School of Technology and Computer Science

I) Degrees, Programs and Eligibility

Degrees : Ph.D. in Computer Science/Systems Science.

Programs :

Masters Program : Through Ph. D. program.

Ph.D. Program : The graduate program in the School of Technology and Computer Science will lead to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) degree in Computer Science /Systems Science. Students after completing one year of coursework will be directed by the subject board to either continue with the Ph.D. program or change to the M.S. program.

Eligibility :

B.E./ B.Tech./ M.E./ M.Tech./ M.C.A./ M.Sc. (Computer Science / Electrical Engineering / Electronics Engineering / Information Technology) degree holders or final year students with consistently good academic record. Exceptionally well qualified students with B.E./ B.Tech./ M.E./ M.Tech./ M.Sc. or equivalent degrees in other disciplines may also be considered.

II) Admissions Procedure

Ph.D. Program : There will be an entrance examination for admission to the Ph.D. program. The eligible candidates will have to first appear for a written screening test. Candidates who pass the screening test will be called to appear for an interview, which is the final part of the examination. In exceptional cases, a special entrance examination may be administered at any time of the year to an especially promising candidate at the discretion of the subject board.

Provision for Foreign Students: The above provision for a special entrance examination will also apply to especially promising candidates from abroad.

III) Description of Programs

Each student will do eight courses and one project. If, after one year, the student continues with the Ph.D. program, the project would have a load equivalent to two courses. If the student opts for the Masters program, the project would be larger having a load equivalent to four courses. The student will register for at least three courses each semester in the first year. The courses including the project will be completed within four semesters. There are three groups of courses:

(a) Mathematical Foundations.
(b) Computer Science
(c) Systems Science

The list of courses and detailed syllabus is available with the subject board.

There are two specialist streams:

A) Computer Science (CS): Candidate opting to specialize in Computer Science shall take the courses as follows:

• Mathematical Foundations: Candidate shall take at least two courses and at most three courses for credit.
• Computer Science (CS): There are two core courses:
  • Advanced Algorithms and Data Structures
  • Programming Languages
• Two additional courses have to be taken from the computer science stream under the advice of the subject board.
• The remaining two courses may be chosen from any of the two streams (computer science or systems science) or could be reading courses on advanced topics with the approval of the subject board and the instructor of the course.
• An exploratory project is to be taken under the supervision of an academic member of the School of Technology and Computer Science.

(B)Systems Science (SS): Candidate opting to specialize in SS shall take the courses as follows:

• Mathematical Foundations: Candidate shall do at least two courses and at most three courses for credit.
• Systems Science (SS): There are two core courses:
  • Optimization and Control
  • Information Theory
• Two additional courses have to be taken from the systems science stream under the advice of the subject board.
• The remaining two courses can be chosen from any of the two streams (computer science or systems science) or could be reading courses on advanced topics with the approval of the subject board and the instructor of the course.
• An exploratory project is to be taken under the supervision of an academic member of the School of Technology and Computer Science.

After successfully completing the courses and the project, the students opting for Ph.D. will appear for the qualifying examination. Students are expected to identify a topic and an advisor and begin research work for their Ph.D. thesis within six months of passing the qualifying examination. The Ph.D. thesis is normally expected to be completed within 3 to 4 years after passing the qualifying examination. The program culminates in the submission of the Ph.D. thesis for a thesis examination. The successful candidates are awarded the Ph.D. degree of TIFR in Computer Science/Systems Science.

Assignment of Research Programs and Advisors for Ph.D. Thesis : It will be the responsibility of the student to find a research program and an advisor, suitable to the student’s aptitude and interests. There is no formal procedure for assignment of research programs and advisors.

Requirements for Awarding Masters Degree

• Successful completion of all courses with B+ or better grades in each course. In addition, the student should have no more than three B+ grades.
• The student should get B+ or a better grade in the project. The duration of the project should be one year. There will be an interim mid-term evaluation of the project and the final evaluation at the end of the project.

Coursework Requirements for Ph.D.

1.Successful completion of all courses with B+ or better grades in each course. In addition, the student should have no more than two B+ grades.
2.The student should get B+ or a better grade in the project. The duration of the project should be one semester.
(An equivalent GPA criterion for Ph.D. and Masters degree is under consideration by the subject board.)

IV) Qualifying and Evaluation Procedures

Qualifying Examination : A candidate has to take up the qualifying examination after completing the courses and the project satisfactorily. The qualifying examination will be a written exam conducted by the subject board to evaluate the breadth and research potential of the candidate.

The candidate has to appear in the qualifying examination within three years from the date of joining for Ph.D. Those candidates who do not pass the qualifying examination, may be allowed a second attempt in the qualifying examination within a period of another six months.

Registration for Ph.D. Thesis : Once the candidate passes the qualifying examination, the candidate can seek registration for Ph.D. For this, they shall apply to the subject board within 6 months of the qualifying exam and seek formal approval of the board for registration. The application should contain the name of the proposed thesis advisor and a broad description of the topic of research intended to be pursued, endorsed by the proposed thesis adviser. Every regular academic member of the school is eligible to be a thesis advisor.

Approval of Submission of Ph.D. synopsis and Ph.D. Thesis : After a student completes his Ph.D. research project, with the permission of the thesis advisor the student will forward a synopsis of the thesis to the subject board to obtain prior approval for submission to the deemed university office. The same procedure will once again be followed to obtain prior approval for submission of the corresponding thesis.

Once the subject board approves the submission of a synopsis/thesis, the rest of the process of submission and evaluation of the synopsis/thesis will follow the general guidelines prescribed by the Academic Council, as given in the document “Deemed University: Rules and Procedures”.

V) Visiting student’s Research Programme

Eligibility : Pre-final year students of B.E. /B.Tech. /M.E. /M.Tech. /M.C.A. /M.Sc. (Computer Science / Electrical Engineering / Electronics Engineering / Information Technology) with consistently good academic record. Exceptionally well qualified pre-final year students of B.E. /B.Tech. /M.E. /M.Tech. /M.Sc. or equivalent degrees in other disciplines may also be considered.

An exploratory project is to be taken under supervision of an academic member of School of Technology and Computer Science. The student shall give a seminar presenting the work done as part of the project.