This Handbook describes policies and procedures for graduate students in Computer Science at Portland State University. It should be read in conjunction with the relevant university requirements described in the PSU Bulletin and the Graduate School website. Some of the most important university-level requirements are restated here, but not all of them; if any differences exist, the Bulletin and Graduate School rules take priority over this Handbook. It is the student’s responsibility to be familiar with both university and departmental requirements.
This Handbook is revised annually by the CS Director of Graduate Studies.
For questions regarding the topics in this handbook, or to suggest additions or improvements to its contents, please contact the CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu).
The Master of Science (M.S.) is the first graduate degree in the field. Students entering the program must have a bachelor's degree and/or adequate background in computer science, such as obtaining an undergraduate computer science program.
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the highest degree offered in any discipline. Students may enter the doctoral program with a bachelor's degree or with a master's degree, and must have adequate background in computer science.
To be considered for admission, all applicants to the CS graduate programs must have:
Admission is selective and meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. All admission decisions are based on the information a prospective student provides. Students are encouraged to contact the Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) to discuss their specific situation.
Under some circumstances, currently admitted M.S. students can be directly admitted to the Ph.D. program without submitting a formal application. For more information, see here.
The official deadlines for submission of all materials to the University are as follows:
PSU operates on a quarter system. For future or specific term dates, refer to the PSU Academic Calendar.
Please note that these are the dates that the online application closes for the specified term. The application must be submitted by this date. Supporting documents such as test scores and recommendations may arrive after this deadline.
Financial support, when offered, typically starts in Fall term. The deadlines for international students are anticipated to account for the time required to obtain visas. Applications should be received by the deadline of the term of admission. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed, so applicants are encouraged to complete all requirements prior to submitting the application. If this is not possible, please contact the Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu).
Admission decisions are typically issued about 6-8 weeks after the application deadline (listed above) for complete applications. For applications that are incomplete after the deadline, admission decisions will be issued 6-8 weeks after all required documents have been received.
Applicants should login or create a new account in the PSU application portal to start a single online application to Portland State University and to a CS graduate program. It is possible to save an incomplete application and return at a later time.
Be prepared to submit the requested documents below electronically within the online application. Unofficial copies are sufficient for the application process. Official copies of application documents are only required upon admission to the program and instructions for how to submit these will be provided at that time. Please do not mail any hard copies to the CS department.
For any questions about the online application form, please contact help@applyweb.com. For any questions regarding CS graduate admission, please contact the CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu).
GRE scores are optional. If the applicant chooses to submit GRE scores, they should upload an unofficial copy of their score report within the application. Official copies are required upon admission to the program, and can be requested from ETS and sent to PSU using the school code 4610 and department code 0402.
The CS graduate programs require copies of transcripts from each postsecondary institution have attended (including PSU). Unofficial transcript copies are acceptable for application purposes. Official copies are required upon admission to the program. For more information, see PSU’s transcript requirements.
Contact information for two references are required, preferably those who know the applicant’s academic performance and potential. Recommendation letters are also acceptable and can be submitted to the CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu).
The application must include a 1-2 page statement in which the student introduces themselves and describes their plans, interests, and qualifications. This statement should include the student’s background and interests in computer science, any relevant work experience, why they are seeking a graduate degree, and whether they plan to enroll part-time or full-time. If the student plans to enroll part-time, they should describe their employment or major activities as well.
If the student is applying for immediate admission to the Ph.D. program, they should include a description of their potential research area, faculty members they hope to collaborate with, and their reasons for not first entering the CS master’s program.
International students (only) should review the English Language Proficiency requirement webpage for more information about which tests are accepted, and what the minimum score requirements are. If a test score report copy is not available, please list the date the test was taken or will be taken.
Students new to Portland State or the Computer Science Department should consult this
PSU/CS Navigation Packet and also complete the steps described on this Graduate School Welcome page. For additional support with getting started in the program, contact the CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu).
The Master of Science (M.S.) in Computer Science is the initial graduate degree in the field. The master's program is designed to prepare students for advanced careers in the computing industry and/or for graduate work at the Ph.D. level. Students entering the program must have a bachelor's degree, typically in Computer Science. Students with a degree in another discipline may be admitted if they have adequate background in Computer Science; the Grad Prep program can be a useful bridge into the field.
The master's program requires the completion of an approved program of 45 credits, with a thesis option. Coursework includes core courses in theory and programming practice, plus a 9-credit concentration in one specialization area. The M.S. degree typically takes one and a half years of full-time study to complete. Students are also welcome to pursue the degree on a part-time basis.
The 45 credits required for the M.S. degree fall into three categories: Core Requirements, Track Requirements, and Electives.
Students are encouraged to take these courses as early as possible in their graduate program.
One Theory course from:
One Programming Practice course from:
All students in the CS Master's program must take three courses from one of the following tracks:
This track requirement is intended to ensure that each student obtains deep exposure to some specialized area of Computer Science. Note that the track selection appears on the student’s Plan of Study and DARS audit, but does not appear on the transcript or the diploma.
