You must present and receive approval of your research proposal before beginning research for your dissertation. An appropriate time for the presentation would be during the oral portion of the comprehensive exam. 

You will also need to request permission at least two weeks prior to presenting your final dissertation so an announcement can be sent to the program's graduate faculty. 

• 15 credit hours of 6000-level lecture courses
• Three semesters of seminar courses
• Core algorithms course
• At least 24 credit hours of research
• At least 24 credit hours of courses
  • For students without a master’s degree:
    • Minimum of 72 graduate credit hours required
    • Plan of study must include at least 33 credit hours of 5000- and 6000-level lecture courses (1000/2000-level courses do not count)
    • Recommended 15 credit hours from 6000-level lecture courses
    • Minimum of 24 credit hours of graduate research required
• Other courses prescribed by the Ph.D. committee
• Qualifier exam
• Research Readiness Presentation
• Publication Requirement for Ph.D. (effective Fall 2018)
  • Before the dissertation defense, two full research papers substantially related to the dissertation must be accepted for publication in reputable, peer-reviewed conferences or journals approved by the Ph.D. committee
  • The GPPC can reject a conference or journal in egregious cases if it is not deemed reputable

For guidance on applying, reviewing program requirements, and submitting your application, please see the graduate admissions page.

• National Physical Science Consortium Fellowship Application
• GTA Application
  • GTA/GRA Assessment Procedures

When applying for the program, you will have to submit a letter outlining tentative research interests and career goals along with GRE verbal, quantitative and analytical writing test scores. Admission into the Ph.D. program in Computer Science is granted by majority vote of the computer science graduate faculty, demonstration of supervisory interest by a faculty member, and approval of the vice provost of graduate education.

If you do not already have a graduate degree, in most cases you will be required to complete a Master of Science in computer science before entering the Ph.D. program. In select cases, you may be admitted into the Ph.D. program with just a undergraduate degree, but only at the discretion of department faculty. You will be expected to meet all requirements for both the M.S. and Ph.D. programs. Examination schedules for the Ph.D. program will apply.

Visit the Graduate and International Admissions website for more information on admission requirements. You can also visit our CS Catalog page to find more specific requirements set forth by our department.

Requirements:

1. Strong mathematical skills
2. Competency in a modern programming language
3. Computer Science core knowledge, including:
   • Algorithms & Data Structures
   • Computer Organization / Architecture
   • Database & File Structures
   • Discrete Mathematics & Automata
   • Operating Systems
   • Software Engineering

Part 1 – Broad Knowledge

• Student selects five 5000/6000-level CS lecture courses
  • Mandatory course: CS 5200 – Algorithms (unless CS 5200 was waived by the GPPC)
  • At least two additional 5000-level courses
  • Courses taken as part of Missouri S&T undergraduate curriculum also count
• Non-qualified courses
  • Seminar/paper reading courses as determined by the GPPC
  • Courses taught by non-CS faculty are not allowed (faculty with courtesy appointments in the CS department are counted as CS faculty for this purpose)
• Passing Criterion
  • A minimum grade of B on each course
  • A minimum GPA of 3.5 averaged on the five selected courses, taken during or before the first three semesters of the student’s Ph.D. program
  • When a student makes below B on CS 5200, offer one more attempt to make B or higher on each exam in CS 5200 in subsequent semester. If the student’s advisor teaches CS 5200, then the GPPC will provide and grade alternative comprehensive exams.

Part 2 – Research Readiness

• The student must declare a dissertation advisor
• Dissertation Advisor
  • Provide a list of 10–15 papers fundamental to the student’s future research
  • This list is customized to the student’s research interests
• GPPC
  • Provide feedback to the advisor regarding the quality of the papers (to ensure a high standard, not to second-guess the advisor)
• Approve the final list of papers

Research Qualifier Exam Committee

• At least three faculty members, including:
  • Dissertation advisor
  • At least one faculty member from GPPC
  • At least one faculty member with closely related research expertise
  • All members must be graduate faculty
• Dissertation advisor forms the exam committee
• GPPC approves the final selection of exam committee members

Format

• Written Exam
  • Each committee member provides 2–3 questions based on the reading list
  • Questions are reviewed and agreed upon by the exam committee
• Oral Exam
  • Follow-up Q&A session where committee members may ask any questions related to the selected papers and the written exam

Timeline

• Number of attempts: 2
• Deadline
  • Must be completed by the end of the second year
  • If the first attempt fails, the second attempt must wait at least three months
• Scheduling
  • The reading list is provided to the student as early as possible
  • Within the deadline, a student can schedule the exam with the committee at any time
  • Once questions are given, the student has one week to complete the written exam
  • The oral exam will ideally take place within the first two weeks after the written exam

Research Readiness Approval form