Department of Computer Science

• Ph.D. Overview and Requirements
• Annual Reviews

Ph.D. Program

The purpose of the Doctor of Philosophy program in computer science is to prepare students for research and teaching positions in universities and colleges, and for research and leadership positions in industry and government. The primary aim of the program is to train students in the methods of scientific inquiry and independent research. This is accomplished through advanced coursework and active participation with the faculty in their research programs. Doctor of Philosophy students are expected to have a broad knowledge of all fields of computer science and have a deep understanding of at least one of its areas. In addition to this requirement, a Doctor of Philosophy student must be up to date in all the developments in his/her major area of specialization. The most important component of the Doctor of Philosophy program is learning to perform independent and significant research in one's area of specialization.

Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree typically are completed in four to five years, depending on whether or not a student enters the program with an M.S. in computer science.

Financial Support

All PhD applicants are considered for campus and departmental fellowships, including but not limited to, the Doctoral Scholar Fellowship, Chancellor's Fellowship, Regent's Special Fellowship, Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, Citrix Fellowship, Clare Boothe Luce Fellowship, Lisa Kaz Fellowship, and the Eugene Cota Robles Fellowship.

Admitted PhD students are typically given financial aid to fully support them throughout their studies, based on meeting our program requirements. PhD students may be funded by a combination of Fellowships, Research Assistantships and/or Teaching Assistantships.

Optional Emphasis- Computational Science and Engineering

The Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) emphasis focuses on the integration of techniques and methodologies from Computer Science and Mathematics, for the solution of state-of-the-art, large-scale problems from science and engineering. The emphasis is offered in the Departments of Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, and Geological Sciences. Students electing the CSE emphasis pursue a Master's or Ph.D. degree in their home department and take core and elective CSE courses. For more information please visit the CSE website, http://www.cse.ucsb.edu.

Optional Emphasis - Technology and Society

In January 2006, the University created a new optional PhD Emphasis in Technology and Society. The Emphasis is designed for students whose interests involve technology and society, and who seek perspectives from disciplines other than their own. Faculty teaching in the program come several disciplines including: Anthropology, Communication, Computer Science, English, History, Media Arts and Technology, Political Science, and Sociology. For more information, please read their website at http://www.technology-society.ucsb.edu/.

Optional Emphasis - Cognitive Science

The Cognitive Science emphasis provides an opportunity for students to participate in an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of a number of existing disciplines, such as psychology, linguistics, computer science, philosophy, and neuroscience, focused on the study of cognition – thinking, learning, and intelligence. Cognitive Science seeks to understand the processes and representations underlying intelligent action. Faculty in the program come from several departments. For program requirements and other information about the emphasis, visit the Cognitive Science program website at http://www.cogsci.ucsb.edu/.

Course Requirements

To ensure sufficient breadth at the graduate level, Ph.D. students must complete at least 8 graduate courses (four by the end of their first year) with a GPA of at least 3.5, and a grade in each course of at least 3.0.

The courses are classified into Foundations, Systems and Applications. Students must follow a 2-2-1+3 model: 2 courses must be selected from one category, 2 courses from a second category, and 1 course from the remaining category. The remaining 3 courses are free electives and can be taken from any category or from other courses that do not fall into one of the above categories. The Course Classification list is below.

The set of courses that students plan to take must be endorsed by their academic advisor and the Graduate Advisor. Students have to file a petition to count a graduate course taken at another university towards the PhD course requirement. A graduate course taken at another university can be counted towards the PhD course requirement if 1) endorsed by the academic advisor, 2) endorsed by a Department of Computer Science Faculty who is teaching a corresponding graduate course and 3) approved by the Graduate Advisor. Students should provide a course syllabus or description to be reviewed and endorsed by the academic advisor and the course owner.

An approved study plan must be on file to complete the Ph.D. The study plan form can be found here.

Note: the contents of a course may change over time; the course will be reclassified in such cases or students may petition to this effect.

Exam Requirements

Ph.D. students must successfully complete the above course requirements plus three examinations:

• the major area examination (qualifying examination)
• the thesis proposal
• the dissertation defense

After selecting an area of research, a student forms a doctoral committee to supervise dissertation research. The doctoral committee must be chaired by a ladder faculty member from the Department and should include a minimum of 3 UC ladder faculty; 2 (including the chair) must be in Computer Science, although faculty from other UCSB departments may also be members. In special circumstances, non-UCSB faculty may be members. After the doctoral committee approves a student's proposed major area, a major area examination tests the student's knowledge of this area and any necessary supporting areas. As a part of this oral examination, a student submits a set of relevant papers from the major area and prepares a brief presentation. Passing this examination allows this student to advance to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

After passing the major area examination, a student prepares a dissertation proposal that describes the dissertation topic, summarizes the relevant background literature, and presents a comprehensive research plan for the doctoral dissertation. The thesis proposal examination determines the feasibility of the research plan and the appropriateness of the research topic.

The final examination is the defense of the candidate's dissertation, which consists of a public seminar and an evaluation by the candidate's doctoral committee on whether the student has successfully defended the dissertation.

Teaching Assistant Requirement

All Ph.D. students must work as a teaching assistant (TA) for a minimum of one quarter for a Computer Science undergraduate course.