Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems

The Ph.D. program offered by the Department of Information Systems is a research degree program. The program is designed for students with a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a variety of disciplines. However, additional courses may be required based on the student's educational history. The doctoral program is intended for serious students who desire to make significant scientific research contributions to the field of Information Systems. Students are admitted to the Ph.D. degree program in the Fall and Spring semesters.

While course work is required, it is important to understand that satisfactorily completing course work is not the goal of a doctoral program. A doctoral candidate is required to produce a publishable doctoral dissertation based upon the candidate's original research. The dissertation must necessarily advance the body of scientific knowledge that underlies the discipline of Information Systems.

Consequently, it is essential for doctoral candidates to develop a rapport and mutual interests with a member of the faculty. It is expected that doctoral students develop their own research agenda or become intensely involved with a faculty member's research. The latter may include assisting a professor in planning and conducting research as well as analyzing the results.

A critical component of a doctoral candidate's development is the dissemination of scientific information. Doctoral candidates are routinely expected to author by themselves or co-author with their professors and fellow students scholarly papers for submission to scientific journals and conference proceedings. Doctoral candidates should also be prepared to present these research results at various national and international conferences.

In addition to Graduate School time limits for entering candidacy and completing the degree, the Information Systems Department requires that all PhD students complete the course requirements* and comprehensive exam by the end of their sixth semester in the PhD program. Normal progress, as illustrated below, would result in both the course requirements and comprehensive review being completed during the fifth semester of study. In the case of medical or other unexpected situations, students may petition the Graduate Committee of the Information Systems Department for an extension that would allow the completion of these requirements to be delayed beyond the sixth semester.

* Course Requirements: Gateway Seminar(I and II), 2 methodology courses, 5 courses covering three areas as described below, and 4 independent studies.

The deadlines for the Ph.D. Program are February 1 for Fall and September 1 for Spring. All application materials must be on file in the IS department for expeditious review - incomplete files will be kept open for the following semester admission decisions.

To apply online: (Only degree-seeking applications are available on-line.)

Complete the UMBC on-line Application.

Academic Admission Requirements:

  1. The majority of successful applicants have an undergraduate GPA well above 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).
  2. All applicants must submit GRE Aptitude Test or GMAT scores.

    **IMPORTANT FOR SPRING 2012 APPLICANTS**
    If you are applying to Spring 2012 you must take your GRE exam by the end of July to ensure that your test scores get to us prior to the September 1 application deadline. On August 1, ETS is introducing a new version of the test and scores will be significantly delayed.
  3. All applicants are expected to read, speak, write, and understand the English language fluently. Those whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The only exception to this requirement is for students who have earned a post-secondary degree from an accredited university in the United States. The minimum acceptable combined TOEFL score is 550 (written), 213 (computer based) or 80 (iBT-Internet based). Students who have received post-secondary degrees from an U.S. institution and whose native language is not English may be required to demonstrate proficiency in English. (The TOEFL code for UMBC is 5835. The Information Systems Department does not have a designated code.). We will also accept IELTS (International English Language Testing System) scores, the minimum acceptable total score is 6.5.

The IS PhD program builds on an understanding of the design, development, analysis, and use of computer-based information systems. Successful applicants will have demonstrated aptitude and/or interest in one or more of these areas. In addition, applicants should have or be willing to acquire the necessary competence in statistical analysis, experimental design, programming, databases, and computer networks in order to conduct sophisticated research at the doctoral level.

Program Requirements:

An admitted doctoral student is strongly encouraged to identify a mentor by the end of the first semester in the program. All doctoral students must have a mentor and a tentative committee by the end of their second semester in the program. During the student's first year of doctoral work, if they have not already identified a mentor, all course scheduling must be approved by the Director of the Graduate Program to ensure compliance with the program. The Director of the Graduate Program will function as an advisor to first year doctoral students unless they have already designated a faculty mentor.

Doctoral students are also expected to attend all research seminars, doctoral proposals and dissertation defenses, and any colloquia with guest speakers as part of their learning experience.

First Year Dossier: At the end of the doctoral student's first year, a dossier must be prepared which includes all significant work/papers written that year, a statement of learning specific to the program of doctoral study and a statement describing future plans: areas needing more course work and preliminary dissertation areas, if available. The dossier should include a list of all courses, grades received, and the name of the student’s advisor who may or may not chair ultimately the student’s dissertation committee. The dossier should be submitted electronically to the Graduate Program Director. The dossier will be evaluated by the Graduate Program Director. The purpose of the review is to assess the student's progress in the program, and to determine if the student should proceed into the second year of doctoral study. The student will be informed by email if their progress is satisfactory, not satisfactory and needs specific improvement, or is not satisfactory to continue.

