Emory University Computer Science Informatics PhD Program 2026

Emory University CSI PhD Program Overview

Emory University’s Computer Science and Informatics PhD program represents a deliberately interdisciplinary approach to doctoral education in computing. Rather than housing the PhD within a single department, the CSI program spans three academic units: the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Biomedical Informatics (BMI), and the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (BIOS). This structural choice reflects a conviction that the most important research questions in computing increasingly require expertise that crosses traditional departmental boundaries.

Administered through the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies, the program takes an average of five to six years to complete. Students spend their first two years on coursework and research rotations before transitioning into full-time dissertation research by year three. The program is led by a Director of Graduate Studies supported by three co-Directors from each participating department, ensuring that governance reflects the program’s multi-departmental character.

What makes the Emory CSI PhD distinctive is not simply the breadth of its departmental partnerships but the depth of integration between computing and the life sciences. Emory’s strength in public health, medicine, and biomedical research, combined with its proximity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, creates a research environment where computational methods meet urgent real-world health challenges. For students comparing doctoral programs at other research-intensive universities, this biomedical computing emphasis distinguishes Emory from more traditionally structured CS departments.

CS Track and BMI Track Structure

The CSI program offers two distinct tracks that allow students to specialize while sharing a common program framework. The Computer Science Track focuses on core computing disciplines including algorithms, machine learning, and systems programming. The Biomedical Informatics Track incorporates health data science, ethical data practices, and biostatistics alongside machine learning and computational methods. Both tracks require the same number of credits, follow the same milestone timeline, and lead to the same doctoral degree.

Students in the CS Track complete three required courses: CS 526 (Algorithms), CS 534 (Machine Learning), and CS 551 (Systems Programming). The BMI Track substitutes a different core sequence: BMI 500 (Introduction to Ethical Data Science and Informatics), BMI 510 (Biostatistics for Machine Learning), and either BMI 534 or CS 534 (Machine Learning). This differentiation ensures that BMI students develop domain-specific competencies in health informatics while maintaining the computational rigor expected of all CSI graduates.

Beyond the required courses, both tracks share the same elective requirements: four or more elective courses totaling at least 12 credit hours drawn from approved offerings in CS, BMI, BIOS, or MATH. The pre-approved elective list spans a remarkable range of topics from natural language processing to cancer single-cell analytics, from computer security to biomedical image analysis. Students can also petition for approval of courses outside the standard list, providing flexibility to pursue emerging research areas or interdisciplinary interests that cross into biology, chemistry, physics, or public health.

Course Requirements and Academic Standards

The academic requirements for the CSI PhD are structured around two phases. During the first phase, students must complete 18 credit hours of coursework in advanced standing, with no more than 3 hours from directed studies. The second phase adds another 18 credit hours of research and coursework before candidacy. To be eligible for candidacy, students must accumulate at least 54 credit hours at the 500 level or above, as required by the Laney Graduate School.

Academic standards are notably rigorous compared to many doctoral programs. Every required and elective course must be completed with a grade of B or higher, and the GPA across required and elective courses must reach 3.3 or above. The broader Laney Graduate School requirement sets a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.70 for good standing, but the program-specific 3.3 threshold effectively demands consistent high performance across all coursework.

Ethics training forms an integral part of the curriculum. Students must complete JPE 600, a one-day Graduate School workshop held before the fall semester of their first year, and attend a minimum of four JPE 610 sessions before graduation. The CS 590 Teaching Seminar covers computing-related pedagogy and scholarly misconduct. All ethics requirements must be satisfied before a student can advance to candidacy, making them not optional enrichment but structural prerequisites for degree progress.

Students who enter the program with insufficient computer science or informatics background may need additional preparatory coursework, though this is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The program’s design assumes graduate-level readiness in the core areas of algorithms, machine learning, and either systems programming or biostatistics, depending on the track. For students exploring similar programs, other computational graduate programs provide useful comparison points for curriculum structure and expectations.

Research Rotations and Faculty Mentorship

One of the CSI program’s most valuable features is its required rotation system. Every student must complete two rotation projects (CS 598R), each a semester-long, three-credit-hour research engagement with specific deliverables and formal evaluation. The first rotation must be completed by the end of Year 1, and the second by the end of Year 2. Critically, these rotations must be with different faculty advisors, ensuring that students gain exposure to diverse research problems and mentorship styles before committing to a dissertation advisor.

Each rotation begins with a submitted project proposal that defines outcomes and deliverables, providing structure while allowing flexibility in the research direction. Upon completion, students submit a final report, which can be an accepted or published paper, and present their work at a department seminar. This public presentation requirement builds communication skills while giving the broader research community visibility into student work and progress.

The rotation system accommodates the program’s interdisciplinary character. BMI students are recommended to select at least one domain-focused rotation faculty mentor, ensuring their research experience bridges computation and health sciences. Students on the main CS track with interdisciplinary interests can rotate in departments beyond CS, BMI, and BIOS, including Biology, Chemistry, the Rollins School of Public Health, the School of Medicine, and even external organizations like the CDC. This flexibility allows a student interested in computational epidemiology to work at the CDC while remaining fully embedded in the CSI program.

