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Informational Text

The Computing PhD program provides students with advanced, research-based, studies in the field of Computing to prepare them for research and development positions in the private and public sectors as well as academic positions in universities and colleges. In addition to the traditional and well-established, research methods, the program encourages multidisciplinary research approaches and prioritizes research problems with direct economic and community impacts.

The Cybersecurity concentration focuses on on studying concepts, theories, and security underpinning of computing and communication systems with the aim of developing innovative solutions for improving the security of computing environments and contributing to the cybersecurity literature.

The Computing PhD program with Cybersecurity concentration requires a total of 72 graduate credit hours beyond the undergraduate degree. Course work accounts for 48 credits. The PhD dissertation is research-based and accounts for a minimum of 24 credit hours.

Application Requirements

• Three letters of recommendation
• A recent resume
• A state of purpose, not exceeding 500 words
• GRE verbal and quantitative scores

Entrance/Admissions Requirements

• A four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution, or its equivalent from a foreign institution, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher in all work attempted in the last 60 credit hours of undergraduate study.
• If the applicant has a graduate degree in a Computing field, graduate courses may be considered if the undergraduate GPA is less than 3.0.
• If the previously earned degrees (undergraduate or graduate) were not in a Computing field, completion of the following background subjects at the undergraduate level is required before enrolling in any graduate courses:
  • Procedural and Object-Oriented Programming
  • Data Structures
  • Applied Discrete Mathematics
  • Databases
  • Computer Networks
  • Grades of "B" or above are required in any undergraduate preparatory course work taken at ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ.
• A minimum score of 150 in the GRE verbal section.
• A minimum score of 155 in the GRE quantitative section.

Program Requirements

• A minimum of 72 credits beyond the baccalaureate degree
  • A minimum of 48 credits of graduate coursework
  • A minimum of 24 credits of doctoral dissertation research
• Successful completion of the qualification process
• Successful completion of the candidacy process
• Successful completion of the defense examination
• Approval of PhD dissertation

Graduate Coursework (48 Credits)

• A minimum of 48 credits of graduate coursework
• Student may transfer a maximum of 30 relevant graduate credits toward the coursework requirement. Graduate director approval is required.
• No coursework credits older than 10 years can be counted toward fulfilling the program requirements.
• A maximum of six credits of directed independent studies is allowed. Graduate Director approval is required.
• A graduate course in Research Methods in Computing is required.
• A maximum of 6 credits can be at the 5XXX level. Graduate director approval is required. The reminder of the course work must be at the 6XXX or 7XXX level.

Following is a partial list of acceptable graduate courses. Graduate director approval is required for all graduate course registrations. Past 30 credits, students must consult with their PhD supervisor before seeking graduate director approval.

CEN6001 Software Requirements Engineering
CEN6016 Engineering of Software
CEN6036 Software Architecture
CEN6070 Software QA & Testing
CEN6079 Secure Software Development
CEN6086 Cloud Computing
CEN6940 Computing Practicum
CIS5930 Special Topics in CIS
CIS5949 Experiential Studies in Computing
CIS6371 Applied Cryptography
CIS6372 Information Assurance
CIS6900 Directed Individual Study
CIS6913 Research Methods in Computing
CIS6930 Special Topics in CIS
CIS7931 Computing Research Seminar
CIS7932 Emerging Topics in Cybersecurity
CIS7980 Dissertation Research
CNT5505 Computer Networks
CNT6167 Internet of Things
CNT6407 Internet Security
CNT6519 Wireless Network Security
CNT6707 Network Architecture
COP5615 Operating Systems
COP6284 Programming for Data Science
COP6611 Advanced Operating Systems
COP6616 Parallel Computing
COT6405 Design & Analysis of Algorithms
COT6416 Computational Complexity

PhD Supervision

Every entering PhD graduate student must attend the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ Computing New Graduate Student Orientation, usually given right before or at the beginning of Fall and Spring semesters. The student must form a dissertation committee and identify a dissertation supervisor, who is a Graduate Faculty member and will chair this committee, by the completion of 30 credits in the program (post Bachelor). The dissertation committee will consist of 4 members including the dissertation supervisor. One of the remaining three committee members may be from outside the School of Computing, including from another University/institution. All committee members should be familiar with the student’s area of research. The dissertation supervisor plays a significant role in directing the dissertation research and the selection of the next 18 course credits of the student’s program of study; 6 of these 18 credits may be DIS credits (thus the DIS courses are assumed to be taken after the completion of 30 credits).

