PhD Progress Milestones
| Milestones | Requirements for a Milestone |
| M0 | Have a formal research advisor* |
| M1 | Pass qualification exams |
| M2 | Pass Preliminary exam or have a published/accepted paper as the primary (e.g., first) author. |
| M3 | Pass Prospectus exam or have a published/accepted paper as the primary (e.g., first) author. |
| M4 | Defend the dissertation and have a published/accepted paper as the primary (e.g., first) author in a conference or journal that is ranked B or higher by the Computing Research and Education Association (CORE) [http://www.core.edu.au] |
| TimeLine | PhD students entered with MS | PhD students entered without MS |
| All Years | · maintain 3.5 GPA and no U’s, contribute to research** | |
| Year 1 | · M0 | |
| Year 2 | · M1 | · M0 |
| Year 3 | · M2 | · M1 |
| Year 4 | · M3 | · M2 |
| Year 5 | · M4 | · M3 |
| Year 6 | · M4 | |
*: If a PhD student is unable to find an advisor in the milestone duration, the student must notify the department (director of graduate study or the chair) before the end of the milestone time. The department will make a best-effort arrangement to associate the student with an appropriate advisor. If the arrangement still does not work out, the department may not be the best fit for the student.
**: For PhD students entered with MS, participating in department research seminar (CIS5920) or taking DIS hours would satisfy the contribute to research requirement in Year 1. For PhD students entered without MS, participating in department research seminar (CIS5920) or taking DIS hours in each of the first two years would satisfy the contribute to research requirement for the year. In later years, contributing to research will be assessed by the research advisor and the department yearly.