Degree Requirements

If accepted into the Program, matriculated students are bound by the following regulations and policies.

Time Limit for the Ph.D.
All requirements for the degree must be completed no later than eight years (16 semesters) after matriculation. A student who matriculated after the completion of 30 credits of acceptable course work (i.e., after having completed a master’s degree in computer science, or a related field) must complete all academic requirements within seven years.
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Residency Requirements
At least 30 of the credits for the doctoral degree must be taken in residence at the City University of New York. Doctoral students are expected to spend one year in full-time or certified full-time residence at the City University. This consists of a schedule of no fewer than seven credits, or the equivalent, for each of two consecutive semesters.
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Registration Requirements
Matriculated students in the Program are required to be "in status," that is to say, either officially registered for course work and/or research activity, or on approved leave of absence for each and every semester until the completion of all degree requirements. An "out of status" student risks disciplinary action up to and including dismissal from the Program and automatic withdrawal from The Graduate Center. International students should consult the Office of International Students for guidelines concerning the special considerations under which leaves of absence can be granted them.
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Course Requirements
Each student is required to complete a minimum of 60 credits of approved graduate courses, each with grades no lower than "B." Students entering the program who have completed graduate course work in computer science, or a related field, prior to entry into the program may petition the Executive Officer to evaluate this course work for the purpose of advancing credit toward the doctorate. Transferable course work must have been completed within an appropriate time period preceding the time of application and be equivalent to comparable courses at the City University. No transfer credit will be given for any courses completed at other institutions with final grades lower than "B." Similarly, no credit can be transferred for courses for which the student received an "incomplete" or for which no grade has been entered on the student's official transcript. A maximum of 30 acceptable graduate credits taken prior to admission into the Ph.D. Program in Computer Science may be applied to the degree.
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Examination Requirements

The First Examination
New matriculants in the Ph.D. Program in Computer Science are required to take and pass a series of six required courses during their first year of study. Generally, three of these classes are offered in the Fall semester and three in the Spring.

These classes are:

After successfully completing these classes, a student is required to sit for the First Examination, which is a written examination based on the material presented in the aforementioned classes. The exam is divided into five areas (* CSc 80000 is not included on the First Exam), with the same titles as above. In order to pass this exam, students must show proficiency in four of the five areas. The exam lasts four hours and is offered in one sitting. As with any examination or academic requirement, it is the student's responsibility to inform the Executive Officer before sitting for the exam of any special consideration concerning the exam's administration which should be afforded an individual student. Appeals for special administration or consideration with reference to this exam will not be considered ex post facto.

This exam is considered a whole exam; students who fail are required to repeat the entire exam. Partial credit for areas passed during a previous attempt at the exam will not be given. Students who fail this exam on a first attempt are required to retake the five required courses as auditors, and retake the exam at the end of the next academic year. Students may not advance to Second- Level status without successfully completing this requirement.

According to Graduate Center policy, students are required to pass this examination by the time they have completed 45 credits. Failure to meet this requirement by that time may result in dismissal from the Program. Students are given two opportunities to pass this examination.

Failure or refusal to sit for this exam can lead to expulsion from the Program for failure to make satisfactory progress toward the completion of the degree.

The Second Examination
During a student's course of study, he or she is to choose an advisor from among the doctoral faculty under whose supervision the student will continue to work toward the goal of producing a defendable dissertation.

When the student has finished all required coursework and has also passed the First Examination, he or she will continue to register for coursework, for independent study or "on record" for each semester until the individual can be advanced to candidacy.

With the advisor, the student will

(1) Come to a mutually agreed-upon topic in which to continue research and

(2)notify the Executive Officer, in writing, that the advisor and student have come to this understanding. The Executive Officer will then oversee the formation of a Second Examination Committee.

This committee must include at least two members of the doctoral faculty in Computer Science or a related interdisciplinary field. This committee will oversee the students completion of the remaining academic requirements.

The Second Exam consists of two parts. In order to complete the first part of this exam successfully, a student, in consultation with his/her Second Examination Advisory, shall prepare a list of publications (books, or sections of books; relevant papers, journals, etc.) to be used as source material. This list will be given to the Executive Officer and will be made publicly available.

Following this, the student will give an oral presentation based on this document and reading list in the presence of the student's examining committee. This presentation will be considered a meeting held in public to which students and faculty will be invited.

When a student has met these conditions to the satisfaction of his or her Second Examination Committee, the student will be deemed to have passed the first portion of the Second Examination.

Should a student significantly change the area of intended research in the interim between the successful completion of the first and second portions of the exam, the student's Second Examination Committee may require that the student show proficiency in another area of computer science more closely related to the new topic of research by passing another examination in the same format.

The Second Portion of the Second Examination

The student's Examination Committee will judge the student's oral presentation and Dissertation Proposal at the oral portion of this exam. This is considered as the second portion of the Second Exam and as the Dissertation Proposal. The Oral exam is considered a meeting held in public at which other Faculty members and students may attend.

A student may not take any portion of the Second Examination until he or she has successfully satisfied the Program's First Examination requirement. Download specific guidelines.
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Research Tool
Before advancing to candidacy, a student is required to show high-level programming proficiency. Students will satisfy this requirement by submitting to the Executive Officer a large computer program, written by themselves. It must include relevant documentation. The program may be one written in industry; one which the student has have developed independently; or, that he or she has developed as part of a course requiring such a program be written as part of its syllabus.
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Advancement To Candidacy
Before a student can be certified as a candidate for the Ph.D., he or she must have successfully completed all required course work, fulfilled all residency and examination requirements, and research tool requirements. No student may defend a dissertation without first being advanced to candidacy. Students who are advanced to candidacy may apply for a master of philosophy degree from the Office of the Registrar. Regulations and instructions for this are explained in the Graduate School Bulletin.

Once a student is advanced to candidacy, he or she is considered a Third Level Student for the purposes of assessing tuition.
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Dissertation
The student must complete a dissertation based on original research in one of the areas of specialization under the guidance of his/her Faculty advisor and Advisory Committee. This Committee consists of a minimum of three CUNY doctoral faculty members and one "outside member" – deemed a subject matter expert, with no official relationship to the City University of New York. This committee is formed by the student, his or her advisor, the student’s Advisory Committee and is subject to the approval of the Program’s Executive Committee.

After the dissertation has been approved by the Committee, the student must successfully defend it in a final oral examination to which all Doctoral Students and Faculty will be invited. Rules concerning the dissertation format required by Graduate Center policy to are available at the Dissertation Assistant's Office in the Mina Rees’ Library.
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