Explore UAB

Colleges & Schools

Department of Computer Science College of Arts and Sciences

Welcome to the Department of Computer Science

Welcome to the Department of Computer Science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The department provides an excellent learning environment for both undergraduate and graduate students, and is proud to be part of UAB, one of the top universities in the nation that are ranked as "R1: Doctoral Universities — Highest Research Activity" in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

ResearchFacultyWhy Computer Science?Majors & Minors

Doctoral Student Opportunities

The following positions are open.

  • Dr. Ragib Hasan

    Dr. Ragib Hasan (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is seeking motivated students to pursue Ph.D. studies in areas related to Computer Security, Cloud Computing, Digital Forensics, Internet of Things, Fog Computing/Edge Computing, and Smart Vehicles.

    Dr. Hasan runs the UAB SECRETLab that focuses on research in these areas. The research is funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

    Requirements:

    • An outstanding graduate in computer science, applied mathematics, or a related field
    • Solid knowledge and skills in programming
    • Determination and willingness to work hard on individual and team projects.

    Please contact Dr. Hasan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your CV.

  • Dr. Hy Truong Son

    Dr. Hy Truong Son in the Department of Computer Science is seeking highly self-motivated Ph.D. students to join his research group, HySonLab. The students will be fully funded and the main research areas include AI for Science, Bioinformatics, Drug Discovery, Drug Repurposing, Natural Language Processing for medical documents, and Computer Vision for medical imaging.

    Requirements:

    • An outstanding graduate in computer science, applied mathematics, or a related field
    • Solid knowledge and skills in machine learning, deep learning and programming
    • Good mathematical background
    • Good writing and presentation skills
    • Research experience and publications are highly preferred
    • Determination and willingness to work hard on individual and team projects

    Interested students should contact Dr. Hy Truong Son at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with resume and transcript. Passionate students without any prior publication or research experience should apply to collaborate and work with HySonLab first. Preference for the Ph.D positions will be given to students who have prior publications with HySonLab.

  • Dr. Qing Tian

    Dr. Qing Tian is seeking highly motivated and talented PhD applicants. Successful candidates will work on cutting-edge research at the intersection of computer vision, machine learning, and intelligent systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

    • Visual recognition and understanding
    • Efficient and robust learning algorithms
    • Applications in autonomous driving

    Interested applicants should send their CV, transcripts, and a statement of research interest to Dr. Qing Tian at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

  • Dr. Chengcui Zhang

    Dr. Chengcui Zhang's KDDM (Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining) lab is looking for highly motivated Ph.D. students to do research in multimedia machine learning and data mining, especially in the areas of healthcare and biomedical image/video data analysis. Qualified candidates are expected to have a strong programming and math background, good oral/writing skills, and excellent capabilities of independent research. Interested students should contact Dr. Chengcui Zhang (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for an interview.

  • Dr. Yuliang Zheng

    Dr. Yuliang Zheng (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is seeking motivated students to pursue Ph.D. studies in areas related to secure financial technology, distributed ledger or blockchain and their interplay with big data, cryptography and quantum computing.

    Requirements:

    • an outstanding graduate in computer science, applied mathematics or a related field
    • solid knowledge and skills in programming and networking protocols

Ph.D. Admissions Checklist

Application Deadlines for CS PhD Program

  • Spring Admission: September 1
  • Fall Admission: January 15

Graduate School Application Process Checklist

Apply Online

  • Complete and submit an online application.
  • Submit application fee payment:
    • Domestic: $50.00
    • International: $60.00
  • Please ask the individuals from whom you request references to submit them online via the online application system. Electronic submission is the preferred method. However, if your referees prefer to mail a recommendation letter, it should be mailed to the address of the department or program to which you are applying.
  • Request one official transcript to be mailed by the issuing institution to the UAB Graduate School:
    • USPS (Postal Service)
      UAB Graduate School
      LHL G03
      1720 2nd Avenue South
      Birmingham, AL 35294-0013
    • Courier or Shipping Companies
      UAB Graduate School
      Lister Hill Library Suite G03
      1700 University Boulevard
      Birmingham, AL 35233
  • Submit official English Language Proficiency test score (for international applicants only): TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE.

