Ph.D. in CmpE

• Applications to the Graduate Studies (MSc. or PhD degree) in Bogazici University are processed electronically and there is no other channel of application. All prospective candidates should apply through the following link: http://adaylar.boun.edu.tr/en-EN/Page/Admissions/Graduate/All

• The most actual information about the application process, such as required documents and certificates, quotas, and important deadlines, are announced regularly on the page linked above. The candidates are advised to study this information carefully and identify specific requirements for their individual cases, as there may be variations in required documents depending on the specific status. Applicants should compare to the previous application period, and plan well ahead to obtain mandatory certificates (such as GRE, TOEFL, UYS, YDS for PhD) on time. Remember that many certificates require registering many weeks before taking an exam and report results with some delay.

• The education is exclusively in English and the applicants are expected to possess a high level of English speaking and writing skills. In only extraordinary circumstances, the program may admit candidates to the English preparatory class. The candidates should check the Prep Class box during on-line application and take the DBS (English Language Level Test) so as to get considered as an English prep student by the CmpE Department.

• Bogazici University uses a grading system similar to the US grading system (AA, BA, BB, .., DD), corresponding to (4, 3.5, 3, .., 1 ), and 'F' for failing. The following link will be helpful in translating the GPA, especially for candidates applying from a foreign university: 

  • http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp

  • http://www.foreigncredits.com/resources/grade-conversion/

• Some submissions require letters of reference written on candidate's behalf. Such letters must be uploaded to an on-line reference system by the referees. Past experience has shown that referees too often forget or delay to upload these letters. It is in the candidate's responsibility to remind the referees to ensure that letters are uploaded before the evaluation.

• Before finishing the application process, each candidate must identify a desired area of research and prepare a detailed statement of purpose (SoP). The SoP is a key document in the decision process; it is very strongly advised that the candidates get in contact with a full-time faculty member who has matching research interests and get a confirmation that the faculty member is willing to guide the candidate throughout the PhD research. This faculty member will act as both the academic advisor and the thesis supervisor. Please find the most recent list of the CmpE faculty, along with keywords of research interest, here.

• The applications are processed case by case in the pre-evaluation phase. Note that incomplete applications may not be considered for further evaluation and the candidate may not be invited to an interview. Beware that the workflow in University's On-line Application System allows finalizing an application with eventually missing documents.

• Pre-evaluation is done by the Admission Committee. This phase is carried out by studying the application documents. If necessary, one of the committee members may contact the applicant before finalizing the pre-evaluation process. Only selected applicants are invited to the scientific interview.

• The result of the pre-evaluation is sent to each applicant a few days before the interview date. 

• The CmpE Faculty Members conduct the scientific interview of the candidates. 

• Once invited, each applicant must be present in person during the designated time slot for their interview. The interview typically takes between 5-15 minutes and involves a discussion of the candidate's past academic record, research direction, skillset and technical knowledge. If a candidate cannot be physically present for the interview, for instance, due to being resident in a foreign country, the Admission Committee must be informed as soon as possible in written form (e.g., via email) for a rearrangement, supported with the necessary justification.  

• The Admission Committee evaluates each application based on several criteria, including the interview performance, evaluations of the CmpE Faculty Members about the candidate, transcript(s), and reference letters to reach a final decision.

• The admission list is officially announced from the website of the Institute of Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering. 

• The CmpE Faculty Member in the SoP of each accepted candidate is assigned as her/his Thesis Supervisor and Academic Advisor throughout the Ph.D. study.

• Registration process and additional required documents are announced on this website: http://ogrenciler.boun.edu.tr/Home/Content/universityregistration

• Registration dates are officially announced by the Institute of Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering and also in the academic calendar and the registration pages of the university.

  • https://akademiktakvim.boun.edu.tr/

  • http://registration.boun.edu.tr/

• Conditional registration is not possible in Bogazici University, i.e. all documents have to be submitted to the Registrar's Office:

  • http://adaylar.boun.edu.tr/en-EN/Page/ApplicationDocuments/Graduate

• After registering to the University, the supporting faculty member is assigned as the academic advisor and thesis supervisor of the student.

• The student has to register at the beginning of each Academic Term. The registration process is online through the registration system OBIKAS. If you are a newcomer, please follow this tutorial.

• Selecting the correct term type is essential in completing the registration of an academic term. This selection is possible through the radio buttons such as NORMAL, REMEDIAL, THESIS, etc.

• There are three terms (Fall, Spring and Summer) in an academic year. Summer term is optional: you may register only if you want to take a course, albeit with an higher tuition rate per credit.

• The time-spans for MS and PhD programs are two and four academic years, respectively. The time can be extended to three and six academic years for MS and PhD, respectively. Further extension is not possible. Scientific prep and English prep are not counted.

• In certain circumstances, the student may suspend the graduate program for a term. A leave of absence can be granted after the student completes the term registration and files an e-petition through the OBIKAS. A student can file at most two leave petitions. In case of serious health problems (along with official evidence) or a long-term military service, the student may request the semester leave not to be counted in the official time span of the program. 

