The purpose of the Doctoral Comprehensive Exam is to determine the preparedness of students to perform tasks comprising the scientific research process in the field of computing. This includes having knowledge in core areas of their specific emphasis area, understanding relevant scientific literature, designing and writing software components and presenting technical information both orally and in writing.
A doctoral student must be in regular status and registered for at least one credit of COMPUT 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Examination during the semester or term of the first attempt at the comprehensive examination, and the examination must be administered in time to process and submit the grade when grade reports are due in the Office of the Registrar. Students must present the exam within their enrolled 691 term. If a student (or advisor) determines they are not ready to present their Comp Exam in their enrolled term, the student must officially withdraw from the course.
If a doctoral student passes the comprehensive examination, a grade of pass (P) is submitted for the COMPUT 691 credit. If the doctoral student fails the comprehensive examination, then the program follows the procedure described in Failure of the Comprehensive Examination (below).
Failure of the comprehensive examination (any attempt by a PhD student) is documented by submission of a Report of Failure of a Comprehensive Examination form to the Graduate College and by submitting the appropriate grade for COMPUT 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Examination. A comprehensive examination that is failed on the first attempt can be repeated once, but only if a second attempt is requested and approved by the program. Any request for a second attempt must be in writing to the Graduate Program Coordinator and must be made within five (5) working days after the doctoral student has been notified of the failure. If a second attempt is not requested, or if a request is made but not approved by the program, then a grade of fail (F) is assigned to the COMPUT 691 credit and the doctoral student is dismissed from the program and Boise State by the Graduate College. If the request is approved by the program, then the second attempt must occur within twelve (12) months after the first attempt, and an incomplete grade (I) is assigned to the 691 credit until the result of the second attempt is known. If a second attempt is not made within twelve (12) months after the first attempt, or if the second attempt is failed, then a grade of fail (F) is assigned to the 691 credit(s) and the doctoral student is dismissed from the program and Boise State University by the Graduate College. Any extension to the twelve-month limit on the second attempt must be appealed using a Graduate Appeal Form, and must be approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator and by the Dean of the Graduate College.
The Comprehensive Exam is comprised of four elements:
Emphasis Core Courses: The purpose of this requirement is for the students to have a breadth of knowledge and practical understanding in their particular emphasis area.
Synthesis Manuscript: The purpose of this requirement is to assess students' scientific reading and writing abilities.
Computing artifact: As the program grants a Ph.D. in Computing, the purpose of this requirement is that students who graduate from this program will be able to make a contribution in their respective emphasis areas through computation.
Oral Presentation: This is a presentation of the content of the synthesis paper and a formal examination on advanced knowledge necessary for the synthesis paper and computing artifact.
Pre-Registration: Register for COMPUT 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Exam as early as possible. Submit the Comp Exam Pre-registration form to obtain a permission number. Note: As of Spring 2026, all core courses must be completed prior to registering for the Comp Exam.
Orientation: Attend the online Comp Exam Orientation led by the Computing PhD Co-Directors.
Presentation Planning: Schedule your presentation with your full committee and assigned CompEE, and submit the Presentation Notification form at least three weeks before your presentation--or earlier. Additional details are provided below.
Submit the Affirmation of Original Work form prior to your presentation.
Final Approval Form: The Comprehensive Exam Approval form must be received by Computing PhD program staff by the last day of course instruction. Refer to the Current Academic Calendar for the exact date. If the form has not been submitted by that date a grade of F will be entered.
Appointment of Supervisory Committee Form: After you've successfully completed your Comprehensive Exam, submit your completed Appointment of Supervisory Committee form to the Graduate College for approval. Form instructions are located here: https://www.boisestate.edu/graduatecollege-success/asc/ and the ASC form is located on this webpage: https://www.boisestate.edu/graduatecollege/forms/
Students may take COMPUT 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Exam in fall and spring semesters only. COMPUT 691 is not offered during the summer.
A permission number is required to enroll in COMPUT 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Exam. Prior to requesting a permission number, you must work with your advisor to form your Doctoral Supervisory Committee. Your Comprehensive Exam committee will be the same as your Dissertation committee, plus one external evaluator (CompEE) who is appointed by the Computing PhD co-directors. The CompEE will be assigned and communicated to students and advisors within the first two weeks of the semester.
Once the pre-registration form is approved you will be sent a permission number to enroll in COMPUT 691.
At the start of the semester, the Program co-directors will appoint a Comprehensive Exam External Evaluator (CompEE) to serve on your committee. The CompEE reads your synthesis paper, examines your computing artifact and attends your oral presentation. The CompEE must attend your Comp Exam oral presentation and will vote on your exam completion.
