinator, in consultation with the CS Graduate Studies Committee as necessary, will review the composition of the proposed committee for appropriate balance, and the topic for strength and suitability as a Doctoral dissertation topic.

DISSERTATION AND FINAL EXAMINATION

Two separate committees will be involved with the progress, completion, and examination of the Doctoral Candidate's dissertation. These are the Dissertation Committee and the the Examining Committee.

The Dissertation Committee

This committee is composed of graduate faculty members and is appointed by the CS Graduate Coordinator, in consultation with the CS Graduate Studies Committee as necessary, when the candidate has developed an appropriate dissertation topic and has an approved advisor. This committee will consist of a minimum of:

1. The advisor, who will act as Chairman of the Committee.
2. Two additional members from the candidate's department.
3. One faculty member from a discipline outside the department.

The advisor and at least two of the remaining three must be members of the Graduate Faculty who have been approved to direct dissertations. If a co-advisor is desired, he or she should be included in the above members. If, for warranted reasons, it is desirous to have a person on the committee who does not meet the above qualifications, special permission must be obtained from the Division of the Research and Graduate Studies. When the Dissertation Committee has been formed, a Notification of Approved Dissertation Topic and Prospectus form should be filed in the Division, with a copy for the CS Graduate Coordinator.

Responsibilities of the Dissertation Committee: This committee is responsible for the progress of the candidate's dissertation and will keep in touch with his or her research. When the advisor believes the dissertation is ready for preliminary approval, it will be circulated in easily legible form among the members of the Committee. At the time that the entire dissertation is first circulated to the Dissertation Committee.  At this time the advisor will request a  Graduate Faculty Representative to serve on the Examining Committee. The advisor must make this request online.

The advisor will allow a minimum of a ten-day period for reading of the dissertation and will then convene the Dissertation Committee (without the candidate) for the purpose of evaluating it. The Graduate Faculty Representative should be notified of this meeting and invited to attend. Recommended revisions will be noted by the advisor and communicated to the candidate, and when, in the opinion of the advisor and the candidate, the appropriate revisions have been made, the advisor will inform the department and the Division of Research and Graduate Studies.

DISSERTATION COMMITTEE

When the student has developed a dissertation topic acceptable to the advisor, a dissertation committee is convened, responsible for overseeing the progress of the candidate’s dissertation. The graduate/program coordinator appoints the members of the committee in consultation with the student and the student’s advisor. This group will consist, at least, of four members:

1. The advisor, who chairs the committee
2. Two additional members from the candidate’s program
3. One faculty member from a discipline outside the program

The advisor and two committee members must be members of the graduate faculty who have been approved to direct dissertations. The remaining members of the committee must have associate or full graduate faculty status and be approved to serve on a dissertation committee. A co-advisor, if used, will count as one of the above members.

Special permission must be obtained from the college graduate dean for anyone on the dissertation committee who does not meet the qualifications stated above.

EXAMINING COMMITTEE

When the advisor believes the candidate’s dissertation is ready for preliminary approval, the advisor will convene an examining committee. The examining committee will consist of members of the dissertation committee and an appointed graduate faculty representative. The procedures for appointing the graduate faculty representative are detailed in the procedures section below.

GRADUATE FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE

The advisor must make this request online.

Once the graduate faculty representative is appointed, the advisor will submit the dissertation to the members of the committee for a 10-day reading period of the dissertation. Following the reading period, the advisor will convene the examining committee to evaluate the dissertation. The advisor will note and communicate to the candidate any revisions recommended by the committee. When, in the opinion of the advisor and the candidate, the appropriate revisions have been made, the advisor will inform the graduate/program coordinator, the academic unit’s lead and administrator.

The principal responsibility of the graduate faculty representative is to preside and moderate the final examination (oral defense) and to note whether the nature of the questioning of the faculty and the responses of the candidate meet highly respectable scholarly standards. Any concern must be presented immediately to the college dean or designee. As moderator, the graduate faculty representative should ensure that all participants in the defense act in a civilized, polite and proper manner. The graduate faculty representative should be familiar with the procedures of the oral defense and have the authority to suspend the examination should arise that would not be conducive to a fair examination.

FINAL EXAMINATION (ORAL DEFENSE)

Upon completion of the revisions, if any, the student will be required to defend the findings before a committee of graduate faculty members, including the dissertation committee and others chosen by the academic unit and college dean. The final oral defense will be open to the university community. The procedures for the defense are detailed in the procedures section below.

