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. 

Apprenticeship: Ph.D. students work and study is guided by their Ph.D. advisor.

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, that is his or her advisor. More broadly Ph.D. students are ultimately guided and evaluated by a committee of professors, experts in the student’s field of study

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.

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

Contact:
Dr. Michael Halper,
Professor, Informatics
973-596-5752
halper@njit.edu