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Graduate Info

Ph.D. Satisfactory Progress Policy

To make satisfactory progress for the PhD, a full-time student must meet the following requirements.  (Part-time students are handled on a case-by-case basis.) Below, a "year" means two successive semesters, not counting the summer term.  Semesters are counted from when the student enters the PhD program.

(In the following, the course CSc 695c should be substituted by the course CSc 599 prior to Fall 2007.)

1. Qualifying examination

a. After one year, the student must have taken at least one CSc 695c and have earned the grade of at least P.
b. After two years, the student must have taken at least two CSc 695c's and have earned the grade of at least P in both.
c. After two years, the student must have passed their PhD Oral Qualifying Examination presentation on one of their CSc 695c projects.
d. After two years, the student must have satisfied the Colloquium Attendance Requirement, by earning the grade of at least P in CSc 695a.

2. Grade point average and core coursework

a. After one year, the student must have completed at least three core courses.
b. After two years, the student must have completed six core courses and earned a GPA of at least 3.5 on these core courses.
c. For the first two years, the student must maintain an annual cumulative GPA of at least 3.33 (where the GPA is checked at the end of the year).

Any Computer Science course in which a grade of C or lower is earned will not count toward satisfying course requirements for the PhD Program of Study.  Such a grade is counted, however, in the cumulative GPA.

3. Assistantships

a. After one year, the student must have attended the UA Graduate Assistantship in Teaching Orientation.
b. After one year, an international student must have passed the ETS Test of Spoken English or the UA SPEAK Test.
c. Each semester, a TA or RA must achieve satisfactory performance in their assistantship as determined by their course instructor or research advisor.

Any exceptions to these rules must be approved in writing by the student's faculty advisor and the Department Head.

If any of requirements 1 through 3 are not met, the student is not making satisfactory progress toward the PhD.  If a student is not making satisfactory progress, the student has one probationary semester to meet the requirements.  Funding is not guaranteed for students on department probation.  If the requirements for satisfactory progress are not met after the probationary semester, the student will be removed from the PhD program.

These requirements are reviewed once per academic year for each PhD student at the PhD Student Review Meeting early in the Spring semester.  Students who are making unsatisfactory progress are reviewed again following the posting of grades at the end of the Spring semester.

28 April 2006
Revised: 14 May 2007