Doctoral Program Requirements and Overview

Admission Requirements

Note: The deadline for applications to Computer Science Ph.D. program is January 15. Application forms and all required material are due on the 15th. Application entries for spring (January) and summer (June) will not be considered. Applications are considered for Fall entry only.

Thank you for your interest in our program! We are looking for bright, creative, strongly-motivated, well-rounded applicants.

Applicants must have a four-year bachelor's or equivalent degree. We place great weight on the quality of the institution. The applicant must have adequate computer science background, as determined by the admissions committee.

Applicants who begin a graduate program in computer science at another institution should complete at least a year in that program before applying to us. If the program is a master's program, we normally require completion of the program before registration here. If the program is a doctoral program, we ask for evidence of eligibility to continue that program.

GPA. We expect our entering students to have a grade point average (GPA) equivalent to at least 3.50 (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0) in all their courses as well in computer science and mathematics courses. If the institution does not use an ABC... grading system and does not publish an official algorithm for converting its grades to such a system, then we expect applicants from it to be in the top ten percent of their class.

How to Apply

Submit an electronic application which can be accessed at: http://www.iupui.edu/~resgrad/grad/apply.htm.

Complete the following items and mail them to the Department of Computer and Information Science:

• Official transcripts and evidence of degrees awarded (with English translation), if necessary
• Computer Science Application Form 1 and Form 2
• Letters of recommendations (3)
• Statement of purpose
• Copies of TOEFL reports, if appropriate
• GRE score, if appropriate
• Financial statement (international students only). The form can be obtained at http://www.cln.iupui.edu/oiapdf/engfinan.pdf

Coursework

The Following is recommended for Course Work:

• Proficiency in a programming language such as Java, C, or C++. Graduate students are expected to learn on their own whatever programming languages may be needed for the courses they take.
• Understanding of the foundational concepts of computer science.
• Familiarity with data structures and their implementations in different languages.
• An understanding of computer architecture, compilers, operating systems, the analysis of algorithms, networks, and programming languages.
• Knowledge of mathematics through differential equations, linear and matrix algebra, and numerical methods.

Graduate Record Examination

All applicants must submit their scores on the General Aptitude test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The applicants are strongly encouraged to submit scores for the Computer Science subject test.

International Students

All applicants whose native language is not English must submit scores for TOEFL. Requirement is a 600 score for paper-based and 250 for the computer-based test. Students submitting TOEFL iBT must have minimum scores of:

• Reading (19)
• Listening (14)
• Speaking (18)
• Writing (18)

An overall TOEFL i BT score of 77 is required. An IELTS band score of 6.5 is also acceptable.

Potential applicants with questions are advised to contact a graduate advisor by calling 317-274-9727.

Areas and Courses Table

Area	Course(s)
Artificial Intelligence	CSCI 57200
Databases	CSCI 54100, 54200,64100
Algorithms and Complexity	CSCI 58000, 58400
Geometric Modeling, Visualization, and Graphics	CSCI 53000, 53100, 53500, 58600, 55000
Numerical Computing	CSCI 51400, 51500, 52000,61400, 61500
Parallel and Distributed Computing	CSCI 52500, 53700, 60300
Security	CSCI 52600, 55500,62600, 65500
Simulation and Modeling	CSCI 54300, 54400
Software Engineering	CSCI 51000
Systems I (Compilers and Programming Languages)	CSCI 50200, 56500
Systems II (Networks and Operating Systems)	CSCI 50300, 53600,63600, 63800

The table of areas and courses is revised periodically. The removal of a course from the table will not alter the fulfillment of requirements already fulfilled by that course.

Qualifying Process

To qualify for the doctoral program, students must satisfy course and GPA requirements and pass the qualifying examination, which consists of two parts taken in sequence.

• Part 1 tests for breadth of knowledge in computer science and the ability to use that knowledge.
• Part 2 tests for the knowledge and ability to begin research.

Qualifying Course and Grade Requirements

Students, except as stated under Exceptions, must complete four of the 50000 -level courses (12 credits) listed in the Areas and Courses Table with grades of A or B. The choice of these four courses depends upon the interest of the student but is restricted by the availability of the courses and must include:

• -one course from Algorithms and Complexity
• -one course from Systems I (Compilers and Programming Languages)
• -one course from Systems II (Networks and Operating Systems)
• -one course from one of the other areas

Courses may be repeated. The last grade, even if lower, is used to compute all GPA's involving the course. Students must complete the course requirement by the end of their third semester.

Exceptions

Students who have taken similar graduate courses outside the department may apply to the graduate committee for permission to take the Qualifying Course Examinations without taking the courses. In such cases, the GPA for the qualifying courses is computed on the basis of only the qualifying courses taken in the department. If there be none, the GPA requirement will not be applied.

