Doctor of Computer Science
Effective February 2019, this program is no longer available for future enrollments at the Denver South campus.
The Doctor of Computer Science is a 100-credit-hour terminal degree in computer science. The program includes 40 credit hours of core management courses, 20 credit hours for elective courses, 4 credit hours of symposium-related courses, and 36 credit hours of doctoral research. The research element will culminate in a dissertation.
The Doctor of Computer Science program is a terminal degree for computer science professionals, consultants, and academics. The program encourages students to think and act strategically and demonstrate the ability to make positive contributions in their chosen area of technical expertise.
This program does not lead to additional licensure or certification. As such, CTU has made no determination regarding prerequisites for licensure or certification in any state or jurisdiction.
Degree Requirements
Courses: Core
| CS818 | Current Topics in Computer Science and Information Technology | 4 |
| CS875 | Futuring and Innovation | 4 |
| RES804 | Principles of Research Methods and Design | 4 |
| RES812 | Qualitative Research Methods | 4 |
| RES814 | Quantitative Research Methods | 4 |
| RES863 | Doctoral Research III: Dissertation Literature Review | 4 |
| RES864 | Doctoral Research IV: Dissertation Methods | 4 |
| RES865 | Doctoral Research V: Dissertation Introduction | 4 |
| RES866 | Doctoral Research VI: Dissertation Findings | 4 |
| RES867 | Doctoral Research VII: Dissertation Discussion and Conclusion | 4 |
| RES868 | Doctoral Research VIII: Dissertation Conclusion | 4 |
| RSCH860 | Doctoral Research I: Principles of Research and Writing | 4 |
| RSCH861 | Dissertation Process I | 4 |
| RSCH862 | Dissertation Process II | 4 |
| DCELE40 | Select ten 4-credit courses from 800-level CS or EM or EIS courses | 40 |
| SYMP801 | Doctoral Symposium I | 2 |
| SYMP802 | Doctoral Symposium II | 2 |
Electives: DCS students must complete ten 4-credit courses for these electives. These courses may be selected from any of those offered under DCS. Up to two of those electives may be chosen from the Doctor of Management program instead.
Total Credit Hours: 100
Program Areas of Focus
The DCS program is designed to provide candidates with theoretical, research, and application capabilities in the field. The areas of focus are described below.
Foundations
The program provides a focus on computer science and information systems topics and an orientation to research and writing at the doctoral level. Coursework covers current topics in the disciplines as well as research methods and qualitative techniques. The research component results in a broad overview of the student’s area of concentration in order to put the research into context and inform the student’s selection of a research topic.
Acquisition of Knowledge
Once the foundations are in place, the focus is on student development of an in-depth understanding of the knowledge and research methods in his or her chosen area of study. While most of the focus is on developing a richer understanding of the discipline, the research courses include quantitative methods and the dissertation process.
Leadership and Professional Advancement
The program includes the two remaining concentration courses plus the final six doctoral research courses that are designed to help students to complete the research and dissertation.
Symposium
Doctoral programs at Colorado Technical University require a residential symposium. Additional information about CTU's doctoral symposium can be viewed in the Doctoral Symposium section of this catalog.
Graduation Requirements
In addition to the successful completion of the above 100 credits with an acceptable GPA, students must also satisfactorily complete their research proposal and final dissertation. The research proposal must be approved by the student’s Research Supervisor and University Reviewer. The dissertation, which must be approved by the student’s dissertation committee, is an extensive document that includes the research study. In addition, graduation requires presentation of the final dissertation.
Area of Study
- Engineering & Computer Science