Students receiving a Ph.D. in computer science are expected to achieve and demonstrate a mastery of the discipline and to significantly advance the state of knowledge through an original research effort.
Degree Requirements:
In addition to meeting the Lyle School of Engineering requirements for the Ph.D. degree, candidates are required to satisfy the following:

The graduation requirements fall into the categories of completion of a specified number of graduate credit hours in appropriate subjects with an acceptable GPA, demonstration of understanding of the discipline of computer science as evidenced by examination, and completion of a substantial research effort documented in a doctoral dissertation. Doctoral students must maintain at least a 3.000 GPA every term and at least a 3.300 overall (cumulative) GPA during their course of study.

All requirements must be completed within seven years of entry into the program.
The steps for completion of the doctoral program are:

Initial advising.
Basic coursework to prepare for the commencement of research work.
Selection of a dissertation director and supervisory committee.
Advanced coursework in the chosen research area and guided thesis research to prepare for the qualifying examination.
Successful completion of the qualifying examination as determined by the doctoral advising committee.
Dissertation research supervised by the candidate’s doctoral adviser.
Successful defense of the research leading to the Ph.D.

Any deviation from the stated requirements must be approved in writing from the student’s adviser and department chair.
Graduate Credit Hours
A minimum of 54 graduate credit hours is required beyond the baccalaureate degree in order to achieve the Ph.D. degree. Of this, a minimum of 21 credit hours must be at the 8000 level. In addition to these 54 credit hours, 24 credit hours are required for dissertation credit. Of the 54 graduate credit hours, a maximum of 30 credit hours may be used if an entering student possesses an M.S. in an appropriate major from another institution.
Core Courses
The following core courses must be taken at SMU if the student has not received credit for these at another university:
CS 7330 - File Organization and Database Management
CS 7343 - Operating Systems and System Software
CS 7350 - Algorithm Engineering
CS 7381 - Computer Architecture