The Qualification Process

A student becomes eligible to start the qualification process upon completing 36 program credits with an average program GPA of at least 3.0 and having a publication within the last 5 years in a high-quality computing venue, preferably with a program faculty coauthor. Recent notices of acceptance will be considered. The School Director appoints a qualification review committee of two or more program faculty, in consultation with the graduate director and the student’s PhD supervisor. The committee will evaluate the student’s research portfolio, including pertinent
graduate course grades and publications. As part of the qualification review process, the committee will schedule a public research talk by the student. Upon successful completion of the qualification process, qualified students are expected to register for at least 6 program applicable credits during each subsequent fall and spring term, including at least 3 dissertation credits. Students who do not successfully pass the qualification process, may apply for a second and final time in a future semester. Students who cannot pass the qualification process after two attempts become eligible for suspension. Students who successfully complete the qualification process must graduate within five academic years; else they will be eligible for suspension

The Candidacy Process

Students may apply for candidacy with the PhD supervisor's approval, after a committee has been formed, after the qualification process has been successfully completed, and after completing at least 6 dissertation research credits. The graduate director verifies the student's eligibility to apply for candidacy. The purpose of the PhD Candidacy process is to certify the scope and validity of the student's proposed research, and the student's ability to perform the work. The PhD supervisor must notify the graduate director of the student’s intention to seek candidacy no later than two weeks after the beginning of the semester. The candidacy process entails the submission of a written PhD proposal and presenting the said proposal to the dissertation committee. The student will be given one or two written questions by each committee member and is expected to provide written answers to those questions. The committee members vote on the student’s candidacy. No later than one week before the end of the semester, the PhD supervisor will notify the graduate director of the results of the candidacy vote. The candidacy process is administrated by the PhD supervisor. If the student’s candidacy is denied, the student may apply for a second and final time in a future semester. The new candidacy application may involve a different committee formation. Students who cannot pass the candidacy process after two attempts become eligible for suspension.

The Defense Examination

All PhD students are required to complete and defend a dissertation of publishable quality. Student must complete at least 24 dissertation credits and at least 48 coursework credits including the current semester registered credits, at least six dissertation credits after successful completion of the candidacy process excluding the current semester registered credits, and have a minimum program GPA of 3.0 to be eligible to schedule dissertation defense. The dissertation must be a product of an independent investigation, including a basic research component, that constitutes an original contribution to Computing. Projects that solely demonstrate an application of computer technology to a new problem area will not be acceptable. The defense must occur after completion of research and all other work prescribed by the dissertation supervisor. The student must be registered for at least three hours of CIS 7003 Dissertation Research during the term in which the defense is scheduled and the term in which the degree will be conferred. A draft of the dissertation must be submitted to all Dissertation Committee no later than 10 business days before the scheduled date of the defense. The format of the dissertation must conform to the requirements of the Graduate School.

The dissertation title along with an abstract should be posted on electronic and standard bulletin boards at least two weeks in advance so that interested students and faculty may attend. A general-audience abstract along with an announcement must be submitted to the Graduate Director for posting. This information must be announced by the graduate director no later than 5 business days after receiving notification from the dissertation supervisor regarding the student's intent to defend.

The dissertation must be approved by the dissertation committee, the School of Computing, and the Graduate School. The dissertation must be submitted to the Graduate School in electronic form. If the dissertation is not approved by the Graduate School deadline of the semester in which it was defended, the student will be required to register for one credit hour of dissertation every subsequent semester until the dissertation is fully approved by the Graduate School deadline of the semester.

The defense will consist of two parts: an open part and a closed part. During the open part, the student gives a one-hour presentation on the dissertation work. During this presentation, members of the audience may ask questions. Then the student's Dissertation Supervisor will ask the audience to leave the room to begin the closed section of the defense. The student's Dissertation Committee members and other faculty may ask the student more detailed questions during the closed section. The student will then leave the room while the Dissertation Committee prepares its decision. The dissertation must be approved by the committee, the School, and the graduate school. If the student's dissertation is not approved by the end of the semester in which he/she defends the dissertation, the student will be required to register for one credit hour of dissertation until the final submission of the dissertation or the time of graduation. The defense may be attempted at most two times.