Overview of Requirements

The Ph.D. program in Computation, Organizations and Society (COS) augments courses with a computer science main theme to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of studying COS. The curriculum for the Ph.D. program in COS is built on a foundation of five star courses and three electives. Besides its emphasis on research and a set of star courses, it also includes requirements aimed at helping students hone their teaching, writing, speaking and programming skills. Specifically, each student is expected to:

• Complete 102 units of graduate courses (with a B or better in each course). This includes:
  • 5 star courses (60 units) in:
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Algorithms
    • Probability and Statistics
    • Dynamic Network Analysis
    • Technology Dialectics (Computation, Organizations and Society (COS) Lab)
  • 3 electives (36 units)
• Attend the COS Ph.D. Practicum seminar series each semester while in residence (08-998) and present research regularly in this seminar. Note, this seminar can and should be taken multiple times for credit. (3 Units)
• Serve as a teaching assistant for at least two full-semester courses
• Participate in directed research under the supervision of a research advisor from the first day of enrollment in the program. While they fulfill their course requirements, students are expected to also devote 50% of their time to supervised COS research.
• Write at least one conference quality paper by the end of year 2 – quality here means that the paper has to be both technically sound and well written.
• Demonstrate communication skills by presenting (1) a paper at a national or international conference, and (2) giving regular presentations in the COS Ph.D. Practicum attended by at least two COS faculty.
• Demonstrate programming skills though involvement in a large-scale team project
• Write and defend a thesis describing a significant piece of original research work.

These requirements are further described below at the following links on course requirements, star courses, constrained electives, electives, and Ph.D. proposal and thesis. A sample plan of study is also provided.

Course Requirements

In the Ph.D. program in Computation, Organizations and Society (COS), each student must complete 96 University units of graduate courses and get a B or better in each course. Course requirements are intended to ensure that all program graduates have sufficient breadth in COS fundamentals as well as depth in one or more relevant areas of their choice. Requiring all students to complete 60 units in 5 star areas satisfies the breadth requirement. Depth is provided through the remaining 36 units of coursework, which can be fulfilled from a broad selection of relevant electives - as well as research and project work. More information about star courses and electives appear below. It is recommended that a majority of the star courses are completed before electives are taken.

Ph.D. students should take a minimum of of 48 Units during both the Fall and Spring semesters and a maximum of 36 Units during the Summer to be considered a full -time. Students who are off campus on internships are not considered full-time students.

Legend of course numbers 08-xxx: Computations, Organizations and Society
10-xxx, 11-xxx, 15-xxx,16-xxx,17-xxx: School of Computer Science
19-xxx: Department of Engineering and Public Policy
20-xxx: eBusiness Graduate Program
21-xxx: Department of Mathematics
45-xxx, 46-xxx, 47-xxx: Tepper (Business School)
90-xxx, 95-xxx: Heinz School of Public Policy and Management

Star Courses

The 5 star courses (60 units) provide, respectively: a survey of artificial intelligence; training in algorithmic thinking realized formally through the study of algorithms, machine learning techniques, or privacy algorithms; a secure foundation in mathematical statistics; a foundation in social network theory and its applications; and active exploration on the integration of computation, organizations and society.

Download Star Course Schedule for Fall 2005 (.xls)

Download Star Course Schedule for Spring 2006 (.xls)

• 15-780 Advanced AI Concepts
• Either: 15-750 Algorithms, 10-701 Machine Learning, Privacy Algorithms
• Either: 10-705 Intermediate Statistics, 10-751 Probability and Statistics for Computer Science, 36-727 Probability and Mathematical Statistics II, 90-905 Statistical Theory for Social Policy
  • There are a wide variety of excellent statistical courses at CMU taught in many departments. In general, the student should consult with his or her advisor to determine whether there is a course that better meets the student's needs than the one's listed. If this is the case, the student should petition the COS program committee for a substitution.
• 08-801 Dynamic Network Analysis
• 08-800 Technology Dialectics (Computation, Organizations and Society (COS) Lab)
  • it strongly recommended this is taken in the first semester of the program (sample study plan)

The Technology Dialects (Computation, Organizations and Society Lab) is a signature course of the Ph.D. program in COS and is co-taught by core COS faculty. It combines faculty lectures and lab work to provide hands-on training in methods for creating technological systems appropriate for organizational, legal and social frameworks.

