Ph.D. CS Information Security Body of Knowledge

New Comprehensive Exam Requirements

The new comprehensive exam consists of two main components: submission of an original research work and an oral presentation and examination by a faculty committee in SCP.

1. The completion of a high-quality scholarly research paper in security and/or privacy, defined broadly. This work must be principally authored by the student. It must be an original scholarly contribution. Though the work is expected to be publication-quality, it need not be officially accepted to any venue before the comprehensive exam.
2. A two-part oral examination consisting of:

• An oral presentation of the work by the student on the research project, followed by a discussion of the work by the committee.  
• An oral examination on the area of the student’s research and related work to demonstrate depth competency in the student’s research area.