Required core courses, 12 hours

• INFO 6000 - Seminar in Information Science
• INFO 6660 - Readings in Information Science
• INFO 6700 - Seminar in Communication and Use of Information
• INFO 6945 - Trends and Issues in Information Science

Research courses, 24 hours minimum

Minimum of 24 graduate credit hours, e.g., individual research courses, directed studies, special topics courses, internships and doctoral dissertation.

Concentration core, 15 hours

Students take the following courses; students may take equivalent courses upon approval by the Information Science PhD Program Office.

• CSCE 5300 - Introduction to Big Data and Data Science
• DSCI 5350 - Big Data Analytics (or equivalent, e.g., CMHT 6500 - Social Media Analytics using SNA )
• DSCI 5360 - Data Visualization for Analytics (or INFO 5709 - Data Visualization and Communication )
• DTSC 5502 - Principles and Techniques for Data Science
• INFO 5500 - Foundational Principles in Knowledge Management

Electives, 9 hours minimum

Minimum of 9 credit hours; the following is a partial list; other relevant courses may be used upon Information Science PhD Program Office approval:

• CSCE 5210 - Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence
• CSCE 5216 - Pattern Recognition
• CSCE 5225 - Digital Image Processing
• CSCE 5310 - Methods in Empirical Analysis
• CSCE 5350 - Fundamentals of Database Systems
• CSCE 5380 - Data Mining
• CSCE 6260 - Advanced Topics in Pattern Recognition and Image Processing
• CSCE 6350 - Advanced Topics in Database Systems
• DSCI 5220 - Survey Analytics
• DSCI 5250 - Statistical Techniques in Simulation
• DSCI 5260 - Business Process Analytics
• DSCI 5310 - Risk and Life-Data Analysis
• DSCI 5340 - Predictive Analytics and Business Forecasting
• EENG 5640 - Computer Vision and Image Analysis
• INFO 5707 - Data Modeling for Information Professionals (or equivalent, e.g., BCIS 5420 - Foundations of Database Management Systems )
• INFO 5717 - Networked Data Modeling and Processing
• INFO 5735 - Usability and User Experience Metrics
• INFO 5737 - Information and Cyber-Security (or equivalent, e.g., CSCE 5550 - Introduction to Computer Security )
• INFO 6880 - Seminar in Information Science and Technology (when topic is “Social Network Analysis for Information Professionals”)
• INFO 6880 - Seminar in Information Science and Technology  (when topic is “Health Research Methodology”)
• LING 5410 - Foundations of Computational Linguistics
• LING 6060 - Data Analysis in Human Language Technology (HLT) I
• LING 6130 - Natural Language Processing (or equivalent, e.g., CSCE 5290 - Natural Language Processing )
• LTEC 6514 - Seminar on Advanced Research Topics in Learning Technologies and Information Sciences (or equivalent, e.g., LING 5560 - Discourse Analysis )
• LTEC 6514 - Seminar on Advanced Research Topics in Learning Technologies and Information Sciences  (when topic is “Scaling Methods”) (or equivalent, e.g., LING 5560 - Discourse Analysis )

Doctoral Committee

The doctoral committee comprises at least three faculty members who represent at least two academic units, one of which is the Department of Information Science. The committee is formed by the student and serves to evaluate the student’s work at the qualifying examination, dissertation proposal, and dissertation stages.

Progress toward the degree

The student must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3. 0 (B) on all course work on the degree plan.

In addition,

• all core courses must be completed with a grade of A or B;
• no more than two C’s in the non-core program requirements will count toward the degree; and
• no course with a grade below C will count toward the degree.

The maximum time allowed for completing the doctoral degree is 8 years. A faculty academic advisor meets with each student at least annually to review the student’s progress in the program. The student is eligible to sit for the qualifying examination when he or she has designated a doctoral committee, met all degree plan requirements except dissertation hours, and cleared any incomplete grades. When a student passes the qualifying examination, he or she is admitted to candidacy. The doctoral candidate must write and successfully defend a dissertation proposal and a completed dissertation in order to complete the degree.