PhD in Computer Science

Introduction

The PhD in computer Science program aims at building on the expertise in the masters program to lay ground for the production of world class researchers and innovators in the areas Computer Security as well as Computer Vision & Image processing.

Objectives

The objectives of the PhD (Computer Science) by Coursework and Research program are to: –

  • Build human resource capacity in the area of computer science in both the public and private sectors, especially in universities;
  • Develop research capacity in the areas of computer science so as to improve research and innovations output in the country and region
  • Address the increasing demand for PhD holders in the areas of computer science
  • Provide masters holders with potential for PhD with opportunities to develop skills in formulating, conducting and presenting their own scholarly research through the production of a research-based dissertations and publications.
  • Foster initiative and potential for independent self-study that will develop the students’ motivation and ability to continue updating their knowledge and skills after completion of the course of study in relation to scholarship and research.
  • Enable the students to be able to demonstrate a critical awareness and reflection on research-based information as a basis for problem solving and practice in professional contexts.
  • Enable students to be able to demonstrate ability to interpret and report research findings in areas relevant to their field of study.
  • Equip students with research and publication skills to enable them publish research from high quality dissertations in reputable journals and/ or presentation of their research findings at academic conferences

Collaboration Partners

  1. University of Groningen
  2. Raudbound University Nijmegen
  3. Eindhoven University of Technology
  4. University of Bergen
  5. London South Bank University

Computing Equipment

The Faculty of Computing and IT has put in place specialized research laboratories i.e. Multimedia Laboratory, Geographical Information Systems Laboratory, Mobile Computing Laboratory, Networking and Systems Laboratory, Software Incubation Laboratory, Computer Engineering Laboratory and E-learning Laboratory and plans are under way to establish more laboratories.

The equipments and software in these specialised laboratories is availed to the PhD students and their supervisors.

Every PhD student at the department is given a laptop and personal computer for the whole duration of the program. Each member of academic staff has a laptop and personal computer in the office.

Research in the Department of Computer Science

Being rather young, the Department of Computer Science does not have a long research history. In its early years, the department lacked staff with advanced degrees to create a critical mass to do substantial research. This was addressed by attracting staff with PhDs as well as training the existing staff to PhD level. Currently, the department has 4 PhD holders while 8 members of staff are undertaking doctoral studies. The research activities in the department are therefore on the raise. The department is currently focusing its research efforts into selected priority areas. These are:

  • Computer Security
  • Computer Vision & Image Processing
  • Study and Optimization of Operational Systems
  • Theoretical Foundations of Computing

The department therefore aims at being a center of research excellence in these priority areas. A big portion of its teaching and research at Masters and Doctoral focuses on these areas so as to increase the capacity with in the department as well as the impact in industry.

The Program

Target Group

The program targets holders of a Masters in Computer Science and related fields. Holders of other masters degrees may be considered if there is substantial evidence that they have, by virtue of their work or research, acquired sufficient advanced knowledge in Computer Science.

Tuition

The tuition of the program shall be 3,875,000 Uganda Shillings per year for Ugandan students and 3,500 United States Dollars per year for International students.

Program Duration

The program duration is four academic years 8 semesters).. One academic year shall be for coursework and research proposal writing and three years shall be for research and thesis writing.

Admission Requirements

To qualify for admission on the program, the candidate should have

  • A good Masters degree in Computer Science or a closely related field
  • Any Masters degree with evidence of acquisition of sufficient advanced knowledge in computer science by virtue of research or work

Weighting and Semester Load

The weighting unit is a Credit Unit (CU). The credit unit is a contact hour per week per semester. A contact hour is equal to (i) one lecture hour (LH) (ii) two practical hours (PH) (iii) two tutorial hours (TH). The semester load is between 9 and 15 credit units. The minimum graduation load is 18 credit units done in the first year of the program

Core and Elective Courses

A major is the subject/ field/ program of specialization. A core course is compulsory course for the major and an elective course is an optional course for the major.

Assessment

Assessment will be in form of writing technical reports, reviewing literature, critiquing papers or any other approach a student can use to demonstrate in-depth understanding and synthesis of academic matter. The approach used will depend on the course unit being studied.

