Fall 2026–Spring 2027 Notice

The AI MIND Lab research team for the 2026–2027 academic year has been finalized. No additional Ph.D. students, graduate research assistants, or other researchers are being accepted at this time.

For future openings, the AI MIND Lab considers UCF Computer Science Ph.D. students who have completed a master’s degree and are eligible to participate through an approved academic appointment or structured research mechanism. Meeting these eligibility criteria does not guarantee admission to the lab. Selection depends on research alignment, preparation, available supervision, project needs, and funding.

The lab emphasizes innovative research, strong methodological foundations, sustained engagement, collaboration, reproducibility, and high-quality publications.

Ph.D. Students

Ph.D. students typically join the lab through the official UCF Computer Science Ph.D. program and may participate in doctoral research through CAP 7919 or another appropriate, approved research course or appointment.

The AI MIND Lab expects its Ph.D. students to develop a strong publication record. As a general research target, students should work toward leading at least two peer-reviewed conference papers at highly selective venues, such as NeurIPS, CVPR, or MICCAI, and two full-length journal articles in respected, high-impact venues before graduation. These are lab research goals, not UCF degree requirements, and publication outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

All Ph.D. students are expected to maintain active and sustained research engagement throughout the year. Each student, regardless of full-time or part-time status, is generally expected to:

• Lead one primary research project annually.

• Meet established project milestones and deadlines.

• Communicate progress, challenges, and anticipated delays promptly.

• Contribute meaningfully to relevant collaborative research and, when appropriate, proposal development.

• Participate consistently in scheduled lab meetings and research activities.

Full-time Ph.D. students are generally expected to contribute to two collaborative projects annually in addition to their primary project. Students with an approved internship or another substantial external commitment are generally expected to contribute to one collaborative project annually. Responsibilities and timelines may be adjusted when justified by the student’s circumstances, project needs, or appointment terms. Any modification must be discussed in advance and documented in writing by the principal investigator.

Project assignments, responsibilities, milestones, and deadlines will be established in writing.

UCF Computer Science Ph.D. Application Deadlines

Fall Admission

• December 1: International applicants

• July 1: Domestic applicants

Spring Admission

• July 1: International applicants

• December 1: Domestic applicants

Deadlines and admission requirements may change. Prospective applicants should consult the official UCF Graduate Studies doctoral admissions page for current information. Admission to UCF does not guarantee placement in the AI MIND Lab.

Participation Requirements

Because the lab’s research may involve sensitive clinical data, regulated resources, and long-term collaborative projects, the AI MIND Lab does not accept informal volunteer researchers. All participants must have an appropriate UCF affiliation and participate through an approved academic appointment, course, employment arrangement, or other structured research mechanism.

Students are expected to maintain professionalism, attend scheduled meetings, complete assigned responsibilities, meet established milestones and deadlines, communicate progress and challenges promptly, and contribute substantively to the lab’s research. Attendance alone does not constitute active participation.

Research assistantships and other paid appointments are time-limited and are not automatically renewed. Renewal depends on satisfactory research progress, completion of assigned responsibilities, consistent attendance and communication, adherence to established milestones, availability of funding, and compliance with applicable UCF policies and the terms of the appointment.

If a student repeatedly misses meetings or deadlines, remains unresponsive, fails to complete agreed-upon responsibilities, or demonstrates insufficient research progress, the student’s role or appointment may be reconsidered in accordance with applicable university policies and appointment terms.

Funding Notice

All current AI MIND Lab graduate research assistant funding is committed to existing Ph.D. students. The lab does not currently have funded GRA or other paid research positions available.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships are administered separately and are not offered by the lab. Independent funding does not guarantee acceptance into the lab. Please do not email solely to request GRA, GA, GTA, TA, or other financial support; individual funding inquiries may not receive a response.

Sai K. Nallamothu | Contributed to multimodal foundation models for diagnostic certainty in oncology.

Anirudh N. Bharadwaj | Contributed to continuous neural representations for topology-aware 3D brain MRI registration.

Md. Ehsanul Haque | Contributed to interpretable deep learning methods for brain tumor classification.