Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 March 2012 23:56

The program will produce graduate students skilled in applying modern methods of mathematical modeling and computer simulation to solve practical problems in various areas of computational engineering and science. The graduates will be able to assess the validity of models and reliability of numerical methods.

Ph.D. graduates will have a significantly deeper education in mathematical modeling of scientific and engineering problems, analysis of models, computational, and experience with pursuiing a challenging project. They will be prepared to:

• be independing in acquiring and using new scientific results emerging in the field,
• pursue original research goals on both theoretical and practical (application) level, present their results in the form of quality scientific publications.

All students are required to complete at least 70 credits hours beyond their B.S. degree in mathematics, science, or engineering (See Degree Sample). The CPS Ph.D. Advisor will determine a specific list of courses each student takes. However, some courses are required for all students:

1. All students are required to take the core sequence of courses. These core courses are designated to provide the student with fundamental skills in mathematical modeling and numerical methods, which are essential in computational science. The CPS program committee may substitute CPS 5401 for another prescribed CS class for those students that have advanced computational skills.
2. All students are required to take four of the prescribed electives. If it is impossible to take four of these without duplicating equivalent courses taken previously, free electives or research courses may be substituted.
3. All students are required to take at least two classes in each of the following areas: computer science, mathematics, and science/engineering.
4. Additional electives: Students entering with a B.S. degree are required to take 21 credit hours of freeelectives. Students entering with a M.S. degree may take up to 15 credit hours of free electives, at the discretion of the CPS Ph.D. Advisor and approval of the Executive Committee.
5. Graduate research: Students entering with a B.S. degree must take 9 credit hours of graduate research (course CPS 5396, CPS 6396). Students entering with a M.S. degree may be required to fulfill the 9 hours graduate research requirement as well, at the discretion of the CPS Ph.D. Advisor.
6. Doctoral research: All students are required to take 15 hours of doctoral research (courses CPS 6396 and CPS 6397).
7. All students are required to take 6 credit hours of dissertation work (courses CPS 6398 and CPS 6399).

 

	Entering with a B.S.	Entering with a M.S.
Foundation Courses	0	0
Core Courses	7	7
Prescribed Courses	12	12
Free Elective Courses	21	6-15
Research Courses	24	18-24
Dissertation Courses	6	6
TOTAL	70	49-64

Qualifying Examination
After completing the required core courses and prescribed electives, students will be required to take a written qualifying examination over this material. The qualifying examination for the Ph.D. degree will have the same form as the exit examination for the M.S. degree. The CPS Program Committee will develop appropriate administration and scoring policies. After passing the qualifying examination, each student will choose a dissertation committee of five faculty members. At least two committee members must be from outside the program.

Disertation Proposal Defense
After passing the qualifying examination and choosing a dissertation committee, each student will choose a dissertation topic in his/her research area and defend his/her choice orally in front of the committee.

Dissertation
The dissertation must demonstrate both the ability of the student to pursue independent research and his/her competence in scholarly exposition. It must contain original results related to significant problems in computational science, whose quality is sufficient for publication in refereed journals in the field. Each Ph.D. student is required to take the dissertation courses CPS 6398 and CPS 6399 (6 credit hours).

Dissertation Defense
An oral dissertation defense before the committee is required after completion of the dissertation.