Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy and Timeline

Each field of specialty sets its course requirements for doctoral students in that field. The CSEE department’s minimum requirement is 11 courses (beyond the bachelor’s degree). The doctoral student must spend the equivalent of at least three years of full-time residency, with at least one year on the UMBC campus. The doctoral dissertation must be an original and substantive contribution to knowledge in the student’s major field. It must demonstrate the student’s ability to carry out a program of research and to report the results in accordance with standards observed in the recognized scientific journals related to that field.

Course requirements

Each student must satisfy the minimum course requirements for their field of specialty (eleven courses totaling thirty-three credits) excluding the Department’s Research Seminar, and doctoral dissertation research credits. Students cannot take dissertation research credits (CMPE 899) before passing the Preliminary Exam (see below) and being admitted to candidacy.

  1. Each student must take the following three courses:
    • CMPE 640: Advanced VLSI Design
    • CMPE 650: Digital Systems
    • CMSC 611: Computer Architecture
  2. In addition each student must take one of the following four breadth courses:
    • CMPE 642 Principles of Mixed Signal Design
    • CMPE 645 Computer Arithmetic Algorithms and Implementations
    • CMPE 646 VLSI Design Verification and Testing
  3. A minimum GPA of 3.0 over all courses is required by the graduate school. However, for passing the Ph.D. comprehensive exam a significantly higher GPA is required. See the sections on portfolio and comprehensive exam policy below.
  4. At most 6 credits of CMPE699 (P/F) and/or CMPE800 (P/F).
  5. No regular graduate course taken P/F will be counted towards the 33 credits.
  6. CMPE 899 credits cannot be counted towards the 33 credits. Students may register for CMPE 899 only after passing the Preliminary Exam. A minimum of 12 credits of CMPE 899 are required for graduation.
  7. Requests for obtaining course-equivalency approvals from other universities should be sub­mitted before submitting the Ph.D. program of study. Note: Such courses, if approved, are not officially transferred (i.e. will not show up on your transcript), but will be counted towards the required Ph.D. course credits.
  8. Requests for approval of non-CMPE course credits (at most 6 credits) should be submitted prior to registration. There is a form available for this request and should be signed by the stu­dent’s research advisor.
  9. Students are required to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 (this is a Graduate School requirement). Students who fail to maintain the minimum GPA may be subject to academic probation and in the case of repeated poor academic performance, be subject to dismissal from the graduate program. In addition, students are expected to obtain a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the three core and one breadth course listed above in Item (a).

Graduate Seminar

There is no formal CMPE graduate seminar course, but PhD students are expected to attend the regular Computer Science or Electrical Engineering seminars.

Major steps in the doctoral program

Doctoral students must: (1) pass the written comprehensive exam/portfolio within four semesters of entrance to the program (five semesters for part-time students); (2) develop and defend a doctoral dissertation proposal and be admitted to doctoral candidacy within four years of entrance to the program (preliminary exam); and (3) complete all Ph.D. requirements for their field of specialty within four years of admission to doctoral candidacy.

Comprehensive Examination/Portfolio

The comprehensive portfolio for CMPE doctoral students consists of core course requirements, student research documentation, and faculty letters of support. The graduate committee will make its decision about the student’s continuation in the doctoral program based on evaluating these materials. The student must submit the portfolio before the end of completing four semesters (for full-time) or five semesters (for part-time).

The Comprehensive Exam Model for CMPE Ph.D. students consists of the following components that will be evaluated:

  1. Course Requirements
  2. Student Questionnaire
  3. Curriculum Vitae
  4. Copies of Important Publications, if any.
  5. Faculty letters of support: At least TWO letters from CSEE faculty, including one from the research advisor.

The CMPE Graduate Committee will make its decision about the student’s continuation in the Ph.D. program, based on evaluating these materials. The student must submit the Final portfolio before the end of completing four semesters (for full-time) or five semesters (for part-time). Templates for the Student Research Questionnaire and faculty letters of support are available on the CSEE website. The committee will evaluate the totality of the student’s material, but as a general guideline, a minimum GPA of 3.75 in CMPE 640, 650, CMSC 611, and one of CMPE 642, 645, 646 is preferred.

A total of two retake attempts (before submitting the final portfolio) will be allowed over all these courses if the student needs to improve grades on some courses. For example, if you received an A in 640, an A in 611, a B in 650, and a C in 646, you may retake 650 and 646 to improve to A and B respectively. Alternatively, you may retake only 646 and get an A; or take another breadth course (e.g. 645) and get a A.

Grades from all other graduate courses will also be considered as part of the overall evaluation. But, if the core course GPA is significantly lower than the threshold, then the research evidence has to be strong.

Transfer students may submit a request for course equivalency for courses taken at other universities (with a minimum grade of B or equivalent). If the course syllabi, exam/ projects and evaluation criteria are comparable to UMBC, we will consider the grade in that course in the GPA computation for core courses. The description of materials required for course equivalency requests is available on the CSEE webpage. The decision will be made by the Graduate Program Director after consulting with faculty teaching the requested course(s) equivalencies at UMBC.

Students with graduate courses from other universities should submit the Course Equivalency Request soon after joining UMBC, preferably before their second semester.

Portfolio Submission Details

Part-time students must submit a Preliminary portfolio before the beginning of their fourth semester at UMBC. Feedback will be provided on the Preliminary portfolio.

 

Example: A full-time student who started in Fall 2004 must submit the Preliminary portfolio by Aug. 31, 2005. A part-time student who started in Fall 2004 must submit the Preliminary portfolio by Jan. 31, 2006.

Part-time Students must submit the Final portfolio before the beginning of their sixth semester at UMBC.