The list of required courses and approved electives for each track are listed below. The list of approved electives for a track may change over time; a course counts as approved if it is on the current list at the time it is taken. In addition to regularly numbered courses (CS511 and above), most tracks allow certain CS510 courses to be counted as electives. Occasionally, courses not listed can be allowed towards a track; enquiries about this should be directed to the CS Graduate Advisor.
Note: Courses marked ** are not regularly offered.
The Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning track covers modern algorithms underlying intelligent and learning systems. Examples of topics covered in this track include knowledge representation, planning, reasoning, combinatorial and adversarial search methods, natural language processing, computer vision, statistical machine learning, and evolutionary and reinforcement learning.
The Databases track covers concepts, languages, implementation and application of database management systems. Other topics that have been offered in the track include formal foundations of databases, databases for cloud and cluster environments, and data stream systems.
The Languages & Programming track focuses on the design, implementation, and use of programming languages. It includes exposure to a variety of programming paradigms, experience using programming languages to express the essential abstractions of a problem domain, courses on programming language implementation, and the study of formal methods for specifying and reasoning about programs and programming languages.
The Security track focuses on protecting computing systems and user data from unauthorized access and use. Topics include cryptography, network and host-based access control, vulnerability analysis, penetration testing, and reverse engineering.
The Software Engineering track studies the principles, processes, techniques, and tools for building software systems. Topics include software requirements, design, development, validation, and maintenance.
The Systems & Networking track studies the design and implementation of operating systems, wired and wireless computer networks including high performance computer systems, data centers, cloud computing architectures, distributed systems, fault tolerance, concurrency, systems programming, and theoretical topics related to these areas.
*CS 532 does not count towards the track
The Theory track focuses on the theoretical foundations of computer science. Examples of topics include algorithmic design and analysis, computational complexity, learning theory, cryptography, and quantum computing.
The Visual Computing track covers foundational tools and techniques, and cutting-edge algorithms that enable computers to see, reason and interact with the world around us. Topics include computer vision, computational photography, image and video processing, 3D imaging, computer graphics and rendering, and virtual and augmented reality.
In addition to Core and Track courses, students must take enough electives to complete 45 total credits for the M.S. degree. Electives can be any 500-level CS course, with some exceptions as described below. Students may use electives to deepen their study within their chosen track or to gain broader exposure to a wider variety of CS topics.
The following restrictions apply to elective courses:
A limited number of credits taken outside Computer Science can count towards the elective requirements, with advisor approval. Read more about Non-CS credits below.
If the student chooses to pursue the Thesis Option, 6-9 elective credits will be CS 503 Thesis.
In addition to noting these requirements, students should review the more complete and detailed list of university master's degree requirements .
The CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) is the
primary advisor for all M.S. students. Every M.S. student is required to
maintain a
Plan of Study form, which outlines both courses taken so far towards the
degree and courses planned for the remainder of the program. The Plan of Study
will also note any transfer and pre-admission courses, non-CS courses, and the
student’s intended track.
Full-time students should submit
an initial Plan of Study to the CS Graduate Advisor by the end of the second
term after the student’s formal admission to the program. Part-time students
should submit their initial plan after completing 9 credits in the program.
Approval from the CS Graduate Advisor will indicate an acceptable outline of the
student’s coursework. However, the plan can be revised at any time by mutual
agreement of the student and the CS Graduate Advisor. A final version of a
student’s Plan of Study should be submitted by the student’s last term of the
program.
Students completing an M.S. thesis are required to have a faculty adviser
who supervises their research on the thesis topic and chairs their thesis
committee. The CS Graduate Advisor remains responsible for monitoring the
student’s overall progress towards the degree.
The thesis option gives M.S. students the opportunity to obtain training and experience in doing research about a specialized topic in Computer Science. It involves doing independent work to define, investigate, and report on a research topic, under supervision of a faculty advisor. Research work typically extends over several terms, and culminates in writing a thesis and giving an oral presentation about it (the “defense”).
Doing a thesis is an excellent way to explore a particular topic in depth, and to learn what the research process is like. Students interested in continuing on to obtain a Ph.D. are particularly encouraged to consider doing a thesis, since many Ph.D. programs look for research experience when making admissions decisions.
Students considering the thesis option should start looking for a suitable research topic and advisor no later than their third full-time term (after 18 credits). It is the student’s responsibility to identify a faculty member who is willing to advise them. Faculty are typically most willing to advise a student who has taken a class with them or whose interests overlap their research expertise.
The thesis option requires enrolling for 6-9 credits of CS 503 (Thesis), which count towards the required 45 credits for the M.S. Realistically, the amount of time and work required to complete the thesis may be greater than required for 6-9 ordinary course credits. The By Arrangement Approval Dashboard can be used to register for CS 503 credits (see here for more details). CS 503 is normally graded Pass/No Pass, but the grade is assigned only when the thesis defense is completed; until then the grade will show as In Progress (IP).
Students must follow PSU policies regarding thesis committee appointments, defense procedures, formatting requirements, and submission procedures. University requirements and additional information for a master’s thesis are outlined by the PSU Graduate School.
