Florida Atlantic University: PhD in CS $34K

[bjcheung77]

I was on the sister board and saw Dustin's post of his classmate at Eastern University apply to this program.  I found it a pretty interesting degree to say the least...

Note: This is a professional doctorate, not geared for Academia...  The degree is 72 credits but they give you 30 credits for your Masters, making it 42 remaining.

"The Professional PhD in Computer Science program provides students with advanced technical expertise they need to be successful in research and technical leadership positions in the industry and the public sector. Typical paths include senior positions in computer science related fields, careers as research scientists at high-tech companies and research labs, and academic careers in higher education. Topics of study include software engineering, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cryptography, machine learning and data analytics, spatial database and data mining, computer networking, cloud computing, Internet of Things and more."

"Total Cost: $800 per credit-hour; total cost for 42 credit-hours is $33,600."

Link: Professional PhD Degree Program in Computer Science | Florida Atlantic University (fau.edu)

[ifomonay]

You should go back and see the recent posts in that thread. Some of the senior members there did a little investigative research and discovered that the school is publishing bogus research. It appears that the school was setup to be Trump outlet based on their research. I think someone in that thread said that the university is going to lose its accreditation in the next review. It goes back to that adage, "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is".
Also, just to let you know professional doctorates are considered to be equivalent to Ph.D's. They are fully qualified to be on Ph.D. committees, be Ph.D readers and take on other academic-type roles. The most recognized professional doctorates are the DBA's and EdD's.  I Googled it and found that graduates with these degrees (and other common professional doctorates) hold tenured faculty positions at top universities like MIT and Stanford. So you can earn a professional doctorate (wouldn't recommend FAU though) and have all the privileges a Ph.D holder has.

[rachel83az]

I don't see anything about the school possibly losing its accreditation. But I agree that some of the stuff being published is troubling.

[ifomonay]

I don't see anything about the school possibly losing its accreditation. But I agree that some of the stuff being published is troubling.

Yes, you are absolutely right. I didn't read the original article that was linked and just went by what others said. I Googled "Florida Atlantic" and went back for at least a year, and I didn't see anything on the risk of losing accreditation. In fact, I didn't see anything controversial about this school at all. I read the linked article, and it just seems odd. I see a lot of vitriol, and I have a lot of suspicion with news articles where the reporter doesn't come across as dispassionate. The article seems more like a rant than anything else. He seems to have some kind of vendetta against this professor. I don't know. I spent considerable time doing more research on the school, and I don't see anything negative anywhere.

[SteveFoerster]

OMG, this is total BS. Florida Atlantic University is a major public research university. It has nothing to do with Trump and it is in no danger whatsoever of losing its accreditation with SACS.

[Pats20]

It has 30k students. Division 1 and it was set up to be a trump outlet. 

[dserios]

Hello,
I'm in this program! I just read the above posts, and I can confirm that Pat, Steve, and Ifo are all correct. This is a major public research university with an incredible amount of research in many departments. Their research budget is exploding, so they're likely to be an R1 in the next Carnegie classification update. If anyone wants to know more from someone in the program, I'll try and answer.
I started this Spring. Application to the program was through their application portal. You need three letters of recommendation and official transcripts from your previous schools. So you need to apply a few weeks before the deadline to make sure they are in on time.
After my acceptance, I had an hour-long meeting with one of the associate deans to talk about the program, their research and my research interests. I really liked that they set up this meeting because that's how on-campus programs are. That is, you can make appointments with deans if you want to talk to them.  The lectures are on every other Saturday 9AM-5PM on campus but are also set up for students to conference in live. So clearly they're doing their best to make distance students feel like they're studying alongside on-campus students. Distance students are welcome to attend the lecture onsite. The dean told me that's highly encouraged because the professors are present and you can meet with them and talk about your research interests or anything else. That's pretty amazing that the professors will give up their Saturdays. What else? The class size. Only seven students in my class, so you'll be working very closely with your advisor and research team. After my meeting with the dean, I have in-depth info about rules for the qualifying exam and rules for dissertation, etc. but my post is getting too long. If anyone wants to know more, ask away!

[sciencemathematics1]

Hello,
I'm in this program!
If anyone wants to know more, ask away!

Hello,
Would I need to have research experience before entering into this program? Or anything else besides what you mentioned that I would need to get into this program?

[dserios]

Hello,
I'm in this program!
If anyone wants to know more, ask away!

Hello,
Would I need to have research experience before entering into this program? Or anything else besides what you mentioned that I would need to get into this program?

Not at all. I didn't ask them, but I'm sure previous research is not required because for my Master's I did the non-thesis option which is evident on my transcript and they did accept me unconditionally. They did tell me that I need to start talking to professors early about the research I want to do, and not wait until the qualifying exam. So they do seem very research-focused. As far as what I think you need to get into the program. The Masters degree in comp sci, engineering, or a related field seems mandatory. Besides that, from my perception, the letters of recommendation seems important.

[dserios]

Although there are courses which are the live Saturday meetings, we are allowed to take other courses from select departments like Comp Sci, Comp Engr, Applied Math, etc. For distance students like me, I would only be able to take courses that are offered online. I checked the schedule of classes for Spring 2022, and here are the Ph.D. degree-applicable courses I found that are offered online:
Course Title Subject
Deep Learning
Reinforcement Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Natural Language Processing
Data Mining & Mach Learning
Embedded System Design I
Software Engineering
Software Requirements Engr
Prac Aspects Mod Cryptography
Object-Oriented Softw Design
Thry/Implmntl Database Systms
Advanced Internet Systems
Analytics of Medical Imaging
Data-Driven Engineering

So there is quite a lot to choose from, and if you ask me some very interesting topics. Also, this is only for Spring 2022; they may have additional course offerings in the Summer and Fall. Those aren't published yet, so I don't have that list.