nyu computer science phd acceptance rate

New York University (Tandon)

Graduate School (Engineering) • Brooklyn, NY •  

Graduate School (Engineering) • Brooklyn, NY

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New York University (Tandon) Engineering School Overview

The application fee is $90 for U.S. residents and $90 for international students. Its tuition is full-time: $2,335 per credit and part-time: $2,335 per credit. The 2023 Ph.D. student-faculty ratio is 5.2:1. The Tandon School of Engineering at New York University (Tandon) has 79 full-time faculty on staff.

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At-a-Glance

Acceptance Rate (master's)

Tuition & Fees (Doctorate)

$2,335 per credit

New York University (Tandon) 2024 Engineering & Specialties Rankings

Overall Score

Peer assessment score (out of 5)

Recruiter assessment score (out of 5)

Engineering School Rankings

• # 41 in Best Engineering Schools  (tie)

Engineering School Specialty Rankings

• in Aerospace / Aeronautical / Astronautical Engineering
• in Biomedical Engineering / Bioengineering
• in Chemical Engineering
• in Civil Engineering
• in Computer Engineering
• in Electrical / Electronic / Communications Engineering
• in Environmental / Environmental Health Engineering
• in Industrial / Manufacturing / Systems Engineering
• in Mechanical Engineering

Engineering School Admissions

Application Fee

New York University (Tandon) Admissions

Applicants :

(Master's)

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Engineering School Cost

$2,335 per credit (in-state) $2,335 per credit (out-of-state)

Tuition (Doctoral, Part-Time)

Tuition (Master's, Full-Time)

Tuition (Master's, Part-Time)

New York University (Tandon) Cost

Engineering school student population.

Enrollment (Full-Time Master's)

Enrollment (Part-Time Master's)

New York University (Tandon) Student Population

Gender distribution of enrolled (master's) :

Minority Enrollment

International

Two or more races

American Indian

Not Specified is not included in this breakdown due to an enrollment of 0%.

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Faculty Research Impact

Citations per publication

Field weighted citation impact

Publications Cited in top 5% of Most Cited Journals

Publications Cited in top 25% of Most Cited Journals

Engineering School Academics

Engineering School details based on 2023 data.

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Departments

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Gre prep online guides and tips, graduate school acceptance rates: can you get in.

Even the most qualified and confident applicants worry about getting into grad school. But don’t panic! Graduate school acceptance rates, which give the percentage of applicants that were admitted to a particular school or program in an academic year, can help you determine how likely you are to get into a given program.  But where can you find grad school admissions statistics?

In this article, we’ll first investigate the trends and factors associated with graduate school acceptance rates. Then, we’ll take a look at some of the current acceptance rates and give you expert tips on how to find acceptance rates for your programs. Finally, we’ll show you how to determine your odds of getting into grad school.

Graduate School Acceptance Rates: Factors and Trends

Grad school acceptance rates are the same as any other acceptance rate: the lower the acceptance rate, the more selective the school or program is. Similarly, the higher the acceptance rate, the less selective the school or program is. As with undergrad acceptance rates, grad school acceptance rates vary widely, from extraordinarily selective (less than 5 percent) to incredibly lenient (nearly 100 percent).

Unlike undergrad rates, though, grad school acceptance rates are usually calculated for specific programs or departments and  not for entire universities. This is because with grad school, you are essentially applying to an individual program rather than an overall institution (as you did for undergrad).

Now that we’ve covered all of the basics, let’s look at a few key trends. Our research indicates there are three major factors that help determine grad school acceptance rates:

• School or program prestige
• Degree type
• Amount of funding

Let’s look at how each of these factors influences grad school acceptance rates.

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#1: School or Program Prestige

How prestigious a particular grad school or program is can affect its overall competitiveness and selectivity. In general, the more prestigious a program is, the more competitive it’ll be and thus the lower acceptance rate it’ll have.

An easy way to determine school or program prestige is to consult official rankings, such as those listed on  U.S. News . (Grad schools are typically ranked by field or program and   not by overall institution.)

For example, a 2017  U.S. News  list of the best political science grad programs  ranked Duke’s political science program at #7 and Northwestern’s at #23. Because both of the programs have fairly high rankings, it’s safe to assume they’re probably quite selective.

And this is true: in 2016,  Duke  reported a mere 10 percent acceptance rate to its political science doctoral program, while  Northwestern  reported a 12 percent acceptance rate.

