Ph.D.

The primary focus of the doctoral program is research, with the philosophy that students learn best by doing—beginning as apprentices and becoming junior colleagues working with faculty on scholarly research projects. The faculty in the department conduct research in all areas of computer science. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy requires a dissertation based on the candidate’s original research, which is supervised by a faculty member, and all students in the Ph.D. program are actively engaged in research throughout the program. Ph.D. students spend at least half of their time on research under the direction of their faculty adviser from their first day in the program and devote themselves full time to research after coursework and other preliminaries have been completed. Ph.D. students are also expected to participate in departmental and laboratory activities full time throughout the program, except possibly for summer internships elsewhere, and the department does not consider admission of part-time Ph.D. students.

DEPARTMENTAL INFORMATION FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS

• Program Requirements
• MS leading to PhD
• Milestones Chart
• Milestones Registration Form: Candidacy, Thesis Proposal, Thesis Defense
• PhD course Import Forms
• PhD Algorithms Prerequisite Form
• Data Science Specialization Option  (further details here)
• PhD Reps
• Awards

SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY INFORMATION FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS

• Registration
• SEAS Doctoral Fieldwork (CPT) Policy
• Time-Off Policy for Doctoral Students on Appointment in the Sciences and Related Research Fields

GENERAL PHD INFORMATION AND ADVICE

• CAREER Club – resources for ABD students planning faculty careers (may also be useful for junior faculty)
• Computer Science Open Data (starts with “This is data I wish I had when I was applying for Ph.D. programs.”)
• Computer Science Graduate Job and Interview Guide
• Background in case you ever need to teach online with two days notice
• The Definitive ‘what do I ask/look for’ in a PhD Advisor Guide
• The Thesis Whisperer
• Prem Devanbu’s Review Anti-Patterns
• Computer Science Rankings
• Michael Ernst’s Compilation of Great Advice
• Productivity Tips for PhD Students
• Getting Admitted to a Top PhD Program
• Tips on the Interview Process
• Networking on the network
• Advice on research and writing
• More advice on writing
• Corporate Lab or Academic Department, Which Fits?
• How To Survive A Thesis Defense
• PhD comics
• 10 easy ways to fail a PhD
• Dealing with plagiarism
• Academic job site
• Computing Research Association
• ACM
• IEEE Computer Society
• Usenix
• AAAI

(link suggestions appreciated; send email to phd-chair@cs.columbia.edu)

Last updated on June 25, 2023.