A thesis defense must take place in a meeting with the student and the appointed committee. It should be scheduled on a date that meets the GS deadline for the desired graduation term. A room for the thesis defense may be scheduled through the CS department (csoffice@pdx.edu). Thesis students will need to send their abstract and other required information and any requested equipment (e.g., video conferencing camera) at least two weeks in advance of the defense to the CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu).
Students who are interested in exploring a specific topic or conducting a special research or other project for credit have the option to register for CS 505 (Reading & Conference) and/or CS 506 (Special Project) credits. A maximum of 6 credits of CS 505 and CS 506 can be counted towards the CS Master’s degree elective requirements.
Examples:
Students first need to find a faculty member to supervise these credits. The faculty member can help the student to develop their idea, to ensure that it is consistent with the academic goals of the program, and to determine the appropriate course number, credit number, and project scope. They will assign the final grade at the end of the term. CS505/506 credits are normally graded Pass/NoPass, but the student and faculty member may choose to use letter grading instead.
The By Arrangement Approval Dashboard can be used to register for CS 505/506 credits. A brief but meaningful description of the intended work is required. Either the student or the faculty member can initiate a request, and once both have approved it, the request is automatically forwarded to the Department for approval and then to the Registrar’s Office for processing.
A minimum of 30 credits must be taken in Computer Science at Portland State University. Given this, students may use a combined total of 15 pre-admission, transfer, and non-CS credits toward their Master’s degree with CS Graduate Advisor approval (gccs@pdx.edu). One additional credit beyond the 15 credit limit can be used provided none of the courses is a 1-credit course.
To determine whether a non-CS course can count, the student should first check with the Graduate Advisor to see if the course has been approved in the past. If the course has not already been approved, the student should submit the following information to the Graduate Advisor, who will pass it to the CS graduate committee for review:
An M.S. student with appropriate background and interests may sometimes be supported as a Teaching Assistant, which carries a monthly stipend and a tuition and fee remission. See Graduate Assistantships for more information.
Students are responsible for taking the following steps in order to graduate:
GO-21M Proposed Transfer Credit (Master’s Level)
GO-16 Appointment of Master's Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation Committee (for thesis option)
The Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate is designed to prepare students for computing industry careers that require broad and deep advanced knowledge of cybersecurity principles and practices. It may be pursued either as a standalone program or in parallel with an M.S. or Ph.D. degree in Computer Science. In the latter case, obtaining the Certificate is a way to establish a visible transcript credential in the cybersecurity field, thus going beyond the M.S. Security track, which is not notated on the transcript.
The Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate program requires admission as a graduate student in Computer Science. The program requires 21 total hours of graduate classes. There are two core classes for a total of 6 hours. In addition, five elective classes must be taken for the needed additional 15 credit hours.
Required Core Courses (6)
Five of the following courses or approved substitute courses (15)
Many graduates with degrees in fields other than Computer Science are interested in pursuing a M.S. in Computer Science. The Graduate Preparation (or "Grad Prep") Track can assist a high performing, motivated student in mastering the essential computer science core necessary to be successful in the Master's program. The Grad Prep Track consists of a Programming & Languages Core and a Theory Core, comprised of many of the same classes taken by undergraduate Computer Science majors. For some of these courses, there is an option to test out by demonstrating mastery based on either prior academic preparation or professional/personal programming experience through a credit by exam process.
We encourage all prospective students to attend one of our monthly CS Postbac Info sessions first to learn more about our postbaccalaureate options. Contact the CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) for any questions.
To be eligible for admission to the CS Master's program, Grad Prep students must complete the following courses with a B or better.
* A student may begin with any of these courses, depending on their prior experience. See Introductory Course Guide for details.
To begin Grad Prep at PSU, prospective students must first apply for postbaccalaureate admission. Postbaccalaureate applications are processed as they are received, generally within 4-6 weeks.
Students who did not take math beyond pre-calculus in their prior coursework are strongly advised to take at least one such course (e.g. calculus, linear algebra, discrete math, etc.) prior to taking CS 250.
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the highest degree offered in the Computer Science discipline. It is intended for those who will pursue research in the field. The degree is usually required to teach Computer Science at the university level, and for employment in prestigious industrial research laboratories. Students may enter the doctoral program with a bachelor's degree or with a master's degree, provided they have adequate background in Computer Science. Since completion of the degree requires presentation of a dissertation comprising of original research, the time required is not completely predictable. Four to six years of full-time work are typical, less if the student enters with a Master's degree in Computer Science. Part-time pursuit of the degree is also possible.
The requirements for the Ph.D. include core and elective coursework, passing a Research Proficiency Examination, writing and defending a Dissertation Proposal, and completing and defending the Dissertation itself. Throughout, the focus of the program is strongly on research.
Students progress through the Ph.D. program in a sequence of three stages, each with its own focus, advising structure, time constraints, and requirements for completion. The three stages are described below. See also the Graduate School’s Summary of Ph.D. procedures.
During this stage, the student completes coursework, in particular a set of Core courses intended to develop breadth of exposure to CS, and simultaneously begins to do direct research.