The Privacy Algorithms course examines privacy algorithms originating from disparate disciplines, including computer security, cryptography, database security, statistical disclosure control, medical informatics, policy rights management, and data privacy. The course examines algorithms and related policies to assess the nature and fitness of the provable guarantees of privacy protection these algorithms provide.

Constrained Electives

These courses are designed for indepth study in the area of the student's thesis and with specific attention to project work in the case of the practicum. Note, since all students on campus need to carry a full course load each semester. These courses can, with the student's advisor'sapproval be used to create a full course load for students who are working on their dissertation.

Students should take at least 12 units of:

• 08-977 COS Graduate Reading & Research (1-48 units)
• 08-998 COS Practicum (3 units)

Electives

Students select 3 courses, for a total of 36 units of electives. Student are expected to use the electives to gain domain specific knowledge and further depth in particular components related to the students own research interests. Electives are chosen in consultation with the student's advisor, in order to form a concentration. Additional star courses can also be taken as electives. The following lists contain suggested electives.

Selected electives related to analytical methods:

• 10-661 Probability and AI
• 16-720 Computer Vision
• 21-690 Methods of Optimization
• 21-691 Nonlinear Optimization
• 47-811 or 90-906 Econometrics
• 47-830 Integer Programming
• 47-835 Graph Theory
• 47-836 Networks and Matching
• 47-840 Dynamic Programming
• 47-856 Linear Programming
• 08-810 Computational Modeling of Complex Socio-Technical Systems

Suggested electives related to social and organizational processes:

• 45-899 Knowledge Management & Organizational Learning (6 units)
• 45-890 Seminar in Organizational Theory (6 units)
• 90-903 Social network theory
• 08-810 Computational Modeling of Complex Socio-Technical Systems

Suggested electives related to managerial and business methods:

• 15-892 Foundations of Electronic Marketplaces
• 20-763 Electronic Payment Systems
• 20-863 Mobile Commerce
• 46-866 Supply Chain Management
• 47-801 or 90-908 Micro-Economics
• 08-790 Technology for Developing Communities
• 15-891/16-891 V-Units, independent study units as part of techbridgeworld
• 08-780 Web Commerce, Security and Privacy
• 08-782 Adaptive Trading Technologies
• 08-781 Mobile & Pervasive Computing Services
• 08-830 Foundations of Electronic MarketPlaces

Suggested electives related to privacy technology:

• 10-711 Privacy and Anonymity in Data
• 15-827 Security and Cryptography
• 15-899 Digital Rights Management – Technology, Policy & Societal Issues
• 08-733/08-533 Privacy, Policy, Law and Technology
• 18-730 Introduction to Computer Security
• 95-751 Organizational Management and Information Security
• 08-780 Web Commerce, Security and Privacy
• 08-731/08-531 Usable Privacy and Security
• 08-200 Computers & Society
• 08-300 Constructing Appropriate Technology

Suggested electives related to policy decision-making:

• 19-701 Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis
• 19-702 Quantitative Methods for Policy Analysis
• 19-712 Telecommunications, Technology Policy & Management
• 47-818 Contract Theory
• 46-830 eCommerce Law and Regulation
• 90-703 Internet and Public Policy
• 90-840 Legislative Policy Making
• 08-732/08-532 Law of Computer Technology

COS Master's Degree

On the way toward a Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University students can earn a Master's Degree in Computation, Organizations and Society

Degree title: Master of Science in Computation, Organizations and Society

Requirements:

High level:

Meet the COS Ph.D. course requirements, and the master's level speaking requirement.

Details:

To obtain a master's degree in Computation, Organizations and Society (COS), the student must meet three criteria:

1. Course requirement
2. Master's level speaking requirement, and
3. Two years residency requirement

Course Requirement:

The master's applicant must complete 105 university units of graduate courses. This includes a minimum of 9 units of COS Ph.D. Seminar, the 60 units for the Star courses required for the Ph.D., and 36 units of electives.

Speaking requirement:

To fulfill the speaking requirement for the master's degree the student must attend and present in the COS PhD Practicum during at least three semesters. In general, at least one presentation at an outside conference is also required.

