The primary emphasis of the Ph.D. program is to develop quality computer professionals capable of serving as researchers at research centers/institutions, faculty at various colleges and universities, or highly specialized computer professionals advancing the state of the art in industry as well as integrating computer systems for constructive use in the society.
In particular, the vision of the ICS department is to be a “regional leader that is recognized worldwide in education, research and professional development in the areas of Computer Science and Software Engineering.”
Computer science is an enormously vibrant field. From its inception over half a century ago, computer science has become the defining technology of our age. Computers are integral to modern culture and are the primary engine behind much of the world’s economic growth. The field, moreover, continues to evolve at an astonishing pace. New technologies are introduced continually, and existing ones become obsolete in the space of a few years. The Department of Information and Computer Science offers a PhD in Computer Science (Ph.D. CS) degree, which is in compliance with the international standards and recommendations.
The completion of at least 30 credit hours of course work beyond the M.S. course work and beyond remedial courses is required for all PhD students. Each student must select one of the subject areas as his major area. The student may take for credit any of the CS 500-level (or higher) courses listed under the four subject areas, provided that such courses have not been taken for credit by the student for a previous degree at KFUPM. To ensure depth of knowledge, a minimum of three courses must be taken from the student’s selected major area with, at least, one of these courses being a 600-level course. To provide breadth of knowledge, the student must take courses from at least two CS PhD areas other than his major. In addition, the student is required to take three graduate elective courses two of which must be taken from outside the lists under the subject areas.
| Min. Requirements | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Major Area | 3 courses | At least one of the 3 courses must be 600-level |
| Breadth Coverage | 3 courses from at least two areas other than the major area | |
| CS Elective | 1 course from any of the four CS areas | |
| General Electives | 3 courses - could be from ICS or related disciplines; at least two courses from outside the lists under the four CS subject areas | At least 2 of these must be taken from outside the lists under the four areas. Elective course can be taken from, for example, COE, EE, SE, and MATH, etc. |
| Seminar | ICS 699: Seminar | Zero credit hour (P/F) |
| Comprehensive Exam | Comprehensive Exam | |
| Proposal | ICS 711: PhD Pre-Dissertation | 3 credit hour |
| Dissertation | ICS 712: PhD Dissertation | 9 credit hour |
The required 600-level course cannot be replaced by the 700-level directed research or other self-study 600-level courses.
ICS 541: Database Design and Implementation (3-0-3)
ICS 630: Distributed Systems (3-0-3)
CNW 555: Protocol Engineering (3-0-3)
SEC 511: Principles of Information Assurance and Security (3-0-3)
SEC 528: Security in Wireless Networks (3-0-3)
SEC 531: Secure Software (3-0-3)
SEC 536: Web Application Security (3-0-3)
SEC 538: Trusted Computing (3-0-3)
SWE 539: Software Metrics (3-0-3)