Human-Centered Computing, Ph.D.

An admitted doctoral student is strongly encouraged to identify a mentor by the end of the first semester in the program. All doctoral students must have a mentor and a tentative committee by the end of their second semester in the program. Doctoral students are also expected to attend all research seminars, doctoral proposals and dissertation defenses, and any colloquia with guest speakers as part of their learning experience.

Course requirement:

Required foundation Courses (9 credit hours):

HCC 810 - HCC Seminar [1] (to be completed as a series of three (3) one-credit seminars during the first three semesters of the student’s doctoral studies)
Two (2) Methodology Courses: Most students would take:
IS 804 - Advanced Quantitative Methods in IS Research [3]
And
IS 805 - Advanced Field Research Methods [3]
Other courses may be approved by their advisor as appropriate.

Required Core courses (15 credit hours):

Psychology course requirement:

Advanced Required Core courses (24 credit hours):

HCC 801 - Independent Study in Human-Centered Computing [3]
Three (3) Electives (9 credits total). One of these electives can be satisfied by taking HCC 801 and one of these electives can be a third methodology course. All courses must be approved by the student’s advisor.
HCC 899 - Doctoral Dissertation Research [9]
Completion of HCC 899 requires a minimum 18 credit hours

First Year Dossier:

At the end of the doctoral student’s first year, a dossier must be prepared which includes all significant work/papers written that year, a statement of learning specific to the program of doctoral study and a statement describing future plans: areas needing more course work and preliminary dissertation areas, if available. The dossier should include a list of all courses, grades received, and the name of the student’s advisor who may or may not chair ultimately the student’s dissertation committee. The dossier should be submitted electronically to the Graduate Program Director. The dossier will be evaluated by the Graduate Program Director. The purpose of the review is to assess the student’s progress in the program, and to determine if the student should proceed into the second year of doctoral study. The student will be informed by email if their progress is satisfactory, not satisfactory and needs specific improvement, or is not satisfactory to continue.

Comprehensive Review:

After completing three offerings of the HCC 810 reading seminar but before the end of the student’s sixth semester of studies, the student must complete the Comprehensive Review. As part of the review, the student has to take a written exam and prepare a comprehensive dossier. The dossier includes a statement that details the student’s intellectual and scholarly growth as well the student’s research directions and intentions, all papers written to satisfy course requirements, including the independent study courses and all papers published in conference proceedings and scholarly journals, a list of all courses and grades, and the name of the student’s advisor. A three-member committee evaluates the student’s dossier and overall progress, and determines whether the student should continue toward the doctorate.

Dissertation:

While course work is required, it is important to understand that satisfactorily completing course work is not the goal of a doctoral program. A doctoral candidate is required to produce a publishable doctoral dissertation based upon the candidate’s original research. The dissertation must necessarily advance the body of scientific knowledge that underlies the discipline of Information Systems.

A critical component of a doctoral candidate’s development is the dissemination of scientific information. Doctoral candidates are routinely expected to author by themselves or co-author with their professors and fellow students scholarly papers for submission to scientific journals and conference proceedings. Doctoral candidates should also be prepared to present these research results at various national and international conferences.