Residency requirement:

The master's applicant must complete two years as a registered full time graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University.

COS Ph.D. Practicum

• 08-998 COS Ph.D. Practicum

Each student in COS is required to register and give a presentation once a semester.

Ph.D. Proposal and Thesis

A good thesis will be an original and significant work in COS research. While methodologies will likely vary from one dissertation to another, they will typically combine analytical and empirical work and include development of a computational prototype, used as a basis to demonstrate and evaluate concepts introduced in the dissertation. Typically evaluation will not be limited to a computational assessment but will also include proofs of fitness and an analysis and evaluation of relevant human, social, organizational, economic and/or policy ramifications of the proposed solution.

The program is planned to allow a typical student to complete all the required coursework by the end of the third year. By the start of the fourth year a Ph.D. candidate will present a thesis proposal to the COS community. The proposal should include:

• a clear statement of the proposed research problem, including an argument for the significance of the proposed research
• a review of relevant literature relating to the problem
• a review of the candidate’s work leading up to the thesis
• a tentative schedule for completing the work.

Advising on the thesis proposal, and guiding in the formation of the dissertation committee, is the thesis advisor’s responsibility. Normally, the thesis advisor is one of the COS faculty, but this is not mandatory. The thesis committee must be composed of at least four members, one of whom is an external member and at least one of whom is a COS faculty member. The external member may be from another school at Carnegie Mellon, or from outside the University. All thesis committees are subject to approval by the program committee.

The dissertation will typically be completed during the student’s fifth year. The final defense is a public presentation, in accord with the College and University requirements for the Ph.D. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that the College and University’s guidelines are followed for publicity of the defense and the availability of the thesis at least one week prior to the defense.

Proposal Format Style Guide (.pdf)

Sample Thesis Title Page (.doc) (.pdf) (.ps) (Latex .sty)

Proposal Defense

Timing and Attendance

• Faculty should allow 2 hours for the proposal defense and students 1 hour.
• Order
• Presentation, 40 minutes
• Q&A, 20 minutes
• Closed faculty discussion, 1 hour
• Attendance
• The presentation and Q&A is open to the community.
• The committee and the proposing student are required to attend. Remote faculty can join by teleconference if arranged in advance. Faculty discussion is open to only research and tenure track faculty and outside committee members. Ultimate decision is made only by the committe.

Thesis Defense

Timing and Attendance

• Faculty should allow 3 hours for the proposal defense and students 2 hours.
• Order
• Presentation, 50 minutes
• Q&A (Part I): open, 20 minutes
• Q&A (Part 2): faculty directed questions by committee, 20 minutes
• Closed faculty discussion, 1 hour 10 minutes
• Attendance
• The presentation and Q&A is open to the community.
• The committee and the proposing student are required to attend. Remote faculty can join by teleconference if arranged in advance. Faculty discussion is open to only research and tenure track faculty and outside committee members. Ultimate decision is made only by the committee.

Sample Students Final Oral Defense (.pdf) (.doc)

Students-- Steps for Final Oral Defense

Time: Allow 2-2.5 hours for defense:
     30 minutes beforehand for set-up
     45 minutes for the presentation
     45 minutes for Q&A
     30 minutes for deliberation by the committee
     30 minutes for final debriefing

1. At least 5 weeks in advance:
   
   
1. Confirm the date w/committee. Be sure to check with Connie before finalizing the date, to make sure there are no other orals scheduled at the chosen time. Thesis orals or proposals will not be scheduled to overlap. Once you have settled on a date/time Connie will help you to reserve a room.
2. The room scheduled must be available to the public and must accommodate a reasonably large number of people.
3. Let Connie know whether or not the outside reader will be attending in person or will need to tele-conference in for the defense.
4. Once the date has been confirmed your status in AGOL will be changed to "In Progress". This notifies HUB when you will be graduating.
5. Turn in 4 hard copies of your thesis- one for each committee member and outside reader for final review, changes, etc...
6. Turn in an electronic copy of your thesis. This is used in case any other faculty member wants to read the thesis before the defense.
   
   
2. 1 week before your Defense:

Chair confirms with student and Connie that it is ok to defend-final APPROVAL.

