Requirements
Course Requirements
The minimum degree requirements include an approved schedule of nine courses numbers 100 or above.
There is a three-year residency requirement for PhD students.
Adviser
By the end of the first year, students must obtain the consent of a computer science faculty member to serve as adviser and dissertation committee chair.
Teaching Requirement
The mentoring, training and evaluation of teaching fellows is an ongoing and important component of the graduate program. Students normally teach one course per semester, beginning as graders of problem sets and assignments, then move progressively to higher levels of involvement with teaching in courses across the curriculum. They participate in the design and delivery of course lectures and each year, under the guidance of their faculty, they present several lectures. Whether students are preparing for an academic and research career or an industry position, the teaching fellow experience is valuable training in course preparation and technical communication.
Thesis Committee and Proposal
- Establishment by the adviser and the director of graduate studies of a thesis committee consisting of the adviser, two other Brandeis faculty and one appropriate external member from outside Brandeis.
- An approved, written thesis proposal by the candidate that surveys the relevant literature and states the goals of the dissertation and topics to be investigated (including aspects already completed or underway), along with an oral presentation to the thesis committee that is open to computer science faculty who wish to attend.
Thesis Defense
Public defense of a completed dissertation will be announced three weeks in advance. Copies of the complete thesis will be available to the faculty during these three weeks.
Residency Requirement
You can find out more about application requirements on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website. The minimum residency requirement is three years.