During this stage, the student confirms their choice of research advisor and focuses on finding and refining a topic for their dissertation.
During this stage, the student is focused entirely on completing research and writing for the Dissertation.
The advising structure for the Ph.D. involves a number of different faculty roles and committees, which change as the student advances through the stages of the program.
The CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) is the staff member responsible for administering the Ph.D. rules, tracking completion of requirements, and providing an interface to the Graduate School. For Ph.D. students, the Graduate Advisor does not generally perform academic advising, e.g. about what courses to take or which research topics to pursue; this is the role of their Faculty Advisor and various faculty committees, as described below. However, the Graduate Advisor remains a crucial point of contact for students. In particular, the Graduate Advisor makes sure that each student has a current Ph.D. Plan of Study form on file.
Faculty Advisor (FA). Responsibility for academic and research supervision rests with the Faculty Advisor. Students are assigned an initial FA upon entry to the Ph.D. program. The FA provides guidance on all academic aspects of the Ph.D. program, and approves the courses in the student’s program, including non-CS courses and courses taken outside of PSU. Normally, the FA also supervises the student’s research activities as appropriate to their program stage. FAs must be regular, full-time, tenured or tenure-track, assistant professor or higher in rank faculty members in Computer Science (including Affiliate Faculty) who hold a Ph.D. and are engaged in research.
It is not uncommon for a student to change FAs during their program, e.g. if their area of interest shifts or as they get to know other faculty in the department. Any change must be properly recorded and documented by the CS Graduate Advisor. Note that the old and new FAs must agree to the change.
Choosing an advisor. Some useful advice on picking an advisor can be found here and here.
Initial Faculty Advisor. The initial FA will usually be a faculty member who works in the student’s intended area of specialization; often, it will be someone the student has already been in contact with prior to admission. If the incoming student is being supported directly by a faculty research grant, that faculty member will be the FA.
The role of the initial FA is to help the student plan and execute their program of study for the first few terms of the degree. The FA and the student should meet regularly. The student and FA will fill out a Ph.D. Plan of Study form after the student successfully completes 9 graduate level credits, no later than 6 months before their Research Proficiency Exam (RPE).
If the initial FA works in the student’s area of specialization, they will typically also discuss potential research projects and topics; otherwise, the initial FA will help try to connect the student to other faculty members who might be able to supervise their research and become their FA.
Advisory Committee. Ph.D. students must have an Advisory Committee (AC) by the end of their second term, consisting of their FA plus two additional faculty members, who should be CS faculty but not necessarily in the student’s research area. The role of the AC is to monitor the student’s progress, to offer academic guidance, and to provide a resource in resolving academic or advising issues, especially if the student is uncomfortable discussing an issue with their FA.
The AC is formed by the student in consultation with the FA, and is recorded in the Ph.D. Plan of Study form.
The AC will meet with the student in the Fall and Spring terms to generate a written assessment of progress and to set goals in writing for the next term.
The AC, in consultation with the CS Director of Graduate Studies, has the authority to delay a student’s RPE date.
The committee's opinion shall have strong weight in determining whether the student should continue to receive departmental support in the form of a teaching assistantship.
The advisory committee's role is taken over by the Dissertation Committee when the student advances to candidacy.
RPE Advisor. In order to take the Research Proficiency Exam and enter the research-focused stage of their program, the student must find a faculty member who is willing to supervise their RPE research. This might be initial FA, but may be someone else, in which case the student should officially change FAs by contacting the Graduate Advisor after obtaining permission of old and new FAs.
RPE Committee. Once the student has an RPE advisor and topic, they need to form a 3-person RPE committee (which is not the same thing as the AC). The role of the RPE Committee is to sit in judgement on the RPE paper and defense. Committee members will normally be CS faculty members who hold a Ph.D. and are knowledgeable in the research area of the RPE topic. For more details on RPE Committee makeup, see Research Proficiency Exam. Note that the RPE committee does not supercede the AC, which remains in place.
Dissertation Advisor. After the student passes the RPE, they begin focusing on research with the goal of choosing a dissertation topic, and writing and defending the Dissertation Proposal. To formally propose a dissertation, the student must have a FA who is willing to supervise the dissertation research. Typically, this will be the RPE advisor, but advisor changes at this stage do sometimes occur; again, the student should officially change advisors by contacting the Graduate Advisor after obtaining permission of old and new FAs. Note that the dissertation advisor is also responsible for signing off on the student’s final Program of Study at graduation, including all coursework.
Dissertation Committee. The dissertation committee passes judgement on the dissertation proposal and on the final dissertation itself. It is chaired by the Dissertation Advisor and consists of four to six faculty members who are experts in the topic of the dissertation. See Dissertation Proposal for more details on the makeup of this committee. The Dissertation Committee replaces the CS Advisory Committee as a source for general academic advice.
The Ph.D. program requires the following courses and credits.
All these courses must be passed with a grade of B or better, and at least three of them with a grade of B+ or better.
