The doctoral program in information technology at Towson University, offered in collaboration with the School of Emerging Technologies, provides the knowledge and research opportunities you need to position yourself for top-level leadership.
With a broad scope of research areas within computer science, information systems and information technology, the Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) program prepares students to become professors, scientists and entrepreneurs. You’ll explore data structures and algorithms, operating systems, computer networks, cybersecurity, database systems, project management, software engineering and human-computer interaction.
Graduates assume leadership roles in their current careers or in academic, research, government and state-of-the-art industry positions. About half of our alumni are currently working as professors or research scientists across the country and abroad. Many in the private sector are promoted to higher-level positions with their current employers or start their own ventures to develop innovative products.
The D.Sc. requires 18 credits of coursework, a qualifying examination and a minimum of 24 credits of dissertation beyond the master’s program. Doctoral students are required to demonstrate research capabilities and publish in reputed journals or conferences in order to graduate. View admission and degree requirements and course descriptions in the Graduate Catalog.
AIT 790 Research Methodology, IT Technical Writing and Presentation is a required course (counted as the required 18 credits of coursework) for all D.Sc. in IT students. This course should be taken before completing the qualifying exams. Permission to register for dissertation credits (AIT 997) will not be granted until AIT 790 is completed with a grade B or better.
Publications: Students are strongly recommended to have at least three research publications in peer-reviewed international conferences and/or journals before graduation.
Students have the option to select the Computer Science track. In addition to the general degree requirements for the doctorate in IT, three specific CS courses (9 credits) must be taken for the track in Computer Science, with additional requirements for the qualifying examination (given below). An IT doctoral student taking these three courses, passing the qualifying exam in the specified areas, and successfully completing the research requirements for the degree in a CS-related area will be eligible to graduate with a Computer Science track.
Students who have completed one or more of the three courses as part of their master’s degree would be required to take an additional course for each of the three courses already completed. The additional courses must be approved by the director of the D.Sc. in IT program.
(Note: Students in D.Sc. in IT program do not have to choose a track. You may have more flexibility to choose the courses and qualifying exam topics without a track.)
Students in the computer science track must pass the following areas of the qualifying exam:
And ONE of the following areas:
7800 York Road, Room 465
By Appointment
