Graduate Handbook 2025-26

The Graduate Advising Committee (GAC) advises students in the traditional MS/PhD program, approves course plans, and evaluates satisfactory progress toward the degree. Each fall and spring semester graduate students in the program who are not in dissertator status should plan to meet with a  faculty GAC member to discuss their course selection and progress toward degree goal. Students can meet with a GAC member later in the semester if they need to discuss changes to their course schedule for the semester. Posted drop in office hours are held throughout the fall and spring semester.  Students seeking deadline extensions or exceptions need to contact the GAC Chair, Professor Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau.

Summer 2025:

No appointment necessary during posted office hours. Spring office hours will be posted in January.

Angela Thorp, Graduate Program Manager, thorp@cs.wisc.edu, Room 4297 CS
Email to request appointment

Mollie Stolbov, Graduate Program Manager, stolbov@wisc.edu, Room 4292 CS
Email or click here to schedule an appointment with Starfish.

Prof. Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau (GAC Chair), dusseau@cs.wisc.edu,  7375 Computer Sciences
Email to request appointment

Ethan Cecchetti, cecchetti@wisc.edu, 7395 Computer Sciences

Paris Koutris (CS PhD minor advisor for students from outside CS), paris@cs.wisc.edu, 4363 Computer Sciences

Colin Dewey, colin.dewey@wisc.edu, 5420 Genetics/Biotechnology (enter building from University Ave)

During the early part of the first term of a graduate student’s tenure in the Department, the student will attend a meeting with a faculty member of the Graduate Advising Committee (GAC) to discuss their plans for meeting their degree goals.

New students share their program plan in their initial meeting with a faculty member on GAC. The purpose of the program plan is to ensure that the student is pursuing a suitable course of study for the degree sought, and understands the requirements. 

In order to make a degree plan, students should use The Guide for their respective program to ensure courses will meet requirements. Click here for the Masters and here for the PhD program requirements. You can also find a list of all CS courses here.  

The student should discuss their plans with the GAC Advisor and refer to this plan for future semester planning. Students should meet with a member of GAC whenever they have changes to plan.

Faculty Advisor Assignments

The faculty advisor provides intellectual guidance, helps shape the research direction, and oversees the student’s PhD progress. They offer expertise, suggest relevant literature, and provide critical feedback on drafts, collaboration, and other skill development. 

The chart below describes how faculty advisors are assigned in the department:

Students must meet the minimum requirements to obtain the Computer Sciences Masters degree. See The Guide for details. 

Each semester, the Graduate Program Manager will send an email that provides the link to MS warrant request form and graduation information to all students in the MS/PhD program.

• Students who are admitted to the CS PhD program and want to get their Masters as part of their PhD must add the MS program in GradPortal. 
• If the PhD student intends to leave with an MS, please make sure to change your degree level to MS in the Grad Portal. The MS warrant can’t be processed until you add or change (if leaving) the program. 
• Here are instructions to add/change programs.

Students may choose to write a master’s thesis (6 credits) or project report (3 credits) under the course number CS 790. Students are responsible to find an advisor and topic for their thesis or project. The advisor must be a full-time or affiliate faculty member of the CS Department. 

Master’s Thesis

A master’s thesis (6 credits) is expected to be a substantial piece of work, e.g., a comprehensive survey of a particular area. A master’s thesis does not need to contain original research work, but could serve as a basis toward subsequent doctoral work. There is no specific format of a master’s thesis. The student should consult with their thesis advisor and can also review the Graduate School’s Guide to Preparing Your Master’s Thesis. 

The student should send a copy of the thesis including the title page signed by the thesis committee to the Graduate Program Manager. Depositing a copy of the thesis in the Memorial Library is optional.  

The thesis requires a committee that consists of the advisor and a minimum of two additional members; at least one of the additional members must be a full time faculty member of the Department. 

