Doctoral Program Requirements
Unless otherwise stated, all doctoral program requirements apply equally to PhD and DES students.
ALGORITHMS PREREQUISITE
Analysis of Algorithms is the core of Computer Science, which unites the many disparate subfields. All doctoral students are expected to complete an acceptable lecture course (graduate or upper-level undergraduate) in Analysis of Algorithms, with grade B+ or higher, prior to entering the program. Sometimes new doctoral students are admitted without a prior Analysis of Algorithms course. Those students are required to complete CSOR W4231 during their first or second semester in the program. Further details about course requirements are posted here .
BREADTH REQUIREMENT
A total of ten distinct courses are required. All ten courses should be completed by the end of the fifth semester, at the pace of two courses per semester. An undergraduate Analysis of Algorithms course that satisfies the prerequisite does not satisfy the breadth requirement, only graduate lecture courses can be counted towards the breadth requirement. B+ (“PhD pass”) is the minimum acceptable grade for doctoral students in all courses. A grade of B or lower is considered failure and does not count towards the course requirement. The same course may be repeated until the minimum B+ grade is obtained or a different course substituted. The average grade across all courses applied to the course requirement must be A- or higher. Further details about course requirements are posted here .
DISTRIBUTION COURSES
Doctoral students must complete at least four graduate lecture courses from the approved distribution course lists, including at least one from each of the Artificial Intelligence and Applications, Systems and Theory lists, and the fourth from any of these three approved lists. The currently approved distribution courses are as follows:
Further details about doctoral course requirements are posted here .
ELECTIVE COURSES
In addition to the four distribution courses, doctoral students must complete six elective graduate lecture courses approved by the student’s advisor. Additional courses from the approved lists, beyond the four needed to satisfy the distribution requirement, may be taken as electives. Most other graduate lecture courses offered by the Computer Science Department (or offered by Computer Science jointly with other departments) may be taken as electives, including topics courses. At most two of the six electives may be graduate lecture courses offered by other departments besides Computer Science.
Only graduate lecture courses are acceptable; project courses and fieldwork courses do not count. Some 4000 level courses, particularly in A&S, may be designated undergraduate – these also do not count. Make sure all six courses are lecture courses designated graduate level by the offering department. Further details about course requirements, including exclusions, are posted here .
All DES students and most PhD students arrange a research advisor during the admissions process prior to enrollment, and work closely with him or her on directed research from their first day in the program. Some doctoral students have two or more co-advisors. Almost all doctoral research advisors are tenured or tenure-track faculty members in the Computer Science Department. But in rare cases a PhD student’s research may be advised by a research scientist or an affiliated faculty member from another department, in which case the PhD student must also have a departmental advisor who is a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in Computer Science. The departmental advisor is responsible for tracking the student’s progress through doctoral program milestones, but is not responsible for the student’s research or funding. Both advisors are expected to represent their students at the Semi-Annual Review of all doctoral students held near the end of the fall and spring semesters. Further details on the department’s advising policy and Semi-Annual Review are posted here .
DIRECTED RESEARCH
The primary focus of our doctoral program is research, with the philosophy that students learn best by doing – beginning as apprentices and becoming junior colleagues working with faculty on scholarly research projects. All PhD and DES students are required to conduct productive research under the direction of their advisor throughout the program. For PhD students, this should be half-time until completion of the coursework, teaching and candidacy exam requirements, and thereafter full-time until distribution of the dissertation. PhD s tudents are also expected to participate in departmental and laboratory activities throughout all fall and spring semesters of the program. The policy on outside activities by PhD students is here .
The directed research requirement is indeed a requirement , never waived, regardless of funding source, including employer-supported DES students. Insufficient or inadequate research progress is deemed unsatisfactory progress: the doctoral student is normally placed on probation and can be immediately dismissed from the program. However, on appeal of the student’s advisor, one semester’s grace can be granted by the full faculty.
CANDIDACY EXAM
The candidacy exam is an oral exam based on a syllabus prepared jointly by the student and his/her candidacy committee. Admission to candidacy (i.e., passing the exam) certifies that the student has demonstrated a depth of scholarship in the literature and the methods of the student’s chosen area of research, and has demonstrated a facility with the scholarly skills of critical evaluation and verbal expression. The candidacy exam should be completed by the end of the sixth semester or earlier, typically the semester after completing all courses, and must be completed prior to the thesis proposal. More detailed information, including the permitted composition of the candidacy committee, is here .