ONLY once the final approval is received from Chair, please send to Connie:

• Information Needed for Posting Notice
• Date
• Time
• Place
• Title
• Current list of the thesis committee members, including external member/affiliation.
  
  
• Thesis Abstract - Abstract- 2copies (350 words or less)-1 gets sent to the Hunt Library; 1 Copy goes to Student's File. The library wants a single sided, loose version of the thesis, since they will actually bind the version you give them themselves (they have a special system in the library).
  
  
• Thesis Summary - Approximately 15 printed pages in length describing the main results of the thesis. Send a location where this may be viewed on the web (html or pdf). The site will be announced on the web and on physical postings. The summary posting must include:
1. Your name
2. Thesis Title
3. Date/Location of Oral Presentation
4. Thesis Committee Members
5. Thesis summary



• Reconfirm Attendance - reconfirm with Connie whether or not teleconferencing facilities will be needed.
  
  
• Poster - 1 color copy goes to Connie and 4 around SCS (4th floor)


3. Day of Oral Examination:
   
   Pick up your Folder with signature forms from Connie before going to the examination.



• Graduation Record Card - to be signed by all members of the thesis committee, once the thesis is considered finished. The thesis advisor should return this form to Connie.
• Thesis Cover Page Form -Four copies to be signed by the thesis advisor and committee members, once the final copy of the thesis has been approved by all committee members. The thesis advisor should return these forms to Connie.
  
• Teleconference - Confirm that needed teleconference facilities have been set up. Send any committee member or reader who cannot physically attend a copy of the overhead slides.



4. Submitting your thesis:
   
   Final 3 hard copies of thesis need to be submitted to Connie for binding and final certification. A final electronic copy of the thesis, including all supporting data and software, needs to be submitted to Connie for archiving.
   
   
• Before you print the final copy:
• Get a TR number from Catherine Copetas
• Check for proper title page format (COS web site)
  


• When the FINAL copy is ready:
• Give Connie 3 one-sided hard copies of the thesis ( 1 copy will be microfiche, bound, and placed in the E&S Library; 1 will remain in the lab and 1 will be send to you). Copies will be bound one-sided. - Note - if there is data or software involved that should be provided on a cd or dvd.
• Give Connie an electronic copy of the thesis.
• Talk with Catherine about making your thesis into a CS Technical Report by putting it on-line. If you are able to do this successfully, she will not need a hard copy. If not, you will need to provide an extra copy to her for the Tech Report. This copy should be formatted for two-sided copying.
• Print/or pick up from Connie the "Survey of Earned Doctorates". Fill out and turn survey in to Connie. This is requested by NSF and is a requirement of the university for a student to graduate.
• Fill out the University Microfilms Form pages A4 and A5 (you may also pick this up from Connie) return to Connie with thesis (see COS web site: Login: dissertations; password: publish. This form is also required by the university in order for you to graduate. If you wish to register your copyright you must attach a check. If you do not wish to register for a copyright, do not fill out this portion of the form.
  
  
5. Before you leave CMU:
• Leave your forwarding address with Connie.
• See Connie/Helen Higgins to fill out exit forms.
• Turn in office key, laptop and any software/books you have that belong to any Lab or faculty member.
  
  
6. Final Step: Only after the above requirements are met, your status will be changed to "Certified". Please make arrangements with Connie to have your thesis forwarded to your new address.
   

Important Dates 2007:

In order to walk in Commencement ceremony on May 20th :

• Student needs to be certified in CMU system by May 12th
• Student needs to finalize the date & send it to Connie at least 4-5 weeks before the defense.
• Student orders cap & gown by April 1st

Common Questions:

• Who should come to a thesis defense?
  The thesis defense is a public event open to all members of the CMU community. The student's committee (including any readers) should attend in person or, if circumstances prevent that, by phone.
  
  
• What are the outcomes of a defense?
  Common outcomes from a thesis defense are:
  • Pass - Thesis is considered complete as is.
  • Conditional Pass Level 1 - Changes required and subject only to advisor approval.
  • Conditional Pass Level 2 - Changes required and subject to committee approval.
  • Required second defense.
  • Failure.
    
    
• When do I need to defend in order to walk through the graduation ceremony and hooding ceremony?
  You will need to have all the documentation in place in the first week of March for us to request a diploma.

