• Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science
• Master of Computer Science
• Certificate, Autonomous Systems and Data Science

Michael Poor, Department Chairperson
James Buckley, Graduate Program Director

The graduate program in computer science offers a comprehensive approach to the theory and application of computer science. Graduates of the program will have:

1. A thorough grounding in the theory of computing science and the ability to apply that knowledge to a variety of problem areas,
2. Been exposed to a variety of analytical methods and will demonstrate a basic understanding of those methods, and
3. Been exposed to a wide breadth of computer science information by having studied several of the dominant sub-disciplines of computer science.

The program is individualized to meet each student's needs and provides a firm foundation for continuing on to the doctorate or a professional career. The program accommodates both full-time and part-time students.

Admission

The student seeking admission should have a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 out of 4.0. For success in the program the student should have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, mathematics, engineering, or one of the sciences. A bachelor’s degree in computer science or a closely related field is preferred.  

Graduate credit from other accredited institutions of graduate learning will be reviewed by the graduate committees. 

Each student's program requires the advance approval of the Graduate Program Director. A student failing to make normal progress will be required to withdraw from the program.

Students are expected to have a better than average knowledge of algorithm construction and implementation of algorithms in an object-oriented language. Students are encouraged to take CPS 501 during their first term as a graduate student.  This course counts towards the 30 graduate semester hours needed for the degree.  They should discuss this with the Graduate Program Director prior to registering for any courses.

Assistantships

Graduate assistantships are offered to qualified students for assisting with introductory computer science courses and assisting faculty with research. Competent assistants making satisfactory progress toward the degree can normally renew their assistantships for a second year. Recipients are expected to complete the requirements for the master's degree in two years. Assistants contribute half-time service of 20 hours per week. Stipends and complete tuition remission for six semester hours per term are provided. Detailed information and application forms may be obtained from the Department of Computer Science.

Additional Information

See http://www.udayton.edu/artssciences/computerscience_grad
for additional and recent information on the Department of Computer Science graduate program; see https://udayton.edu/artssciences/academics/computerscience/academic/msc.php  for admission requirements for the Department of Computer Science graduate program; see http://gradschool.udayton.edu/ for general information on the University of Dayton Graduate School.

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science 

1. The Ph.D. coursework must include three one-credit-hour seminar courses, 12 credit hours from an approved list of 500/600-level VR and cybersecurity courses (students can choose to specialize in one of these areas and take all 12 credits from one area, or they can choose a more generalized path and take courses from both areas), and 15 credit hours from an approved list of 500/600-level elective courses. The one-credit-hour seminar courses will emphasize writing and presenting research and investigating techniques for result validations. Content will vary with the expertise of invited presenters, the concentrations of students, and advances in the field; they also may vary in format (e.g., lecture, panel) based on the subject matter. Responsibility for seminar content and planning will rotate among faculty. (See below for course of study.)
2. The graduate program director advises on course selection until the student’s dissertation committee is formed. Once the student completes 19 credit hours of study, the student must file a request with the graduate program director to appoint a dissertation committee, which will determine the student’s remaining course of study.
3. The course of study may include up to six credit hours of 500- and 600-level courses from academic departments other than computer science. These courses must be selected from a list approved by the Department of Computer Science graduate committee.
4. The student must fulfill the requirements for the departmental written qualifying examination within three years of enrollment in the doctoral program.  The student’s dissertation advisor organizes and administers the qualifying examination. The advisor assigns the creation of the examination to two or three faculty members; it is to be based on three areas of concentration related to the student’s intended dissertation area. Questions will be drawn from regular 500/600-level graduate courses the student has taken at UD related to the student’s dissertation topic. The grade for the exam will be pass or fail on each subject area. If a student fails to pass any area of the written examination, a second chance will be given for the failed topic test. Students who fail the qualifying examination after two attempts will be dismissed from the Ph.D. program.
5. No more than 15 semester hours of dissertation credit may be taken prior to the student performing an oral candidacy examination, which is an oral presentation of the dissertation proposal. Consideration for candidacy requires 1) the successful completion of at least 75 percent of the course requirements; 2) the successful passing of all qualifying exams; and 3) an oral defense of the dissertation proposal. The members of the student’s dissertation committee, with at most one exception, must judge the dissertation proposal to be satisfactory. If the proposal is deemed unsatisfactory, the committee will schedule a second opportunity. If the dissertation committee does not deem the proposal defense satisfactory after the second attempt, the committee will evaluate the student for dismissal from the Ph.D. program.
6. A student will be officially admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree after passing the oral candidacy examination and upon completion of all coursework. The student must then complete the required hours of dissertation credit, restricted to nine hours per semester. To be worthy of the Ph.D. degree, the dissertation must conform to high literary and scholastic standards and comply with all the relevant requirements of Graduate Academic Affairs as shown in the Graduate Catalog.
7. Each candidate must give an oral defense of the dissertation to the candidate’s dissertation committee. This oral defense of the dissertation must take place at least six months after the oral candidacy exam (proposal defense). The dissertation will be accepted provided the dissertation advisor and at least two of the other three members of the committee so agree.
8. From the dissertation, the candidate must publish (or have accepted for publication) a minimum of one article in a reputable peer-reviewed journal prior to graduating. Advisors will provide mentorship to students on publishing and acceptable journals.
9. Degree requirements, graduation, and time limits are subject to the general guidelines of the University of Dayton.