#2: Degree Type

Another major factor is degree type. Generally,  doctoral programs tend to be more selective than master’s programs (though this isn’t always the case as I’ll explain in a moment). This trend is likely due to the fact that doctoral programs often look for higher-quality applicants with proven academic track records and more relevant experience in their fields.

For example, in 2016  University of Michigan’s math doctoral program  had a 17.2 percent acceptance rate, whereas its master’s program  had a much higher 31.8 percent rate. In this case, the doctoral program is clearly tougher to get into than the master’s program.

Still,   master’s programs can have lower acceptance rates than doctoral programs. If we were to take the University of Michigan’s grad programs in computer science and engineering, we’d find that the doctoral program has  a 15 percent acceptance rate  and the master’s  an even lower 8 percent acceptance rate .

Additionally, M.F.A. programs are particularly cutthroat. In 2015, the creative writing M.F.A. program at UT Austin’s James A. Michener Center for Writers only admitted 12 out of 678 applicants — that’s a mere 1.8 percent acceptance rate !

#3: Amount of Funding

Funding, too, plays a big role in how selective a grad program is.

Well-funded  programs typically receive more applications than those offering little to no aid, thereby raising their selectivity. Competition is especially fierce for fully funded programs — possibly because fewer people are willing to go into debt for grad school.

Compared to fully funded doctoral programs, fully funded master’s programs are somewhat rare and thus pretty competitive. UT Austin’s Creative Writing M.F.A. program, for instance, is not only a prestigious program but also one of the most well-funded Creative Writing M.F.A. programs in the country: it  offers full tuition remission and a $27,500 stipend per academic year . It’s no wonder, then, that its acceptance rate is below 2 percent!

What Are the Current Graduate School Acceptance Rates?

For this section, we’ve scoured the internet to bring you a robust assortment of acceptance rates for popular U.S. grad schools.

Before we dive in, note that not all institutions calculate grad school acceptance rates using the same methodologies. Some offer only a single acceptance rate for all of their grad schools put together, while others offer individual rates by school, field, or program.

Now, let’s see how selective these schools really are!

*Statistics for NYU are based on the number of enrolled students and not the number of admitted students. Therefore, expect actual acceptance rates to be slightly higher.

How to Find Graduate School Acceptance Rates: 4 Methods

Unfortunately, grad school admissions statistics tend to be more difficult to find than undergrad acceptance rates.  But there are ways to search for them — you just have to do a lot of digging and possibly a little reaching out.

Below are our top four methods for finding grad school acceptance rates for the programs you’re applying to.

#1: Consult School Websites

By far the most reliable resources for grad school admissions statistics are  school websites.

Start your search by consulting program and departmental pages, particularly admissions and FAQ pages. Look out for any statistics-related keywords or phrases, such as “admission(s) rates,” “acceptance rates,” “enrollment,” “facts and figures,” etc. Use ctrl+F to move swiftly through large chunks of text.

Not all schools publish grad admissions information online, and those that do don’t always report it in the same way as others. For example, Princeton offers a handy PDF  containing acceptance rates for all academic fields of study. On the other hand,  Notre Dame  gives separate admissions charts for each of its grad programs (which you can access by selecting a program and then clicking “Admissions Statistics”).

Additionally, many schools release admissions statistics without explicitly publishing acceptance rates.  In this case, it’s your job to take the statistics provided and use them to calculate an acceptance rate. To find the acceptance rate of a school or program, you’ll need the following information:

• The total number of applicants in a year
• The total number of applicants granted admission  that year

The acceptance rate equals the total number of applicants offered admission divided by the total number of applicants and then multiplied by 100, or:

$$\acceptance \rate = {\number \of \applicants \offered \admission}/{\total \number \of \applicants}100$$

Be sure to  avoid conflating the number of students who were  offered admission   with the number of students who accepted their offers of admission. These two concepts sound alike but are actually different. What you’re looking for is the first statistic — that is, the number of admitted students (regardless of whether they decided to enroll).

If you’re having trouble finding admissions statistics by browsing school websites, search on Google for “[Your School] graduate acceptance rate” and see if any relevant school pages appear. While searching for acceptance rates to use in the table above, I consistently swapped “acceptance rate” with similar phrases, such as “admission(s) rate,” “facts and figures,” “student statistics,” “admittance rates,” and “admission(s) statistics.”

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Don’t be afraid to get creative! You can also use phrases like “Ph.D. admissions statistics” or “master’s admissions statistics” to narrow your search even further. Try to think outside the box as you do your research. What are other ways people talk about acceptance rates?

