Overview

Our PhD program takes roughly 5–6 years to complete, but the duration varies depending on the student and the advisor. Here is a high-level timetable of the program requirements:

Year 1 WSE Academic Ethics online course
Title IX online training module
Years 1–3 8 courses
2 research projects
Responsible Conduct of Research
Years 3–4 Graduate Board Oral (GBO) Exam
First meeting with thesis committee
Finish research projects
Years 4+ (n-1) Annual meetings with thesis committee
Year n Departmental seminar
Thesis defense
Submit final dissertation to library
These requirements are discussed in the links below. The timetable is designed to help you keep moving along toward the completion of your PhD; it is not a strict requirement to finish items by the listed timeframe. Note that the PhD qualifying requirements are a slightly stricter version of the MSE requirements. Once you complete the coursework requirements and your first qualifying project, you may be entitled to an MSE degree from the university, upon request. If you are receiving the standard departmental stipend—or have an externally funded stipend at or below the level of an internal, departmental stipend—once you have completed your coursework, both qualifying projects, and your GBO requirements, you will become a dissertation student and will be entitled to a $100/month raise.If you transfer into the PhD program from our Master’s program and align with the timetable, you can assume you are starting out approximately as a second-year PhD student; the 1.5–2 years of an MSE roughly approximates one year of a PhD.

Manual Directory

Online Resources

CS PhD students are beholden to the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering academic policies listed below unless the department has a differing internal policy stated. Please contact either the Academic Program Manager or the Director of Graduate Studies if you need clarification regarding if and/or how a policy may apply to you. Please see below for additional online resources that may help you in your pursuit of a PhD.