DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

Overview

 

Philosophy of the Programme
The philosophy of the Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science is to develop and formulate
innovative technology and novel solutions to computing problems and disseminate
knowledge in the Computer Science discipline whilst at the same time influencing Computer
Science practitioners’ actions, understanding and policy direction using cutting edge research.
In pursuing this philosophy, the Department of Computer science expects that that doctoral candidates shall develop as
academic researchers by routinely developing research writing skills as author of scholarly
papers by themselves or co-author with their supervisors for publication in scientific journals
and conference proceedings. In addition, the doctoral candidates shall be expected to link
with industry and present findings from their research at various national and international
conferences. Recognizing the dynamic and emerging trends in computing, and the
importance of individual, organizational, communities and societal context complexities shall
guide our research agenda.


Rationale
In the recent past, there has been tremendous interest in the field of Computer Science,
especially with the demand for CS academicians, demand for high calibre CS practitioners
for industry, rapid changes in the CS area and the assimilation and institutionalization of CS
locally, regionally and globally, which is among several factors that has driven the Department of Computer science
research agenda.
The aim of reviewing the programme include alignment with the Department of Computer science’s research strategy, necessitated by the desire to align the School’s research strategy with the national and
regional academic and research needs, whilst at the same time meeting requisite Higher
Education Institutions regulations and standards. In addition, reviewing the programme
instils requisite Computer Science knowledge and skills necessary for the realization of
Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The review took into consideration the following factors among others:
(a) Best practices
(b) Experiences learnt over the last 4 years
(c) Alignment to the School’s research strategy
(d) Analysis of the current programme
(e) Analysis of stakeholder’s feedback
(f) Alignment the country and regional academic, research and development needs
(g) Benchmarking with other international doctoral programmes
(h) Alignment with the discipline’s global Joint Task Force on Computing Curricula
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer Society
The Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science seeks to develop the science of computing
and advance research in its relevant areas. This program builds on the foundations of
Computer Science at Masters level.

The School of Computing & Informatics has established the following research groups that represent the broad areas of research:

  • Distributed Systems
  • Software Engineering
  • Management Information Systems
  • Artificial Intelligence

In addition to the areas stipulated above, other research areas shall be incorporated from time to time as recommended by the Institute of Computer Science Board and the Board of Postgraduate Studies and approved by Senate

A graduate of the Ph.D. programmes will, among others, be able to join research groups in Information Systems or Computer Science at universities or in industry, and teach information systems and/or computer science programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The objectives of the proposed programmes are therefore:

  • to provide a progression path for graduates of our MSc. (Computer Science) and MSc. (Information Systems) programmes;
  • to facilitate research at the Institute;
  • to serve national and regional development needs with respect to staff development;
  • to provide high quality training in computer science and information systems locally and internationally.

 

Contacts of support persons

dept-computing@uonbi.ac.ke

Intake Every September.

Structure and Duration
I. The programmes shall take a minimum of three (3) academic years and a maximum of five (5) academic years
II. The Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems and Doctor pf Philosophy in Computer Science shall be offered by course work, end of semester assessment and thesis.
III. The programmes shall consist of four (4) compulsory taught course units and a thesis.
Mode of Delivery
The main mode of instruction will be via face-to-face and blended learning.
Credit Transfer and Exemptions
I. There shall be no credit transfer in the PhD Computer Science and PhD Information Systems Programmes
II. There shall be no exemptions in the PhD Information Systems and PhD Computer Science Programmes

Course Distribution

Year 1, Semester 1 
Course Code                     Course Title                                                                     Hours


CSC 901              Advanced Research Methods for Computer Science                      90
CSC 902             Thematic Core Computer Science Research                                    90


Year 1, Semester 2
CSC 903            Experimentation, Modelling and Simulation and Data Analysis         90
CSC 904            Independent Computer Science Research Study                              90


Year 2 and Year 3
CSC 905           Thesis                                                                                                1080

Admission Requirements
I. Applicants must satisfy the University's general admission criteria for Doctor of Philosophy Degree programmes.
II. The following shall be eligible for admission into the Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems; Holders of a Master’s degree in Computer Science or its equivalent from the University of Nairobi or any other institution recognized by Senate
III. Applicants shall be required to :
a) Pass an entrance examination
b) Submit and present a research concept note at the time of entrance examination

  • Researchers
  • Academic Institutions
  • Research Institutions
  • Industry
  • Public and private sector
  • International organisations
  • Entrepreneurship
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN COMPUTER SCIENCE (P80) YEAR 1   YEAR 2   YEAR 3   TOTALS
  Semester 1 - 2UNITS Semester 2 - 2UNITS Semester 1 Semester 2  Semester 1 Semester 2   
TUITION 240,000 240,000 240,000 240,000 240,000 240,000 1,440,000
EXAMINATION (PER UNIT @1000) 2,000 2,000 0 0 0 0 4,000
THESIS EXAMINATION 0 0 0 0 0 50,000 50,000
LIBRARY (PER YEAR) 5,000 0 5,000 0 5,000 0 15,000
REGISTRATION (PER SEMESTER@2250) 2,250 2,250 2,250 2,250 2,250 2,250 13,500
ID CARD ( PER YEAR) 1,000   1,000 0 1,000 0 3,000
CAUTION - (ONCE) 5,000   0 0 0 0 5,000
MEDICAL FEE (PER YEAR) 6,500   6,500 0 6,500 0 19,500
ICT SERVICES - (PER YEAR) 7,000   7,000 0 7,000 0 21,000
ACTIVITY-( PER YEAR) 2,000   2,000 0 2,000 0 6,000
STUDENT ORGANISATION(PER YEAR) 1,000   1,000 0 1,000 0 3,000
Total 271,750 244,250 264,750 242,250 264,750 292,250 1,580,000
Exam Regulations

Common regulations for the Doctor of Philosophy in all faculties shall be applicable.

The degree to be awarded shall be:

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science, or
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems

The Doctor of Philosophy degree shall be carried out by research as recommended by the Institute of Computer Science Board and the Board of Postgraduate Studies and approved by Senate.

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