Computing PhD leadership expects you to communicate with your advisor to determine which term is best for your Comp Exam. When you've agreed on the best semester to take the exam, plan ahead and register on time. If you wait too long to submit your Pre-Registration Form and secure a permission number after the Registrar's published final registration deadline, you will need to submit a late enrollment appeal to obtain university approval to register for COMPUT 691. The appeal requires completion and submission of:
Academic Appeal Form (requires permission number from the Computing PhD admin)
Registration Override Form (requires Co-Director signature on "Instructor Signature" line)
Student letter explaining the reason for late registration
Late fee to be paid by the student to the Registrar
All core courses must be completed with a B grade or better recorded by the Registrar prior to registering for the Doctoral Comprehensive Exam.
Artificial Intelligence:
CS 534 - Machine Learning
CS 536 - Natural Language Processing
CS 557 - Artificial Intelligence
Computational Math, Science and Engineering:
MATH/CS 566 Numerical Linear Algebra
MATH 567 Numerical Methods for Differential Equations
CS 507 Computing Foundations for Computational Science
COMPUT/ME 571 Parallel Scientific Computing
Computer Science:
CS 521 Design and Analysis of Algorithms or CS 561 Theory of Computation
CS 552 Operating Systems
CS 573 Advanced Software Engineering
Cybersecurity:
CYBER 500 Intro to Cybersecurity
(Choose one course from two different sections -- refer to degree requirements)
CS 567 Applied Cryptography or MATH 508 Advanced Public Key Cryptology or MATH 509 Symmetric Key Cryptology or MATH 510 Quantum and Post Quantum Cryptography
CS 523 Cyber-Physical Systems or CS 524 Computer Security of Critical Infrastructures
CS 547 Digital Forensics
CS 575 Software Security
CS 622 Advanced Network Security
Data Science:
CS 533 Introduction to Data Science
CS 534 Machine Learning
MATH 562 Probability and Statistics II
MATH 572 Computational Statistics
The synthesis manuscript should show critical thinking about the reviewed papers, identify any obvious gaps, and identify one or more possible new research directions based on the papers. Your advisor, with input from your exam committee, will provide a set of at least three (3) scientific papers (three to four is the recommendation). You should use these papers as a starting point and perform a literature search to better cover the breadth of existing related work.
You may receive feedback from your major advisor prior to the formal submission of the manuscript. However, the synthesis should be your own work. You must sign an affirmation that confirms that the work is your own and does not reflect an act of plagiarism. Prior to submitting your synthesis paper and computing artifact for committee review submit the required Affirmation of Original Work.
The Affirmation of Original Work form can be found on the program website at https://www.boisestate.edu/computing/programs/doctoral-program/forms/
No specific format is required for this manuscript. You should discuss format expectations with your advisor.
Your Dissertation Proposal and Dissertation will use the template and format required by the Graduate College, so for consistency, you may wish to use this format for your synthesis manuscript. The Graduate College template and format guidelines can be found here: https://www.boisestate.edu/graduatecollege-success/thesis-and-dissertation-template/
The Computing PhD program keeps a repository of select synthesis papers from former students. Students must request access to view this repository via the prompt at this link.
You may request that the synthesis manuscript element be satisfied by your master's thesis. Your advisor and all members of your supervisory committee must approve this at the beginning of the semester in which you enroll in COMPUT 691.
The computing artifact element of the comprehensive exam can be a separate project or an extended class project. The artifact will contain program(s) and output that must be well tested and documented. Your examination committee should determine the minimum requirements for the artifact and notify you of these evaluation criteria within one month of accepting to serve on the committee.
You may request that the computing artifact element be satisfied by your master's thesis. Your advisor and all members of your supervisory committee must approve this at the beginning of the semester in which you enroll in COMPUT 691.
The Oral Presentation should be scheduled for two weeks after you submit your synthesis paper and computing artifact for review by your committee. If your full committee is not available within two weeks, select the next earliest date.
In-Person or Virtual Presentation? Ideally, it's beneficial for doctoral students to hold an in-person Comp Exam presentation but in an interdisciplinary program with graduate faculty with varied schedules and locations, sometimes this isn't feasible. If your committee members and CompEE cannot meet in-person, please plan to present via Zoom. Computing PhD leadership suggests that you choose a single meeting mode for the Comp Exam with everyone meeting in-person or everyone meeting via Zoom. It is quite challenging for a student to manage all aspects of the Zoom meeting and be attentive to in-person attendees. For the benefit of the student presenter's experience, avoid hybrid meetings to the best of your ability. (NOTE: This recommendation does not necessarily apply to the proposal and defense presentations.)
It is the student's responsibility to schedule the presentation date with all committee members and CompEE, determine a meeting room, and (if desired) generate a Zoom meeting link with guest registration. Students cannot book rooms. If presenting on main campus, ask your advisor to reserve a room. If presenting in CCP, ask Brenda to identify an available room.
When all of these details are known, create a Google Calendar event and invite your committee members, CompEE, and Brenda. Schedule two hours for the session. Include the Zoom link and room. (If meeting in CCP, select the setting to allow guests to modify the calendar invitation so Brenda can add the room.)
