Singapore-MIT Alliance Computer Science Program
The Doctoral Degree Program Requirements

All Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) Computer Science (CS) students are admitted directly into a full-time common graduate program that leads to either:

or

The requirements for the doctoral degree consist of the successful completion of the following components:

Planning and timing of the doctoral program

The timing of the various requirements in the doctoral program will vary from student to student and moderate variations are expected. However, the SMA CS Program does have expectations which should guide the student and his/her co-supervisors in their planning. The SMA CS Program has also established a few critical deadlines that have important consequences. The schedule below represents the timing that the SMA CS Program would expect of a typical student who enters into the Program, assuming each academic year starts from June and ends in May.

The Graduate Coursework

The student must complete at least 6 graduate-level, 12-unit courses in SMA CS/MIT/NUS, as specified for the Master's degree. This requirement is to ensure that each student has the formal technical background necessary for PhD level research.

In addition, as deemed appropriate by the student's Doctoral Committee (DC), the student may be required to:

• Complete a Minor Program consisting of two courses which have been approved by the student's DC. This is to broaden the student's experience at an advanced level; and/or
• Complete additional courses related to the doctoral research, if necessary (normally no more than two beyond those required for the Master's degree). This is to further prepare the student for doctoral research.

The Qualifying Examination

The PhD Qualifying Examination (QE) will be held twice a year, in August and December. The QE consists of 3 sections.

(i) Term Paper
This section is to determine the student's aptitude and attitude for research, based on the project work conducted so far. The student is expected to identify a promising research area. The paper should be self-contained, in the style of a journal paper and about 20 pages, and provide a good overview of the research problems, a survey of existing work, and insight to the research problems, with preliminary study and proposals on outstanding research issues.

(ii) Oral Presentation
This section is to test the communication skills of the student and his/her ability to deliver key points of his term paper research clearly. The presentation should be around 45 minutes.

(iii) Evaluation on General Computing Knowledge (Q&A)
This section is to determine the student's knowledge in fundamental computing. The student will be asked a series of questions that are aimed at determining
the breadth and depth of knowledge in areas of Computer
Science and/or Information Systems. Examiners will pose questions that are OUTSIDE the term paper's research topic, but relevant to at least 3 out of 5 general computing areas indicated below:

• Computer Systems
• Artificial Intelligence
• Algorithms and Theory
• Programming Languages
• Data Storage, Organization, and Communication

Each QE committee will consists of 3 persons – normally 2 Singapore CS Fellow and 1 MIT CS Fellow. Thesis supervisors will not serve on the QE committees of their own students, but will be required to complete a research assessment report to be submitted to the QE committee before the examination. The QE committee will submit the PhD Qualifying Examination Report and a recommendation upon evaluating the student.

This report will be reviewed by the Program Co-Chairs or their designates. The Program Co-Chairs will make the final decision regarding the examination and will determine any additional actions that may be necessary. The Program Co-Chairs will appoint the student's Doctoral Committee (DC) at this time.

The Doctoral Committee

When the QE has been successfully completed, the student is judged qualified for the doctoral program. From that time on, the student's program is under the supervision of the student's Doctoral Committee (DC). The DC shall consist of three members, including the two co-supervisors and a reader. This committee is charged with establishing the post-qualification requirements below and with monitoring the student's progress. The DC meets with the student at least once per term and reports in writing to the Program Co-Chairs annually.

The Teaching Assignment

The student is expected to carry out a teaching assignment as approved by the DC. This will usually consist of one or more terms as a Teaching Assistant but other arrangements are possible. This requirement is to assure that all doctoral students have the necessary training for technical communication and a uniquely effective learning experience.

The Doctoral Thesis

Thesis Proposal

The student must submit a thesis proposal within a year after s/he has passed her/his QE. The thesis proposal must be approved by the student's DC before continuing work on the thesis can be carried out. This requirement is to focus the student's attention on a careful description of the proposed research and on the background and context of the proposed research problem.

Thesis

The doctoral thesis must be a piece of original work with sufficient scope and depth as deemed appropriate by the student's DC. Thesis work should be carried out with a at least one semester stay at MIT.

Thesis Examination and Presentation

When the thesis investigation is substantially completed and the student has prepared a document of preliminary character which summarizes the work, a thesis examination is held. It will comprise of an open seminar presentation, followed by a close-door oral examination.

a) Seminar presentation should take about 45 minutes. This will be announced as a public talk open to both staff and students. After the presentation, a 10-minutes Q&A session will be available for the public.

b) A close-door oral examination by the student's DC will follow after the seminar presentation. The student is expected to answer satisfactorily any questions raised on the subject matter pertaining to her/his research thesis and related subjects.

If the defense is satisfactory, the student is instructed to proceed with the final write-up incorporating suggestions made during the thesis examination. If all other requirements have been satisfied, the doctoral program is completed when the co-supervisors sign the thesis, report a satisfactory grade, and the student submits the document to the SMA Office.