#2: Check  U.S. News

If your school or program doesn’t offer any admissions statistics on its website, go to  U.S. News . This website offers official rankings of grad programs as well as lists of the most (and least) selective programs in various fields.

For example, I found a 2016 list of the most competitive online M.B.A. programs  and a 2015 list of the most competitive online graduate engineering programs .

If U.S. News doesn’t offer any relevant lists for you to use, try skimming the current grad school rankings to gauge how competitive your program is compared with others in the same field.

#3: Search Other Websites

One less reliable method for looking up grad school admissions statistics is to  look for (unofficial) websites discussing acceptance rates for your school or program.

The Grad Cafe’s  admissions results  section is a solid place to start. Here, applicants post whether they’ve been accepted, rejected, or waitlisted for grad programs.

Search for your program to get a rough feel for how many acceptances and rejections go out each year. You might notice that certain types of applicants are more active than others. Creative Writing M.F.A. applicants, for example, are prolific posters in winter and spring (during admissions season).

Occasionally, Google itself will provide you with grad school acceptance rates, but this only appears to work consistently for well-known law schools, medical schools, and business schools.

Additionally, while using Google, don’t assume that any acceptance rates that pop up are directly connected to your search terms. For example, when I searched “stanford graduate acceptance rate,” Google gave me this result:

This 4.8 percent acceptance rate is  not  the acceptance rate for Stanford’s grad programs (what I searched for) but rather the acceptance rate for undergrads. So always cross-check any statistics Google gives you.

You can also consult grad school data websites such as  Peterson’s and StartClass . Take their grad school acceptance rates with a grain of salt, though — their data isn’t always verifiable online. If possible, try to compare any data you find on these types of websites with the school websites themselves or U.S. News .

#4: Contact Schools

If the internet isn’t giving you the help you need, call or email your schools. Be polite but upfront: ask whether the school calculates acceptance rates for grad programs and where you can find this information online (if available).

If a school refuses to divulge admissions statistics or simply doesn’t report acceptance rates, see if they can give you estimates for how many applications they receive each year, or for how many acceptances they usually extend to applicants in your program.

Graduate School Acceptance: What Are Your Odds?

By this point, you might be wondering how likely it is you’ll actually get into the grad program you wish to attend. After all, acceptance rates are pretty broad — they tell you what everyone’s odds are but not your odds specifically.

Below are three easy steps for determining your odds of getting into grad school, including advice on when it’s better to go for it or choose another program.

Step 1: Check Program Requirements

First, go to your program’s website and pinpoint the admissions requirements page. Now, ask yourself:  do you meet all of the program’s basic requirements? If not, you’ll likely wind up with a rejection (and might not even be able to apply).

However, if you’re still interested in applying, contact the program and ask if they’ll make an exception for you. Your chance of getting accepted is still low, but you’ll at least have your application considered.

If your program strongly recommends qualities you lack, don’t interpret this as an automatic rejection. Sometimes, applicants can make up for deficiencies in other ways. For example, if your undergrad GPA is 3.1 and your program recommends applicants have a minimum 3.2, don’t write off the program — you might still have a shot at getting in as long as the rest of your application is solid.

On the other hand, even if you meet all of a program’s requirements, you’re not necessarily a shoo-in. Remember, all other applicants have met these requirements, too, so you’ll need to find a unique way to make your application stand out.

Step 2: Find Average GRE Scores and GPAs

Your next step is to look up your program’s average GRE scores and GPA  to see how your own scores and GPA compare with those of previously admitted applicants.

You can usually find GRE score information on admissions requirements or FAQ pages. You can also search on Google for “[Your School] [Your Program] average GRE scores.” For step-by-step instructions on how to find average GRE scores, check out  my article on average GRE scores by school .

For GPAs, you can use the same basic methodology. Check admissions requirements and FAQ pages and use ctrl+F to search for “GPA.” If GPA information is available, you’ll most likely come across minimum GPAs or average GPAs (or both). For more tips on how to find GPA information for your grad schools, read our guide .

Now, compare your own GRE scores and GPA with the averages you’ve found. Below are all possible scenarios and what they mean for you and your odds of getting into the program:

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• Your GRE scores and GPA are both  higher than your program’s averages:  Congratulations! You have an excellent chance of getting accepted, especially if the rest of your application is equally impressive. Keep up the great work!
• Your GRE scores and GPA are both  about the same as your program’s averages:  You’re doing pretty well! You are just the type of applicant your program is looking for. The only drawback is that you probably won’t stand out as much from other applicants who have similar GRE scores and GPAs. So take time to make your application sparkle (I’m looking at you, statement of purpose).
• Your GRE scores and GPA are both lower than your program’s averages (or just one of the two is lower):  It ain’t over ’til it’s over! You can still make up for your deficiencies in other ways. While you can’t change your GPA, you can retake the GRE . If your GPA is low, a great strategy for combating this is to discuss it in your statement of purpose, taking care to highlight any external factors that contributed to the low GPA as well as any attributes of yours that prove you’re indeed ready for grad school.

