Department of Computer Science, Tsinghua University Introduction to the PhD Program of the Department of Computer Science and Technology at Tsinghua University Prof. Chuang Lin

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Outline Brief introduction Present situation Student enrollment Basic requirements Principal problems Initiatives to improve the quality Future perspectives

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Brief introduction (1) Founded in 1958 –At that time, its name was “Automatic Control depart.” 41 Professors, 35 Associate Professors 3 fellows of the Chinese Academy of Science/ Engineering Chair professors –Andrew Yao –Thomas S. Huang

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Brief introduction (2) 36 PhD Supervisors who must fulfill the following conditions –Full professors –Currently have ongoing projects –Have published academic papers in last two years It’s different than US universities

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Present situation (1) Ranked first in the national academic estimation of computer science in 1996, and was one of the first 3 departments to obtain the authorization for PhD degree in computer science Ranked first in three indices (academic faculty, student cultivation, and academic reputation) among the total of four in the national academic evaluation of computer science in 2002

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Present situation (2) Since 1978 –307 students have obtained the PhD degree Four national excellent doctoral thesis awards –Zhigang zhu (Advisor: Chunyi Shi, Guangyou Xu) –Fuchun Sun (Advisor: Bo Zhang, Zengqi Sun) –Junhai Yong (Advisor: Jiaguang Sun, Shimin Hu) –Yuan Feng (Advisor: Mingsheng Ying)

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Present situation (3) Doctoral students at present – 395 students Enrolled PhD students in recent years –51 students, 2003 –64 students, 2004 –56 students, 2005 –49 students, 2006 (planned)

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Present situation (4) Graduated PhD students in recent years –42 students, 2003 –43 students, 2004 –44 students, 2005

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Present situation (5) More and more excellent doctoral students –Yuan Feng Published high quality papers IEEE Transactions on Information Theory Physical Review –Yuchun Ma Published high quality papers IEEE Transactions on CAD of Integrated Circuits and Systems ACM Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Student enrollment (1) Excellent students who earned their bachelor’s degree in our department may enroll without entrance exam –21 students in 2003 –25 students in 2004 –23 students in 2005

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Student enrollment (2) Excellent students who earned their bachelor’s degree at other key universities may enroll without entrance exam They must be ranked in the top 3% in their university –19 students in 2003 –22 students in 2004 –17 students in 2005

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Student enrollment (3) Students with a master’s degree enrolled with entrance exam –11 students in 2003 –17 students in 2004 –16 students in 2005 The face-to-face interview is the most important item in the doctoral entrance exam

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Basic requirements (1) Terms of Study –3 to 5 years for doctoral students who hold a master’s degree –4 to 6 years for doctoral students who hold a bachelor’s degree

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Basic requirements (2) Courses –At least 34 credits for doctoral students who hold a bachelor’s degree Typically 9 to 11 courses –At least 18 credits for doctoral students who hold a master’s degree Typically 3 to 4 courses

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Basic requirements (3) Courses –Including both basic theory courses and advanced research courses –Basic theory 10 courses on mathematics and other basic theory Students can take some courses in the mathematics department –Advanced research courses Over 50 advanced research courses cover most research areas in our department

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Basic requirements (4) Graduation requirements of the State –Come from “National Academic Degree statute” –Solid and wide basic theory, and systematic and deep major knowledge –The ability to independently conduct scientific research –Obtain creative fruits in science or special technology research

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Basic requirements (5) Graduation requirements of the university –To publish at least 4 papers and meet the following requirements –At least one paper published in an international journal indexed by SCI, or –At least two papers published in international conferences indexed by SCI, or –At least two papers published in international conferences or journals indexed by EI, and at least one journal paper between them

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Basic requirements (6) Graduation requirements of our department –There is no minimum number of papers required if the following requirements are satisfied –Publishing one paper in international journals that are indexed in ISI Web of Science and the impact factor is more than 1.0, or –Publishing several papers in international journals that are indexed in ISI Web of Science and the total impact factor is more than 1.5 Goal: to encourage the publishing of high quality papers

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Principal problems (1) The overall quality needs to be improved –Obvious gaps compared to the top-class universities in the world The academic time for doctoral students is relatively insufficient –Universities are demanded to play an important role in national construction since China is a developing country –A lot of time is spent in the engineering projects

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Principal problems (2) There are not so many high-quality papers –Limited by the English level –Not enough international communication The ability of professors also needs to be improved –Obvious gaps compared to the top-class universities

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Initiatives to improve the quality (1) Setting up a more reasonable educational system Providing more chances for international intercommunion Encouraging the publishing of high- quality academic papers

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Initiatives to improve the quality (2) Setting up a more reasonable educational system –Qualified examination of doctoral students Department is the organizer Including both the course grade and the face-to-face interview grade The bottom 20% of students will fail, and have to take another exam –Anonymous review of doctoral thesis –Annual academic report Doctoral students should submit their annual academic reports every year Department will review these reports and will give some feedback to both student and advisor

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Initiatives to improve the quality (3) Providing more chances for international intercommunion, going out –Encouraging doctoral students to do collaborative research with top-class international universities –Supporting doctoral students for vacation internships in prestigious academic institutes –Funding doctoral students to participate in high-level international conferences

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Initiatives to improve the quality (4) Providing more chances for international intercommunion, coming in –Chair professors Andrew Yao Thomas S. Huang –Short-term courses by professors from overseas universities

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Initiatives to improve the quality (5) Encourage publishing of high-quality academic papers –No paper number requirement if students have one high-quality paper published in high-level international journals IEEE Transactions… ACM Transactions…

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Initiatives to improve the quality (6) Some considerations –Cultivating top students vs. covering all students –Improving construction of educational mechanisms and assuring the cultivating quality –Introducing psychological estimation in the entrance examination –“Exit” mechanism for doctoral students

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Future Prospective After 5-10 years of effort, the quality of education for doctoral students is expected to catch up with or get closer to the top 30 computer departments in US

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University Thank you!