Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Computing and Information Sciences

Rochester Institute of Technology

In the Ph.D. in computing and information sciences, you will conduct both foundational and applied research to address diverse and important challenges within and beyond computing, and benefit from world-class faculty, diverse academic offerings, and modern facilities. Our graduates are poised to excel in both computing and interdisciplinary environments in academia, government, and industry.

The doctoral program in computing and information sciences highlights two of the most unique characteristics of the Golisano College for Computing and Information Sciences: its breadth of program offerings and its scholarly focus on discovering solutions to real-world problems by balancing theory and practice.

The program focuses on the theoretical and practical aspects of cyberinfrastructure as applied to specific problems across multiple domains. It is a blend of intra-disciplinary computing knowledge areas and inter-disciplinary domain areas.

Cyberinfrastructure (CI) is the comprehensive integration of hardware, data, networks, and digitally-enabled sensors to provide secure, efficient, reliable, accessible, usable, and interoperable suites of software and middleware services and tools. The doctorate program plays a leadership role in CI research by providing human-centered tools for the science and engineering communities. These tools and services focus on such areas as high performance computing, data analysis and visualization, cyber-services and virtual environments, and learning and knowledge management.

Plan of study

The program requires a minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the baccalaureate level comprised of graduate-level course work, including seminar attendance and research credits.

Required courses

Students complete 18 credit hours of required foundation and core elective courses and 2 credit hours of teaching skills courses.