Qualifying Examination, Part 1

The Qualifying Examination, Part 1 consists of a written or oral Qualifying Course Examination (QCE)in each of the four courses chosen to satisfy the qualifying course requirements. Students must pass all four examinations. There is no prohibition against taking more than four QCEs. The QCE need not be taken in the same semester as the course.

QCEs are given at the end of each course. Students who wish to take a QCE must make their intentions known to the graduate committee at IUPUI by the end of the 12th week of the semester by submitting a QCE request form. The examining committee for each QCE is appointed by the chairs of the graduate committees at West Lafayette and IUPUI. The instructor of the course is normally a member.

QCEs may be repeated only with the permission of the graduate committee at West Lafayette. Students must pass part 1 by the end of their third semester. The QCE result will be submitted to the assistant to the head at West Lafayette.

Qualifying Examination, Part 2

The student must pass an oral examination in one of the areas in the Areas and Courses Table. Prior to scheduling the examination, the student must indicate an area of research and select a thesis advisor from the CS faculty at IUPUI and a co-advisor from the CS faculty at West Lafayette.

The examining committee consists of three faculty members, none of whom is the student's advisor, appointed by the graduate committees at West Lafayette and IUPUI in consultation with the student's advisor. Two of the members must be from the West Lafayette campus, including the student's co-advisor, and one from the IUPUI campus. The student must arrange with the examining committee members the date, time, and place of the examination and secure the approval of the assistant to the head at West Lafayette (acting for the head) to schedule the examination. The oral examination is normally held at West Lafayette.

The oral examination may be repeated once. Additional repetitions must be approved by the graduate committee at West Lafayette, and will be granted only in special cases. The oral examination must be taken after the student has passed part1 of the qualifying process and should be completed by the end of the fourth semester. The graduate committee reserves the right to appoint a committee and set an examination date for any student who has not completed the qualifying examination by that time.

Advisory Committee By the end of the semester in which the student completes the qualifying process, the student must form an advisory committee. To form the committee, the student first finds a faculty member who agrees to serve as chair of the committee; the chair and student then select two additional faculty members who are willing to serve on the committee, one must be the student's co-advisor at West Lafayette, and one must be a faculty at IUPUI.

Plan of Study

The plan of study must be approved by the advisory committee and the graduate committee at both IUPUI and West Lafayette campus. It must be filed, through the assistant to the head at West Lafayette, by the end of the semester in which the student completes the qualifying process.

The plan of study must include seven courses (21 credits) from the Areas and Courses Table (including all those taken in the department to qualify) from at least five areas in the Areas and Courses Table. No grade lower than B is acceptable, and the GPA in the seven courses must be at least 3.5. The seven courses must be completed by the end of the fourth semester in the doctoral program. In addition to the above mentioned seven courses, the plan of study must include at least five more 50000- or 60000-level courses (15 credits), other than independent study courses, approved by the student's advisory committee and relevant to the student's research. These courses need not be taken in the department, but they cannot have been used to satisfy requirements for an undergraduate degree nor can they cause the student's doctoral plan of study to include courses from more than one master's program. The grades in these five courses must be A or B, except for at most six credits of C. The grades in courses taken at other institutions must be A or B or the equivalent.

Preliminary Examination

The preliminary examination tests the student's competence in a research area and readiness for research on some specific problem. The content of the examination is at the discretion of the examining committee. The examination may consist, for example, of a presentation by the student of papers relevant to a research topic agreed upon by the student and the committee; or it may consist of a proposal for thesis research; or it may involve an oral examination over the material in appropriate courses beyond the qualifying level.

The examining committee normally will consists of the student's oral qualifying examination committee, augmented by the student's IUPUI advisor. Changes to the examination committee must be approved by the IUPUI and West Lafayette graduate committees. The preliminary examination is to be taken by the end of the third semester following the one in which the student completes the qualifying process and at least two semesters before the examination on the thesis

Thesis

The thesis must present new results worthy of publication. The student must defend the thesis publicly and to the satisfaction of the examining committee, which normally is the same as the student's preliminary Exam committee. The student's thesis defense must be held at the West Lafayette campus.

The thesis should be completed by the end of the fourth semester following the one in which the student passes the preliminary examination. The graduate committee may grant extensions.

Changes in Requirements

The Ph.D requirements as described above apply to all students entering the Department of Computer and Information Science at IUPUI as a Ph.D seeking student in Fall of 2003 or later.

Students are governed by the degree requirements in effect when they enter the Department as degree-seeking students. Students who wish to take advantage of subsequent changes may apply to the graduate committee to be governed by all degree requirements in effect at a specified subsequent time. Choosing features from different sets of requirements is not permitted.

For students re-entering, the date of the most recent re-entry determines the degree requirements.