PhD Program Details - School of Information Sciences - University of ...

PhD Program DetailsFor students matriculating after Sept 1, 2004.There are three stages of admission to the doctoral program: admission to graduate study whenthe student first matriculates, admission to doctoral study following successful completion of thepreliminary examination, and admission to candidacy following successful completion of thecomprehensive examination and approval of the dissertation proposal. A minimum of 60 credits,including 42 course and seminar credits beyond the master’s degree, and at least 18 dissertationcredits are required. Students without a Master’s Degree will be required to take a minimum of12 additional credits of coursework or seminars, for a total of 72 credits beyond the Bachelor’sdegree. Students who did not take the prerequisite courses as part of earlier studies should expectto complete admission requirements or equivalent courses.A student pursuing a PhD degree is first admitted to graduate study in Information Science.During the first year of study and in preparation for the preliminary examination, PhD studentsshould complete initial course work and attend the PhD orientation session (a two-hour review ofrequirements for the PhD degree).1. Residency RequirementsFull-time residency, in addition to requiring full-time study, affords the student the opportunityfor daily professional interaction with faculty and other PhD students. This interaction is a majorcomponent in the student's preparation for research. Despite the benefits that full-time residencyaffords, it is recognized that students may have off-campus responsibilities as well.The PhD degree, therefore, can be completed by a combination of full-time and part-time study.Two terms of full-time study are required. Full-time study is defined as nine or more graduatecredits per term. All students, whether on campus or away, must maintain active status byregistering according to the requirements stated below. No matter your status, you must meetwith their advisor at least once per year. Annually, students will submit an annual progress reportto the PHD Program Chair, the Program Secretary and the advisor. This will take place on thesecond Friday of January.2. Registration RequirementsStudents must register each term for the number of credits of course work, independent study, orresearch equivalent to the anticipated use of faculty time and University facilities. A student whohas not registered for at least one credit during a 12- month period will be transferredautomatically to inactive status and must file an application for readmission to graduate study(and pay the application fee) before being permitted to register again. Upon readmission, thestudent is required to adjust the program of studies to meet current PhD degree program, School,and University requirements.In keeping with University policy, all graduate students must be enrolled for a minimum of 1credit in the term in which they graduate.Doctoral students who have completed all credit requirements for the PhD degree, includingminimum dissertation credit requirements, and are working full time on their dissertations, are

INFSCI 2591 - ALGORITHM DESIGNFoundations cluster:INFSCI 2120 - INFORMATION AND CODING THEORYINFSCI 2130 - DECISION ANAL AND DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMSINFSCI 2170 - CRYPTOGRAPHYINFSCI 2180 (2906) - KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AND THE SEMANTICWEBINFSCI 2140 - INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVALDesign cluster:INFSCI 2470 - INTERACTIVE SYSTEM DESIGNINFSCI 2511 - INFORMATION SYSTEMS DESIGNINFSCI 2550 - CLIENT-SERVER SYSTEMSINFSCI 2620 - DEVELOPING SECURE SYSTEMSInformation cluster:INFSCI 2711 – ADVANCED TOPICS IN DATABASEMANAGEMENTINFSCI 2801 - GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMSINFSCI 2560 - WEB TECHNOLOGIES AND STANDARDS3.2 Independent Research: Six credits of independent study focused on a research projectare required. This research will normally be supervised by the student's advisor over twoterms, but any IS faculty member who is a member of the graduate faculty may supervisethe student. The student may opt to have different faculty supervise different parts of theindependent study. The result of this research will be an original, publishable qualityresearch paper, which will serve as the basis of the preliminary exam (see below).Previously published work may not be used to fulfill this requirement, although theindependent research project might build upon previous work done by the student.3.3Doctoral Seminars: Three doctoral seminars (9 credits), including a requiredIntroduction to Doctoral Research (IS 3005), are required. IS3005 is offered everyfall/spring and should be taken during the first year of study. This course will cover thescope of research in Information Science. Advanced doctoral seminars will be focused onsingle research themes.4. Preliminary ExaminationThe goal of the preliminary evaluation is to assess your breadth of knowledge and ability toconduct research in information science. The evidence of your breath of knowledge is yourperformance in the core courses and seminars. The evidence of your ability to conduct research