• If a student does not register in four successive terms, then OBIKAS access of the student is disabled until a valid English exam score is submitted to the Registrar's Office.

• SEMESTER TYPE on OBIKAS: REMEDIAL

• A student may be asked to take remedial courses before starting the normal PhD program. Current remedial courses are 

  • CmpE220: Discrete Computational Structures (equivalent: Discrete Math)

  • CmpE250: Data Structures 

  • CmpE300: Analysis of Algorithms

  • CmpE322: Operating Systems

  • CmpE343: Probability and Statistics

  • CmpE344: Computer Organization (equivalent: Computer Architecture)

• If the student had already taken some of these courses but still observes them in the required course list, then he/she should write directly to the Graduate Studies Coordinator.

• Remedial courses have to be taken whenever they are open, i.e. prerequisite condition is not applied. Please note that most remedial courses are open only once in each academic year.

• Remedial courses have to be completed in at most two successive academic semesters. Note that the Summer term is not counted as an academic semester, but courses can be taken during summer to reduce the course load in academic semesters.

  • If the student is not registered to the university at the time of the Summer term, then she/he should contact secretarial office so as to get registered to the Summer term at a discounted tuition rate. If the course grade is CB or higher, then the student need to contact the Graduate Studies Coordinator so that the courses can be dropped from the remedial course list.

• The student has to pass from the remedial courses with GPA >= 2.50. Failure from a course or GPA < 2.50 hinders the student from continuing further studies in CmpE. The GPA for remedial courses is calculated after all remedial courses are taken.

• Students cannot simultaneously register for normal program courses while taking the remedial courses.

• The GPA of remedial courses has no effect on the GPA of the normal program.

• LIMITED CONDITION: If the student is a graduate of a non-thesis MSc program, then CmpE599 and CmpE59A also have to be taken in addition to the above list  (Applies to non-thesis MS program graduates who obtained their degrees before Feb 2013).

• SEMESTER TYPE on OBIKAS: NORMAL

• Eight technical elective courses + CMPE700 (PhD Seminar). At most one technical course can be of guided-research type.

• Technical courses have to be in alignment with the chosen research area. The advisor may ask the student to take as many non-credit courses as necessary. Note that non-credit courses do not count in the GPA, but must be repeated if failed. If the advisor approves, certain non-credit 5XX courses that are otherwise offered for credit can be converted to a course with credits until the end of the add-drop period of the following semester.

• Students have to complete 24 credits and 60ECTS from the courses. Half of the course load have to be from CmpE5xx and CmpE6xx courses. The remaining load can be filled from all programs provided that the course is related with the thesis work, the advisor approves and the following conditions hold:

  • 5xx and 6xx courses from all departments of Bogazici University or exchange universities. 

  • At most two courses from another university. In this case, students have to directly apply to the Institute of Science and Engineering for an approval. Note that BÜ does not allow a course to be taken from another university if it is offered in BÜ. Grade is transferred as P or F but ECTS is transferred as it is.

• The student is expected to complete 9 credits in the first semester, 18 credits at the end of the second semester and 24 credits (i.e., all course work) at the end of the third semester. Maximum course load per semester is five.

• Courses with F/CC/CB grades can be repeated with another course. 

• Courses and seminar have to be completed in four semesters with a GPA higher than 3.00 to continue to the program

• "CMPE699: Guided Research in Phd - I" is a 4-credit course in which the student can start research for the domain of the PhD thesis. The student has to register to the related section of his/her advisor. This course is usually taken in the first or second semester. The advisor may ask the student to take at most four additional non-credit guided research courses, CmpE69A, 69B, 69C and 69D depending on the breadth of the thesis topic. The advisor may also approve the student taking a guided research course from another department. In this case, these guided research courses have to be registered as non-credit.

• SEMESTER TYPE on OBIKAS: QUALIFYING

• The student has to register for the Qualifying Exam at no later than the fifth semester. Qualifying Exam Commission manages the whole process.

• The Qualifying exam consists of two parts: Depth Measurement Exam and Oral exam.

• At the beginning of the Qualifying semester, an examination committee (QEC) on the research field of the candidate is formed. QEC consists of five full-time professors* as follows:

  • thesis advisor

  • one full-time professor from the department

  • one full-time professor from BÜ (CmpE or another department)

  • two full-time professors from another university.

• QEC decides on the resources (papers, books, etc.) that the candidate should study for Depth Measurement. The candidate is also responsible for a publication that he/she produced, in addition to the resources given by the QEC. 

• Depth Measurement Exam evaluates the candidate's capacity to do research and to express the obtained results in written format. It is given by the QEC to the candidate. This exam is based on the resources given by the QEC at the beginning of the semester and may consist of a take-home exam and/or an in-class written exam. Passing grade from this exam is 70/100. A student is eligible to take the Oral Exam if and only if he/she passes the Depth Measurement Exam successfully.