Project Report

A project report (3 credits) is supervised by a CS faculty advisor. The report should be submitted in electronic form, along with a title page signed by the advisor, to the Graduate Program Manager. The report is kept on file in the department but is not made public.

Students must meet the minimum requirements to obtain the Computer Sciences PhD. See The Guide for details. 

The milestone requirements for a PhD in CS are: the qualifying process, the preliminary process, and the final defense process. Milestones must be met within the allotted time frame as follows:

Qualifying Process:

Students must complete breadth requirements and pass the qualifying examination within 3 years (6 semesters) after admission to the program.

Preliminary:

Students complete minor and pass preliminary examination within 4 years (8 semesters) after admission to the program; up to one additional year extension is possible with GAC chair and advisor approval.

Dissertation:

Students must pass final defense examination and deposit dissertation within 5 years (10 semesters) from date of preliminary examination. Extensions to this deadline are granted by the Graduate School PhD coordinator with the approval of the student’s PhD advisor.  Extensions to this deadline are rarely needed.

It is the responsibility of a PhD student to find a dissertation advisor and the Department does not guarantee that one will be provided. The dissertation advisor must be a full-time or affiliate faculty member of the CS Department, or have retired or resigned from such a position no more than one year prior to the student’s defense.

It is recommended that students reach out to faculty early in their career and suggest that students take courses with professors they have an interest in working with. 

Students who intend to get a PhD should find a dissertation advisor no later than the end of second year in the MS/PhD program. The dissertation advisor chairs the qualifying process, the preliminary exam committee and the final oral exam committee.

To learn more detailed information about the milestones, enroll in the CS PhD Milestones Canvas Course – coming soon!

Qual

The qualifying milestone (Qual) includes the qual exam or project and the completion of band courses. All areas of Computer Sciences except Optimization use a project based qualifying exam. 

Students must take one course from each of the bands as listed on The Guide. 

This milestone deadline is the 6th semester from matriculation.

The Project Qual requires a committee of at least 3 members. Two of the members must have a tenure home in the CS department (excluding affiliates). The committee chair is the presumptive PhD advisor. It is possible to change advisors later if necessary. 

Prelim

After passing the Qual milestone, students will complete the Preliminary Exam. The Preliminary Exam (Prelim) milestone includes the prelim presentation to display a depth of knowledge in their specialized research area for their dissertation. 

This milestone deadline is the 8th semester from matriculation.

The preliminary examination committee consists of three or more members and is chaired by the dissertation advisor. At least two of the committee members must be full-time faculty members of the CS Department.

Students should request a preliminary warrant three weeks before the scheduled date for their examination. When the student requests the preliminary warrant they need to know the date and their committee members. Once the Prelim is passed, the committee will sign the electronic warrant. 

The minor requirement involves 9 to 12 credits of course work outside of CS. There are two methods of fulfilling this requirement, referred to as Option A and Option B on the Minor Declaration Form.  Students should decide on their minor and get it approved at the beginning of taking minor courses. They should not wait until they complete the course work to declare the minor.

Option A: Existing program
This option consists of fulfilling the PhD minor requirements as specified by an existing program outside of CS. The guide contains information on the available minors at UW-Madison. Graduate Minors

• Students should contact the minor-granting program and meet with the faculty minor advisor for that program to discuss the minor requirements and get approval. On a student’s transcript, fulfillment of this option appears as Minor: followed by the name of the program. The Minor Advisor for that department attests to it by signing the Minor Declaration Form.
• After the minor form has been signed, the student needs to request to add the minor in their grad portal. How to request add minor in grad portal The request is approved by the minor advisor.  This step is required. If the minor has not been approved and does not appear in grad portal, a student cannot obtain a warrant for a preliminary examination.
• The student should retain a copy of the minor form. When the student has their preliminary exam the faculty minor advisor from the minor department will be sent an electronic signature request for the warrant.

