The major phases of the Ph.D program are: admission, diagnostic examination, candidacy examination and the dissertation defense. The following are the highlights of the requirements for these phases. For more detail go to respective sections of this handbook through the
table of contents.

Admission:
Applicants to the Ph.D. Program will be evaluated on an individual basis by the Graduate Studies Committee of the department. A Master of Science degree in computer science is normally required for admission, but exceptions may be made for students with very strong backgrounds in computer science or related fields.

Diagnostic Examination:
Students will be required to pass a diagnostic examination before the end of the second semester after admission into the Ph.D program. The format and content of this examination are designed to appraise the student's ability to treat materials rigorously and to get to the depth of the subjects.

Course Requirements:
A minimum of 27 credit hours beyond the Master's degree (excluding the dissertation work) is required. At least 9 out of these 27 credit hours should be non-topics courses.

Candidacy Examination:
Upon completing the course work and before becoming heavily involved in dissertation work, the student must pass an "admission to candidacy" examination. The examination is designed to test scholarly competence and knowledge and to give the examiners a basis for constructive recommendations on subsequent study.

Dissertation:
The Ph.D. dissertation is equivalent to a minimum of 24 credit hours. The work must represent an achievement in research and must be a significant contribution in the field. Students are required to publish (or have in the revision process) at least one paper in a refereed journal (or refereed conference proceedings) based on their dissertation work. See also Master's Thesis.

Dissertation Defense:
The examination will be oral and the examination committee members must have the completed dissertation at least two weeks before the examination date. Students are required to give a public lecture on their dissertation results.

Time Requirements:
Ph.D. students should normally be full-time. Students who wish to pursue their study on a part-time basis must spend at least two semesters at ODU or at an off-campus facility engaged in full-time graduate study. A full time student can be expected to satisfy all the Ph.D. requirements in three years if he/she start with an M.S. degree in Computer Science or four years if he/she start with a B.S. degree in Computer Science. No student (full-time or part-time) will be allowed to study for the Ph.D. degree beyond seven years from the date of admission.

Teaching Requirements:
Each student should teach at least one section of one course before graduation. If a student's native tongue is not English, then he/she must pass a test administered by the English Language Center.