Step 3: Decide Whether to Apply

Now, we get to the final question: do you apply to the program or not?  This is a vague question that’s difficult to answer as is. The real questions you should be asking yourself are as follows:

• Do I meet all of the program’s basic requirements?
• Do I meet most or all of the program’s expectations of applicants (in terms of GRE scores, GPA, etc.)?
• Is the program’s acceptance rate extremely low?
• Do I really like this program?

Although acceptance rates and GRE/GPA comparisons are helpful, don’t base your decision to apply solely on how difficult the program is to get into. We can’t know for sure what kind of applicant a grad program is looking for or who they’re willing to make an exception for.

Take a moment to think deeply about how interested you are in this particular program. Be realistic about your chances of getting in — but don’t cross the line into pessimism. If you don’t meet most or all of a program’s expectations and you’re not super invested in it, consider applying elsewhere.

But if you meet some, most, or all of a program’s expectations and you’re extremely interested in enrolling, give the application a go. Remember, it’s totally normal (and even encouraged) to have a few reach schools. Plus, you’ll never get in if you don’t apply!

Key Takeaways: Graduate School Acceptance Rates

Grad school acceptance rates quantify for us the selectivity of grad schools and programs. More specifically, acceptance rates tell us  what percentage of applicants were offered admission to a particular grad school or program. 

With grad school, acceptance rates are often reported for individual schools or programs,  not  entire universities. Acceptance rates can vary widely depending on program prestige, the type of degree you’re seeking, and how much (or how little) funding a program offers.

Unlike undergrad acceptance rates, grad school acceptance rates are somewhat difficult to locate online. You can look for them using any of the following four methods:

• Peruse school websites
• Check grad school facts and lists on  U.S. News
• Browse other websites and forums such as The Grad Cafe
• Call or email your schools

When trying to determine your  odds of getting into a program, look at your program’s requirements as well as the average GPA and GRE scores of previously admitted applicants to your program. If your GRE scores and GPA are comparable to those of your program, you have a decent shot at getting accepted. If one or both are lower than your program’s averages, however, you can always try to  raise your GRE score  with a retake or address your GPA in your statement of purpose.

At the end of the day, what ultimately matters isn’t that you get accepted to a highly competitive grad program but that you make the right decision for you and you alone!

What’s Next?

Need help with your grad school application?  Learn about the most common grad school requirements  and get tips on how to write a grad school CV or resume !

Is your GPA good enough for grad school ?  Read our in-depth guide to learn how you can make up for a less-than-stellar GPA and ultimately raise your chances of getting into the school of your dreams.

Do you have to take the GRE for grad school ? When are grad school deadlines ?  Check out our guides for answers to these questions and more.

Ready to improve your GRE score by 7 points?

Author: Hannah Muniz

Hannah graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in English and East Asian languages and cultures. After graduation, she taught English in Japan for two years via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel. View all posts by Hannah Muniz

What percentage of applicants are admitted to the PhD program?

The program admits approximately 5-8 students to the PhD Program each year. The admit rate is around 5%.

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Computer Science (PhD)

Program description.

We have a thriving PhD program with many full-time PhD students hailing from all corners of the world. Most full-time PhD students have scholarships that cover tuition and provide a monthly stipend. Admission is highly competitive. We seek creative, articulate students with undergraduate and master's degrees from top universities worldwide. Our  current research strengths  include data management and analysis, cybersecurity, computer games, visualization, web search, graphics, vision and image processing, and theoretical computer science.

This degree program offers interested students opportunities to do their research abroad, under the supervision of faculty at  NYU Shanghai  or  NYU Abu Dhabi .

To apply for admission to any Tandon graduate program, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions .

Program Summary

Program requirements, theory courses, systems & applications courses, gpa and grade requirements, qualifying exam, dissertation proposal and presentation, dissertation and dissertation defense, annual phd student assessment meeting.

