Milestones

Supervisory Committee

The supervisory committee consists of your major advisor who acts as chair, and at least two, but no more than four, additional members. A majority of the committee members must be participating faculty in the Ph.D. program, and the advisor must be from the chosen area of emphasis. Adjunct graduate faculty also may chair committees if they have program endorsement.  

When to form your Supervisory Committee:

• Work with your advisor to form your supervisory committee prior to registering for the Comprehensive Exam. Committee member names are required on the Comprehensive Exam pre-registration form. 

• After passing the Comprehensive Exam submit the Appointment of Supervisory Committee form, available on the Graduate College forms page. 

Adding a non-BSU faculty member to your Supervisory Committee:

• If you are inviting a non-BSU faculty member to serve on your committee, your advisor will need to formally request approval from the Co-Directors by emailing computingphd@boisestate.edu. Submit the faculty member's name, professional title, email address/contact information, and current resume or curriculum vitae (CV) for the nominee to Computing leadership for approval.

• With approval of the Co-Directors, the Computing PhD Program Coordinator will submit a Graduate Faculty Nomination form seeking Graduate College approval to permit external faculty to serve on a Boise State doctoral committee and to be listed on the Appointment of Supervisory Committee form. If formally approved by the Graduate College, the external faculty member will be designated as an Affiliate Graduate Faculty member.

Making changes to your Supervisory Committee:

Membership of the supervisory committee can be made at any time after the initial appointment by submitting an updated Appointment of Supervisory Committee form.

Comprehensive Exam

The purpose of the comprehensive exam is to determine the preparedness of students to perform tasks composing the scientific research process in the field of computing.  This includes having knowledge in core areas of their specific emphasis, understanding relevant scientific literature, designing and writing software components, and presenting technical information both orally and in writing.

More information on the format of the comprehensive exam can be found in Appendix B. 

Dissertation Proposal

The objective of the dissertation proposal and oral defense is to assess the suitability of a Ph.D. student for research in a specific area and will focus on advanced coursework and research in the student’s dissertation area. Satisfactory completion is required for you to become a Ph.D. candidate. The dissertation proposal should be presented within one year of satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination and must be approved by the supervisory committee one year before the final dissertation defense.

Please refer to Appendix C of this handbook for further details and instructions.

Admission to Candidacy

Upon successful completion of the dissertation proposal defense you are eligible to complete an Application for Admission to Candidacy (AAC). This form is available on the Graduate College Website. 

The AAC is a list of all completed and planned coursework and is the primary method for obtaining official approval of elective courses. The Graduate College does not permit undergraduate-level coursework to satisfy doctoral degree requirements. Do not list undergraduate classes on your AAC form.

Guideline for selecting "Requirement Type" categories in the drop down menu:

• Select "Other Requirement" for COMPUT 601

• Select "Core Course" for courses that fulfill your emphasis area core requirements (as listed in the Graduate Catalog and Student Handbook)

• Select "Culminating Activity" for COMPUT 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Exam

• Select "Elective" for any course that fulfills your emphasis area pre-approved or advisor-approved electives, including Independent Study and Seminar credits

• Select "Research" for COMPUT 693 Dissertation

• Select "Other Requirement" for Practicum/Internship

• For Transfer Credits that have been formally approved via Request for Approval of Transfer Credits: List the approved transfer courses as the Boise State equivalent (or how the credit should be applied) using the applicable Course Prefix (COMPUT, CS, ECE, etc.) and list the Course Title as "500XF." (See sample screenshot below.)

Once this application is accepted by the Graduate College, the student becomes a Ph.D. Candidate. The Graduate College strongly recommends that the AAC be submitted when the student has finished approximately half of the degree requirements. However, all completed and planned coursework must be listed on the AAC form. Be sure to account for ALL of the degree requirements on your form to prevent rejection of your AAC form.

Once admitted to candidacy, it is expected that the student will proceed with the research outlined in the proposal defense. Major deviation from the proposed research requires majority approval of the supervisory committee.

Dissertation

The dissertation must be the result of independent and original research and must constitute a significant contribution to the knowledge base of the focus area, equivalent to multiple peer-reviewed publications.  The style and format of the dissertation are to conform to the standards of the Graduate College. 

The Graduate Student Success Center provides materials and support for students preparing their dissertation manuscripts and presentations. 

Dissertation Defense

A public defense of the dissertation is scheduled after the supervisory committee has reviewed a draft that is considered to be a nearly final version.  The date of the defense is determined jointly by the supervisory committee and the student and must be consistent with any guidelines provided by the Graduate College.  The first part of the defense will be a public oral presentation of the dissertation.  The second part will be an oral exam administered by the supervisory committee who will decide whether the student passes or fails the defense. A student who fails the defense may be permitted to try again but failure a second time will result in dismissal from the Ph.D. program.

If the defense is completed with a result of pass, the supervisory committee prepares a statement describing final requirements such as additions or modifications to the dissertation and any additional requirements such as archival of data.  When these requirements have been met to the satisfaction of the supervisory committee, the approval page of the dissertation is signed by the members of the committee.

Timeline

Your advisor and supervisory committee determine your program timeline. The Ph.D. program is expected to take between 4 and 6 years, but this can vary based on student background, research project, and any number of other variables. All program requirements must be started and completed within a single continuous interval of no more than ten years.

Program flowcharts specific to each emphasis can be found on the program website under each emphasis area. 

Suggested Timeline - Students with a Bachelors Degree

Year 1

Semester 1

• Complete a degree plan and submit it to the Program Administrator. Include credits of graduate courses that are being requested to be applied to the Ph.D. program degree requirements

• Select an Advisor and complete the Student and Major Advisor Agreement

Semester 2

• If applicable - complete provisional requirements for regular admission status.

Year 2

Semester 3 and 4

• Form a supervisory committee

• Complete the majority of coursework

• Take and pass the comprehensive exam

Year 3

Semesters 5 & 6

• Conduct research and prepare dissertation proposal

• Successfully defend the dissertation proposal

• Get recommended for Admission to Candidacy by Supervisory Committee and complete the Application for Admission to Candidacy Form

Year 4+

Semesters 7 & 8+

• Conduct research and prepare dissertation

• Present and pass the dissertation defense

• Submit final approved dissertation

• Graduate

Suggested Timeline - Students with a Masters Degree