Outline of Ph.D. program

The Ph.D. program normally takes four years for students with a Master’s degree or five years for outstanding students entering from a related Bachelor’s Degree.  The program is customized to each student. 

Department of Informatics
 
While there is coursework, a Ph.D. program is more like an apprenticeship in research and development. The Ph.D. student advisee is guided and works alongside a master professor who acts as his or her advisor. More broadly, Ph.D. students are ultimately guided and evaluated by a committee of professors and experts in the student’s field of study

Summary

Program Objectives: 

  • The Information Systems Ph.D. program is designed to produce scholars with a commanding knowledge of both theory and practice of Information Systems for complex applications and environments.

  • Information Systems Ph.D. dissertations must make a substantial scientific contribution to their particular area of research.  

Learning Outcomes: 

The graduates of our Ph.D. program will be able to demonstrate the ability to:

  • Understand fundamental knowledge of and apply research methods within a student’s chosen focus of Human-Centered Computing or data intensive research.

  • Critically examine research in the student’s chosen research area.

  • Develop research questions, design research methodologies, implement systems, interpret results and discuss implications for a research project in the student’s chosen research area.

  • Teach effectively in one Information Systems course.

Coursework: Two years of coursework.

Students normally take two years of traditional course work. There are few required courses as each Information Science student has a program of study customized to their research interests and area of concentration.

Qualification Project and Dissertation

In the last two years of the program students work on research specifically focused to accomplish the following:

  • Qualification Exam-Project: A research project that demonstrates mastery of research theory and methods.

  • Dissertation: A piece of original research led by and conducted by the Ph.D. student indicating they are ready for the rank of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)​

 

See the more detailed program description in the catalog.
Ph.D. in Information Systems Catalog

Ph.D. funding: Select Ph.D. students may be fully funded during their Ph.D. studies.

The Information Science Ph.D. degree selects a few students who will go onto advanced studies.  While not all Ph.D. students are funded, many full time Ph.D. students receive funding from NJIT while they pursue their degree. Not only do funded Ph.D. students receive their education for free, they are paid to get a Ph.D.  These students may serve as Research Assistants (RAs) or Teaching Assistants (TAs) as they pursue their studies.  NJIT and the Department of Informatics may provide Ph.D. assistantships valued between $250,000 to $300,000 to selected Ph.D. students in form of stipends, tuition payments (remission), benefits, and other support.

 
Contact:
Dr. Yvette Wohn
Associate Professor, Informatics
wohn@njit.edu