It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the policies set forth. These policies may change or be added to on a per-semester basis. Changes will be reflected timely on this webpage. 

Updated: September 12, 2022

Important Semester Dates: Students are expected to be aware of semester dates, as outlined on the Registrar’s website. Students should pay particular attention to:

  • Last day to add a class
  • Last day to drop a class without a “W”
  • Last day to drop a class with a “W”
    • If a student drops a class with a W, this class will show up on their transcript with a “W” instead of a grade. The class will not impact the student’s GPA.
  • Any schedule changes due to University-observed holidays (e.g. substituting a Monday schedule on a Tuesday, due to a Monday holiday).

Petitioning to Transfer Credits: Students are allowed to transfer up to 32.0 credits from relevant, graduate-level courses earned at accredited institutions towards their BU degree credit requirement. 

  • Students must complete the request webform to GRS. Then, they will receive a notification that the request has been received and sent to the Director of Graduate Studies and the Program Administrator. The Program Administrator, and Director of Graduate Studies will confirm with GRS if the petition is approved. 
  • Note: This process is separate from requesting to waive a breadth course requirement. See Breadth Course Requirements, below.

Breadth Course Requirement: Satisfied by completing six graduate courses that carry breadth-requirement PhD credit.  Three courses  need to be from three different  areas among Algorithms, Software, Systems, and Theory. One course needs to be from one area among Artificial Intelligence, Computer Graphics, Cryptography and Security, and Data Mining and Data Management. The remaining two classes can be taken from any of the following areas: Algorithms, Software, Systems, Theory, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Graphics, Cryptography and Security, and Data Mining and Data Management. 

  • Breadth waiver petitions must be sent to the Director of Graduate Studies, who will coordinate the review and approval with the appropriate research group.

Other Course Information: GRS requires a minimum of 64.0 credits to earn a PhD degree. PhD students are allowed to earn credits towards the degree requirement with courses from CS, and relevant fields like Math, Engineering, CDS, etc. 

2.0 credit courses do not count towards the degree requirement.

Directed Study Courses: PhD students can be registered for a graduate directed study course with their advisor, or any other faculty they are working with, each semester for at least 4.0 credits. A student can be registered for up to 12.0 credits of directed study in each semester.

The Directed Study Advisor must be a faculty member from the CAS Department of Computer Science, the CAS Department of Mathematics & Statistics, or the ENG Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, or the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences.

Directed study courses taken to count towards the degree requirements must be taken for 4.0 credits and receive a letter grade.

The course requirements and grading are determined between the student and their Directed Study Advisor.

Grade Requirement: Courses taken towards the PhD degree must receive a grade of B- or higher to count.

  • For the breadth requirements, the number of B- grades must not exceed the number of grades of B+ or higher, and the overall GPA in the breadth classes need to be 3.5 or higher.
  • Pass/Fail grades (P/F) are not allowed for any regular 4.0 credit course taken toward the PhD degree in Computer Science other than a directed study.

Good Academic Standing: Per the GRS Bulletin, good academic standing is required to remain enrolled in the program and retain the GRS Scholarship. Specific requirements to remain in good academic standing include:

  • Have no more than two failing or W grades.
  • Meet all milestones of the degree, such as comprehensive exams, qualifying exams, and dissertation prospectus, on the schedule specified by the program.
  • Meet all milestones of the degree with sufficient quality of work as specified by the program.

The full policy can be read here.

Degree Milestones and Tentative Timeline of a PhD Student:

  • Breadth Requirements: at most 6 semesters (3 years)
  • Qualifying Depth Exam: at most 6 semesters (3 years)
  • Qualifying Oral Exam: at most 8 semesters (4 years)
  • Dissertation Prospectus: at most 10 semesters (5 years)
  • Final Dissertation Defense: at most 12 semesters (6 years)

Degree Requirements from GRS: Students are expected to be aware of and meet the degree requirements of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Earning an MS degree in PhD Program: Students may obtain a MS degree during their time in the PhD program. Students must complete the following requirements:

  • Completion of a minimum of 32 credits, as required by GRS to obtain a MS degree
  • Completion of the PhD breadth requirements
  • In addition, candidates shall demonstrate their abilities for independent study in the form of a master’s thesis that describes either original research or a comprehensive study that demonstrates mastery of a technical topic in CS. The thesis will be evaluated by an academic committee who will also perform an oral examination where the candidates will demonstrate mastery of the material presented in the master’s thesis. The master’s thesis work can be used as a foundation for a future PhD thesis; however, research described in the master’s thesis cannot be counted as original research toward fulfillment of the PhD requirements.

Tentative Time to Completion: Students should complete their MS degree within three years after their first semester of registration.

Non-Degree-Related Courses: During any given semester, a student may not take non-degree-related courses covered by the GRS Scholarship.

PDP and language courses do not count towards the degree requirement and the tuition for these courses are not covered by the GRS Scholarship.

Non-Degree-Related Course Exceptions: PDP courses can be registered for if you are registered for 12.0 credits of regular degree courses. This can be achieved by registering for a directed study.

MS Graduation Requirements: Students who wish to obtain the MS degree must submit the Intent to Graduate Form and the master’s thesis by the deadlines as set forth by the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Students are expected to defend their master’s thesis.

Financial Aid

GRS’s financial team can be reached at grsaid@bu.edu. Please include your UID with communication with GRS.

Students are encouraged to review GRS’s FAQ regarding financial aid.

International Student Requirement

In addition to the policies above, International Students must adhere to further policies as set forth by Boston University.

The policies outlined here are for guidelines only – International Students are expected to be aware of and adhere to university and college-wide policies. Students should contact the International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO) with any questions.  ISSO has an advisor-on-call for any quick questions. They encourage scheduling a Zoom appointment for any lengthy or complex questions. Please see the student advising assignments and include your UID in all communications with ISSO.

Maintaining Full-Time Status: As part of their visa requirements, International Students must maintain full-time status every semester. Full-time status means a student is taking 12.0 or more credits in each semester. However, doctoral students are manually certified as full-time each semester, regardless of credit amount being taken each semester, as long as the student is registered each semester. 

The 0.0-credit research course Continuing Study will count as registered full-time for doctoral students.

International students are not allowed to withdraw from classes if this would cause them to fall below the 12.0 credit minimum.

If you want to drop courses from your schedule, please contact your program administrator.

CPT/OPT and Student Visa Requirements

International students should be aware of their Student Visa requirements before engaging in any kind of off-campus employment.

All applications must be made through the International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO). You must read carefully through ISSO’s instructions for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT).

CPT: PhD students are only eligible for CPT that is “required for thesis/dissertation completion,” and must request authorization from the ISSO to work at an internship that is integral to their degree progress during the academic year (fall and spring semesters) and summer terms. Students may be expected to register as “continuing study” status for the semester of the CPT.  ISSO will check that students are registered in the course number that is equivalent to continuing study status.

  • CASCS 981 when enrolled in other courses under 12 credits
  • CASCS 985 when enrolled in zero credits
  • CASSR 988S for Summer Research

Students will be expected to provide the ISSO with a letter signed by their faculty advisor on department letterhead with an explanation of the research objectives of the internship placement as they relate to the student’s dissertation and why they cannot be accomplished using Boston University facilities. A DGS co-signature will be required.

The “Approval” section of the ISSO CPT request should be directed to the faculty advisor for review and will be automatically assigned to your ISSO student advisor for processing.

OPT: The process is completed entirely with ISSO. Students should reach out to the program administrator if any documents are required from the department.