To receive a PhD in Computer Science at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, a student must:

• satisfy a breadth course requirement, intended to ensure broad knowledge of computer science,
• satisfy a depth requirement, consisting of an oral qualifying exam presentation with a written report, to ensure the student’s ability to do research,
• submit a written dissertation proposal and make an oral presentation about the proposal,
• write a PhD dissertation that must be approved by a dissertation guidance committee and present an oral dissertation defense, and
• satisfy all requirements for the PhD degree, as described below including credit points, GPA, and time-to-degree requirements.

Upon entering the program, each student will be assigned a faculty adviser who will guide them in formulating an individual study plan directing their course choice for the first two years. The department will hold an annual PhD Student Assessment Meeting, in which all PhD students will be formally reviewed.

The program requires the completion of 75 credits, comprised of the following:

Often students with a prior relevant MS degree transfer 30 blanket credits toward the electives requirement.

Students are free to and encouraged to explore courses from within the CSE department as well as other departments within Tandon and other schools at NYU, except for the School of Professional Studies. Once courses of interest have been identified, students should discuss them with their adviser for approval. Alternatively, students may choose more courses from the Theory course list or Systems & Applications course list: courses from these lists require no further approval from the adviser. The following courses cannot be used to meet this requirement:

• GA-GY 9993 Writing and Communication for Engineers and Scientists
• CS-GY 9963 ADVANCED PROJECT IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
• CS-GY 9413 Readings in Computer Science I
• CS-GY 999X PHD DISSERTATION IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

Extra dissertation credits may count towards the electives, with the approval of the PhD adviser.

GA-GY 9993 Writing and Communication for Engineers and Scientists may also count toward dissertation credits.

Course Lists

The Computer Science PhD has several specific GPA and grade requirements. Breadth Grade Requirement : A grade of B or higher is required in all courses used to fill the breadth requirement. Theory and Systems & Applications GPA : Students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the four courses used to fill the Theory and Systems & Applications course requirements above.  Free Choice GPA : A GPA of 3.5 or higher must be earned in the two Free Choice courses. Cumulative GPA : An overall GPA of 3.0 or higher is required in all graduate courses taken.

 Any student who has not taken a course in Algorithms prior to entering the PhD program, at either the undergraduate or the graduate level, must take a graduate course in algorithms while in the PhD program.  Students may take Design and Analysis of Algorithms I ( CS-GY 6033 ) , Design and Analysis of Algorithms II ( CS-GY 6043 ) , or  Honors Analysis of Algorithms ( CSCI-GA 3520 ) to fulfill this requirement. The department may revise these options in the future depending on course offerings. Alternatively, students may petition the PhD Committee (PHDC) Chair to use another course. The grade received in the course must be at least B.

By the end of a student’s third semester in the program, at the latest, the student must be involved in a research project under the guidance of a faculty research adviser. It is the responsibility of each student to find a faculty research adviser and a research project, and to inform the PHDC Chair about their choice of adviser. Students must inform the PHDC Chair if they change their research adviser.

To satisfy the depth requirement, students must take a qualifying exam (QE) based on their research. The QE must be passed before the start of the student’s fifth semester in the program. Students are required to form a QE committee, select an exam topic, and a tentative date approved by the adviser and committee, by the end of their third semester.

Scheduling the QE less than two months before the start of the fifth semester is strongly discouraged. If a student does not pass the QE before the fifth semester, the student will not be allowed to continue the PhD in the fifth semester, unless an exception is granted by the PHDC and the Office of Graduate Academics.

The QE committee must consist of the adviser and at least two other members. The committee must be approved by the adviser and the PHDC. The adviser is the designated chair of the committee. All members of the QE committee must be CSE faculty, faculty from other departments at NYU, or individuals of like standing from outside the university. At least two of the QE committee members must be tenured or tenure-track members of the CSE department, unless permission is obtained from the PHDC to include only one such member.

For the QE, the student must give an oral presentation of their research accomplishments to the QE committee and write a detailed document describing those accomplishments. The document must be submitted to the QE committee and the PHDC no later than one week before the oral presentation. A student is expected to have conducted original research by the time of the exam. This research may have been carried out independently or in collaboration with faculty, research staff, or other students. Students are encouraged, but not required, to have publication-worthy results by the time of the exam. It is not sufficient for a student to present a survey of previous work in an area or a re-implementation of algorithms, techniques, or systems developed by others.

The committee, by majority vote, gives a grade for the QE as either “Pass” or “Fail”. The chair of the QE committee will send this grade in writing to the student and to the PHDC Chair, together with a written evaluation of the student’s performance, approved by the QE committee members. A student who does not receive a “Pass” may request permission from the PHDC to retake the exam. The PHDC will consult with the QE committee, review the case and make the final decision as to whether a retake is allowed or not. A student may petition the PHDC to change one or more members of the QE committee, but approval of the request will be at the PHDC’s discretion.