is provided by authorship, presentation, and public defense of a publishable quality researchpaper that:1. presents work you have done under the direction of a graduate faculty member in thedepartment;2. demonstrates your ability to conduct research and clearly report the results of thatresearch;3. shows your mastery of the subject matter, both in the written paper and in your oralpresentation and defense.4.1 Research Project and Paper. During the first year of doctoral study, under the direction ofyour advisor (or another full or adjunct member of the department graduate faculty), studentswill design and complete a research project. The project should reflect only those activitiesundertaken during the first year of study. A previous master's thesis or other work completedprior to the start of doctoral study may not be submitted for this requirement. While muchresearch involves working in a larger team, your role in the project and in writing the papershould be significant. You must be the primary author, and ideally you will be the sole author.You should seek a project or a part of a project in which you take the lead in conducting theresearch and writing up the results under the direction of your advisor. However, unlike adissertation or thesis, the research paper submitted for the preliminary evaluation may includeco-authors. In this case, the role of each co-author should be clearly stated in writing by thestudent and submitted along with the research paper. Furthermore, the paper may be integratedwith other work and later submitted for publication with a longer list of authors.4.2 Research Paper Components. Research papers take many forms, and some venues requireparticular nomenclature or forms. The paper submitted to the faculty to meet this requirementshould include the following components:1. a clear statement of the problem2. an innovative idea that addresses the problem3. a survey of the relevant research literature4. an explication and implementation of a methodology for addressing the problem5. evidence that the described idea achieves its goal6. analysis and evaluation7. discussion of the research, including but not limited to shortcomings of the work anddirections for future work.8. a list of referencesWhile it is possible to deviate from this structure, this should only be done with the support ofyour advisor.4.3 Submission and Presentation of Research Papers. Submission and presentation of your papermust be made not later than in January following your second fall semester in the program.Students must complete the 6 credits of Independent Research Study and IS 3005 before takingthe preliminary examination. The due date for submission of the paper is the second Friday ofJanuary. On the fourth Friday of January, papers will be presented orally to the IS graduatefaculty in a public forum. Each student will give a 20-minute long oral presentation of his/her

paper to the faculty, followed by a 20-minute discussion. All presentations will be made on asingle day. Faculty will meet the same day to grade the written and oral performance. The resultof the exam will be: (a) pass, (b) fail with one more chance to re-take the exam the followingyear, or (c) fail with no chance to re-take the exam. While the submission and presentation ofyour paper may be made before the completion of the core courses and doctoral seminar, thepreliminary evaluation will not be considered satisfied until all core courses and doctoralseminars are completed.5. Preparation for the Comprehensive ExamStudents will have successfully completed the preliminary examination. In preparation for thecomprehensive exam, it is expected that the student will complete 3 credits of advanced statisticsand a minimum of 12 additional credits in elective courses. Any graduate-level course inside oroutside the program can count as an elective, if approved by the student's advisor as consistentwith and contributory to his or her program of studies. Students who are ready to take thecomprehensive exam without the 12 additional credits may do so and petition to take additionaldissertation credits to replace the elective credits.To be admitted to the comprehensive examination a student must have:1. successfully completed the preliminary examination;2. completed the 1-term residency requirement; and3. notify via e-mail the Chair of the PhD Committee and Program Chair/Secretary of theCommittee of the comprehensive examination at least two weeks before the exam.This notification should include the title of the Comprehensive Exam, the date, and theCommittee members.6. Comprehensive ExaminationThe comprehensive examination requires successful completion of the preliminary exam. Thestudent will propose three areas of concentration. These areas must be approved by theexamining committee, which will consist of the advisor who will chair the examining committee,and two other full time graduate faculty members from GIST selected by the student with theapproval of the adviser. To gain this approval, the student should send a hard-copy letter with thethree selected areas to all committee members for their signatures. In exceptional cases, wherethe student's focus requires outside expertise, one committee member may come from outside theGIST graduate faculty body if recommended by the advisor and approved by the chair of thePhD Program. Suggested areas of concentration include:SecurityGeographic Information SystemsCryptographyInformation RetrievalDistributed ComputingObject Oriented Analysis and DesignProgramming Languages