For optimal security, set up your Zoom meeting with registration required of guests. Adjust the registration settings to your desired level of oversight and security to avoid unwanted, disruptive intrusions such as "Zoom bombing." Guidance for setting up a Zoom meeting with required registration is provided here.
The format of the oral examination consists of a 30-minute public presentation of your synthesis paper and computing artifact, including a public question and answer session.
The public question and answer session will be followed by a closed-door period of questioning by the examination committee based on content in the synthesis paper and computing artifact. Only the committee members may attend the closed-door session.
After the examination, you will be asked to leave, and your committee will discuss and vote on your performance on the synthesis paper, computing artifact, and oral presentation.
Immediately following your presentation, submit the Comprehensive Exam Approval form.
The fully approved Comprehensive Exam Form must be submitted by the last day of course instruction. Refer to the current Academic Calendar for the exact date. If the form has not been submitted by that date a grade of F will be entered.
Students who completed their Master of Science degree at Boise State University may opt to substitute their MS thesis to fulfill all elements of the exam requirements–including the oral presentation. Requests for the waiver of elements must be approved by all committee members at the start of the semester in which the student is enrolled in COMPUT 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Exam. The committee’s decision to waive all or partial elements of the Comprehensive Exam must be submitted to the Computing Co-Directors in writing.
Semester before:
Meet with an advisor and confirm that all course requirements will be met before enrolling in COMPUT 691.
Work with your advisor to select members of the supervisory committee.
Submit the Pre-Registration Form
Enroll in COMPUT 691 using the permission number you are sent.
Beginning of Comprehensive Exam semester:
Meet with your advisor and supervisory committee. We suggest you put all agreed-upon expectations in writing and save a copy:
Set a deadline for when seed papers will be given to the student.
Agree upon expectations for the computing artifact.
Agree upon expectations for the synthesis paper.
Agree upon expectations for the oral presentation.
Agree upon the amount of feedback the student can expect from their advisor and committee.
Set a due date for submission of computing artifact and synthesis manuscript.
Schedule the oral presentation.
Create a Google calendar event and invite your advisor, committee, and CompEE through your student email address.
Create Zoom Link (if applicable) with required registration and include in Google Calendar event you created.
Presentations must be scheduled to occur at least one week before the final day of course instruction. Refer to the current Academic Calendar for the exact date.
The program recommends sending the synthesis paper and artifact to committee members at least two weeks before the presentation date.
Prior to submitting artifact and synthesis paper to committee:
Schedule your presentation with your advisor, committee, and CompEE, and create a Google calendar event and invite your advisor, committee, and CompEE through your student email address.
Presentations must be scheduled to occur at least one week before the final day of course instruction. Refer to the current Academic Calendar for the exact date.
Once you set the date, submit the Presentation Notification form.
The program recommends sending the synthesis paper and artifact to committee members at least two weeks before the presentation date.
Prior to submitting your synthesis paper and computing artifact for committee review submit the Affirmation of Original Work.
Presentation day:
Arrive early to set up the room and tech.
Immediately following presentation, submit Comprehensive Exam Approval form via Smartsheet.
After successful completion of the Comprehensive Exam:
Submit the Appointment of Supervisory Committee form to the Graduate College. Form instructions are located here: https://www.boisestate.edu/graduatecollege-success/asc/
Note: Doctoral students must list a Graduate Faculty Representative (GFR) on their ASC form. Please contact Brenda for assistance in finding a GFR. This process can be challenging so please allow plenty of time to find a willing GFR.
Per the graduate student catalog, students who fail their first attempt at any element of the comprehensive exam may be granted a second attempt of that element.
Students who fail any portion of the comprehensive exam must submit their request to retake via the Comprehensive Exam Form within five (5) working days of being notified of their failure.
Students who fail one or more elements of the comprehensive exam will indicate via the Comprehensive Exam Form:
1) Which element(s) were failed.
2) If they will be retaking/revising the failed element(s).
The Comprehensive Exam form will route to all committee members for their approval.
If all committee members approve the student's request to retake/revise the failed element(s) of the exam the student will be asked to complete the Report of Failure of Comprehensive Exam, and a grade of I (incomplete) will be entered for COMPUT 691.
If the request to retake is approved, then the second attempt of the failed elements of the exam must be submitted before the end of the following semester, not including summer, after receiving the exam results.
Students who do not request a retake, or whose retake request is denied by their committee, will be given a grade of (F) for COMPUT 691, and the student will be dismissed from the program by the Graduate College.
If a student fails to submit their second attempt prior to the end of the semester following the initial failure, or if the student fails the second attempt, then a grade of (F) is assigned to COMPUT 691, and the student will be dismissed from the program by the Graduate College.
Any extension of the time limit on the second attempt must be approved by the Program Directors and by the Dean of the Graduate College.
Graduate Student Success Center: Seek assistance with writing your synthesis paper, including templates.
Student Writing Center: Students can go here to seek assistance with academic writing and for support in reviewing papers. Online Zoom meetings are also available for students.