The Ph.D. in Computer Science is a recent addition (instituted 1998) to the graduate courses offered by the Institute. Two modes are offered: the normal residential mode and the by research mode.

Entry to the Ph.D. by Research program will be guided by the requirements set by the UPLB Graduate school.

The PhD program is envisioned to develop and enhance advanced scholarship in applied and theoretical computer science, and to train and to develop quality manpower for computer science education and the computer industry in the Philippines.

Admission to the PhD program in computer science will be in accordance with the UPLB Graduate School Admission Policies.

For regular admission to the PhD program, an applicant must have an MS degree in computer science or a related discipline obtained from any recognized institution of higher learning. Before enrolling any of the major courses, a student must have passed the following core courses of the UPLB MSCS program, or their academic equivalents:

• CMSC 214 - Principles of Programming Languages
• CMSC 215 - Advanced Computer Systems
• CMSC 244 - Algorithms and Advanced Data Structures I
• CMSC 245 - Algorithms and Advanced Data Structures II

Otherwise, these courses are to be taken in addition to the courses required in the PhD program.

Once in the program, the student is required to earn at least thirty six (36) credit units distributed as follows:

• Major Courses 27 units
  • Core Courses 9 units (CMSC 241, CMSC 341, CMSC 342)
  • Other Major Courses 6 units (any two 200-level courses from the List of Graduate Courses)
  • Dissertation 12 units (CMSC 400)
  • Graduate Seminar 2 units (CMSC 399)
• Cognate Courses 9 units
• Total 36 units

The student, as senior author, must have one paper accepted for publication in a refereed journal or two papers in refereed conference proceedings from out of the dissertation before the degree will be conferred.