Sample Study Plan

The COS curriculum ensures all students have a solid foundation in computational methods, formal methods, society and organizations, and policy. At the same time, it retains enough flexibility to enable students to further specialize in areas that are more closely relevant to their research interests. The following is an illustration of the courses three different sets of students could take:

Sample Schedule

---

Fall 1	Spring 1
COS Lab	15-780 Advanced Concepts in AI
10-701 Machine Learning	10-751 Prob & Statistics for Computer Science
COS Research	COS Research
Fall 2	Spring 2
Dynamic Network Analysis	Elective
Elective	TA-ing
COS Research	COS Research
Fall 3	Spring 3
TA-ing	COS Research
Elective
COS Research

Sample Schedule

---

Fall 1	Spring 1
COS Lab	15-780 Advanced Concepts in AI
Dynamic Network Analysis	15-750 Algorithms
COS Research	COS Research
Fall 2	Spring 2
10-705 Intermediate Statistics	Elective
Elective	TA-ing
COS Research	COS Research
Fall 3	Spring 3
TA-ing	COS Research
Elective
COS Research

Sample Schedule

---

Fall 1	Spring 1
COS Lab	15-780 Advanced Concepts in AI
Dynamic Network Analysis	Privacy Algorithms
COS Research	COS Research
Fall 2	Spring 2
10-705 Intermediate Statistics	Elective
Elective	TA-ing
COS Research	COS Research
Fall 3	Spring 3
TA-ing	COS Research
Elective
COS Research

---

COS PhD Seminar
Fall 2008
Monday- 9:30-11:20
DH 1217

DATE	SPEAKER #1	SPEAKER #2
August 25th	Ian McCulloh (15)
September 8th	Terrill Frantz (45)
September 22nd
September 29th
October 6th
October 13th
October 20th	Patrick Kelley (30)
October 27th
November 3rd
November 10th
November 17th	Ponnurangam Kumaragru (45)
November 24th
December 1st
December 8th

 

PhD Seminar
Spring 2008
Monday: 9:30-11:20
Wean 6423

Date	Speaker #1	Speaker #2
January 14th	Virginia Bedford (15 min)	Terrill Frantz (30 Min)
January 21st	Virginia Bedford (30 min)
January 28th	Ian McCulloh (30 Min)	Patrick Kelley (30 Min)
February 4th
February 11th	Mike Benisch (30 Min)	Jamie Olson (15 Min)
February 18th	George Davis (30 Min)	Virginia Bedford
February 25th	Laurie Jones (30 Min)	Patrick Wagstrom (45 Min)
March 3rd	Mike Shamos, COS Faculty	Mike Shaomos, COS Faculty
March 17th	Peter Landwehr (30 min)
March 24th	Steve Bankes - BAE Systems	Steve Bankes- BAE Systems
March 31st	Henry Wills - Guest Speaker	Henry Wills
April 7th	Xiaoqian Jiang (30 Min)	Kumaragru Ponnurangam (30 Min)
April 14th	Il Chul Moon (45 Min)
April 21st	Jana Diesner	Eric Daimler
April 28th	Brian Hirshman (45)	Wanhon Xu (15 Min)

 

COS PhD Seminar
Fall 2007 - NSH 3002
M 3:00-4:20

Date	Speaker #1	Speaker #2
Sept. 10	Kathleen Carley
Sept. 17	Norman Sadeh	Lorrie Cranor
Sept 24	Latanya Sweeney	Rahul Tongia
Oct. 1	Marcelo Cataldo	Patrick Wagstrom
Oct. 8	Serge Egelman	Ian McCulloh
Oct. 15	David Farber	Peter Landwehr
Oct. 22	Guest Speaker: Bill Courtright	Guest Speaker: Bill Courtright
Oct. 29	Jamie Olson	Brian Hirshman
Nov. 5	Mike Benisch	Patrick Kelley
Nov 12	Ponnurangam Kumaraguru	Terrill Frantz
Nov 19	Xiaoqian Jiang	Yiheng Li
Nov. 26	ll-Chul Moon	Jana Diesner
Dec 3	Wanhong Xu	Laurie Jones

 

Ph.D. Program in Computation, Organizations and Society
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412)268-3163
cos-phd@cs.cmu.edu