Study Scheme

MPhil and PhD are regarded as two separate streams in the MPhil-PhD programme. A student will be admitted as either an MPhil student or a PhD student. A brief description of each stream is given below. For more details, please refer to the Post-graduated Student Handbook.

 

MPhil Stream (Full-time)

The Programme is research-oriented. The normative period of full-time study is 2 years. The major graduation requirements for an MPhil student include:

Coursework Requirement
  1. Complete a minimum of 12 units of postgraduate courses offered by the Division or related courses as approved by the Division.
  2. Register for the Thesis Research Course in every term throughout his/her normative study period.
  3. Complete CSCI6500 'Seminar for M.Phil. Studies' in every term throughout his/her normative study period.
Other Requirements
  1. Pass the IT Proficiency Test.
  2. Complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on "Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research".
  3. Complete other courses, such as ELTU5501 Postgraduate Presentation Skills or its equivalent, if deemed necessary.
  4. Submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
  5. Submit a term paper followed by an oral presentation at the end of each term.

Students may apply to transfer to the PhD stream if they can demonstrate satisfactory progress after completing the first year of study.

 

PhD Stream (Full-time and / or Part-time)

The Programme is research-oriented. The normative period for full-time study is 3 years for students with a research master's degree and 4 years for students without a research master's degree. All students in the PhD stream will be admitted initially with a 'pre-candidacy' status. Upon satisfying the division's candidacy requirements (coursework requirement, candidacy examination, and thesis proposal and oral defence), a student will be allowed to progress to the 'post-candidacy' status.

 

Ph.D. Student (Pre-candidacy) (Full-time and/or Part-time)

Coursework Requirement
  1. Complete a minimum of 12 units of postgraduate courses offered by the Division or related courses as approved by the Division.
  2. Register for the Thesis Research Course in every term throughout his/her normative study period.
  3. Complete CSCI7600 'Seminar for Ph.D. Studies' in every term throughout his/her normative study period.
Candidacy Examination
  1. Pass the Candidacy Examination within the maximum period of his/her pre-candidacy stage for the advancement to his/her post-candidacy stage.
  2. Obtain grade B- or above in two additional courses taken from any two of the following areas:
    • Algorithms & Computational Complexity
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Database
    • Digital Circuits & VLSI Design
    • Networks
    • Programming Languages
    • Software Engineering
    • Microprocessors & Systems
  3. No exemptions will be allowed.
Thesis Proposal and Oral Defence
Submit a written thesis proposal and pass an oral defence.
Other Requirements
Complete other courses, such as ELTU5501 Postgraduate Presentation Skills or its equivalent, if deemed necessary.

 

Ph.D. Student (Post-candidacy) (Full-time and/or Part-time)

Coursework Requirement
  1. Register for the relevant Thesis Research Course in every term throughout his/her study period.
  2. Complete CSCI7600 'Seminar for Ph.D. Studies' in every term throughout his/her normative study period.
Other Requirements
  1. Pass the IT Proficiency Test.
  2. Complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on "Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research".
  3. Required to take any courses if deemed necessary.
  4. Submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
  5. Submit a research paper and give a presentation before the end of each year of attendance, exact dates to be determined by the Division. A student with failure grade may be required to discontinue his/her study.
  6. If the Division deems necessary, students who fail CSCI8xxx may be required to take course(s) or submit project report(s).