Imaging Science Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree

Candidates for the doctoral degree must demonstrate proficiency by:

• Successfully completing course work, including a core curriculum, as defined by the student’s plan of study;
• Passing a series of examinations; and
• Completing an acceptable dissertation under the supervision of the student’s research advisor and dissertation committee.

Plan of Study

All students must complete a minimum of 60 credit hours of course work and research. The core curriculum spans and integrates a common body of knowledge essential to an understanding of imaging processes and applications. Courses are defined by the student’s study plan and must include core course sequences plus a sequence in a topical area such as remote sensing, digital image processing, color imaging, digital graphics, electro-optical imaging systems, and microlithographic imaging technologies.

Students may take a limited number of credit hours in other departments and must complete research credits including two credits of research associated with the research seminar course, Graduate Seminar.

Graduate elective courses offered by the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science (and other RIT academic departments in fields closely allied with imaging science) allow students to concentrate their studies in a range of imaging science research and imaging application areas, including electro-optical imaging, digital image processing, color science, perception and vision, electrophotography, lithography, remote sensing, medical imaging, electronic printing, and machine vision.

Advancement to Candidacy

Advancement to candidacy occurs through the following steps:

• Advisor selection
• Submission and approval of a preliminary study plan
• Passing a written qualifying exam
• Study plan revision based on the outcome of qualifying exam and adviser recommendation
• Research committee appointment
• Candidacy exam based on thesis proposal

Following the qualifying exam, faculty decide whether a student continues in the doctoral program or if the pursuit of an MS degree or other program option is more acceptable. For students who continue in the doctoral program, the student's plan of study will be revised, a research committee is appointed, candidacy/proposal exams are scheduled, and, finally, a dissertation defense is presented.

Research Committee

Prior to the candidacy exam, the student, in consultation with an advisor, must present a request to the graduate program coordinator for the appointment of a research committee. The committee is composed of at least four people: an advisor, at least one faculty member who is tenured (or tenure-track) and whose primary affiliation is the Carlson Center for Imaging Science (excluding research faculty), a person competent in the field of research who is an RIT faculty member or affiliated with industry or another university and has a doctorate degree, and the external chair. The external chair must be a tenured member of the RIT faculty who is not a faculty member of the center and who is appointed by the dean of graduate education. The committee supervises the student’s research, beginning with a review of the research proposal and concluding with the dissertation defense.

Research Proposal

The student and their research advisor select a research topic for the dissertation. Proposed research must be original and publishable. Although the topic may deal with any aspect of imaging, research is usually concentrated in an area of current interest within the center. The research proposal is presented to the student's research committee during the candidacy exam at least six months prior to the dissertation defense.

Final Examination of the Dissertation

The research advisor, on behalf of the student and the student's research committee, must notify the graduate program coordinator of the scheduling of the final examination of the dissertation by forwarding to the graduate program coordinator the title and abstract of the dissertation and the scheduled date, time, and location of the examination. The final examination of the dissertation may not be scheduled within six months of the date on which the student passed the candidacy exam (at which the thesis proposal was presented and approved).

Barring exceptional circumstances (requiring permission from the graduate program coordinator), the examination may not be scheduled sooner than four weeks after formal announcement (i.e. center-wide hallway postings and email broadcast) has been made of the dissertation title and abstract and the defense date, time, and location.

The final examination of the dissertation is open to the public and is primarily a defense of the dissertation research. The examination consists of an oral presentation by the student, followed by questions from the audience. The research committee may also elect to privately question the candidate following the presentation. The research committee will immediately notify the candidate and the graduate program coordinator of the examination result.'

Residency

All students in the program must spend at least two consecutive semesters (summer excluded) as resident full-time students to be eligible to receive the doctoral degree. If circumstances warrant, the residency requirement may be waived via petition to the graduate program coordinator, who will decide on the student’s petition in consultation with the advisor and graduate faculty. The request must be submitted at least nine months prior to the thesis defense.

Maximum Time Limit

University policy requires that doctoral programs be completed within seven years of the date of the student passing the qualifying exam. Bridge courses are excluded.

All candidates must maintain continuous enrollment during the research phase of the program. Such enrollment is not limited by the maximum number of research credits that apply to the degree. Normally, full-time students complete the course of study for the doctorate in approximately three to five years. A total of seven years is allowed to complete the degree after passing the qualifying exam.