Ph.D. Proposal and Thesis
A good thesis will be an original and significant work in COS research.
While methodologies will likely vary from one dissertation to another,
they will typically combine analytical and empirical work and include
development of a computational prototype, used as a basis to demonstrate
and evaluate concepts introduced in the dissertation. Typically evaluation
will not be limited to a computational assessment but will also include
proofs of fitness and an analysis and evaluation of relevant human,
social, organizational, economic and/or policy ramifications of the
proposed solution.
The program is planned to allow a typical student to complete all the
required coursework by the end of the third year. By the start of the fourth
year a Ph.D. candidate will present a thesis proposal to the COS community.
The proposal should include:
- a clear statement of the proposed research problem, including an argument for the significance of the proposed research
- a review of relevant literature relating to the problem
- a review of the candidate’s work leading up to the thesis
- a tentative schedule for completing the work.
Advising on the thesis proposal, and guiding in the formation of the
dissertation committee, is the thesis advisor’s responsibility. Normally,
the thesis advisor is one of the COS faculty, but this is not mandatory.
The thesis committee must be composed of at least four members, one of
whom is an external member and at least one of whom is a COS faculty member.
The external member may be from another school at Carnegie Mellon,
or from outside the University. All thesis committees are subject to
approval by the program committee.
The dissertation will typically be completed during the student’s fifth year.
The final defense is a public presentation, in accord with the College and
University requirements for the Ph.D. It is the candidate’s responsibility
to ensure that the College and University’s guidelines are followed for
publicity of the defense and the availability of the thesis at least one week
prior to the defense.
Sample Study Plan
The COS curriculum ensures all students have a solid foundation in computational methods, formal methods, society and organizations, and policy. At the same time, it retains enough flexibility to enable students to further specialize in areas that are more closely relevant to their research interests. The following is an illustration of the courses three different sets of students could take:
Sample Schedule
| Fall 1 | Spring 1 |
| COS Lab | 15-780 Advanced Concepts in AI |
| 15-781 Machine Learning | 10-751 Prob & Statistics for Computer Science |
| COS Research | COS Research |
| Fall 2 | Spring 2 |
| Dynamic Organizations and Networks | Elective |
| Elective | TA-ing |
| COS Research | COS Research |
| Fall 3 | Spring 3 |
| TA-ing | COS Research |
| Elective | |
| COS Research | |
Sample Schedule
| Fall 1 | Spring 1 |
| COS Lab | 15-780 Advanced Concepts in AI |
| Dynamic Organizations and Networks | 15-750 Algorithms |
| COS Research | COS Research |
| Fall 2 | Spring 2 |
| 10-705 Intermediate Statistics | Elective |
| Elective | TA-ing |
| COS Research | COS Research |
| Fall 3 | Spring 3 |
| TA-ing | COS Research |
| Elective | |
| COS Research | |
Sample Schedule
| Fall 1 | Spring 1 |
| COS Lab | 15-780 Advanced Concepts in AI |
| Dynamic Organizations and Networks | Privacy Algorithms |
| COS Research | COS Research |
| Fall 2 | Spring 2 |
| 10-705 Intermediate Statistics | Elective |
| Elective | TA-ing |
| COS Research | COS Research |
| Fall 3 | Spring 3 |
| TA-ing | COS Research |
| Elective | |
| COS Research | |
Ph.D. Program in Computation, Organizations and Society
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412)268-1593
cos-phd@cs.cmu.edu
