PhD FAQs

• Passing the Qualifying Exams
• Completing the requirements of an MS CS/SE degree plan
• Finding an advisor and appointing the PhD advisory committee
• Presenting a proposal for a dissertation to the committee
• Setting up your PhD defense once you finish your dissertation (note that the thesis proposal and final defense cannot be scheduled in the same semester).
• Final PhD defense

Every student must fill out a Milestone Agreement Form each year that is signed by the student and his/her advisor and submitted to the department.

Detailed, precise rules can be found in the following PhD Qualifying Exams webpage.

Detailed, precise rules can be found in the following PhD Qualifying Exams webpage.

A PhD student should find a PhD faculty advisor as soon as possible. PhD students work with their advisors very closely. It is strongly recommended that a student has a PhD advisor by the time they pass their PhD qualifying exam. The sooner the better.

Most full-time PhD.students in the CS Department are funded during the long semesters, either as a TA or an RA. TA or RA appointments continue until a PhD student’s graduation, subject to satisfactory performance, a student staying eligible (for example, not exceeding 99 semester credit hours of courses taken while a PhD student), and subject to availability of funds. Once a student has a PhD advisor, the advisor is responsible for the student’s TA/RA funding for the long semesters as well as summer. A limited number of TA positions are available during the summer. A student should work with their advisor to ensure that they are appropriately funded.

UT Dallas rules do not permit PhD students to be financially supported if they exceed 99 semester credit hours in PhD level courses. Courses that one took as an MS student do not count towards this 99 SCH limit. A PhD student normally takes a maximum of 24 SCH during a calendar year.

A PhD student must discuss with their faculty advisor which courses they should take each semester. A yearly audit with the PhD program director (currently, Dr. Jorge Cobb as of 2021) is strongly recommended.

A graduating student must be enrolled in at least 1 semester credit hour of CS/SE 8v99 course. Enrollment for 1 semester credit hour in CS/SE 8v99 is allowed only once during the degree plan. Three semester credit hours of 8v99 are recommended. Students supported as an RA or a TA during a long semester must enroll in 9 semester credit hours during that long semester.

PhD students must take the following organized courses: CS 6382 (Theory of Computation) and CS 7301 (Research Methods in Computer Science). These courses are in addition to any other organized course a PhD student may take as mandated by their degree requirements or required by their PhD advisor.

A PhD student must have a minimum of 9 semester credit hours of CS/SE 8v99.

Only full-time PhD students can be an RA or a TA. A TA or an RA must register for at least 9 semester credit hours of courses during a long semester.

PhD students who are funded as an RA or a TA are not allowed to take up another job. A TA or an RA entails 20 hours per week of work. The rest of the time is to be spent working on coursework and dissertation research.

PhD students can take up an internship, however, PhD advisor’s approval is needed. An internship is recommended for a PhD student only after they have made substantial progress in their dissertation. They must have at least defined the research problem they will work on for their dissertation and made some initial progress on it. Taking up an internship too early in the PhD program can be counterproductive.

The deadline for filing for graduation is generally at the beginning of the semester and is published by the Graduate Dean’s office: Office of Graduate Education: Deadlines.

The deadline for holding the final dissertation defense is usually 4 to 6 before the end of the semester. Copy of the dissertation and various forms signed by the committee members are due 2 weeks prior to the defense date. Details: Office of Graduate Education: Deadlines.

International students must visit the ISSO office at the beginning of the semester to discuss their change of status following their graduation.

PhD students can graduate during the summer, however, they must observe all the deadlines as well as ensure that their dissertation committee members are available for attending the final defense, as many faculty members travel nationally and internationally during the summer.