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![]() Description of the URCS Ph.D. ProgramURCS Graduate Info Links  |  URCS Graduate Application  |  University of Rochester The Ph.D. program includes courses, examinations, projects, research and teaching assistantships, and a doctoral dissertation. There is only one required course, which serves as an introduction to the Department, to graduate research, and to fellow students and the faculty. Each of the Department's research areas (AI, Systems, and Theory) provides a basic syllabus from which students may choose a course of study appropriate to their interests and backgrounds. Several higher-level seminars are also offered each semester, providing more senior students with an opportunity to pursue research topics for classroom credit. Courses in other departments are often of direct or indirect interest as well. There are no formal summer graduate courses. The graduate program provides a steady progression from classroom learning to technical competence and independent research. The first year culminates in a Comprehensive Exam in AI, Systems, and Theory, designed to measure breadth. There is also a programming project, undertaken under faculty supervision. Students typically spend their first year assisting with department research and taking basic courses. The second year serves as a transition into self-directed work; by the end of year two each student is expected to pass an Area Exam assessing depth in one of the Department's three main areas, and to write a technical paper demonstrating critical independent thought in some subject within that area. By the start of the third year, each student is expected to find a dissertation advisor, and by the end of year three to present conference-quality preliminary results, and defend a plan of research for completion of the doctoral dissertation. Satisfactory progress in the program is determined by the full range of a student's work, including performance on the Comprehensive Exam, Area Exam, programming problem, course grades, department service, and research productivity. Research work and research-related courses occupy much of a student's time beyond the first year, and essentially all of it after the Area Exam. After approval of a dissertation topic, each student meets twice yearly with his or her thesis committee to keep them appraised of progress and to get formal feedback and advice. Ph.D. students in the Department are either supported as research assistants or are fellowship recipients. Each student is also required to serve as a teaching assistant for two or three semesters during his or her course of study. The possibility of assuming primary teaching responsibilities for undergraduate or graduate courses also exists, should a student actively desire such an opportunity. Four to five years is the customary time from entry to the Ph.D. Financial support continues indefinitely as long as the faculty agrees that the student is making adequate progress. The cooperative spirit of the Department is reflected in the tradition of cooperation between students on joint projects, in joint study groups for examinations, and in joint papers. Competition among students is not one of our traditions. Day-to-day collaboration with faculty leads to an informal working atmosphere and many joint papers and projects. An important part of student life is departmental service -- working on one of the departmental committees that decide such matters as faculty hiring, graduate admissions, laboratory and library acquisitions, Comprehensive Exam content, and seminar speaker selection. Almost every essential department activity is undertaken through consensus, and students have always been vital contributing members to the process by which consensus is reached. Departmental service is voluntary but is a chance to represent the graduate student constituency in basic policy decisions. |
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