1. Overview of PhD Program Requirements

The PhD program in Computer Science is divided into two stages:

•  The first stage is the qualifying process, during which students must demonstrate the necessary intellectual ability and mastery of an appropriate body of knowledge, including broad understanding of the discipline, significant depth of knowledge in the chosen specialty area, as well as creativity and ability to independently conduct research.  This stage lasts up to 3 years, it involves coursework and some preliminary research, and it culminates with the Qualifying Examination. Upon successfully completing this stage, the student status changes to a PhD candidate.  

• In the second stage, PhD students focus on their dissertation research. Working under the guidance of their faculty advisors, they conduct independent research in their area of specialization. The results of that research are then detailed in their PhD dissertation, which needs to be presented to and defended in front of their PhD committee. Along the way, PhD students typically publish their results in research papers that are presented at conferences or submitted to research journals.

The remainder of this section outlines the requirements and milestones of the PhD program in Computer Science. For the complete, detailed description of the PhD program requirements see the UCR catalog. 

Course Requirements

The course requirements consist of 44 units of graduate or upper-division courses. These courses need to meet three specific requirements:

• Core Requirement (12 units). Certain CS courses are designated as core courses and are grouped into three Core Areas: (1) Hardware Design Principles, (2) Theoretical Foundations, and (3) Software and Systems. Three courses from at least two different areas are required.

• Depth Requirement (8 units). The CS graduate courses are grouped into 8 Major Specialty Areas numbered A-H. To satisfy this requirement, a PhD student must choose one of these areas, and two courses from this particular area. 

• Breadth Requirement (12 units). To satisfy this requirement, a PhD student needs to take 3 courses from at least two areas different than the depth area chosen above. 

• Electives (12 units). The three elective courses can be graduate or upper-division (up to 8 units) lecture courses or graduate seminars (CS260-269 courses). 

The list of allowed courses and the details of the course requirements can be found in the UCR catalog. In justified cases, exceptions from the degree requirements may be considered: some students may transfer courses from previously attended institutions (see the section with information for new students), some may be allowed to get credit for courses outside Computer Science, or for courses taken at other UC campuses. For more information, contact your Graduate Program Coordinator.

Milestone I: Advancement to Candidacy

The next step after completing all coursework is the Qualifying Examination conducted by a designated Qualifying Committee. This examination consists of two parts: a written examination, and an oral examination. The written examination has the form of a research report that should be comparable in content, format and overall quality to conference or journal publications in the student's research field. While the paper must represent the student's own work, it is common practice for the student's advisor to read the paper and give feedback to the student prior to submission. If there are contributions to the paper from others (beyond the ordinary student-advisor interaction) they must be listed in the provided space on the cover page.

The oral examination involves an oral research presentation to the Qualifying Committee, after which the student needs to answer questions from the committee members. These questions may not be necessarily related to the topic of the presentation.  The committee evaluates the merits of the work in the report and the student’s aptitude for research. 

The student is responsible for making sure that the following regulations are followed:

• The Qualifying Examination needs to take place by the end of the third year in the program. 

• At least two weeks prior to the oral examination the student needs to nominate his committee, by submitting  the Nomination for Qualifying Examination petition. The committee must be approved by the Graduate Division before the examination takes place. Any changes in the committee composition must also be processed at least two weeks before the examination. The committee must have five faculty members, including at least three regular members of the CSE Department, and one external member not associated with the CSE Department. (See the Graduate Division guidelines for more details.)

• At least a week prior to the oral examination the student must submit the research report to the Qualifying Committee.

• On the day of the exam the student must must provide the Chair of the Committee with the Report on Qualifying Examination form. A committee member must return this completed form to the Graduate Program Coordinator no later than 48 hours after the exam. 

• The student's Dissertation Committee must also be nominated and reported on the Report on Qualifying Examination form. The Dissertation Committee consists of four faculty members, three of which must be regular members of the CSE Department.

• The PhD Report of Departmental Requirements form must be submitted along with the completed Report on Qualifying Examination form.

Completing all course requirements and passing the Qualifying Examination results in the advancement to PhD candidacy. The status of a PhD candidate means that student is ready to enter the research phase of their program.  

Milestone II: Dissertation Proposal

After advancement to candidacy, students focus on their dissertation research. Once the student and the advisor agree on the direction and the scope of the dissertation, the student is required to present a formal Dissertation Proposal to their Dissertation Committee.  This presentation is called the Dissertation Proposal defense (or exam). It is an oral presentation, during which the student surveys background material and the literature in the specific area of research, discusses preliminary results, and proposes a plan for the research to be performed until the Final Examination, followed by questions from the committee. The purpose of the Dissertation Proposal defense is to determine whether the proposed research will meet the expectations for a PhD dissertation. The following regulations need to be followed:

• The Dissertation Proposal defense must take place no later than 6 months prior to the final Dissertation Defense. Typically, it takes place early in the 5th year of the program.

