Admission to PhD Program in Computer Science (CS PhD)

The application form and all supporting material must be submitted directly to the office of graduate admission. For application form and procedure on how-to-apply, please see Graduate Admissions website:

http://www.njit.edu/admissions/graduate

To speed-up the process, you are encouraged to submit your application on-line. The following material is needed in support of your application:

• Official transcript
• TOEFL report for international students (not needed if attending a college in US)
• GRE General exam report (subject area exam not required)
• Statement of Purpose: Briefly highlight your background and research interests
• Three letters of reference

Once all of the required material is received by the Admission office and your file is complete, your application folder is forwarded to CS department for evaluation.

PhD Applicants must possess a strong formal CS background. Applicants with an MS degree in CS are preferred. But strong candidates with only a BS degree in CS and with excellent credentials may also apply. Interested applicants who lack a strong CS background are advised to pursue an MS degree in Computer Science first, before applying to the PhD program.

Minimum GPA requirement is 3.5 (out of 4.0), but successful applicants normally have a GPA substantially higher than this minimum. There is no set minimum requirement for GRE scores, but successful applicants normally have GRE Quantitative higher than 750 and GRE verbal higher than 450

Full-Time PhD Studies and Financial Support:

Financial support positions (TA positions) are available for PhD applicants and are awarded on a competitive basis. To be eligible for support, the student must pursue PhD on a Full-Time basis and must not hold any outside employment.

Part-Time PhD Studies:

PhD students employed in local industry may pursue their studies on a Part-Time basis. Some of our advanced course offerings are available as Distance Learning. However, most of our advanced PhD courses are offered live and thus require physical attendance on campus. For the convenience of our part-time students, many of our classes meet only once a week for a 3-hour period in the evenings.

PhD Qualifying Exams

PhD students are expected to take their courses during the first year to prepare them for the PhD Qualifying Exams, which are conducted once a year at the beginning of the summer. For information on PhD Qualifying Exams, please see:

http://www.cs.njit.edu/~nassimi/phd/qual

Research Advisor and PhD Dissertation

During their first year, PhD students are also expected to familiarize themselves with CS faculty and their research areas.  After one year of full-time studies, a PhD student is expected to choose an interested Research Advisor who best matches the student’s area of interest. This choice is made in consultation with the PhD Program Director.

Time-Table for Part-Time PhD Students

Part-time PhD students may delay PhD Qualifying Exams to a later date when they are ready to take the entire exam. The choice of research advisor may also be made at a later time for part-time students.

Application Deadline:

Application deadline for the fall semester is:

• January 15 (for financial support consideration),
• April 1 (international applicants not applying for support), and
• June 1 (domestic applicants not applying for support).

The spring semester deadline is:

• October 15 (financial support consideration or international applicants),
• November 15 (domestic applicants, no support).

For more information, please contact:

Prof. David Nassimi

CS PhD Program Director

Email: Nassimi@cs.njit.edu