Operating SystemsExpert SystemsSoftware EngineeringAugmentationSpatial Information TheoryNatural Language ProcessingAdaptive SystemsDatabase SystemsDocument SystemsInteractive SystemsData MiningStandards and the Standardization ProcessVisualizationVirtual Information SpacesThe student must meet with the members of the committee to discuss the topics and foci. Thestudent, with the consent of the committee, is free to select areas within information science thatare not on the list, so long as the committee is unanimous in approving the topics. Once thecommittee and the topic areas are selected, the student will prepare an activity and reading listwith the advice and approval of the committee members. The student will then proceed with thereview of literature, based on the reading list. When the student is ready, he/she will inform theadvisor who will ask each member of the committee to submit one or more questions to theadvisor. The advisor will be responsible for coordinating the exam with appropriate balance overthe three topic areas. The student will be given the questions and allowed one week to preparewritten answers to the questions. After review of the written answers, two-hour oral examinationwill be scheduled and open to the public. The final reading list, questions and answers should bepublished and available to the iSchool community on the Schools Web site. As soon as finalized,forward this information to the School’s Webmaster (at webmaster@sis.pitt.edu ), with copiessent to the PhD Chair and all comprehensive committee members. It will normally be within aweek of the completion of the written exam, but in all cases no later than within three weeks. Thestudent will make a 10-minute presentation on the key points. The oral questions will cover theanswers on the written examination, and more broadly, about knowledge of the material in thethree areas of concentration. The result of the comprehensive examination will be a pass or fail.If a student fails, they may retake the exam one more time.7. Pre-CandidacyOnce the comprehensive examination is successfully completed, the student can propose anddefend a dissertation topic. The student and the dissertation advisor should select the dissertationcommittee.

7.1 Dissertation. Each student must write a dissertation that presents the results of a researchproject carried out by the student. This research project involves a substantive piece of originaland independent research grounded in an appropriate body of literature.7.2 Dissertation Credits. Doctoral students are required to take a minimum of 18 dissertationcredits as a part of their study. Dissertation credits should be taken during terms when a studentis actively working on the dissertation. Most research activities during the first two years of theprogram are better completed as part of an independent study or a doctoral seminar. In any termin which a student is enrolled for dissertation credits, the student should meet with their advisoron a regular basis to monitor that appropriate progress is being made towards the completion ofthe dissertation proposal or the dissertation. The specific activities in a given term should dependon the current stage of the dissertation process. In addition to writing the proposal anddissertation itself, other appropriate activities may include reviewing the literature,programming, prototyping, running preliminary studies, writing grant proposals, preparingjournal articles related to the dissertation or presenting preliminary results at conferences.Doctoral students who have completed all credit requirements for the PhD degree, includingminimum dissertation-credit requirements, are encouraged to register for "Full-time DissertationStudy," with a fixed-fee registration per term, currently $500 plus applicable fees, for bothPennsylvania residents and nonresidents. Enrollment in this course provides a student with fulltimestatus and fulfills the University requirements for registration in the term of graduation.7.3 Dissertation Advisor. Students must gain the agreement of a member of the GIST graduatefaculty to chair the dissertation committee that will advise on the area of research and the designof the dissertation study. The advisor's agreement is recorded in the student's file. Any request tochange the dissertation advisor must be submitted in writing to the Chair of the GIST PhDProgram Approval for the change and the selection of another dissertation advisor is placed inthe student’s file.In most cases, the student's program advisor continues as the dissertation advisor and chair of thedissertation committee. By University regulations the dissertation advisor must be a graduatefaculty member of the Information Science and Technology Program. In the event that either thestudent or advisor desires a change, another GIST graduate faculty member may serve asdissertation advisor and chair of the dissertation committee.The student's dissertation advisor together with the student: assists in choosing the dissertation committee and in confirming the eligibility of allmembers selected; arranges with the IST support staff to schedule the dissertation proposal presentation; reviews progress toward completion of the research; arranges with support staff to schedule the dissertation defense;chairs the dissertation defense;secures appropriate signatures from dissertation committee members and assures that allrequired paperwork is submitted in accordance with SIS and University procedures.

