The Degree of PhD (Computing Science) [Graduate]

Entrance Requirements

To be admitted as a provisional candidate for the PhD, a student must normally have an MSc degree in computing science or a related field. Unusually qualified applicants having the equivalent of a First-Class Honors BSc degree, or MSc candidates who perform unusually well in their first session (eight months) of studies, may be admitted directly into the PhD program.

Program Requirements

A PhD candidate with an MSc degree will be required to take a minimum of ★9 in graduate-level courses (excluding CMPUT 603 ) and satisfy the departmental breadth requirements (★12 from the designated core courses, excluding CMPUT 603 , for the Statistical Machine Learning specialization). PhD candidates must also take CMPUT 603 , if not taken during the master’s program. The background of the PhD candidate must be similar to the University of Alberta BSc Honors program. A PhD candidate who does not obtain an average of 3.3, with no grade lower than B-, over the best three courses (excluding CMPUT 603 ) in the first year of studies may be asked to withdraw from the doctoral program, but may be admitted to the MSc program. The major part of the student’s program will consist of original research, the result of which will be presented in a doctoral dissertation.

The minimum period of residence is two academic years of full-time attendance at the University of Alberta.

Length of Program

The time required to complete the PhD will vary according to the previous training of the applicant and the nature of the research undertaken; however, a minimum of 32 months is normally required. Candidates must complete all requirements for the degree within six years.

Graduate courses can be found in Course Listings , under the subject heading Master of Multimedia, MM.