Option B: Distributed
This option consists of at least 9 credits in courses from 2 or more departments outside of CS. For this option the Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC) Chair acts as the Minor Advisor. Students must consult as early as possible with the Graduate advising committee chair for approval of a distributed minor plan.  On a student’s transcript, fulfillment of this option appears as Minor: Distributed.

• After the Graduate Advising Committee Chair has approved the minor, the student needs to request to add minor in their grad portal. How to request add minor in grad portal. The request is approved by the minor advisor.  This step is required. If the minor has not been approved and does not appear in grad portal, a student cannot obtain a warrant for a preliminary examination.
• The student should retain a copy of email approving the minor. The Graduate Program Manager verifies completion of distributed minor at the time the preliminary warrant request is made.  When the student has their preliminary exam the CS Graduate Advising Committee chair will be sent an electronic signature request for the warrant. 

For distributed minor all of the following conditions need to be satisfied:

•  All credits counted are for courses numbered 300 or above.
• No credits counted are for courses in CS or courses cross-listed with CS.
• No credits counted are for individual instruction courses.
• All credits counted are graded on the A-F scale and have received a grade of BC or higher.
• The GPA of the credits counted is at least 3.00.
• Students can use no more than 5 credits counted for coursework completed more than 5 years prior to admission to the PhD program; no credits counted are for coursework taken 10 years ago or more; no credits counted are for courses taken while the student was completing requirements for UW – Madison CS MS.

After completion of the prelim and doctoral minor, the student will become a dissertator in the following semester. Students will receive notification from the Graduate School of dissertator status and subsequent enrollment requirements until defense and deposit of dissertation.

The student must conduct, under the supervision of a dissertation advisor, a substantial piece of original research in CS and report it in a dissertation that is made public and meets the highest standards of scholarship.

The Defense is a presentation where the student will defend and explain the contents of their dissertation to a committee. 

The final examination committee consists of four or more members and is chaired by the dissertation advisor. The composition of the committee will be suggested by the dissertation advisor. Defense committee requirements can be found here: Graduate School: Committees.

 All of the following conditions need to be satisfied:

• At least three of the committee members must be UW-Madison graduate faculty or former UW-Madison graduate faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement.
• At least two of the committee members must be full-time faculty members of the Department.
• At least one of the committee members, other than the dissertation advisor, must represent a UW department outside of CS.
• The fourth member can be from UW-Madison or external to UW-Madison. They must have a PhD.
• At least three committee members must be designated readers. 

After the student passes the exam, each committee member needs to electronically sign the PhD Defense Warrant.

A graduate student in good standing may request a deadline extension of one regular term when he or she experiences childbirth or adoption. The extension does not extend the funding guarantee by the Department.

The extension is available for each birth or adoption, to each parent, both males and females, and without regard to sexual orientation.

To obtain the extension, the student must email the GAC Chair and the dissertation advisor (if any) within 12 months of the date of birth or adoption. The GAC Chair checks that the conditions are met and, if so, automatically grants the extension.

For the purposes of this regulation, graduate students are considered in good standing if they are not dismissed, suspended, or on probation, and if they did not fail the conditions for satisfactory academic progress for the term prior to the child birth or adoption.

Qualifying Process Extensions 

If you are unable to finish your PhD qualifying process by the regular deadline (i.e., by the end of your 6th semester) you must request an extension from the GAC chair at least 3 weeks before your deadline.

Qualifying process extensions are not common, but are possible.  An extension may be given for either completing the qualifying exam or the qualifying process course breadth requirement.  

Extensions, when given, are usually for a single semester or for the summer session.

To request an extension, either stop by Office Hours for the GAC chair or send the email to the GAC chair.  During office hours or in your email, you should identify a supporting faculty member, describe your progress towards the qualifying process thus far, and explain why you need an extension.

A strong endorsement from a CS or CS-affiliated faculty member who is willing to serve as your qualifying exam advisor greatly improves your chances of an extension.  The faculty member you’ve identified will be asked about their willingness to be your qualifying advisor, their past experience working with you, and their estimation of your ability to complete the qualifying process.