Example: A full-time student who started in Fall 2004 must submit the FINAL portfolio by Aug. 31, 2006. A part-time student who started in Fall 2004 must submit the FINAL portfolio by Jan. 31, 2007.

  1. The completed portfolios must be submitted by January 31 (for the spring semester) or August 31 (for the fall semester).
  2. Preliminary: Full-time students must submit a Preliminary portfolio before the beginning of their second year at UMBC.
  3. Final: Full-time students must submit the Final portfolio before the beginning of their third year at UMBC, i.e. at the end of completing two years.
  4. The Graduate Committee will provide one of three decisions on the Final portfolio: Pass, Fail or Deficient (certain conditions will be imposed for continuation in the program).
  5. The Final portfolio can be submitted ahead of schedule.

Preliminary Examination (Prelim)

Each student must select a Dissertation Advisor and a Dissertation Preliminary Examination Committee and must pass a two part preliminary examination. In the first part, the student will present and defend his or her dissertation proposal to the Prelim Committee. In the second part, the Committee examines the student orally on his or her research area(s) to assess his or her ability to successfully complete the proposed research.

Ph.D. Candidacy

After passing the prelim and completing the course requirements, the Graduate Program Committee recommends to the Graduate School that the student be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy.

Dissertation Research

Each student will conduct and report on a significant original research project under the guidance of his or her dissertation advisor. This research must be completed and defended within four years of admission to candidacy. Students must be admitted to candidacy at least two full sequential semesters before the date on which the doctoral degree is to be conferred.

The doctoral dissertation must be an original and substantive contribution to knowledge in the student’s major field and must demonstrate the student’s ability to carry out a program of research and to report the results in accordance with standards observed in the recognized scientific journals related to that field.

Residency Requirements

A minimum of three years of full‑time graduate study or its equivalent is required. At least one year of full‑time study must be completed at UMBC.

Timeline/Milestones for CMPE Ph.D. students

The following list presents the milestones and deadlines for CMPE Ph.D. students. Failure to meet any of the deadlines could result in penalties including, but not limited to: loss of financial support, academic probation, dismissal from the program.

If you already have an M.S. degree, determine which courses can be counted towards the Ph.D. degree course requirements (and later apply for formal course-equivalency credits).

Note: You may start taking CMPE 899 (Dissertation) credits in the semester that you pass the Preliminary Examination. Note that you need at least 12 credits of CMPE 899 for the Ph.D. degree.

Note: if there are changes to your program of study after having been filed, then you should file an updated Program of Study form with the department for approval.

This report is for the period covering Apr. 1st of preceding year until March 30th of the current year. This includes latest CV, current research projects, publications – submitted, accepted, appeared, conferences attended/presented, awards received, etc. The progress form will also include a brief statement from the research advisor on the student’s research progress.

After completing the 33 credits of graduate coursework required for the Ph.D. degree and passing the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination, apply to the Graduate School for Admission to Candidacy. A revised Program of Study must be submitted if there are any changes to the original program of study submitted in Step 4 above.

Now, you have attained the so-called All But Dissertation (ABD) stage.

  1. Determine Coursework: Evaluate the Comprehensive Exam policy requirements and take appropriate courses in consultation with your temporary or research advisor.
  2. Research Experience Evidence: By the end of the second semester in residence (May 31 for students who started in the Fall and December 31 for Spring starts), the student should submit:
    • A research statement outlining the student’s research activities in the first year; and
    • A statement of support from a faculty member potentially interested in being the student’s research advisor.

    The research experience can be obtained by registering for at least 3 credits of CMPE 699 with a faculty member and/or working on research publications.

    Satisfactory evidence of research, strong academic performance and positive TA evaluations are some of the prerequisites for continued departmental TA support in the second and subsequent years.

  3. Comprehensive Examinations: Successfully pass the comprehensive exam/portfolio by the end of the fourth semester in residence (fifth semester for part-time students). For example, if you are a full-time student who started in Fall 2002, you must pass the Comprehensive Examination by the end of Summer 2004, i.e. just before classes start in August 2004. Likewise, if you are a full-time student who started in Spring 2003, you must pass the Comprehensive Examination before classes start in January 2005.
  4. Program of Study/Research Advisor: File the CSEE Ph.D. Program of Study by the end of the second semester in residence: (i) select a research advisor and file the research advisor form; and (ii) file a Program of Study form that lists all courses taken so far and the courses planned to be taken that will satisfy the 33 course credit requirement. Course equivalency requests for graduate courses taken elsewhere should have been submitted and approved before submitting the Ph.D. program of study.
  5. Research Progress Form: After passing the comprehensive exam, file a Research Progress Form by April 15th each year until graduation.
  6. Preliminary Examination/Admission to Candidacy: Successfully pass the Ph.D. Preliminary exam by the end of the fourth year (fifth year for part-time students) after starting the Ph.D. program. The Preliminary Examination may be attempted only after passing the Com­prehensive Examination. The Prelims Exam Committee Nomination form should be filed at least 30 days prior to the Prelims Exam. The Preliminary Examination Scheduling form must be submitted to the Graduate Program Director at least 30 days prior to the examination date.
  7. Research Progress Form: Continue to file the Research Progress Form by April 15th each year until graduation (see above for description).
  8. Final Dissertation Defense: Successfully pass the Ph.D. dissertation defense after at least two semesters and within four years of passing the Preliminary exam.
  9. Graduate School Forms: Follow all the Graduate School requirements for applying for the Ph.D. degree:
    • Nomination of Members for the Final Doctoral Examination Committee (At Least six months prior to final Ph.D. examination)
    • Announcement of Ph.D. Dissertation Defense (ten working days Prior to Ph.D. defense date)
    • Certification of Completion of Doctoral Dissertation
    • Application for Diploma

    Important note: If the above deadlines are not strictly met, you risk delaying your defense dates.