Note: These requirements are new as of Fall 2025. Students entering the Ph.D. program prior to Fall 2026 have the option to fulfill the Old Core Course Requirement instead of this Specified Courses Requirement. In fact, any student meeting the old requirements also meets the new ones, except possibly for the need to complete a course in Area 3 (Data and Artificial Intelligence).
The list of approved courses for each area may change over time; a course counts as approved if it is on the current list at the time it is taken.
AREA 1: THEORY
AREA 2: SYSTEMS AND SECURITY
AREA 3: DATA AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AREA 4: PROGRAMMING AND APPLICATIONS
These courses should be used to strengthen the program in the student's research area. Any graduate level courses in Computer Science can be used, except that:
These credits are used to cover work on the dissertation, both before and after the student has advanced to candidacy, i.e., has an approved dissertation proposal. Prior to advancement to candidacy, dissertation research can be covered by CS 603 credits or by CS 601 Research credits. Once the student has taken the maximum of 18 CS 601 credits that count towards their elective requirement, and is actively working on their dissertation, they should normally switch to using CS 603 credits. After advancement to candidacy, all research credits should be CS 603.
Once the student has advanced to candidacy and completed 27 credits of CS 603, they are eligible to enroll in CS 603C at a greatly reduced tuition cost ($10/credit + mandatory fees). This is particularly valuable for students who need to maintain a full-time course load. All students must remain enrolled for at least one credit per term after advancing to candidacy. See this description of Continuous Enrollment.
Prior to Fall 2025, the Core Course Requirement consisted of the following courses:
All these courses must be passed with a grade of B or better, and the student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 over this set of courses.
In addition to the departmental requirements, students should review the university's doctoral degree requirements.
Some Ph.D. students work towards the degree on a part-time basis, which naturally lengthens the time needed to complete the three stages. In general, the department tries to be flexible in accommodating students by relaxing deadlines, e.g. for the RPE exam. However, students should be aware that the University and Graduate Schools time limits and requirements for continuous enrollment are not relaxed for part-time students, although requests for exceptions to the rules (made by petition) may be viewed favorably by the Graduate School.
Ph.D. students will typically register for CS 601 (Research) with their research advisor to obtain credit for their work preparing for the RPE and the Dissertation Proposal. A maximum of 18 credits of CS 601 can be applied to the Ph.D. Elective Course requirement, but it is common to take additional CS 601 credits to remain in full-time status as an GA and/or international student.
Students may register for CS 602 (Independent Study), CS 605 (Reading & Conference) or CS 606 (Special Project) credits with their advisor or another faculty member who is relevant to their research. A maximum of 6 credits of CS 602/605/606 can be counted towards the Ph.D. elective course requirement.
Examples:
Students first need to find a faculty member to supervise these credits. The faculty member can help the student to develop their idea, to ensure that it is consistent with the academic goals of the program, and to determine the appropriate course number, credit number, and project scope. They will assign the final grade at the end of the term. By Arrangement credits are normally graded Pass/NoPass, but the student and faculty member may choose to use letter grading instead.
The By Arrangement Approval Dashboard is used to register for CS 601/602/603/605/606 credits. A brief but meaningful description of the intended work is required. Either the student or the faculty member can initiate a request, and once both have approved it, the request is automatically forwarded to the Department for approval and then to the Registrar’s Office for processing.
Note: CS 501/502/505/506 can be used interchangeably with CS 601/602/605/606.
The comprehensive exam is a university requirement for the doctoral degree. In the CS Department, it takes the form of the Research Proficiency Examination (RPE), covering original research performed by the student and assessing their preparation within the chosen research area. The exam consists of a written paper, public oral presentation, and a public question and answer session. Passing the exam is required before a Ph.D. student can prepare and defend a dissertation proposal.
Each Ph.D. student must have an RPE Advisor, who has agreed to supervise their RPE research. It is the student’s responsibility to identify an RPE Advisor in a timely manner.
The RPE will be judged by a 3-person RPE Committee consisting of the RPE Advisor and two other faculty members. (Note: The RPE Committee is not the same thing as the student’s Advisory Committee). Committee members are invited to serve by the RPE advisor. Each committee member must formally agree to serve, after being informed of the topic of the RPE. The committee must be approved by the CS Director of Graduate Studies. Committee membership and approval must be communicated to the CS Graduate Advisor using the RPE Checklist .
RPE committee members will normally be CS faculty members who hold a Ph.D. and are knowledgeable in the research area. Other suitably qualified persons (e.g. faculty from adjacent fields, other departments or institutions, or industry experts) may serve, with the approval of the CS Director of Graduate Studies.
The RPE exam consists of a written research paper and an oral presentation:
The RPE committee assesses the two components of the exam (paper and oral presentation) independently. For each component, the committee chooses one of the following outcomes:
Timing considerations:
Relevant Forms
After passing the RPE (comprehensive exam) and identifying a dissertation research topic, the student proceeds to develop, write and defend a Dissertation Proposal, under the guidance of their Faculty Advisor. This section describes key aspects of the proposal; consult the Graduate School’s detailed Dissertation Proposal rules for further information.