Preliminary Process Extensions

If you are unable to finish your PhD preliminary process by the regular deadline (i.e., by the end of your 8th semester) you must request an extension from the GAC chair at least 3 weeks before your deadline.

Preliminary process extensions are not uncommon.  An extension may be given for either completing the preliminary exam or the minor requirement.

Extensions, when given, are usually for one or two semesters; however, longer extensions are possible.

To request an extension, either stop by Office Hours for the GAC chair or send the email to the GAC chair.  During office hours or in your email, you should identify your PhD advisor, specify the length of your requested extension, describe your progress towards the preliminary process thus far, and explain why you need an extension.

A strong endorsement from a CS or CS-affiliated faculty member who is serving as your PhD advisor is necessary for an extension of the prelim exam.  For exam extensions that are one year or less, your PhD advisor will simply be asked to endorse this extension.  For longer extensions, you may need an endorsement from your complete preliminary exam committee (i.e., 3 faculty members) and have scheduled a tentative date for your exam.

To maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, students must meet the following:

1. Adhering to the University’s Standards for Professional Conduct
2. Meeting the Graduate School’s Enrollment Requirements
3. Maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00

Check out the table at the end of the Graduate School’s Enrollment Requirements for the precise conditions and the corresponding number of credits required for full-time registration. 

Computer Sciences Department policy for TAs requires that they be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credits unless in dissertator status. This requirement supersedes the minimum required by the university but must be filled by students TAing in the CS department.

Making Satisfactory Academic Progress

A graduate student in Computer Sciences shall be considered to have made satisfactory academic progress in a given term if all of the following conditions below are satisfied. Questions regarding enrollment requirements can be directed to the Graduate Program Managers.

• During the given term the student has completed, with a satisfactory grade or a grade of I (incomplete) or P (progress), a minimum number of credits of approved courses determined by the enrollment requirements of the Grad School and Department.
• At the end of the given term, the student has removed all incomplete grades from any previous term.
• The student has observed all the deadlines imposed by the Department that occur before the start of the next regular term.
• Leave of absence or part load requests should be directed to the GAC Chair. 

Computer Sciences Enrollment Information

The University has disciplinary procedures in place for academic, non-academic, and research misconduct.

A student may be placed on probation or suspended from the Graduate School for low grades or for failing to resolve incompletes in a timely fashion.

A student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress during one regular term loses the financial support guarantee of the Department (if any), and is not eligible for financial support from resources controlled by the Department during the next regular term. 

A student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress during two consecutive regular terms (fall and spring semester, or spring and fall semester) will be dismissed from the Department right before the start of the next regular term.

Any graduate student may appeal any aspect of the satisfactory academic progress rules and this appeal must be initiated no later than the end of the fourth week of the following regular term.

To appeal, the student should send an email to the Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC) Chair stating the reason for the appeal. This letter should explain the reasons for the appeal, and it should be accompanied by appropriate documents such as a medical certificate if the appeal is on the grounds of ill health or a supporting letter from a CS faculty member if the appeal concerns an unusual combination of courses. It will be useful for the student to discuss the problem with their advisor or a member of the Graduate Advising Committee before submitting the appeal.

The GAC Chair will review the appeal and notify the student of their decision, normally within 20 business days.  A student who is not satisfied with the decision by the GAC Chair may submit a further appeal in writing to the Department Chair.

The Department Chair will place the appeal on the agenda of a regular faculty meeting, will circulate the letter of appeal and documentation, and will give the student written notification of the meeting. The meeting will be scheduled within four working weeks after receipt of the letter to the Department Chair. The student and their advisor(s) may attend the meeting to present the appeal, provided that the Department Chair is advised in writing before the start of the meeting. In accordance with Wisconsin law, the meeting will begin in open session, but the Department Chair will move that the meeting convene in closed session before the appeal is considered.

You can learn more about the Graduate School L&S Policy and Procedures for Graduate Academic Appeals.