Admission to the Ph.D. program

While most of our graduate students have majored in mathematics or computer science as undergraduates, applicants with other backgrounds have also been successful in our department. Students will succeed in the program if they are motivated to do research and have a strong general intellectual preparation to study in a particular field of computer science.

Students also need a reasonable foundation in mathematics, including calculus and linear algebra.

Applicants who expect to specialize in theoretical computer science or computational mathematics will need a more substantial mathematics background that includes advanced proof-based courses such as analysis, abstract algebra, probability and measure theory, logic, topology.

Applicants who expect to work in artificial intelligence (AI) will also want to have had some background in cognition, such as linguistics, cognitive psychology, or AI. Much of a typical undergraduate curriculum in computer science, such as courses in programming languages, data structures, operating systems and algorithms, is necessary background to specialize in programming languages and systems. Other applicants will also find such courses very useful background.

The department encourages all potential students to take an advanced test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). That advanced test does not need to be in computer science or mathematics, although these are generally the most helpful. In certain areas, such as Theory or AI, a mathematics GRE tends to be more helpful than a computer science GRE.

Financial Aid for students in the Ph.D. program

We expect to support all students who make satisfactory progress toward a doctorate. This support includes full tuition and a monthly stipend during the academic year that is competitive with offers made by other top-ranked schools. To earn their stipends, students will have to perform part-time work for the department as teaching assistants, research assistants, members of the technical staff, etc. The department also encourages prospective students to apply for externally funded grants and fellowships.

Teaching opportunities for students in the Ph.D. program

The department takes its undergraduate teaching responsibilities very seriously, and offers supervised teaching opportunities to the graduate students. Most graduate students will act as teaching assistants or work as lab assistants; qualifying graduate students will act as lecturers. The program allows students to develop their teaching abilities and gain significant classroom experience. The department also works with other University departments to make campus-wide teaching seminars available to its students.