PROCEDURES FOR THE FINAL EXAMINATION (ORAL DEFENSE)

When the dissertation committee meets and has agreed to proceed to the final examination, the advisor will designate the time and place of the final oral defense and notify the student and all members of the examining committee. The oral defense is open to any member of the University wishing to attend and, therefore, a facility adequate to meet this requirement should be provided. The defense should be scheduled to allow a minimum of 10 days for all members of the examining committee to review the dissertation; this is in addition to the 10-day period preceding the dissertation committee meeting. In the absence of the advisor, the lead administrator of the academic unit may postpone the oral defense. In the case of long-term absence or enduring illness of the advisor, the lead administrator, in consultation with the college graduate dean, should make appropriate arrangements for a substitute.

The dissertation must be in final form (not merely a late draft but also not necessarily the final typed copy) prior to the final oral defense. Students are permitted to number their pages in pencil to reduce the cost of final changes that may result from the oral defense. If, in the opinion of more than one member of the examining committee, the dissertation is not in acceptable final form, the oral defense will not be held. An acceptable final form refers to the substance and usefulness of the dissertation as well as the quality of the writing. The decision to halt the defense is to be determined by vote prior to the final oral examination without the candidate or others being present. If a negative vote occurs, the candidate may be called in to provide clarification.

A rescheduling of the oral defense, if necessary, will occur when, in the opinion of the advisor and the student, the dissertation has been modified to incorporate the suggested changes. The dissertation must be acceptable, with no more than one dissenting vote, before the rescheduled final oral can be held.

The final oral defense will be open to the university community. The advisor should notify the academic unit of the time and place so that it may be announced in a suitable way. The student should provide copies of the dissertation abstract to the academic unit so that it will be available to interested individuals prior to the defense to familiarize members of the graduate faculty with the methodology and findings.

Students may participate in the oral defense in a different location than the committee members (i.e., by web conferencing) if they are declared in a fully online degree program or have obtained permission in advance from the committee chair. See the policy on in the University Catalog.

The candidate will open the defense with a brief presentation of dissertation findings, after which the members of the examining committee will question the candidate in order to be determined by the moderator. When, in the opinion of the moderator, members of the examining committee have had an adequate opportunity to question the candidate, the moderator may open the examination to appropriate questions from others present. Questions dealing with the substance, meaning and usefulness of the research in the dissertation are of greatest propriety. Questions or comments dealing with punctuation or grammatical minutiae, spelling, etc., are out of order and should be written out and privately submitted to the advisor.

If, in the opinion of the moderator or upon motion duly passed by a majority of the committee, it should be deemed necessary to discontinue the defense, the moderator may recess the defense until a time mutually agreeable to the moderator, the advisor, the candidate and the college dean.

When the questioning has run its course, the moderator will adjourn the defense, and the room will be cleared of everyone except the members of the examining committee. Parliamentary procedure will be observed to determine the success or failure of the candidate, with the moderator acting as chair without a vote. The committee should evaluate the candidate upon both (a) the overall quality and significance of the dissertation, and (b) the oral defense of the findings.

All members of the examining committee will sign the Report of Final Examination form, recording their votes of “yes” or “no.” Committee members may not abstain in this vote. A candidate passes the final oral defense if there is no more than one dissenting vote. The moderator and lead administrator of the academic unit must then sign the report, which is forwarded to the college for the signature of the graduate dean. The college returns a copy of the completed form to the academic unit.

For more information please visit: /cas/graduate-forms

/graduatestudies/guide-to-graduate-education/section-7.3

FILING THE DISSERTATION

New Option:
Electronic dissertations submission is mandatory. For more information, see .

Students writing a dissertation must be formatted according to the guidelines in the current "Style Guide and Instructions for Typing Theses and Dissertations". Copies of the "Guide" are available from the College of Sciences and Humanities.

When the student is satisfied with the final preparation of his or her dissertation. The student can email it to the admin in the Graduate Affairs office to review. Submission of the student's dissertation must be by the published deadline. Deadline dates may be obtained from the College of Sciences and Humanities.

For further information on this topic, see Style Guidelines for Theses and Dissertations, as well as Theses and Dissertation Templates on the M.S. and M.A. Program page.

TIMETABLE

• "Notification of Proposed Dissertation" form filed: One year prior to final defense.
• Final version of dissertation copies to committee members: At least 20 days before final defense.
• Ph.D. defense announcement made: At least one week before final defense.
• Pre-defense meeting of Examination Committee: At least 10 days before final defense.

TIME LIMITS

All students admitted to the College of Sciences and Humanities are subject to time limits for completion of their degree. Time limits are described in more detail at

Students may request, in writing, an extension of one year over the listed time limits. Such requests should be sent to the CS Graduate Coordinator. Departments must notify the College of Sciences and Humanities if such an extension is granted. Requests of more than one year over the time limit must be approved by the College of Sciences and Humanities Graduate Affairs office.