The dissertation proposal:
The dissertation proposal and eventual dissertation are judged by the student’s Ph.D. Dissertation Committee. This committee is proposed by the student and their Faculty Advisor using the GO-16 form, and must be approved by the CS Director of Graduate Studies and by the Graduate School. Ph.D. dissertation committees must consist of at least four and not more than six faculty members. The Dissertation Advisor is chair of the dissertation committee, and must be a regular, full-time PSU instructional faculty member, tenured or tenure track, assistant professor or higher in rank. The other three to five committee members may include non-tenure track or adjunct faculty and/or members of the OHSU faculty. At least one of the committee members must be from Computer Science; the others may be from Computer Science or may be PSU faculty from another department or OHSU faculty. If it is necessary to go off campus for a committee member with specific expertise not available among PSU faculty, a CV for that proposed member must be submitted with the GO-16 form; this off-campus member may substitute for one of the three to five regular committee members. Members with a courtesy appointment will count as PSU faculty members in terms of determining PSU vs. off-campus membership, but the majority of the committee members must be PSU employees. All committee members must have doctoral degrees.
No proposal defense shall be valid without a dissertation committee approved by the Graduate School. The GO-16 form should be submitted to the Graduate School a minimum of six weeks in advance of the estimated date of the dissertation proposal meeting. The student must deliver a draft of the dissertation proposal to all members of the approved committee no fewer than 14 days before the proposal defense. The abstract and date for the defense must be submitted to the CS Graduate Advisor at least two weeks in advance of the date of the defense. Upon satisfactory agreement, the student will publicly present and defend the proposal. The presentation begins with an oral talk, after which the dissertation committee will question the student privately.
If the Proposal Defense is successful, the student is advanced to candidacy upon Graduate School approval of the GO-23 form submitted by the CS department.
Under the direction and consultation of the dissertation committee, Ph.D. candidates must complete a dissertation consisting of original research. The student will prepare, revise, and correct a draft of the dissertation as directed by the dissertation committee until it meets their approval. The work is expected to be of a quality to merit publication in refereed journals or conferences.
After preparation of the written dissertation, a candidate’s dissertation committee will conduct a dissertation defense. Detailed Graduate School requirements on the timing and conduct of the Dissertation Defense may be found here. The candidate is expected to prepare an oral presentation on the research methodology and results. The abstract and date for the defense must be submitted to the CS Graduate Advisor at least two weeks in advance of the date of the defense. The final, approved dissertation should be submitted to csoffice@pdx.edu for posting.
PSU has an elaborate set of Dissertation Guidelines that describe the format and content requirements for the dissertation.
Students may transfer coursework from other institutions to meet some course requirements for the Ph.D. In particular, students who already have an M.S. degree in Computer Science can typically meet most course requirements in this way.
All transfer courses must be approved by the CS department and the Graduate School. To request credit, the student should fill out a GO-21D form (Proposed Transfer Credit) in consultation with their advisor and submit it to the CS Graduate Advisor. Students should submit the GO-21D form during the first term of enrollment in the program, so there is sufficient time to complete any additional coursework that may be necessary. Any transfer credits must be approved before the student advances to candidacy.
All transfer courses must ordinarily be in Computer Science (but see Non-CS courses, below). They must have been taken for a letter grade, and received a grade of B or better. There is no particular limit on how long ago the course was taken.
Approved transfer courses may be applied without limitation towards the Elective Courses requirement (up to 45 credits).
An approved transfer course may be applied towards the Core Requirements only if its content closely matches that of a PSU course on the list of approved Core courses. The determination of whether the course matches will be made by the Course Advisor for the PSU course.
The student should be prepared to provide a syllabus or other description of the proposed transfer course if requested. The grade on the transferred course will be used when checking the minimum grading requirements for Core courses.
In rare cases, a student who transfers in most or all of their CS course requirements may have to take additional course credits in order to meet the university’s residency requirement for the Ph.D.
Courses taken at PSU prior to formal admission to the Ph.D. program can be used to meet Ph.D. course requirements with approval by the faculty advisor via the Ph.D. Plan of Study. The student must submit the signed plan to the CS Graduate Advisor to prompt a DARS adjustment.
Courses from fields other than Computer Science, including transfer courses, can be applied to the Elective Course requirement with permission of the student’s advisor. This should be documented in the student’s Program of Study.
Using OHSU joint campus credits also requires advisor permission; furthermore, they are considered transfer credits and so must be listed on the GO-21D.
It is not uncommon for students in the M.S. program to enter the Ph.D. program directly after obtaining their M.S. degree, or transfer to the Ph.D. program even before receiving their M.S. degree. Conversely, Ph.D. students sometimes wish to obtain an M.S. degree if they leave the Ph.D. program early, or as an intermediate credential while they continue working towards the doctorate.