If a rotation advisor is not a CSI program faculty member, students must obtain DGS approval and identify a co-advisor from within the program. This safeguard maintains program oversight while enabling the boundary-crossing research that defines Emory’s approach. After rotations, students are well-positioned to choose a dissertation advisor and committee with the confidence that comes from direct research experience rather than speculation about fit.

Qualifying Examination Process

The CSI qualifying examination is one of the most comprehensive and thoughtfully designed qualifying processes among computer science PhD programs. Rather than a single written or oral exam, the process consists of three integrated components that collectively assess four distinct competency areas: expert area knowledge, critical analysis skills, research readiness, and technical communication.

The first component is a technical report of publication quality. This can be a publishable paper describing original research, a substantial class project write-up with original analysis, or a critical survey with experimental comparative analysis. The student must make a sufficiently substantial contribution to the work, and first authorship is recommended and expected. For multi-author reports, the student’s advisor must provide a written description of the student’s specific contributions. The qualifying committee receives this report at least one month before the oral examination.

The second component is a written feedback and response exchange. Within two weeks of receiving the technical report, the committee provides written feedback that explicitly addresses all four competency areas and broadens the scope of inquiry beyond the report itself. The student then has one week to prepare a written response entirely independently, without assistance from anyone. This independence requirement is strict and ensures that the response reflects the student’s own analytical capabilities.

The third component is an oral examination lasting 60 to 90 minutes. The student delivers a 30-minute presentation that integrates the committee’s feedback and their written response, followed by questioning that is not limited to the written feedback topics. The oral exam scope can encompass any area the committee considers relevant to assessing the four competency objectives.

The qualifying committee must include at least three Emory faculty members, at least two of whom are CSI faculty, and must be chaired by someone other than the student’s intended advisor. Students have two attempts to pass the qualifying process, which must be completed by September 1 of Year 4. Outcomes range from a full pass to conditional pass (with specified remediation) to fail. This multi-component process, while demanding, provides a richer assessment of doctoral readiness than traditional written qualifying exams that test content knowledge alone.

Candidacy Dissertation and Defense

Advancing to candidacy requires satisfying all ethics requirements, teaching requirements, coursework, rotations, and qualifying examinations while maintaining at least a 2.70 cumulative GPA and accumulating 54 credit hours at the 500 level or above. The candidacy deadline is September 15 of Year 4, and the consequences for missing it are significant: academic probation, ineligibility for Professional Development Support funds, and potential loss of financial support.

An important benefit of candidacy is the built-in MS degree. PhD students who advance to candidacy automatically qualify for a Computer Science Master’s degree without additional requirements. This “MS by Candidacy” pathway provides a recognized credential even for students who ultimately pursue their doctoral research. Students who leave the program before candidacy may petition for an MS if they complete all MS requirements, though the handbook describes this as granted “only in the most exceptional of circumstances.”

The dissertation committee must include at least three CSI faculty members (one serving as chair) and at least one external member holding a PhD. The committee must be established by March 15 of Year 4, well before the expected dissertation prospectus deadline of September 1 of Year 5. The prospectus defense is a one-hour event consisting of a 30-minute presentation followed by committee questioning, with the full written proposal distributed at least two weeks in advance.

The final dissertation describes original research and concludes with a public defense before the dissertation committee. Students must also present a CS700 seminar on their dissertation research while in candidacy, prior to defense, ensuring community engagement with the work. The prospectus must be completed at least one full semester before the defense, preventing rushed timelines that might compromise dissertation quality. For students researching doctoral program structures across universities, Emory’s milestone system provides clear expectations for every phase of the journey.

Funding Fellowships and Financial Support

The Emory CSI PhD program provides financial support designed to allow students to focus entirely on their academic and research work. Full-time PhD students are typically supported through one of two models. The Graduate School Fellowship (GSF) model, funded by the Laney Graduate School, provides full support including tuition, stipend, and health insurance for the first 21 months, covering fall of Year 1 through spring of Year 2 including the intervening summer.

After the initial 21-month GSF period, students are expected to join a research group and receive support through a faculty Research Assistantship (RA) funded by external research grants. This transition is a natural part of the program’s design, coinciding with the point at which students have completed rotations and are beginning focused research with their chosen advisor. Some students enter with Day 1 RA support, receiving faculty-funded assistantships from their date of matriculation rather than GSF. Alternative arrangements may be made on a case-by-case basis depending on performance and progress.

Beyond direct support, the Laney Graduate School’s Professional Development Support (PDS) program provides up to $2,500 across three categories: training, research, and conferences. For training and research categories, students can apply for amounts exceeding $2,500 through a competitive review process. However, students who have not reached candidacy by September 15 of Year 4 lose eligibility for PDS funds, creating a financial incentive to maintain timely progress alongside the academic ones.