7.4 Dissertation Committee. The dissertation committee, selected by the student anddissertation advisor, shall consist of at least five members, including the dissertation advisor,with the majority being from the GIST graduate faculty. One of the members must hold aprimary faculty appointment outside the SIS faculty. Upon the recommendation of thedissertation advisor, a member, or members, may be appointed from outside the University. Themembers of the Dissertation Committee must be approved by the PhD Committee Chair and theDean. The expenses involved in the attendance of the outside person at meetings are not theresponsibility of the School.The dissertation committee is responsible for monitoring the research, conducting and evaluatingthe oral defense of the dissertation, and approving the final written presentation of thedissertation. The dissertation advisor directs the dissertation research and writing, but allcommittee members have the responsibility to assist the student as consultants.7.5 Dissertation Proposal. After successfully completing the comprehensive examination, thestudent, in consultation with the dissertation advisor, must prepare a dissertation proposal. Thewritten proposal is presented to the dissertation committee and defended in a hearing before thedissertation committee.Students must demonstrate their potential to complete a sound project of original research bypresenting and defending the dissertation proposal to their dissertation committee. Thedissertation committee must unanimously approve the dissertation topic and research plan beforethe student may be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree. Approval of the proposal doesnot imply either the acceptance of a dissertation prepared in accord with the proposal.Originality may be reflected in a number of ways. For example, a candidate may pose animportant new problem or formulate an existing problem in a novel and useful way. A candidatemay investigate previously ignored material or develop new techniques for investigating issues.Extensions of previous investigations are acceptable provided they incorporate important newelements in the design or execution of the research.The student must submit the dissertation proposal to the committee at least two weeks prior tothe scheduled hearing. Copies of the dissertation proposal are made by the student at his or herown expense. When the proposal has been successfully defended, the student's dissertationadvisor shall notify the Chair of the PhD Committee, the Chair of the Information Science andTechnology Program, and the Dean of SIS that the student has achieved formal candidacy. Afterapproval of the dissertation proposal, major changes may not be made without approval of thestudent and the dissertation committee. The student is responsible for filing a copy of theapproved proposal in the IS Program office.Electronic notice of the student's meeting with the dissertation committee to approve theproposal will be distributed to the GIST faculty at least two weeks ahead of time. The notice willcontain the student's name; the title of the proposal; the date, time, and place of the meeting; anda link to the electronic version of the dissertation proposal.The dissertation proposal meeting is open to all IST faculty and PhD students who wish to attendand others by invitation of the student.

8. CandidacyFor admission to candidacy for the PhD degree, a student must have:1. passed the preliminary examination;2. completed a minimum of 42 credits beyond the master's degree with a GPA of 3.3 orhigher;3. passed the comprehensive examination;4. successfully presented a dissertation proposal and received approval of the dissertationproposal by the dissertation committee.When these steps have been taken, and the dissertation advisor has notified the Program and theSchool, the Program Chair will notify the student in writing of his admission to doctoralcandidacy. A copy of the notice will be placed in the student's folder. The student is expected, atthis time, to schedule and present a colloquium on his or her research to the Program and thepublic.Meetings of the doctoral candidate and the dissertation committee must occur at least annuallyfrom the time the student gains admission to doctoral candidacy. During these meetings, theadvisor should assess the student's progress toward the degree, discuss objectives for thefollowing year, and project a timetable for completing degree requirements.8.1 Eligibility for the Dissertation Defense. To be eligible to defend the dissertation, a studentmust have:1. completed the residency requirement;2. at least four weeks prior to the date of the defense , requested the formal announcementof the defense in the University Times ;3. at least two weeks prior to the date of the defense, distributed copies of the dissertation tothe dissertation committee and make it available to the School’s faculty. These copies areprovided by the student at his or her own expense.The dissertation should be completed within the statute of limitations described below. If thestatute of limitations is about to be exceeded and there is evidence of reasonable progress, thegraduate faculty may extend the statute by a specific period usually not exceeding one year. It isthe student's responsibility to present evidence of progress to his or her advisor along with arequest for extension prior to the end of the statute of limitation period. All requests forextension must be approved by IST graduate faculty.8.2 Preparation for the Defense8.2.1 Procedural RequirementsThe student should work with the advisor to ensure that the dissertation will be produced in anacceptable style and format. Document preparation materials are located here.

