Program of Study
The Computer Science PhD program is divided up into a series of milestones which every student progresses through on the way to the degree.
Breadth Component
After admission, a student begins to work on fulfilling the breadth requirement. The breadth component of the program is intended to give students a view into a variety of areas within computing. Each student must take classes in 5 of the 13 areas of computer science. The 13 areas are:
|
|
Of the five different courses, one must be from the Theory area and one must be from the Systems area. Students must earn an A or B in all of these courses, and more As than Bs total.
Students who have taken graduate level courses elsewhere before entering the program can petition to have those classes count towards filling the breadth requirement.
Breadth Component Areas and Classes
Breadth Area |
Classes |
|---|---|
| Computational Science and Engineering | CSE 6140 Computational Science and Engineering Algorithms [offered as CS 8803 CEA, Fall 07] CSE 6220 High Performance Computing CSE 6730 Modeling and Simulation: Fundamentals & Implementation CSE/Math 6643 Numerical Linear Algebra [offered as CS 8803NMC,Fall 07] CSE/ISYE 6740 Computational Data Analysis |
| Computer Architecture | CS 6290 High Performance Parallel Architectures |
| Database Systems | CS 4420 Database System Implementation CS 6400 Database System Concepts CS 6411 Object-Oriented Database Models and Systems CS 6421 Parallel and Distributed Database Systems and Applications CS 6430 Temporal, Spatial, and Active Databases |
| Graphics & Visualization | CS 4451 Computer Graphics CS 6430 Temporal, Spatial, and Active Databases CS 6480 Computer Visualization Techniques CS 6490 3D Modeling and Graphics CS 6780 Medical Image Processing CS 7490 Advanced Image Synthesis CS 7495 Computer Vision CS 7496 Animation CS 7497 Virtual Reality CS 7635 Computational Perception |
| Human Computer Interaction | CS 6455 User Interface Design and Evaluation CS 6456 Principles of User Interface Software CS 6470 Design of Online Communities CS 6750 Human-Computer Interaction CS 7450 Information Visualization CS 7460 Collaborative Computing CS 7470 Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing |
| Information Security | CS 6238 Secure Computer Systems CS 6260 Applied Cryptography CS 6262 Network Security CS 6265 Information Security Lab CS 8803 Foundations of Cryptography CS 8803 Formal Modeling and Analysis of Computer Systems |
| Intelligent Systems | CS 4495 Computer Vision CS 4616 Pattern Recognition CS 4632 Advanced Robotics CS 4641 Machine Learning CS 6795 Introduction to Cognitive Science CS 7495 Computer Vision CS 7620 Case-based Reasoning CS 7630 Autonomous Robotics CS 7631 Multi Robot Systems CS 7635 Computational Perception CS 7641 Machine Learning CS 7650 Natural Language Understanding CS 7695 Philosophy of Cognition CSE 6740 Computational Data Analysis |
| Learning Sciences and Technology | CS 6450 Educational Technology: Foundations CS 7465 Educational Technology: Design and Evaluation CS 7467 Computer Supported Collaborative Learning CS 8803 Cognition and Education |
| Networking and Communications | CS 6250 Computer Networks CS 6280 Performance Evaluation and Communication Networks CS 7250 Broadband Networking Systems CS 7260 Internetworking Architectures and Protocols CS 7270 Networked Applications and Services |
| Programming Languages and Compilers | CS 6241 Design and Implementation of Compilers CS 6245 Compiling for Parallelism CS 6390 Programming Language Design CS 8803 Advanced Compiler Analysis and Optimization CS 8803 Analysis and User of Software Artifacts CS 8803 Object-Oriented Systems and Languages |
| Software Methodology and Engineering | CS 6300 Software Development Process CS 6310 Software Architecture and Design CS 6320 Software Requirements Analysis and Specification CS 6330 Software Generation, Testing, and Maintenance CS 8803 Program Analysis CS 8803 Formal Modeling and Analysis of Computing Systems |
| Systems | CS 6210 Advanced Operating Systems CS 6290 High-Performance Computer Architectures |
| Theory | CS 6505 Computability, Algorithms, and Complexity CS 6520 Computational Complexity Theory CS 6550 Design and Analysis of Algorithms CS 7510 Graph Algorithms CS 7520 Approximation Algorithms CS 7530 Randomized Algorithms |
Minor
The minor is a sequence of non-College of Computing courses with a coherent theme, totaling 9 credit hours. Their theme should somehow relate to the subject of the student's thesis and research.