Course Requirements:

  1. Doctoral students must participate in an introductory Gateway seminar (I and II) during their first year in the program.
  2. Doctoral students must complete the required two (2) methodology courses during their first year of study.
  3. In addition, doctoral students must take 5 area courses (details below). 
  4. All doctoral students must take four (4) Independent Studies during their second year of course work.

Gateway Seminar:

This seminar is an introduction to the active research areas in the department and will provide the doctoral student with a well-rounded orientation to information systems theory and practice.

  • IS 803 - Gateway Seminar for Doctoral Students I (offered every Fall) – 2 credits
  • IS 802 - Gateway Seminar for Doctoral Students II (offered every Spring) – 1 credit

NOTE: Gateway Seminar I must be taken before Gateway Seminar II (both are required)

Methodology Courses:

  1. Two methodology courses are required
  2. Any relevant IS 800 level class may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.
  3. Any relevant graduate non-IS 600/700/800 level courses may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.

Area Courses:

Doctoral students must take five (5) courses, called "area courses" from the research areas of the IS department according to the following rules:

  • Two courses must be taken from the student-selected primary research area
  • Two courses must be taken from the student-selected secondary research area
  • The fifth course can be any graduate level course offered by the IS department (it could be taken from the primary, secondary or any third area); however, IS 600, 610, 613, 650, 651 and 652 are not to be taken for credit in the Ph.D. Program
  • In two of the three areas, at least one of the courses taken must be at the 700 or 800 level

Artificial Intelligence / Knowledge Management Courses:

  1. Any relevant IS 800 level class may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.
  2. Any relevant non-IS 600/700/800 level courses may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.

Database / Data Mining Courses:

  1. Any relevant IS 800 level class may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.
  2. Any relevant graduate non-IS 600/700/800 level courses may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.

Decision Support Systems Courses:

  1. Any relevant IS 800 level class may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.
  2. Any relevant graduate non-IS 600/700/800 level courses may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.

Human-Centered Computing Courses:

  1. Any relevant IS 800 level class may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.
  2. Any relevant graduate non-IS 600/700/800 level courses may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.

Systems and Software Courses:

  1. Any relevant IS 800 level class may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.
  2. Any relevant graduate non-IS 600/700/800 level courses may be taken with the approval of the student's mentor or the Graduate Program Director.

Miscellaneous Courses: (NOTE: This is not a research area – however students may use one of the courses below as their  5th course)

Independent Studies:

Doctoral students must take four (4) Independent Study courses; two of them are to be taken with their mentor. The student's mentor must approve each independent study.

MS degree: Ph.D. students who have successfully completed 30 credits are awarded a MS degree

Students with earned MS degrees: Doctoral students with previously earned Masters degrees may be excused from a maximum of six (6) courses, but must complete at least two courses at the 700/800 level at the Information Systems department. The student's mentor must approve the course waivers.

Comprehensive Exam Policy

Comprehensive Review Reading List

After a doctoral student passes the comprehensive exam can prepare the proposal defense, and can register in IS 898 courses.

Following a successful proposal defense, the doctoral student becomes doctoral candidate and can register for dissertation courses (IS 899).

Notes:

  1. Doctoral students must maintain a B average, (i.e., 3.0 GPA).
  2. Graduate students may be recommended for dismissal after earning three Cs (this includes C+, C, or C-), one D or one F in any graduate level course.
  3. Doctoral students may not count courses that are audited as part of the Ph.D. program and may not take courses under the Pass/Fail option.
  4. All graduate students should also consult the University Graduate School Catalog which contains the University's regulations and procedures for earning degrees.
  5. Doctoral students should especially note the Graduate School's regulations on University residency requirements.
  6. IS 600, 610, 613, 650, 651 and 652 are not to be taken for credit in the Ph.D. Program.
  7. A PhD dissertation proposal must be pre-approved by the mentor and submitted to the dissertation proposal committee at least three weeks prior to the proposal defense.
  8. A PhD dissertation must be pre-approved by the mentor and submitted to the dissertation committee at least one month prior to the final defense.

A typical doctoral program might appear as follows:

  Fall Spring
     
Year 1 Gateway Seminar I Gateway Seminar I I
Methodology Course
  Methodology Course Area 1
  Area 1 Area 2
     
First Year Dossier Review
     
Year 2 Area 2 Area 3
  IS 801 IS 801
  IS 801 IS 801
     
Comprehensive Dossier Review
Proposal Defense
     
Year 3 IS 899 IS 899
     
Year 4 IS 899 IS 899

If you need any further information, please contact Shannon Keegan (keegan@umbc.edu).