The student must submit all forms, letters, and questionnaires related to the dissertation researchto the departmental members of the dissertation committee for approval before any suchdocuments are publicly distributed.The student is also responsible for meeting University requirements when human subjects areused in research. These requirements are found in the University of Pittsburgh's ReferenceManual for the Use of Human Subjects in Research. The School of Information Sciences has afaculty representative on the Institutional Review Board who may be contacted with questions ofprocedure.The student must prepare a final copy of the dissertation conforming to the University ofPittsburgh's Style and Form Manual for the format of the dissertation. Since the bibliographicstyle is best determined by the subject of the dissertation, a style manual of the student's choicemay be used for the content of the dissertation and must be applied consistently throughout.If University facilities and/or faculty time are being used in dissertation research and/or thewriting of the dissertation, then students are required to register for at least 3 credits per term orsuch greater amount as the School deems appropriate or Full-Time Dissertation Study.8.2.2 Registration Requirement Students completing their research work for the dissertation willbe required to register for at least one credit in the term during which they expect either tocomplete degree requirements or have the oral defense. Students who have completed all creditrequirements for the PhD degree may register for "Full-Time Dissertation Study." If the studentis a doctoral candidate and off-campus, not using University facilities and/or faculty time, thecandidate need only register for 1 credit per academic year to maintain active enrollment status.If a student does complete all the work in a given term, including the dissertation defense, andhas been cleared for graduation too late to be included on the graduation list for that term, thestudent may apply to graduate the following term and need not enroll for any courses or anycredits, subject to approval by the Dean's office.If a student is unable to complete the work during the expected term of graduation due to someextenuating circumstances related to the School and University (beyond control of the studentand attested to by the Dean's office), the student will not be required to register for additionalcredits in the term of graduation.All requests for exceptions to the policy stated above should be sent to the Program Chair fromthe advisor for clearance and recommendation and then to the Dean for consideration andapproval.8.2.3 Defense of the Dissertation. Dissertation defenses must be publicly announced and areopen to the University community, but only the dissertation committee may vote. A studentdefends his or her dissertation successfully if the dissertation committee unanimously approvesit. Although the dissertation defense is dedicated primarily to the field of the dissertation, otherquestions relating to information science may be considered at this time. The chair of thedissertation committee serves as the session moderator.A student who successfully defends the dissertation with conditions to be completed must satisfythose conditions with the approval of the dissertation advisor within one year.

8.2.4 Publication of the Dissertation. The candidate for a PhD degree is required to pay a feespecified by the University to Student Accounts and submit two copies of the title page and twocopies of the abstract to the Program secretary. The abstract must not be more than 350 words(2450 typewritten characters) in length. With 70 characters per line there are at most 35 lines inthe abstract. The first copy of the abstract must be approved by the dissertation advisor and mustbe submitted with the original unbound copy of the dissertation to the Dean's office. TheUniversity Microfilm Agreement and the Survey of Earned Doctorate forms must be completedat this time. The dissertation and abstract will be examined and approved by the student'sdissertation advisor for style, format, and related matters. In addition, the student must providethree bound copies of the dissertation to the SIS Library.Any dissertation may be published after the final defense provided that the dissertation submittedfor publication is approved as to form and content by the dissertation advisor and also providedthat due acknowledgment is made to the University. No form of publication, however, shallrelieve the student of the responsibility for supplying the proper abstract, the specified completecopy of the thesis or dissertation for binding and deposit in Hillman Library, and the three boundcopies for the SIS Library.For more information, please visit the University of Pittsburgh Electronic Theses andDissertations website.9. Statute Of LimitationsAll requirements for the PhD degree must be completed in not more than six calendar years fromthe time of first registration. Students may, in extenuating circumstances, submit a formal requestfor extension of their statute of limitations or for a leave of absence from the program. Therequest must be submitted to the advisor and then presented to the IST graduate faculty.In all other matters of policy, refer to the University publication, Regulations GoverningGraduate Study at the University of Pittsburgh.10. Summary of Course Requirements and an Ideal TimelineAll students will complete:Required coursework (30 credits)Four core courses (12 credits)One introductory doctoral seminar (3 credits)Two topical doctoral seminars (6 credits)Two independent research studies (6 credits)One advanced statistics (3 credits)Elective coursework (12 credits)Four electives, independent study, doctoral seminars, or coursework in otherdepartments (12 credits)Dissertation work (18 credits)A minimum of 18 credits of dissertation study

This represents a total of 60 credits. Students with adequate preparation can petition to replaceany or all of 12 additional credits with dissertation credits.Typical Timeline For Coursework/ExamsFirst Year Fall IS 3005 Core Course CoreCourseFirst Year Spring Elective Doc Seminar CoreCourseElectiveResearchStudyFirst YearSummerIndependent Study, research and/or teachingSecond Year Fall Doc Seminar Core Course Research StudySecond YearSpringSecond YearSummerPreliminaryExaminationElectives Electives Advanced StatisticsIndependent Study, research and/or teachingThird Year Fall Electives ElectivesThird YearSpringFourth Year FallComprehensiveExamDissertationProposal DefenseDissertation WorkDissertation WorkFifth Year Spring DissertationDefenseDissertation Work