Formally, the M.S. and Ph.D. programs are separate, and transferring from one program to another or adding an additional program on top of an existing one requires the student to submit the GO-19 Request for Change of Program Form with the Graduate School and obtain permission from the CS department. The CS Graduate Advisor can assist with this process. Adding or moving to the Ph.D. program from the M.S. requires going through the usual selective Ph.D. admission process, but the path can be eased if the student has a confirmed faculty advisor who advocates for admission. Adding or moving to the M.S. program from the Ph.D. is normally permitted without going through an admissions review process.
In general, the same coursework can count towards requirements for both degrees. However, students should be aware of some subtle differences between requirements.
Moving from M.S. to Ph.D.:
Moving from Ph.D. to M.S. (or adding M.S.):
The Portland Metro area offers many opportunities for internships to graduate students. Many students complete one or more internships with local companies during their time at PSU. We believe internships provide a valuable training experience that significantly augments the student’s academic program.
While some students choose to participate in an internship without receiving academic credit, others find it important that they receive academic credit (CS 504 Internship) for their internships, which can count towards CS graduate degree requirements with approval:
To receive credit for an internship towards their degree program, the student must meet the eligibility requirements below and submit a request to the department for approval.
To be eligible to receive credit for an internship:
To receive approval for internship credit, the student must complete the following steps. (Note that these steps must be followed, even if the internship credit is not being counted towards degree requirements.)
Step 1. Submit the online CS Graduate Internship Credit Request Form. To complete this form, the student will need the following:
Step 2 (International students only). Once the student’s eligibility for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is confirmed, they must complete the CPT application within WorldLink. The student will need to provide their offer letter, start date, and the contact information for Ella Barrett, Computer Science Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu).
Step 3. Once the relevant steps above are complete, the internship request will be reviewed. Please allow a few business days for a response. Incomplete requests will not be processed.
Upon approval of the internship credit request, and CPT approval (for international students only), the student will receive instructions for submitting an online By Arrangement form for CS504 Internship, with the approved internship credit value.
At the end of each quarter of the internship, the student must write a description of what they actually did for the internship, as part of the Graduate Internship Status Report form. After the student completes this form, they should send it to their supervisor, who will need to review the report, sign the form, and send it to the Computer Science Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) from their work email address no later than 5pm Friday of finals week for the term. Failure to submit the status report by the deadline may prevent the student from receiving a grade or credit for the internship.
International students can work at internships (even unpaid ones) only if they are approved for Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Here are some of the most important regulations involving CPT:
Consult Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and the Office of International Students and Scholars Services (intl-services@pdx.edu) for more details and authoritative information.
Computer Science Graduate Assistants (GAs) are graduate students who are hired to perform instructional, research, or administrative duties for the department. Graduate Assistantships are administered in conjunction with the Graduate School, and are governed by the Graduate Employees Union (GEU) Collective Bargaining Agreement. Both M.S. and Ph.D. students can serve as GAs, although most available positions are filled by Ph.D. students.
All GAs must be enrolled full-time (except in summer), be in good academic standing, and be making satisfactory academic progress. Note that students completing the final two terms of their degree only need to enroll in a minimum of 5 graduate credit hours. All GAs receive a full tuition remission and a fee remission. GAs also receive a monthly stipend, which varies according to the nature of the appointment, the source of funding, and the student’s stage in their program.
When offered a GA position, the GA will receive a detailed Notice of Appointment letter that includes the stipend rate and the full-time equivalency (FTE), which is the percentage of hours the GA will work in a 40-hour work week. For example, a GA with a 0.37 FTE appointment is expected to work 14.8 hours per week.
A limited number of teaching assistantships (TAs) are available to our best-qualified graduate students. These assistantships are normally granted for one term at a time, and are renewable based on department need and the student's performance in coursework and TA responsibilities. Teaching assistants typically work with course instructors to hold office hours, grade homework, etc. TAs are hired with 0.37 FTE appointments (14.8 hours per week) for the quarter.
In some cases, a TA may teach a course as Instructor of Record under supervision of a faculty member. These appointments are for 0.49 FTE (19.6 hours per week).
Students can apply for TA positions on the CS graduate assistantship webpage. Please note that a PSU Odin account is required to access the application.
The selection criteria for teaching assistants are similar to those used for graduate admission: grades, references, plus evidence of teaching experience or ability.
Note that decisions about TA positions are made by the department, not by individual instructors. While instructors do have some input into the decision process, it is not generally useful to send unsolicited mail (spam) to instructors requesting TA positions.
At the end of the term, the department will send out a TA evaluation form seeking feedback from students on overall performance, communication, accessibility, and knowledge of content. Please note that these evaluations will be shared with the course instructor, and that poor evaluations can impact a student's eligibility to be a TA in future terms.
Many faculty in the department have research grants that support research assistants (RAs), who are normally Ph.D. students. Faculty members choose RAs on an individual basis, but the most important criterion is the student's ability to contribute to the professor's research program. Typically, students are given a research assistantship only after they have been in the graduate program for at least one term and have taken at least one class from the professor, although faculty do sometimes give RAships to especially qualified incoming students. Ordinarily, students are able to use the work supported by the assistantship as part of their own RPE and dissertation research.
