PhD Computer Science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Programme overview

Admission to the doctoral program is by a vote of the department faculty and is determined by performance on the preliminary research presentation and exam, course grades, admissions information, accomplishment on assistantships, and other testimony from the faculty. Admission is normally considered following the research presentation and exam. Students who have been major contributors to a paper submitted to a well-known, refereed conference or journal may apply for a waiver of the admissions exam. There is no credit hour requirement for the Ph.D. program, but a Ph.D.

Faculty: The Graduate School | Department: Computer Science | Study mode: full-time | Location: Chapel Hill, NC, United States

What you will study

2 Students must take COMP 994 twice for a minimum of 6 credit hours. Core courses include COMP 915 Technical Communication in Computer Science; COMP 994 Doctoral Research and Dissertation; COMP 455 Models of Languages and Computation; COMP 537 Cryptography; COMP 555 Bioalgorithms; COMP 562 Introduction to Machine Learning.

Career pathways

Academic employment ranges from four-year colleges, where teaching is the primary focus, to positions at major research universities. A majority of the master's graduates work in industry, in companies ranging from small start-up operations to government laboratories and large research and development corporations.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Graduate School minimum (applies to all graduate programmes): a four-year bachelor's degree (or international equivalent) from an accredited institution completed before graduate study begins and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 (B) or better; application via the Graduate School online application with transcripts, three recommendation letters, statement of purpose and CV, plus any programme-specific tests/materials; international applicants add a TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test score; admission decisions are made by each programme. Programme-specific: Admission to the doctoral program is by a vote of the department faculty and is determined by performance on the preliminary research presentation and exam, course grades, admissions information, accomplishment on assistantships, and other testimony from the faculty. These courses can be taken at another university or as an undergraduate, and may have been counted toward an undergraduate degree. Admission to the department is highly competitive, and preference is given to applicants who are solidly prepared.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate applicants apply for a start term; fall is the main start term. Very few programmes admit new students for spring or summer terms.

Graduate applications and payment must be received by the deadline of the academic programme applied to, which varies by programme; the application closes at 11:59pm Eastern Time on the deadline date. The Graduate School recommends complete applications by December 15, 2026 for full fellowship consideration.

Apply through the official page: https://gradschool.unc.edu/admissions/instructions/

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