PhD Program at USC Computer Science
The Computer Science department at USC is
very highly ranked in the quality, diversity,
and volume of research it supports. The PhD
degree awarded by the department primarily
prepares a student for a career in Computer
Science research in industrial labs, government
labs, or academia.
Admission to the CS PhD program at USC is
highly competitive. As an example, for Fall
2002 we accepted less than 9% from over 850
applicants An entirely separate admissions
process exists for the MS program. So if you
are interested in doing a PhD you need to
apply specifically for a PhD in order to be
considered. The above numbers are PhD admission
statistics ONLY. The rest of this document
deals only with PhD admission.
Background:
We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds
to apply. Most of our successful applicants
tend to have an undergraduate degree or a
MS degree in Computer Science or Computer
Engineering or a closely related fields like
Electrical Engineering or Mathematics. We
particularly welcome applications (and often
admit) from students with backgrounds in the
Sciences (Physics, Biology and Chemistry).
Requirements:
The following items are required to complete
your PhD application with the CS department:
-
Official transcripts showing the grades
you obtained at all prior institutions attended
after high school.
-
3 letters of recommendation from your former
professors. In general letters from employers
do not substitute for letters from professors.
We are interested in letters that specifically
evaluate your academic achievement and assess
your research potential. If you have been
out of school for a long time, and cannot
easily provide 3 letters from former professors,
you may substitute one of them with a letter
from a former employer. However, two letters
from former professors are mandatory.
-
A statement of purpose. This short essay
(no more than a page) should clearly state
your scholarly ambitions and your plans
for research. Providing some background
on your past life is acceptable, but the
emphasis should be on your research plans
for the future. If you do provide background
it should be concrete and research related
(eg. mentioning papers you have already
published as evidence of your research ability
is good, saying that you were interested
in science since the age of 3 is a waste
of our time and your space).
-
Valid score report for the GRE general test.
-
Valid score report for the TOEFL test (you
need this only if you are not a US citizen
or a US Permanent Resident)
In addition to these items you may
submit:
-
Reprints of papers you have written.
-
Score report for the subject GRE in any
of the following - Computer Science, Engineering,
Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
-
Reports of substantial research projects
you have undertaken. For example if you
did some research at a prior institution
and wrote a technical report or a project
report. Reports on class projects are generally
not useful and should not be submitted.
-
A pointer to a web site that highlights
your research.
-
Your picture: We don't care what you look
like
-
Code
you have written
A look behind the scenes:
Having put some effort into submitting your
application, you might wonder what exactly
happens to it
When the PhD admissions committee reads your
application, they are primarily interested
in your research potential. This is difficult
to predict, but the committee is experienced
in comparing the applications of several candidates
and making relative judgments about their
research potential. Your potential for research
will be assessed using a combination of 1.
your past research accomplishments (if any),
2. grades (including the reputation of your
school and department), 3. the contents of
your recommendation letters, 4. your statement
of purpose, and 5. your GRE scores. In addition,
if there is something special in your application
that makes you stand out, it will also be
considered. Note that there is no fixed formula
which combines these factors into a score.
The committee carefully reads your entire
file, and compares it with the applications
of other applicants. Due to the extremely
competitive nature of the admissions process,
to our regret, we are often forced to turn
away very bright applicants.
The typical successful applicant to our program
(if there is such a person !) has done some
research already (as an undergraduate, or
a MS student). Often this research has appeared
in print as a paper in the proceedings of
a conference or a journal. Successful applicants
also typically have GRE analytical and quantitative
scores around the 95th percentile, and are
in the top 10% of their graduating class with
GPA's well above 3.5/4.0
Applicants to our MS program are NOT automatically
considered for the PhD admission process.
However, some applicants to the PhD program
who do not make the PhD admissions cut, are
offered the option to be re-directed for MS
admission consideration. Note that if you
are admitted to USC CS as a MS student, and
want to transfer to the PhD program when you
get here, you will have to formally apply.
Admission to the PhD program is not guaranteed
to MS students already at USC.
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