Information Systems, Ph.D.

The Graduate School at UMBC is located in the heart of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, a premier location known for its flourishing tech industry.

Our Ph.D. is one of the few programs that approaches Information Systems in a holistic sense, including the social and political elements of building and maintaining complex, large-scale systems. We have a diverse, multicultural faculty and student body that practices an interdisciplinary and applied approach to Information Systems.

Our well-renowned full-time faculty is involved with a wide variety of externally funded projects and they are also proudly featured in top scholarly venues.

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.

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 will be evaluated by the Graduate Program Director to assess the student’s progress in the program, and to determine if the student should proceed into the second year of doctoral study.

Open Seminar:

New doctoral students are required to attend the Open Seminar, which presents the different research areas in the IS department.

Minimum Course Requirements:

The student’s mentor can add more course requirements to the ones below depending on the student’s level of competence, research productivity, and progress.

Doctoral students must complete the required two (2) methodology courses during their first year of study.
In addition, doctoral students must take 5 area courses.
All doctoral students must take two Independent Studies.

Comprehensive Examination:

The Comprehensive Examination is an integral component of the PhD Program. Through this examination a doctoral student demonstrates the requisite knowledge of the discipline as well as the competencies that are necessary to continue doctoral studies by conducting original research.

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.