Questions?

John K. Johnstone, Ph.D.
Phone: (205) 975-5633
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Address: 4161 University Hall, 1402 10th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-1241

Doctoral Admissions

Admission into the Ph.D. program is competitive. All academic and scholarly achievements are employed in the evaluation process. The typical B.S. applicant to the Ph.D. program will have done a major project as an undergrad, and the typical M.S. applicant to the Ph.D. program will have some research background.

An application package is considered in its entirety (there are no minimum cutoffs), but typical admission requirements include:

Application Deadlines

  • Spring Admission: September 1
  • Fall Admission: January 15
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): for foreign students, 610 (paper exam), 253 (computer exam), or 100 (internet exam) on the TOEFL OR overall band score of 7 or better on International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The TOEFL/IELTS exam is waived for students whose native (first) language is English.
  • Grade Point Average (GPA): GPA of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) overall (or for the last 60 hours; preferably higher in computer science courses).
  • A clear statement of study plan, including specific graduate study objectives, discussion of research experience, 1-2 areas of research interest, and 1-2 associated faculty you would like to serve as your research advisor.
  • A strong academic background in computer science and mathematics is required, typically through an undergraduate degree in computer science, and including all of the prerequisites for the M.S. program.
  • Graduate Record Examinations (GRE): No GRE exams are required.

If one of the areas of your application is particularly strong, it might offset a weakness in one of the other areas. Admission is based upon consideration of all of your strengths and weaknesses. Pre-evaluation of students before formal application is not available, since the application is considered as a whole by the entire admissions committee. Please do not request the graduate program director or other faculty members for such an evaluation.

Financial Support

We regularly have many positions open for full financial assistance, both due to graduating students and new research grants. All graduate applications are automatically considered for financial assistance.

Questions?

Faculty (including the graduate program director) should not be contacted to inquire about available financial assistance or a student’s potential for admission. However, it is fine to contact them to discuss research interests. You can also e-mail the department at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Doctoral Program

The Ph.D. in Computer Science prepares you for a life-long career in scientific inquiry, as well as the ability to work in industries where rapidly evolving computer science drives the 21st century world economy.

One of UAB's pedestrian bridges in the fall. Our graduate students play a critical role in the department's research program, and they become researchers, teachers, and scholars in the community, state, region, and nation. Students completing the Ph.D. go on to find new ways to mine “big data” from the Internet, solve cyber security problems of national importance, create innovative visualization and graphics solutions, advance the use of modern IT infrastructure (such as cloud computing), and pursue inquiries at the frontiers of computer science understanding.

The Ph.D. program is research-oriented doctorate and provides computer science research opportunities for individuals who have a career goal of:

  • research and teaching at a university,
  • employment in industry or a national research lab, and
  • multidisciplinary research, such as biomedical computing.

Program Basics and Timeline

The Ph.D. program usually requires a minimum of four years of study and research beyond the bachelor’s degree. Students interested in the program who have a sufficient computer science background may apply to the program directly after completing the B.S. degree.

The program consists of three phases (with some overlap between phases). The first is devoted primarily to formal coursework and preparation for the qualifying examination (Level 1). The second consists of coursework and research in preparation for the comprehensive examination, which requires presentation of a dissertation research proposal (Level 2). Successful completion of this phase leads to admission to candidacy. The final phase is the completion of the dissertation research and its defense (Level 3).

Program Requirements

All requirements are listed in the pdfPh.D. Program Handbook. Please see Section 3.1.

The Ph.D. program consists of three phases or levels:

  • Level 1 involves foundational coursework, research, and preparation of a written survey/critique covering the breadth of a research area, and an oral presentation of the work. Please see Section 3.2 of the handbook for details.
  • Level 2 involves additional coursework, research, and writing to establish the foundation for a dissertation proposal. Please see Section 3.3 of the handbook for details.
  • Level 3 consists of research, paper and dissertation writing, and a final defense. Please see Section 3.4 of the handbook for details.

Questions About the Program?

We invite you to explore the resources here on this website. If you still have questions that are not addressed here, please e-mail the graduate program director at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..