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Full-time Ph. D. Program

Course Guide

In this section you will find information and requirements for Breadth Courses, CSE++ Courses, and Graduate Special Topics.

Requirements

A total of approximately 90 credits is required to complete the CSE Ph.D. program, 60 of which must be earned at the University of Washington. The University requires 60 credits earned before scheduling the General Exam and requires a cumulative GPA of 3.0 for graduation. Coursework taken toward the M.S. degree is applicable toward the Ph.D. degree.

As you plan your coursework, keep in mind the following requirements:

  • 45 credits minimum must be from the Computer Science & Engineering curriculum.
  • 15 credits may be in supporting fields, such as: engineering, mathematics, natural sciences, business administration, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, or medicine.

Of the 90 total credits required for the Ph.D. degree:

  • 40 credits must be in 500 level courses or above.
  • At least 18 numerically graded credits at the 500-level must be completed in order to earn the Master’s Degree
  • 27 credits must be Computer Science 800 (dissertation).

Specific information on course requirements can be found in our pages detailing the Ph.D. Process. 

The Allen School currently has two sets of Ph.D. course requirements which current students may be pursing one of: