PhD Programs in Computer Science

Carnegie Mellon

• One of the top programs cited by U.S. News and World Report is Carnegie Mellon's Ph.D. in computer science. Located in Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon has been educating students in computer science since 1965. According to the school's website, the six-year program enrolls 140 students at one time. Students do not need a master's degree to enroll here; a bachelor's is all that is required. Carnegie Mellon stresses that its Ph.D. program in computer science is, above all else, a research-based degree. However, before embarking on research, the student will be immersed in academic classes in both computer science and specialized fields of study.

  Carnegie Mellon University
  School of Computer Science
  5000 Forbes Avenue
  Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891
  412-268-8525
  www.csd.cs.cmu.edu/education/phd/index.html

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is another university that offers a Ph.D. program in computer science. To complete MIT's doctoral program, you must complete the school's advanced program of study, write and defend a doctoral thesis and complete a residence of four terms of work. The amount of time needed to complete the program will vary from student to student. Each doctoral student must also complete one term of teaching to earn the degree.

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  Room 38-401
  Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
  617-253-4603
  eecs.mit.edu

Stanford University

• Northern California's Stanford University is also home to one of the nation's top Ph.D. programs in computer science. In 2010, the Ph.D. program introduced a rotational aspect in which students work in different research groups throughout the year. This allows students to begin researching immediately and help peers, as well as providing an opportunity to learn about people in the program. While the Ph.D. program has no required courses, students must complete 135 course units to graduate, as well as write and defend a dissertation.

  Stanford University
  Department of Computer Science
  353 Serra Mall
  Stanford, CA 94305-9025
  650-723-2273
  cs.stanford.edu

University of California--Berkeley

• The final top program in computer science is University of California--Berkeley. Students in the Ph.D. program complete similar coursework to the school's master's program but must also write and defend a dissertation. Students at Berkeley can also choose to specialize in a subfield such as new media, computational and genomic biology, energy science and nanoscale science. The normal time to complete Berkeley's Ph.D. program is five and a half years.

  University of California--Berkeley
  Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  205 Cory Hall
  Berkeley, CA 94720-1770
  510-642-3068
  eecs.berkeley.edu