The classes must be taken for a letter grade, with at least a "B" average. Courses should be at the graduate level, but one approved 4000-level course may be used. No more than three of the hours may be directed research.
After completing all the minor classes, download and fill out the Minor form.
Qualifying Exam
As a student's research progresses, he or she must select a primary, and possibly secondary, area of focus from the areas of research in the College and then pass a Qualifier in that area or areas. The Qualifier is a student's first step toward achieving candidacy in the doctoral program. This Qualifier functions as Georgia Tech's Comprehensive Examination.
Examination
The Qualifier consists of three parts:
- A one-day written examination covering the pertinent research area(s). It will typically be near the tenth week of the semester. All students taking the exam at the same time in an area take the same exam. This component evaluates the student's depth of knowledge in his or her chosen areas.
- The submission of a high-quality research deliverable, as evidenced by a portfolio consisting of an exam-committee-reviewed and publishable article, and possibly other work products as approved by the exam committee. This component evaluates the student's creative and research abilities, along with the potential to do dissertation research.
- An oral presentation and examination which also allows for follow-up on the first two parts.
The Exam Committee
The student must identify a research advisor and an exam committee of at least three other faculty from the area to oversee the Qualifier.
Results
- The exam committee is responsible for determining if a student has passed the Qualifier. The results of the Qualifier will be communicated to the PhD. coordinator by the respective area advisor. The student should fill out the Qualifier Form after passing the Exam.
- Each student is allowed two opportunities to pass both the area knowledge and creativity components of the examination. The two components are treated independently, so a student need not pass both at the same time. Students who are not able to pass the Qualifier after two attempts will be encouraged to seek a Master's degree, and they will not be able to continue in the doctoral program.
- After successfully completing the Qualifier, student focuses on research leading toward a dissertation. Students should register for doctoral dissertation hours (CS 9000) after passing the Qualifier rather than registering for Special Problems (CS 8903).
-
The topic of the student's research is formalized through both a written dissertation proposal and an oral presentation.[link to PhD proposal page].
REGISTERING
Students need to register for a Qualifier prep course during the term they plan to take the Qualifier:
- CS 8902PHD - Register for between 3-6 pass/fail hours. This course is permit only. Email your permit request to the PhD Coodinator in Student Services.
DECLARE INTENT
At the beginning of each semester, the PhD. coordinator will send out a message to all PhD. students asking for the names of those who want to take the Qualifier that semester. Students who intend to take the exam must respond to this message.
ATTEND THE ORIENTATION MEETING
In a meeting soon thereafter, the PhD. coordinator will explain the process to these students. A date for the exam will also be set during this meeting.
TAKE THE WRITTEN EXAM
On the exam day, pick up the exam from Barbara at 9am. If you are from another building, you can pick it up from her at 8.45am. You have until 5 p.m. that day to complete the exam. Return your exam to the PhD. coordinator by 5 p.m. that day. Again, if you are from another building, you have until 5:15 p.m. to return the exam.
PUT TOGETHER A RESEARCH PORTFOLIO
In consultation with your advisor and the committee, assemble a research portfolio before the oral exam. The nature of the portfolio is decided by the committee. The portfolio shall be handed over to the exam committee at least one week prior to the oral exam.
SCHEDULE THE ORAL EXAM
Schedule an oral exam in consultation with the committee. The oral exam should preferably be held before the end of the semester. The oral exam date and the names of the exam committee members should be communicated to the PhD coordinator in Student Services.