Doctoral students are required to register at least two weeks in advance for their Candidacy Exam using the department’s Doctoral Program Milestones Registration Form . Contact the PhD Program Administrator with any questions about the registration form.
THESIS PROPOSAL
In the thesis proposal, the student lays out his or her intended course of research for the dissertation. If the student passes the written and oral components of the proposal, the thesis proposal committee signs a form to recommend that the candidate proceed. The proposal should be completed by the end of the eighth semester. The university’s permitted composition of the dissertation prospectus committee and other requirements for the proposal are specified here . Additional department-specific requirements are here .
Doctoral students are required to register at least two weeks in advance for their Thesis Proposal using the department’s Doctoral Program Milestones Registration Form . Contact the PhD Program Administrator with any questions about the registration form.
DISSERTATION AND DEFENSE
The doctoral dissertation and defense is typically completed during the fifth or sixth year in the program. Some very highly motivated students, particularly in theoretical areas, may finish in less time.
Various forms and instructions for filling out the forms, composition of the dissertation committee, handling of remote participants in the defense, revision and deposit of the dissertation, and many other topics, are available from the GSAS Dissertation Office . Dissertation formatting requirements, including a latex template, are here . It’s particularly important for both the student and the advisor to review the university’s detailed requirements here about forming the dissertation committee, distributing the dissertation, and scheduling the defense.
Defenses are typically accompanied by a public seminar. In CS, we always hold that public seminar immediately before the defense. When a student schedules their “defense”, they should schedule enough time (~2 hours) for both that public seminar and the official defense. The department’s Doctoral Program Milestones Registration Form and the university’s Application for the Dissertation Defense form for PhD ( Application for the degree of Doctor of Engineering Science for DES) must be submitted by the student to the department’s PhD Program Administrator at least six weeks in advance of the anticipated defense date.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS:
All doctoral students are required to fulfill two “teaching units”, ideally approximately the total workload of half-time for one semester, but the actual workload may vary widely. Both teaching units must be for courses approved by the department’s Academic Committee as Computer Science courses, where the CS department is responsible for staffing ( assigning Instruction assistants ), and occur during a regular academic semester while the student is enrolled in the doctoral program. Most students complete their teaching units during their second or third year, but there are no timing restrictions on which semesters (prior to MPhil ) students can do their teaching units. When students complete their teaching units is determined by their advisor. More detailed information is here .
COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Department of Computer Science takes pride in maintaining a well-developed sense of community, and sees as an essential part of its doctoral program the preparation of its students for this important aspect of their future careers. It therefore strongly encourages students to contribute a year of service to the department’s professional, operational, or social needs, preferably during their second and/or third year in the program. A list of community service positions normally held by doctoral students is available in mice .
MPHIL FOR PHD STUDENTS
The en-course degree of Master of Philosophy is conferred upon a PhD student who has satisfactorily fulfilled all milestones except the proposal and dissertation. This includes all courses, teaching, and candidacy exam. The MPhil also requires completion of six Residency Units (RUs) and sixty graduate points beyond the undergraduate degree. Two RUs and thirty points of advanced standing are granted for completing the masters degree. See the university requirements for the MPhil .
Last updated October 16, 2024.
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Press mentions, dean boyce's statement on amicus brief filed by president bollinger.
President Bollinger announced that Columbia University along with many other academic institutions (sixteen, including all Ivy League universities) filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York challenging the Executive Order regarding immigrants from seven designated countries and refugees. Among other things, the brief asserts that “safety and security concerns can be addressed in a manner that is consistent with the values America has always stood for, including the free flow of ideas and people across borders and the welcoming of immigrants to our universities.”
This recent action provides a moment for us to collectively reflect on our community within Columbia Engineering and the importance of our commitment to maintaining an open and welcoming community for all students, faculty, researchers and administrative staff. As a School of Engineering and Applied Science, we are fortunate to attract students and faculty from diverse backgrounds, from across the country, and from around the world. It is a great benefit to be able to gather engineers and scientists of so many different perspectives and talents – all with a commitment to learning, a focus on pushing the frontiers of knowledge and discovery, and with a passion for translating our work to impact humanity.
I am proud of our community, and wish to take this opportunity to reinforce our collective commitment to maintaining an open and collegial environment. We are fortunate to have the privilege to learn from one another, and to study, work, and live together in such a dynamic and vibrant place as Columbia.
Mary C. Boyce Dean of Engineering Morris A. and Alma Schapiro Professor
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