The minimum credit hours required for the Ph.D. degree is 60 semester hours beyond the master’s degree. This includes a minimum of 30 semester hours for the dissertation and a minimum of 30 semester hours of 500/600-level coursework.

Master of Computer Science 

Students seeking admission should have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a closely related field from an accredited institution of higher education with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 out of 4.0. Coursework equivalent to CPS or CSCI 150, CPS or CSCI 151 and CPS or CSCI 350, demonstrating expertise in a high-level language up to and including data structures, is required. For success in the program the student should have the equivalent of at least one year of college mathematics which is normally calculus. A few of the graduate courses, in addition to the calculus, cover topics such as linear algebra, statistics and discrete mathematics as prerequisites.

Students are expected to have a better than average knowledge of algorithm construction and implementation of algorithms in an object-oriented language. CPS or CSCI 501 is required for all first-semester MCS students.  This course counts towards the 30 graduate semester hours needed for the degree. They should discuss this with the Graduate Program Director prior to registering for any courses.

Graduate credit from other accredited institutions of graduate learning will be reviewed by the graduate committees. 

Academics

The degree requires thirty semester hours, as follows:

Required Core Courses:
CPS 501	Advanced Programming and Data Structures	3
or CSCI 501	Advanced Programming and Data Structures
CPS 530	Algorithm Design	3
or CPS 543	Advanced Concepts of Programming Languages
or CSCI 530	Algorithm Design
or CSCI 543	Advanced Concepts of Programming Languages
CPS 536	Operating Systems	3
or CPS 570	Data Communications
or CSCI 536	Operating Systems
or CSCI 570	Data Communications
CPS 510	System Analysis	3
or CPS 542	Database Management Systems
or CSCI 510	System2 Analysis
or CSCI 542	Database Management Systems
CPS or CSCI Electives 1		12
Culminating Experience - Select one from:		6
CPS 599	Thesis
or CSCI 599	Thesis
CPS 595 & CPS 596	Software Engineering Project I and Software Project II
or CSCI 595 & CSCI 596	Software Engineering Project I and Software Project II
Additional CPS or CSCI courses 510 and above

¹

Twelve semester hours from CPS or CSCI courses numbered 510 and above.  Up to six of these semester hours can be 400-level CPS or CSCI courses and must be approved by an advisor.  Up to six of these semester hours can be taken from graduate courses of other university departments (with advisor approval).

Each student's program requires the advance approval of a faculty advisor. A student failing to make normal progress will be required to withdraw from the program.

Certificate in Autonomous Systems and Data Science

Autonomous systems are largely self-governing and self-directed – though not completely so. Autonomous systems accomplish complex tasks with an element of human involvement ranging from monitoring to a virtual human-machine partnership. Achieving autonomy demands tremendous advances in fundamental and applied science since autonomous systems must respond to situations that were not anticipated when the system was built. Future autonomous systems will require innovation in machine learning, AI, image processing, command and control, cyber security, hardware and software safety, robotics, human factors, algorithms, as well as advances in legal and ethical frameworks to guide what decisions may morally be made by a machine and under what conditions. This certificate in Autonomous Systems and Data Science offers theoretical/practical coursework to facilitate the improvement of autonomous system design and the awareness of the role of such systems in society. It also provides coursework to derive data intelligence solutions.

Admission

To be considered for admission to this certificate program, students must have a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, engineering, or one of the sciences. A bachelor’s degree in computer science or a closely related field is desirable. The minimum required bachelor-level GPA is 3.0 out of 4.0.

Academics

The certificate requires fifteen semester hours¹, as follows:

CPS 501	Advanced Programming and Data Structures
or CSCI 501	Advanced Programming and Data Structures
Select one course from the following list or equivalent courses approved by Steering Committee:		3
PSY 515	Human Factors
PSY 522	Advanced Cognitive Processes
PSY 525	Cognitive Neuroscience
PSY 529	Perception
Select three courses from the list of approved courses by Steering committee:		9
CPS 534	Distributed Computing with Big Data
or CSCI 534	Distributed Computing with Big Data
CPS 561	Virtual Reality
or CSCI 561	Virtual Reality
CPS 564	Visual Computing and Mixed Reality
or CSCI 564	Visual Computing and Mixed Reality
CPS 568	Advanced Interactive Media
or CSCI 568	Advanced Interactive Media
CPS 573	Security and Safety in Autonomous Systems
or CSCI 573	Security and Safety in Autonomous Systems
CPS 580	Artificial Intelligence
or CSCI 580	Artificial Intelligence
CPS 584	Advanced Intelligent Systems and Deep Learning
or CSCI 584	Advanced Intelligent Systems and Deep Learning
Total Hours		12

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Students pursuing this certificate may apply certificate coursework toward our Master of Computer Science.