If the request for a retake is approved, the QE committee will determine the date for the second attempt. If the student is not allowed to retake the exam, the student will not be allowed to continue in the PhD program in the following semester. If the student does not pass the qualifying exam on the second attempt, or otherwise does not satisfy the conditions given to them upon failing the exam the first time, the student will not be allowed to continue in the PhD program in the following semester. If a student has passed the QE and then changes their area of research, the student need not retake the QE.

Within 6 months of passing the QE, each student is required to form a dissertation guidance committee. This committee must be approved by the student’s research adviser and by the PHDC. The committee must include at least four members, including the research adviser. The committee members can be CSE faculty, faculty from other departments at NYU, or individuals of like standing from outside the university. At least one member of the dissertation guidance committee must be a tenured or tenure-track CSE faculty member, and at least one member of the committee must be from outside the CSE department. The committee chairperson may or may not be the research adviser but must be a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in Tandon or have a cross-appointment of at least Associate level.

By the end of the student’s fifth semester in the program, the student and committee must set a tentative date for the dissertation proposal presentation. The presentation must be done prior to the start of the student’s seventh semester in the program.

Before finalizing the date of the presentation, the student must submit a written dissertation proposal to the dissertation guidance committee which should include:

• a description of the research topic
• an explanation of how the research will advance the state of the art, and
• a tentative research plan

After the dissertation guidance committee has approved the dissertation proposal, the student should schedule the dissertation proposal presentation and notify the PHDC Chair once this has been finalized. The presentation should be announced to the faculty by the PHDC Chair at least one week before it occurs. The presentation is open to all faculty. It may also be open to others at the discretion of the research adviser.

Substantial subsequent changes to the dissertation topic must be approved by the dissertation guidance committee.

The last, and most substantial, aspect of the PhD program is the dissertation. The research for the dissertation should be conducted in close consultation with the research adviser. When the adviser determines that the student is ready to defend the dissertation, a dissertation defense will be scheduled. For the defense, the student will give an oral presentation describing the dissertation research, which is open to the public. Following the oral presentation and an initial question and answer session, the dissertation committee and CSE faculty may ask the student further questions in a closed session.

All PhD students will be formally reviewed each year in a PhD Student Assessment Meeting. The review is conducted by the entire CSE faculty and includes at least the following items (in no particular order):

• All courses taken, grades received, and GPAs.
• Research productivity: publications, talks, software, systems, etc.
• Faculty input, especially from advisers and committee members.
• Student’s own input.
• Cumulative history of the student’s progress.

As a result of the review, each student will be placed in one of the following two categories, by vote of the faculty:

• In Good Standing: The student has performed well in the previous semester and may continue in the PhD program for one more year, assuming satisfactory academic progress is maintained.
• Not in Good Standing: The student has not performed sufficiently well in the previous year. The consequences of not being in good standing will vary, and may include being placed on probation, losing funding, or not being allowed to continue in the PhD program.

Following the review, students will receive formal letters which will inform them of their standing. The letters may also make specific recommendations to the student as to what will be expected of them in the following year. A copy of each student’s letter will be placed in the student’s file.

Sample Plan of Study

Learning outcomes.

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will have:

• A broad knowledge of computer science.
• The ability to conduct original research in computer science.
• The ability to present their research in written papers and oral presentations.

NYU Policies

Tandon policies.

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages .

Additional academic policies can be found on the  Tandon academic policy page . 

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Ph.D. Program Overview

Our research-oriented Ph.D. program in Computer Science prepares exceptional students for careers at the cutting edge of academia and industry. The foremost goal of the program is for students to conduct outstanding research that advances the state of the art in their research area. Students are also expected to get some basic familiarity with various disciplines of computer science through breadth courses.

What makes our program special?

• Outstanding research groups and distinguished faculty .
• Our students are offered guaranteed support through a MacCracken fellowship, independent of the availability of funds by the academic advisor. This offers unparalleled flexibility and peace of mind to the student.
• Located in one of the most vibrant parts of New York City, our department is within short walking distance of several of the world's leading research labs. As a result, many of our students end up developing close ties with those labs, further advancing their research, and their integration in academia and industry after graduation.

More information:

Ph.D. Admission ▶

Degree requirements ▶, resources ▶, achievements ▶.