Thesis Proposal
The PhD. proposal consists of:
- A proposal document written by the student in which he/she will propose the research work to be undertaken as part of his/her doctoral work and a schedule for completion
- An oral defense of the proposal document
Committee
PhD. proposal will be administered by the student's thesis advisory committee (the advisor plus at least two other faculty members), chosen jointly by the student and the advisor. A majority of the members of the advisory committee must hold their primary appointments on the College of Computing faculty. It is a good practice to have all members (including the external committee member) of your dissertation defense committee in your proposal committee.
Proposal Announcement
The proposal must be announced publicly to the College at least one week prior to the date of the oral defense. Please provide a copy of the announcement to PhD Coordinator in Student Services.
Format
There is no fixed format for the oral defense. The advisor, as the chair of the committee, conducts the examination. Here is a typical way in which it may be run:
- The student will make a presentation to the committee and others present.
- After the presentation there is a question and answer period. The chair then asks everyone other than the committee members and Georgia Tech faculty to leave. The committee members then have an opportunity to ask more questions. Then the student is asked to leave.
- The committee deliberates and then decides whether the student has passed the proposal defense. They give feedback to the student on the proposal either individually or through the advisor.
A student must have passed the qualifying examination to do a PhD. proposal. A student who has passed the proposal defense and has also completed all course requirements (except the minor), maintaining a satisfactory scholastic record, has achieved PhD. candidacy and should submit the Candidacy form.
Dissertation Defense
Before the announcement of the public PhD. dissertation defense, your advisor must approve that the dissertation is ready to be given to the dissertation committee, and the dissertation committee must approve that the dissertation is ready for the public dissertation defense. Before giving this approval, the entire committee is expected to have read the dissertation and to have given comments to the student. The committee must approve that a substantial and defensible portion of the dissertation has been completed. Three (3) weeks is a reasonable amount of time for reading the dissertation.
After the approval, the candidate’s academic department must announce the public dissertation defense at least fifteen (15) days in advance, and it must forward this announcement together with the names of the dissertation committee to the Office of Graduate Studies and Research.
The public dissertation defense starts with a presentation by the candidate and is followed by a question-answer period. The advisor, who is the chair of the committee, determines who may ask questions and in which order and brings the discussion to a close at the appropriate time. The question-answer period is followed by a closed-door session attended by only the members of the PhD. dissertation committee and interested Georgia Tech faculty.
The dissertation committee must take one of the following actions:
- To approve the dissertation without corrections.
- To approve the dissertation with minor corrections, to be approved by the advisor only.
- To require a resubmission with major changes and re-approval by the entire committee.
- Not to approve the dissertation.
The dissertation committee may recommend one additional defense if the dissertation is resubmitted with major changes or if the dissertation is not approved.
The candidate must make any corrections deemed necessary by the dissertation committee and the committee must sign the dissertation approval form after the dissertation has been approved. The format of the dissertation must meet the published institute guidelines.
The candidate must submit the dissertation and the signed dissertation approval form to the Georgia Institute of Technology Office Graduate Studies and Research by the deadline published by the Institute. The deadline is typically 12-14 days before last day of classes. Check the official school calendar.
Committee
As mentioned above, your advisor is the chair of your dissertation defense committee. Your committee should be formed of at least five people. At least one faculty member must be from outside CoC (from another unit at Tech or an outsider, and should have a Ph.D.), but the majority must have some CoC faculty appointment.
Note: You only need to have three people on your committee at the time of your proposal, but it is recommended that you have all five members at that time. All members of your committee should be present for the defense; however, in hardship cases, measures such as conference calls can be used as well.
Advertising the defense
The Graduate Studies office asks that you post an announcement of the defense to the git.cc.general and git.announce newsgroups. This should be done at least fifteen (15) working days prior to the defense. The announcement should consist of the day/time/place of the defense, title, abstract, and a list of the committee members. Please provide an electronic copy of this announcement to the PhD Coordinator in Student Services so that she may forward it to the GT Graduate Studies department.
