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Doctor of Philosophy in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is a research-oriented degree requiring a minimum of 64 semester credit hours of approved courses and research beyond the Master of Science (M.S.) degree [96 credit hours beyond the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree]. The university places limitations on these credit hours in addition to the requirements of the Department of Civil Engineering.
A complete discussion of all university requirements is found in the current Texas A&M University Graduate Catalog .
NOTE: All documents requiring departmental signatures must be submitted to the Civil Engineering Graduate Office in DLEB 101 at least one day prior to the Office of Graduate Studies deadline.
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Faculty Members
- Dr. Mark Burris
- Dr. Nasir Gharaibeh
- Dr. Stefan Hurlebaus
- Dr. Dominique Lord
- Dr. Xingmao “Samuel” Ma
- Dr. Ali Mostafavi
- Dr. Arash Noshadravan
- Dr. Stephanie Paal
- Dr. Luca Quadrifoglio
- Dr. Scott Socolofsky
- Dr. Yunlong Zhang
Admission Admission to the AI/DS track is conditional upon meeting the general admission requirements. Also, students may only be admitted to the AI/DS track if a faculty member affiliated with the track is willing to supervise (and provide funding support via GAT or GAR or Fellowship) for the student. If a current student is approved to change from one track to another, they must complete the Track Change Request Form and send it to the CVEN Graduate Advising Office so notification can be sent to their original area coordinator. Please read the CVEN department policy on changing tracks.
Departmental Requirements In addition to fulfilling the University requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree, a student enrolled in the Civil Engineering graduate program in the area of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science area must satisfy the following department requirements.
- A minimum of 32 credit hours of graduate-level coursework taken through Texas A&M University [a minimum of 24 credit hours if the student already has taken at least another 24 credit hours of graduate course work for the Master of Science (M.S.) or Master of Engineering (MEng) degree].
- Remaining coursework requirement can be met by 32 hours of CVEN 691.
- Qualifying Exam
- Degree Plan
- Written Preliminary Exam
- Research Proposal
- Oral Preliminary Exam
- Completion of Dissertation
- Final Defense
Dissertation Topic Students pursuing the AI/DS track would work on dissertation topics with a great extent of interdisciplinary elements spanning across civil engineering and computer science/AI. Such interdisciplinary research would require a student to develop depth of knowledge and skills across both domains.
Committee The committee of Ph.D. students in the AI/DS track can be composed of faculty from different departments with backgrounds and skills related to the subject matter of the dissertation research.
Students in the AI/DS track are strongly encouraged to form their dissertation committee prior to the qualification exam. If the dissertation committee is formed prior to the qualification exam, the exam questions will be developed by the committee in coordination with the AI/DS Track Coordinator. If the student's dissertation committee is not formed at the time of the qualification examination, the Track Coordinator and the student advisor will handle the development of the qualification examination.
Academic Catalog Toggle navigation Menu
Academic catalog, ph.d. in data science.
The PhD program in Data Science will prepare and train individuals who can immediately obtain positions in industry using data to guide decision-making, it can be applied to an array of industries which includes enterprise management, marketing, medical treatment options, scientific research and development services, aerospace product and parts manufacturing, securities, commodity contracts, and financial investment activities. The program is open to individuals from many backgrounds.
Admissions Requirements
Applicants who hold a Bachelor of Science degree or equivalent from any regionally accredited university, or international institutions of comparable stature, will be considered for admission.
We will also consider the following kinds of applications for admission to the PhD program:
- Applicants who hold a degree in a related field in the mathematical and computational sciences (e.g., mathematics, computer sciences, statistics, data science, economics, business analytics, computational biology, computational chemistry, engineering, health sciences) or any technical field, as long as they have completed sufficient courses in mathematics, statistics and computing, as determined by the Doctoral Program Committee
- Applicants who have a Master's degree in these fields, as well as those who have a doctoral degree in another field.
- Applicants must have at least a 3.0 undergraduate major GPA (or equivalent, as determined by the Doctoral Committee; for example, some universities do not assign GPAs).
- Applicants must provide three letters of recommendation from previous professors, supervisors, or others qualified to evaluate the applicant.
- Applicants must submit a statement summarizing her/his research interests and future plans.
- Applicants must provide the Graduate Record Exam (General or Mathematical Sciences).
- Applicants from countries where English is not the first language are required to demonstrate English proficiency. Please consult the graduate school website for required scores.
- Exceptional applicants who do not meet all of these requirements (with the exception of a required score on the TOEFL exam) may be accepted conditionally but must maintain a 3.5 GPA in the first 12 units of instruction. After they have satisfied this requirement, they will be admitted to regular status.
- Both full-time and part-time students will be accepted into the program.
- Students transferring from other graduate programs will be accepted if they meet all requirements listed above; their previous coursework will be credited upon evaluation by the Doctoral Program Committee.
Undergraduate coursework should include at least one semester of calculus and statistics and at least one upper-division course in either mathematics, statistics or computing. Undergraduate preparation in the core fields of mathematics, computing and statistics is highly recommended. Basic computer skills are essential, including word processing, database development and maintenance, and operational knowledge of statistical software or a basic computing software.
Candidacy/Dissertation
The student will be expected to form a doctoral committee before completing 24 credit hours, and present a research proposal to the committee members before completing 40 credit hours. The committee will meet at least once per term with the student, to evaluate progress. If the progress is deemed inadequate, the student will be given one year to remedy the situation. If progress continues to be inadequate, the student will be dismissed from the program. Inadequate progress shall be defined as not completing coursework on schedule, or not completing research objectives, as outlined by the advisor and the student’s committee.
Students will be required to pass a written qualifying exam in Data Science within 6 months of completing the core coursework. If a student fails the exam, he/she may repeat the exam once within a 6-month period. If a student fails the exam the second time, he/she will not be allowed to continue in the program. After consultation with the Doctoral Committee, such a student may be allowed to complete the requirements for a Master's Degree, using the coursework completed as part of the doctoral requirements. Once a student passes the exam she/he will be advanced to candidacy. An oral exam will be required at the end of the third year. This will be focused on the chosen research topic of the candidate and the questions will be provided by the doctoral committee members.
A doctoral dissertation, directed by the major professor and doctoral committee, will be required of all students. A member of the core faculty of the Department of Mathematical Sciences will advise the dissertation with the possibility of an associated faculty member outside of the Department of Mathematical Sciences co-advising. A candidate must successfully defend his/her dissertation orally, in a forum that is open to the public. Each student is expected to submit or publish at least one peer reviewed paper during his or her tenure at UTEP. Students will normally graduate within 4 or 5 years. Current Graduate School regulations mandate that once a student exceeds 90 units, he/she may not be eligible for a state supported assistantship.
Degree Plan
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