Ph.D. Program
The Ph.D. Program in the Computer Science (CS) Department at Oklahoma State University provides Graduate students with the opportunity to concentrate in selected areas of Computer Science.
Entrance Requirements: 1. A bachelor's degree from an accredited university;
2. Proficiency in computer related mathematics, including at least 10 hours beyond calculus. 3. A grade point average of 3.5 or higher. 4. Course work in theoretical foundations of computing, operating systems design and implementation, organization of programming languages, and computer organization with grades of "B" or better; a student who does not meet this requirement, but otherwise qualifies for admission, may be admitted with deficiencies listed. 5. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE): Applicants must take the general test. The GRE subject exam in computer science is recommended but not required. 6. A TOEFL score of 550 (213 on-line) or better for international students; 7. Three letters of reference from individuals competent to judge the applicant's potential to complete the Ph.D. Individuals may strengthen their applications with supporting materials such as a strong transcript, higher GPA, strong recommendation letters, and/or written support from members of the Computer Science Department Graduate Faculty. Students who have master's degrees in other areas will be admitted based on their potential to perform Ph.D. level work as perceived by the committee on graduate admissions. Requirements for admission in this case are similar to the entrance requirements stated above, but are adapted to individual cases by the committee on graduate admissions. Deadlines for application to CS graduate study are March 15 for fall semester, August 15 for spring semester and January 15 for summer semester. http://cs.okstate.edu
Send letters of reference to Graduate Secretary, Computer Science Department, 219 MSCS, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078. Send all other materials to the Graduate College. Application forms are available at gradcollege.okstate.edu
Course Guidelines for PhD Students:
Restrictions on courses that can be included in the Computer Science Plan of Study are:
- For a course from any OSU department other than Computer Science to be included on a plan of study for a Computer Science graduate student, the course must carry graduate credit and be numbered 5000 or higher.
A. Course guidelines:
2. 12 credits (the specialty) in one area at the 6000 level, excluding 6000 (dissertation research). 3. 6 credits in one area of CS at the 6000 level outside of the major specialty. 4. 18-30 credits (electives): These must include the sequences corresponding to the area in which the dissertation will be written, these may be any approved graduate level courses. 5. 18-30 credits (dissertation research) of 6000. 6. 60 hours beyond a master's degree or 90 credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree. B. Emphasis in the program is placed on development of competence rather than total course hours:
2. Computer organization and operating systems: 5113, 5253, 5323, 6240, 6253, 6350. 3. Programming languages: 5313, 5333, 6300. 4. Theoretical computer science: 5653, 5663, 6600. 5. Numerical analysis and optimization: 5013, 5543, 5553, 6023, 6500. D. Dissertation:
E. Ph.D. program examinations:
F. Deviations from any of these requirements may be granted by the graduate faculty.
DESCRIPTION OF PH.D. EXAMINATIONS A. PhD Diagnostic Exam guidelines: The student's Ph.D. committee (also known as the Ph.D. dissertation committee) will be in charge of the Diagnostic Examination for each Ph.D. student. The committee will give the student one expository research question, which may involve analysis, programming, and/or computation as well as a literature search. This question must not be based on the student's previous master's degree thesis work, if any, or on the student's professional experience. The student will be given two weeks to prepare a research presentation dealing with the given topic. At the end of the two weeks, the student will make a half-hour presentation of her/his findings. The committee will then question the student on the topic of the presentation. Depending on the student's undergraduate and master's degree institutions, the field of her/his master's degree, her/his GPA, her/his pursuit of a Ph.D. degree after a master's degree or directly after a bachelor's degree, any discontinuity in her/his higher education, etc., at the discretion of the Ph.D. committee there might be oral questions over the OSU M.S. core courses and their prerequisites following the presentation. The student will be notified well in advance as to whether or not her/his Diagnostic Examination shall involve course work questions. The presentation part of the Diagnostic Examination is a public event and it must be announced at least five days before it is held. The result of the Diagnostic Examination will be a grade of "Pass" or "Fail" given for the entire presentation as well as the oral examination, as applicable. The student will have two chances to pass the Diagnostic Examination. For a student entering the Ph.D. program with a master's degree already earned in Computer Science or a closely related area, the Diagnostic Examination must be taken within one calendar year. For a student entering the Ph.D. program without such a master's degree, this examination must be taken within one year of having completed twenty-four hours of course work beyond the bachelor's degree. B. PhD Comprehensive Exam guidelines: Each student's Ph.D. committee will be in charge of the Comprehensive Examination for the student. The student shall submit to her/his Ph.D. committee at least one paper published in a peer-reviewed and refereed journal or conference (or an official letter or e-mail showing the acceptance of such a paper) in an area not necessarily the same as the dissertation. The student must be the sole author or the principal author of the paper. The results will be presented for a period of 30 to 45 minutes. The Dissertation Committee will judge the results of the paper as well as the quality of the targeted journal or conference. The student will have two chances to pass the Comprehensive Examination. C. The Ph.D. student will conduct, or continue to conduct, her/his dissertation research and present a prospectus/proposal. Officially, this constitutes the Qualifying Examination (as required by the Graduate College). D. The Ph.D. candidate will defend her/his dissertation. The timing constraints of the Graduate College apply. The oral presentation in parts A, B, and D are all open to the public, and will be announced to the faculty and preferably to all graduate students and to the general public. Visitors will be permitted to ask questions at the end of a presentation, then they will be excused before the committee proceeds to ask further questions.
Unresolved Issues Financial Aid for Graduate Students in Computer Science Contact Information For information about the status of applications, applicants should send e-mail to the Graduate College: grad-i at okstate.edu or telephone 405-744-6368.
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