CSEE Graduate Programs: The CSEE Department welcomes students who wish to earn an advanced degree while employed elsewhere, and the department offers many different programs. The programs include PhD and MS programs in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Electrical Engineering, and MPS (Professional) programs in Cybersecurity and Data Science. These programs feature a distinguished faculty that includes 13 Fellows of Professional Societies, two Distinguished Professors, three Presidential or Regent Research Professors, seven CAREER award winners, and winners of awards such as the von Humboldt Research Award and the IEEE Technical Achievement award. The department also hosts six of the ten most cited faculty authors at UMBC. More details may be found on the CSEE Department’s Web site.
We offer a wide range of research interests including, but not limited to: artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, computer and communication networks, sensor networks, embedded systems, robotics, data science, data and knowledge management, quantum computing, cyber-physical systems, computer vision, graphics, natural language processing, high performance computing, VLSI, high-speed and power efficient electronic system design, signal processing and hyperspectral imaging, bioengineering, neuroscience and photonics. Our work is sponsored by a variety of federal agencies and industry. Several of our faculty hold security clearances. We encourage research in areas that overlap, as appropriate, with the student’s work assignments.
There is considerable flexibility for students earning a PhD while working. Many required classes are taught in the evening. Course requirement waivers are considered on a case-by-case basis for students with equivalent prior coursework elsewhere. A waiver of the GRE requirement is considered individually for U.S. students with an MS degree or significant prior experience.
Potential Ph.D. students who have earned a Master’s degree may be able to count one or more courses toward the Ph.D. program requirements. Each program has core courses that we require students to take if they have not taken equivalent courses elsewhere. Considerable flexibility is available in the selection of other courses. Within the first few semesters of the doctoral program, students are expected to present a portfolio of their research accomplishments for evaluation by the graduate committee of their program. Once approved, the student is encouraged to continue in the program by selecting a research advisor and a dissertation topic. Ph.D students propose their dissertation topic to a faculty committee that is chaired by the student’s advisor. The committee can include members from outside UMBC that have doctoral degrees. These outside members will often come from the student’s home institution, and when appropriate, they can co-mentor the student. Once the dissertation research is completed, the student defends the work in a presentation to the committee.