• The proposal defense presentation is open to the public,  but the question-and-answer session is not. 

• No later than one week prior to the Dissertation Proposal Defense, the student must provide the members of the committee with a written dissertation proposal. The style of this submission is at the discretion of the members of the committee, and it should be coordinated with them beforehand. A copy of this written report must also be attached to your final defense/approval report form. 

• The approved PhD-Proposal Exam form must be returned to the Graduate Program Coordinator after being approved by the dissertation committee. 

• The student must complete this requirement in no more than two attempts. 

• The Dissertation Proposal Defense form must be completed/passed prior to participating in the commencement ceremony.

Milestone III: Dissertation Defense

Each PhD student is required to write a dissertation in accordance with the Graduate Division requirements and to defend it in a public oral examination. The dissertation must represent substantial scholarly work. The novelty and quality of research contributions in the dissertation, as well as the quality of presentation, should be comparable to research publications in mainstream conferences and journals of the student's area. PhD students are in fact expected to have their work published, or at least submitted for publication, at the time of the defense, although this is not a strict requirement.  The Dissertation Defense consists of the student's oral presentation, followed by questions from the committee or the audience.

The student is responsible for making sure that the following regulations are followed:

• If there is a change in the composition of the committee, the student needs to submit the Dissertation Committee Change Request Form at least two weeks prior to the defense.

• At least two weeks prior to the defense, the student must submit a draft of the dissertation to the committee.

• At least two weeks prior to the defense, the student must email the date and time of the defense, the title and abstract of the dissertation, and the names of the committee members, to the Graduate Program Coordinator.

• The Dissertation Defense, including the question-and-answer session, is open to the public.

• The student must provide the Committee Chair with the Report on Final Examinations for the PhD form on the day of the exam. A committee member must return this completed form to the Graduate Program Coordinator no later than 48 hours from the date of the exam. 

• The defense is based on a dissertation draft, not necessarily its final version. The student needs to incorporate comments from the committee in the final version of the dissertation.  Students will also need to do a format review (either before or after the final defense) by the Graduate Division before a final draft of the dissertation can be submitted (no later than 1 week prior to the filing deadline) to Graduate Division. 

• The Graduate Division website has additional information (including deadlines) and guidelines regarding PhD dissertations, and all students are expected to review them prior to scheduling the defense.

2. Other Related Regulations

Residency Requirements

A minimum of six quarters in academic residency is required prior to the award of the PhD degree, three of which must be spent in continuous residency. Registration in at least 4 units of 100 or 200 level coursework is necessary to qualify for each quarter of academic residency.

Non-Resident Tuition

For most international PhD students in the CSE Department, their non-resident tuition for the period before the advancement to candidacy is covered by the Graduate Division, as detailed in their admission offer. When they get advanced to candidacy, they receive a non-resident tuition waiver for a maximum of three calendar years. Time spent not registered (withdrawn, on leave, or on filing fee status) will count toward the three-year total unless the Graduate Dean grants an exception. A student must be advanced by the first day of instruction to qualify for that term.

Certificate of Completion

As soon as all degree requirements are completed, the student may request a certificate of completion bearing the Graduate Dean’s signature from the Division office. A formal certification of completion is the equivalent of formal degree conferral for faculty and postdoctoral appointments and other employment and career advancement purposes.

PhD Conferral

PhD degrees are conferred, subject to the final approval of the Graduate Council, as of the last day of the regular academic quarter in which all requirements have been satisfied (the last day of the quarter), including the final positive recommendation of the Doctoral Committee, and the acceptance of the approved dissertation by the Graduate Division on behalf of the University. 

A graduate student must be registered or on Filing Fee status the quarter in which the dissertation is submitted and the degree is to be conferred. If the student misses that deadline, he/she has until the day before the next quarter officially begins to file and not pay the next quarter registration fees. The degree will also have a conferral date of the subsequent quarter, and not the quarter of the missed deadline. Unless payment of a Filing Fee or a Leave of Absence is approved, all graduate students must register each regular academic quarter (excluding Summer Session) until all degree requirements are completed, otherwise student status and candidacy for the PhD will normally lapse. Once status lapses, the degree can be conferred only after readmission of the student, followed by at least one quarter of registration or Filing Fee status and possibly re-advancement to candidacy.

Students are advised by mail of formal degree conferral at the end of the quarter in which the degree is completed. The degree is posted to the transcript approximately 6-8 weeks after conferral. Once the diploma is ready, the Registrar will notify students by postcard that they may pickup their diploma at that office (approximately 5 months after conferral).