Stipend rates are set by faculty based on availability of resources. RAs can be employed at an FTE of 0.30 (12 hours per week) to 0.49 (20 hours per week), or up to 1.0 (40 hours per week) in summer.
GAs must complete hiring paperwork in person at PSU’s Office of Human Resources (HR) before work can commence. For the list of required documents and more information, visit: https://www.pdx.edu/human-resources/new-hire-resources. New international GAs must also obtain employment authorization from the Office of International Students & Scholar Services (OISSS). Learn more at: https://www.pdx.edu/international-students/employment.
After completing the necessary HR hiring paperwork, the hiring unit or department will provide the GA with a Notice of Appointment via email with details of the position, as described in Article 17.3 of the GEU Contract, which the GA must take action on (accept or deny) to complete the hiring process.
The hiring unit or department informs PSU’s Student Finance Office to apply the tuition and fee remission once the GA accepts their Notice of Appointment, and enrolls in the necessary 9 credits (or minimum 5 credits, if in the final two terms of their degree). It is the GA’s responsibility to enroll in the credits they need by the add/drop deadline for their term of appointment in order for the tuition and fee remission to be applied. The deadline to register is always 11:59 PM on the Sunday following the first week of the term. Refer to the PSU Academic Calendar for the exact date.
Remissions for GAs who registered by the deadline are submitted in Weeks 1-3 of the quarter. GAs are never responsible for any late payment fees due to the remission being applied after the payment deadline for the term. This is written within Article 20.5 of the GEU contract. The late fee will be reversed once the remission has been applied.
Pay is distributed on the last business day of every month. For more information about payroll and getting paid, visit: https://www.pdx.edu/human-resources/payroll.
PSU designates course numbers of the form 5xx as Master’s level and 6xx as Ph.D. level. However, from a requirements perspective these are usually interchangeable, so it does not matter which version one takes. (One exception is that CS 503 applies only to M.S. theses, and CS 603 only to Ph.D. dissertations.) In fact, the CS department offers very few regularly scheduled 6xx courses except for CS 669 Scholarship Skills. Also, many 5xx courses are combined with a 4xx version suitable for undergraduate juniors and seniors. In such cases, the course will normally place additional requirements on students enrolled at the 5xx level, such as additional learning objectives, an extra project, etc. It is crucial for graduate students to register in the 5xx version for the course to count towards graduate degree requirements.
Course numbers of the form CS 50x and CS 60x are called “by arrangement” – they do not meet at a regularly scheduled time and place, and are not listed in the Registration Hub. These courses must be registered for using the By Arrangement Approval Dashboard. Either the student or the faculty member can initiate a by-approval request, and once both have approved it, the request is automatically forwarded to the Department for approval and then to the Registrar’s Office for processing
DARS is an automated system that the university uses to keep track of student progress towards requirements completion. Students can check their progress by requesting a DARS audit; see the Graduate School DARS page for details. Because DARS encoding of requirements is not always precise, it is common for students to need a “DARS exception” in order to graduate; these exceptions are handled by the CS Graduate Advisor.
In exceptional circumstances, students can arrange to receive an Incomplete (I) grade for a course, giving them more time to complete course requirements. See this page for more detailed information.
Exceptions to policies imposed by the Graduate School and University require a formal petition process. The CS Graduate Advisor can assist in preparing petitions, but it is the student’s responsibility to file them with appropriate supporting documentation. University petitions go to one of two university-wide faculty committees (Deadline Appeals Committee or Graduate Council), depending on their time frame. See this page for more detailed information.
Admitted graduate students at Portland State may take graduate courses offered by Oregon Health and Science University and have the credits included in their current term enrollment and tuition assessment at PSU. Only specific courses are approved for this joint campus arrangement. Students must have permission from the instructor of the OHSU course as well as their home department to use the joint campus registration process and apply the OHSU courses to their PSU degree. Contact the CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) for details.
Students should be familiar with the university’s student code of conduct, which describes the rights and responsibilities of PSU community members.
The CS department follows the university’s general rules on academic misconduct. Students should note that the particular rules for independent work and the use of generative AI may differ widely among CS courses, and they should consult the course syllabus for more detailed information.
In general, Portland State retains intellectual property rights for all work done by its employees, including funded research assistants. Students should discuss any concerns they may have about intellectual property, patents, open-source licensing, etc. with their Faculty Advisor.
Students may have the opportunity to travel on academic business, e.g. to present papers at conferences, attend summer schools, etc. Funding for travel is typically arranged through the student’s Faculty Advisor, although departmental or university funding opportunities may sometimes be available. All funded travel must follow PSU’s official travel policies.
In particular, a travel authorization must be approved in advance of travel, and a reimbursement request must be filed after travel. This summary has more details and pointers to the relevant forms. Students should consult their funding source to determine the name of the “contact person” to fill in on the travel forms. Note that airfare and conference registration are normally paid directly by the university in advance of travel, whereas hotel costs and meal per-diems are reimbursed after the fact; an advance on these costs can be requested. Oregon state law requires travel to be done efficiently and cost effectively. All travelers should take this charge seriously, and remember that they are representing the Department and PSU when traveling.