• Oral Exam evaluates the candidate's communication abilities and his/her knowledge in answering scientific questions orally. Usually it takes place just after the Depth Measurement Exam. It is given by the QEC to evaluate the knowledge of the candidate on the given resources and the essential topics for his/her research field.​ In the first fifteen-minutes of the oral exam, the student may present his/her current research work. Passing grade from this exam is 70/100.

Important Notes

• A student passes the Qualifying Exam if he/she successfully fulfills both Depth Measurement and Oral exams. 

• If a student passes the Depth Measurement but fails at the Oral Exam, then she/he need not take the Depth Measurement Exam again.

• If a student fails from the Qualifying Exam once, he/she may ask for a change of advisor. 

• If a student fails from the Qualifying Exam two times, then he/she has to leave the program.

• QEC may ask the student to take at most three courses after the Qualifying Exam.

LIMITED CONDITION: Students who started the program before Spring 2019 (excluded) have to show that weighted average of the Remedial Courses is above 2,50/4,00 before taking the Qualifying Exam.

*: A full-time professor is a faculty member with the title of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor.

• SEMESTER TYPE on OBIKAS: THESIS

Thesis Proposal

• • In at most six months following the qualifying exam, a Thesis Progress Committee (TPC) is formed with three full-time professors*. Thesis Advisor is a natural member of TPC. One of these members should be from another department or university. 

  • If there is a Co-advisor, then TPC is formed with four members. Co-advisor has no right to vote at any stage of the thesis work.

    • If the Co-advisor is from another department or university, then one of the committee members should also be from another department or university.

    • A PhD holder working in a company can also act as a Co-advisor. This is especially welcome if the thesis is also funded by the company

  • The student has to register to his/her advisor's section of CMPE790: PHD THESIS. 

  • The student prepares a thesis proposal under the guidance of the Thesis Advisor. The proposal should be passed to TPC at least 15 days before the defense. The student makes an oral presentation the proposal to TPC. If the proposal is accepted as the thesis topic, the student gets TP as the CmpE 790 grade (Thesis in Progress). Otherwise, he/she is given an extension of three months to make the necessary changes and defend. If the proposal is not found successful again, then the student has to leave the program.

Thesis Period

• Once the thesis proposal is accepted, the student starts the PhD Thesis. The proposal has to be reported to the Institute.

• The TPC evaluates the thesis progress in at most every six months. For this purpose, a written progress report is submitted to the TPC at least one month before the evaluation.

  • If the report is found successful, the student gets TP grade.

  • If a student takes two successive F's or three interleaved F's, then he/she has to leave the program. 

• TPC has to file a report to the Institute of Graduate Studies at the end of each semester regardless of the presence of a progress report. The report should mention about the status of the thesis and and the evaluation of the proposed progress report if there is any. 

• CmpE Department advises PhD students to publish at least one paper in each progress period. 

Thesis Defense

• The student has to complete at least three progress periods before defending the thesis.

• A thesis book has to be written under the guidance of the thesis advisor. The thesis book has to be evaluated by the advisor to check ethical and scientific correctness, and completeness of the work. If some parts of the thesis book get published, then it is the student’s responsibility to check the copyright policies of the publisher. Complete guideline for the thesis book preparation is here.

• Before the defense, the thesis book has to be submitted to the Thesis Defense Jury (TDJ), which is formed of five full-time professors*:

  • TPC is a subset of TDJ.

  • TDJ has to contain at least two full-time professors* from another university

  • Majority of TDJ has to be full-time professors* of Bogazici University

• Thesis Defense has to take place within one month after the thesis book is given to TDJ.  It has to be publicly announced at least fifteen days before the defense. The advisor also has to inform Institute of Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering (FBE) about the defense time and place by dropping an e-mail to fbe@bogazici.edu.tr

• Thesis Defense is an oral presentation open to TDJ, other faculty members, students and experts in the field of the thesis work. After the presentation, TDJ asks questions to evaluate the thesis work and the PhD candidate. 

• After the defense, TDJ can directly accept the thesis or grant at most six months to the candidate so that he/she can complete some additional work asked by the TDJ. If the thesis work is still found unsatisfactory after this period, then the student has to leave the program.

• Graduation requirements are as follows:

  • Two accepted journal papers (indexed by SCIE, SCI, SSCI or AHCI).

  • One conference paper, which is published in the proceedings as a full paper.

  • Service as a teaching assistant (TA) in one of the mandatory CmpE courses. Students who serve as a TA in another university or department are exempt from this requirement. Neglected or abandoned duties double the TA service requirements for graduation.

  • Department, university or public seminar.

• LIMITED CONDITIONS: Special requirements may apply if the student satisfies the below conditions:​

  • One accepted journal paper (indexed by SCIE, SCI, SSCI or AHCI) is sufficient for the students who had passed the qualifying exam before Fall 2009 (inclusive).

  • No conference paper is required for the students who had started the PhD program before Spring 2017 (inclusive).

  • Service as a teaching assistant in one of the CmpE courses is satisfactory for the students who had started the PhD program before Fall 2017 (inclusive).

*: A full-time professor is a faculty member with the title of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor.