(Prior to Fall 2002)
Students who entered the Ph.D program PRIOR to Fall 2002 will complete the following curriculum
requirements and guidelines. CSE offers doctor of philosophy degrees in computer science and
computer engineering, providing a research-oriented education in preparation for a
career at a university, college, or research laboratory. These programs explore
both the fundamental aspects and application of computation, spanning theory,
software, and hardware. Our particular areas of research expertise include:
Applications for admission to the Ph.D. program are considered annually, with a deadline of January 6. Admissions are effective the following Fall quarter. Virtually all admitted PhD students are offered financial support.
The general requirements of all Ph.D. programs are stated in the Graduate Studies section of the catalog. In harmony with these requirements, the department has established a set of requirements to be fulfilled in the first 2-3 years of either Ph.D. program, as described below. In general, a student takes several core courses that develop a foundation for PhD research in computation, takes a core examination, a research examination (also called advancement to candidacy), presents a dissertation proposal, and writes a research dissertation. The last three stages are a natural outgrowth of a student's research collaboration with a CSE faculty member.
Students may obtain a Masters degree on the way to the PhD by satisfying the specific requirements of one of our MS programs.
Computer Science Doctoral Program
Course Requirements
Ph.D. students are expected to complete the course requirements in the first two years of the program. They are expected to maintain, on an annual basis, a 3.4 grade-point average for the core courses. Ph.D. students entering with a master's degree may petition for a waiver of the core courses or for the substitution by alternative courses.
- Core Courses: Each Ph.D. student must take all of the following courses. A student typically completes all the core courses within the first year of the graduate study.
- CSE200
- CSE202
- CSE221
- CSE230
- CSE240
- CSE292
- Electives: Each Ph.D. student must take 16 units of technical electives consisting of other CSE graduate courses or approved alternatives.
Comprehensive Examination Requirement
The comprehensive examination for Ph.D. students consists of two parts. The first part is a written examination, which tests the student's knowledge of basic computer science and can be passed with a thorough knowledge of undergraduate and first-year graduate computer science material. In particular, the written examination is structured around the following five CSE core areas: algorithms and data structures; computabililty, complexity and logic; programming languages; operating systems; and computer architecture and digital logic design.
It is offered every year, in the first few weeks of the Fall quarter and in the first few weeks of the Spring quarter. All Ph.D. students should complete their written comprehensive examination successfully within two years following the quarter in which they are admitted to the Ph.D. program. Each student is allowed three attempts to pass the examination. A student typically completes the written part of the comprehensive examination successfully by the fall quarter of the second year.
Research Examination Requirement
The second examination for Ph.D. students is an oral research examination designed to get an early assessment of the Ph.D. student's research ability in some field in computer science. Students are expected to take this examination within one year following the quarter in which they pass the written comprehensive examination.
Teaching Experience Requirement
Computer Science students are also required to acquire teaching experience while at UCSD. Normally, teaching experience is acquired by performing a 50% teaching assistantship for at least one quarter while signed up for CSE 501, Teaching. Students can also complete this requirement by successfully taking CSE 502, Teaching Experience.
Computer Engineering Doctoral Program
The computer engineering program, jointly administered between CSE and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, offers a doctoral degree with the title Computer Science and Engineering (Computer Engineering). Computer engineering explores the engineering analysis and design aspects of algorithms and technology. Specific research areas include computer systems, signal processing systems, architecture, networks, computer-aided design, fault-tolerance, and data storage systems.
The computer engineering program is structured similarly to the computer science degree, although the course requirements place a strong emphasis on hardware and the design of computer systems. The Comprehensive Examination, Research Examination, and Teaching Experience requirements are the same as those in Computer Science.
Course Requirements
Students are expected to complete the following computer engineering curriculum of forty-nine unit course requirement within the first two years. Students entering with a master of science degree may petition to waive individual core course requirements or to substitute approved alternative courses. All Ph.D. students must attain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.4 in the core courses.
- Core Courses: Each Ph.D. student must complete the following core requirements.
- Three Software Courses:
- Three Hardware Courses:
- CSE 240
- ECE 260A
- CSE 243 or ECE 251A or ECE 263A
- Two Analysis Courses:
- CSE 200 or CSE 201
- CSE 222 or ECE 257A
- and
- Electives: Students must elect at least 16 technical units among graduate courses within the departments of AMES, CSE, ECE, Mathematics and Physics.
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