Doctoral Program

For the Ph.D. degree, students are required to demonstrate general knowledge in several areas of computer science and proficiency in a single research area. Certification of research proficiency will be based on a record of accomplished research. The record must be substantiated by published articles, technical reports, and papers presented at meetings, workshops, and conferences. These requirements are additional to Graduate School regulations.

Course Requirements

Twelve hours of CS 8000 Dissertation are required. In addition, 60 semester hours of graduate work are required which is equivalent to 20 3-hour graduate-level courses. Students may satisfy the 60-hour coursework requirement by taking all computer science graduate-level courses, but other options exist within the constraints below. For example, 18 courses in computer science and 2 courses in another department could be taken if that would support the student's program of research better.

45-Hour Constraint - A minimum of 45 hours must be taken in computer science (15 3-hour courses).
- Individual Study Constraint - No more than 12 of the 45 hours may be used for CS 7000 with the permission of the Dissertation Advisor, Graduate Advisor, and Graduate Dean.
15 Hour Minor Constraint - Up to 15 hours may be used to minor in another department.
- In order to count toward the Ph.D. degree, the minor must support the student's research and must have the approval of the Dissertation Advisor.

Doctoral Degree Plan

The Doctoral Degree Plan specifies information, such as the Dissertation Advisory Committee, the title of the dissertation, and the courses to be taken. The graduate school requires the Doctoral Degree Plan to be submitted before the second year of study.

Students should make every effort to find a Dissertation Advisor in an area of research compatible with their interests as soon as possible. Dissertation Advisors may require students to take certain courses in order to prepare the student for research; therefore, students should allow the Dissertation Advisor to assist in the selection of courses for their degree plan.

The degree plan may be modified with the use of simple forms. Changes should be completed before the graduation semester.

Example Plan of Full-Time Study

Fall Semester - 9 course hours
Spring Semester - 9 course hours
Summer Semester - 3 course hours, 3 CS 7000 hours
Fall Semester - 6 course hours, 3 CS 7000 hours
Spring Semester - 6 course hours, 3 CS 7000 hours
Summer Semester - 3 course hours, 3 CS 7000 hours
Fall Semester - 6 course hours, 3 CS 8000 hours (Qualifying Exam at the end of the semester, dissertation proposal defense)
Spring Semester - 6 course hours, 3 CS 8000 hours (Interview for jobs)
Summer Semester - 6 CS 8000 hours (Final Examination during this semester)

Dissertation Advisory Committee

All committee members must belong to the graduate faculty. At a minimum, the committee must include:

Chair or Co-Chair from the Computer Science Department at the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor.
Two other committee members, one of which must be from the minor department if the minor is part of the student's degree plan.

Dissertation

According to the Texas Tech Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog, the dissertation should embody a significant contribution of new information to a subject or substantial reevaluation of existing knowledge. The dissertation research must be documented in the form of a thesis approved by the Dissertation Advisory Committee and the Graduate Dean. All dissertations must conform to Texas Tech's published policies for theses. The dissertation subject area must be declared at least 4 months prior to the student's graduation date.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination is given by the Dissertation Advisory Committee and consists of a written component. An oral component may be included for the student to present a defense of the dissertation proposal and/or to defend the answers on their written exam. This exam must be taken within one calendar year of completing all requirements listed on the degree plan, but should be taken near the end of completing the required 60-hours of coursework.

Admission to Candidacy

After the Qualifying Examination is passed, the Graduate Dean recommends the student for admission to candidacy to the Graduate Council. Admission to candidacy must occur at least 4 months prior to the student's graduation date.

Final Examination

The Final Examination is a public oral examination over the field of the dissertation given by the Dissertation Advisory Committee and the Graduate Dean or his/her representative. At least four months must intervene between the Qualifying Examination and the Final Examination. The dissertation must be completed and read by the Dissertation Advisory Committee before the Final Examination.

Residency

Please read the Texas Tech Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog for details which essentially specifies that the student should be on-campus for about a year; however, students should finish their degree sooner if they stay on-campus for the duration of their entire degree program.

Time Limit

All requirements must be completed within a period of 8 calendar years or 4 years from admission to candidacy, whichever comes first.

Course Transfers

A course may be accepted for transfer from another university as long as

a B or above is made in the course by proof of an official transcript submitted to the Graduate School,
the course is not taken by correspondence,
the inclusion of the course satisfies degree plan requirements,
the course is approved by both the Dissertation Advisor and Graduate Advisor,
a Texas Tech course corresponds to the transferred course, and
the course is from a computer science program, from a minor program with the approval of the Minor Advisor (if a minor is declared formally), or from another discipline as long as that discipline supports the research of the student.

Students should be prepared to show syllabi and example coursework from the courses they wish to transfer.

No courses are transferred until the degree plan is submitted to the Computer Science Department.

With an earned master's in computer science, up to 30 hours may be transferred; otherwise, up to 12 hours may be transferred. A maximum of 6 hours of individual study courses may be transferred.

Please see the Computer Science Graduate Advisor for time limits on accepting transfer courses.

Additional Information

Please consult the Texas Tech Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog for additional details. You are required to comply with catalog requirements.

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