Financial support carries explicit conditions. Students must be registered full-time and cannot accept other remuneration inside or outside the university while receiving full Emory support. Performance is reviewed annually by the Graduate Committee and faculty advisor, and support can be reduced, suspended, or terminated for failure to maintain minimum GPA, earn required credits, advance to candidacy on time, or perform satisfactorily in teaching and research duties.

Teaching Requirements and Pedagogy Training

Teaching is not an optional component of the CSI PhD but a structured requirement that prepares students for academic careers. Before serving as a teaching assistant or instructor, students must complete TATT 600, the summer TATTO course offered through the Laney Graduate School. This course provides foundational pedagogical training that ensures students can contribute effectively to undergraduate education from their first teaching assignment.

The minimum teaching requirement is three TATT 605 courses, each representing a semester of TA service. An alternative pathway allows students to serve as primary instructors (TATT 610), with each instructorship replacing two TA semesters. Every graduate instructor is assigned a faculty mentor, and the CS 590 Teaching Seminar covers pedagogical strategies including syllabus design, assessment development, and lecture planning. Teaching requirements are expected to be completed by the end of Year 2.

All TATT courses are graded pass/fail, but unsatisfactory performance has real consequences. Students can receive an “Unsatisfactory” grade that affects their standing and progress. Upon departing the program, all students must provide copies of grade books for courses they taught, ensuring institutional records and continuity for student grade appeals or verification requests.

This teaching infrastructure sets Emory apart from programs where TA assignments are treated purely as labor rather than professional development. The structured progression from TATTO orientation through supervised TA service to potential instructorship, with ongoing seminar support, creates graduated responsibility that builds genuine teaching competence. For doctoral students who plan academic careers, this preparation is as valuable as any research skill developed during the program.

Research Areas and Interdisciplinary Collaborations

The CSI program’s research landscape spans the full range of modern computing while capitalizing on Emory’s institutional strengths in health sciences. Core computer science research areas include machine learning and deep learning, algorithms and theory of computation, systems programming, natural language processing, data mining, information retrieval, computer security and data privacy, database systems, parallel and distributed processing, high-performance computing, software engineering, information visualization, and artificial intelligence.

The biomedical informatics dimension adds research areas including biomedical image analysis, cancer single-cell analytics, time series analytics, and digital health. Faculty in BIOS contribute expertise in statistical methods, bioinformatics, and computational biology. This combination means that a student developing new machine learning methods might apply them to clinical genomics data, or a student working on distributed systems might design infrastructure for large-scale health data analysis.

Interdisciplinary collaborations extend well beyond the three core departments. Faculty in computational and discrete mathematics, physics, biology, psychology, and chemistry participate in CSI research ecosystems. Emory’s School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and Rollins School of Public Health provide domain expertise and clinical contexts that ground computational research in real-world problems. The proximity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention creates unique collaboration opportunities in computational epidemiology, disease surveillance, and public health informatics that no other university can replicate at the same scale.

The elective course list in Appendix A of the handbook illustrates this breadth: offerings span from CS 570 (Data Mining) and CS 580 (Operating Systems) through BMI 540 (Applied Biomedical NLP) and BIOS 545 (Data Analysis with R). Students can construct a course portfolio that is either deeply specialized in traditional computer science or broadly interdisciplinary across computing and the life sciences, depending on their research direction and career goals.

Timeline Milestones and Career Preparation

The CSI program provides one of the most explicitly structured timelines in doctoral computing education. By the end of Year 1, students should complete JPE 600, CS 590, the first rotation project, and at least one required or elective course with a grade of B or above. By Year 2, the second rotation, all teaching requirements, and the bulk of coursework should be finished. The qualifying exam committee must be approved by December 1 of Year 3, with the examination completed by September 1 of Year 4.

Candidacy by September 15 of Year 4 is a hard deadline with material consequences: academic probation, loss of PDS funding eligibility, and potential termination of financial support. This creates urgency around completing all pre-candidacy requirements on schedule. The program’s structure intentionally front-loads coursework and rotations into the first two years, freeing Years 3 through 6 for research, qualifying exams, and dissertation work.

Career preparation is woven throughout the program rather than concentrated at the end. Research rotations develop the ability to identify promising problems and contribute to ongoing projects. Teaching requirements build communication and pedagogical skills valued in academia and industry. The qualifying exam process develops scholarly writing, independent analysis, and oral presentation capabilities. The dissertation itself represents the capstone demonstration of independent research capacity that opens doors to faculty positions, research scientist roles, and senior industry positions in machine learning, AI, data science, and health informatics.

The program’s emphasis on crossing discipline boundaries with “courage to challenge convention” and “confidence to ask unexpected questions” prepares graduates for a research landscape where the most impactful work increasingly occurs at the intersection of computing and other domains. For students comparing doctoral programs in STEM fields, Emory’s CSI program offers a model of how interdisciplinary design can enhance rather than dilute doctoral training.