Graduation Requirements

To qualify for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science, a candidate is required to obtain a minimum of 18 credit units for courses passed including all the compulsory courses and the PhD Dissertation within a period stipulated by Makerere University Senate/ Council Let LH, CH, and CU stand for Lecture Hour, Contact Hour, and Credit Unit respectively.

Code Name Assessment Method LH CH CU
Semester I
PSE 9101 Science of Computer Programming Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
PCS 9101 Philosophy of Computing Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
PIT 9102 Advanced Research Methods Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
Semester II: 1 Core Course
PIS 9203 Presentations, Scientific Writing and Research Ethics Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
2 Elective Course
PCS 9201 Advances in Digital Security Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
PCS 9202 Advances in Computer Vision & Image Processing Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
PCS 9203 Advanced Applied Queuing Systems Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
PSE 9201 Models of Software Systems Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3

Grading, Pass mark and progression

Grading will be done on the final score of each course unit using the ranges below

Marks Letter Grade Grade Point
90-100 A+ 5 Exceptional
80-89 A 5 Excellent
75-79 B+ 4.5 Very Good
70-74 B 4 Good
65-69 C+ 3.5 Fairly Good
60-64 C 3 Pass
55-59 D+ 2.5 Marginal Fail
50-54 D 2 Clear Fail
45-49 E 1.5 Bad Fail
40-44 E- 1 Qualified Fail
0-39 F 0 Qualified Fail

A student with a grade point greater or equal to 3 (Letter grade C) in a certain course is considered to have passed the course unit.

The following additional letters will be used, where appropriate: –

W – Withdraw from Course;

I – Incomplete;

P – Pass;

F – Failure.

Minimum Pass Mark

A minimum pass grade for each course shall be 3.0 grade points.

Calculation of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

The CGPA is calculated as follows:

cgp formulaeWhere GPi is the Grade Point score of a particular course unit i; CUi is the number of Credit Units of course unit i; and n is the number of course units done so far.

Normal Progress

A student is considered to be under normal progression if he/she has a grade point of at least 3 in each of the courses that make his/her full semester load.

Probationary

A student is under probational progress if he/she has at least a course unit in his/her full semester load where the grade point is less than 3

PhD Dissertation

Students are required to demonstrate their ability to independently formulate a detailed dissertation proposal, as well as develop and demonstrate their dissertation thoroughly.

 

  • A candidate shall be allowed to formally start on the dissertation after completion of the coursework part.
  • A candidate shall submit a dissertation proposal to the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology Higher Degrees Committee during the first semester of the first academic year.
  • The candidate shall execute the dissertation after acceptance of the dissertation proposal.
  • The candidate shall be required to submit reports of progress to the Faculty Higher degrees committee every 6 months
  • The candidate shall, in the process of PhD research, publish at least three peer reviewed articles one of which must be in a specialised journal/conference
  • The candidate shall submit a dissertation report before the end of the fourth year (8th semester).

To pass the Dissertation, the candidate shall satisfy the Internal Examiner, External Examiner, and Viva Voce Committee independently.

Discontinuation from the Program

A student shall be discontinued from the program if

  • He/she fails to get a grade point of at least 3.0 from any course unit for three sittings
  • By the end of the third semester, he/she does not have an approved research proposal
  • Without a credible reason, he/she fails to submit the 6 monthly reports two consecutive times
  • The candidate shows no substantial progress for two academic years
  • Overstays on the program for more than two years
  • Fails to pass on the third submission of the dissertation
Code Name LH CH CU
Semester I: 3 Core Courses
PSE 9102 Science of Computer Programming Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
PCS 9101 Philosophy of Computing Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
PIT 9102 Advanced Research Methods Presentations 40% Scientific review paper -60% 45 45 3
Semester II: 1 Core Course
PIS 9203 Presentations, Scientific Writing and Research Ethics 45 45 3
2 Elective Course
PCS 9201 Advances in Digital Security 45 45 3
PCS 9202 Advances in Computer Vision &Image Processing 45 45 3
PCS 9203 Advanced Applied Queuing Systems 45 45 3
PSE 9201 Models of Software Systems 45 45 3
Semester III, IV, V , VI, VII, VIII
Independent Research, Publication, and dissertation compilation