Prospective Graduate Students
If you're considering one of our graduate programs, we have more information about becoming a graduate student.Contact the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems
Informatics and Computing, Doctor of Philosophy
- Available Emphasis Areas:
- Computer Science - Emphasis
- Cyber and Software Systems - Emphasis
- Electrical and Computer Engineering - Emphasis
- Ecological and Environmental Informatics - Emphasis
- Health and Bioinformatics - Emphasis
The doctoral degree in Informatics and Computing enables students to engage in a research-intensive course of study within a broad range of informatics and computing areas, including population health, bioinformatics, remote sensing, ecological modeling wireless sensor and communication systems, cyber-physical systems, software architecture and visualization, computer graphics, model-driven design, machine learning and statistical modeling, wearable computing, electrical and computer engineering, and cybersecurity.
Our five-year degree program is strengthened by committed mentorship and professional development training, with students benefiting from a broad range of collaborations and partnerships, including but not limited to: Center for Bioengineering Innovation, Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, and School of Forestry.
Regional research collaborators include but are not limited to Translational Genomics Research Institute, Northern Arizona Healthcare and Flagstaff Medical Center, North Country HealthCare, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, and Northern Arizona Planetary Science Alliance.
Requirements Accordion Open
To receive a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses, from one or more disciplines, ranging from at least 60 - 109 units of graduate-level courses. Most plans require research, a dissertation, and comprehensive exams. All plans have residency requirements regarding time spent on the Flagstaff campus engaged in full-time study.
The full policy can be viewed here.
Overview Accordion Closed
In addition to University Requirements:
- Complete individual plan requirements.
| Minimum Units for Completion | 60 |
| Additional Admission Requirements | Required |
| Dissertation | Dissertation is required. |
| Comprehensive Exam | Comprehensive Exam is required. |
| Oral Defense | Oral Defense is required. |
| Research | Individualized research is required. |
| Emphasis Required | An emphasis is required for this degree. |
Purpose Statement
The PhD program in Informatics and Computing will prepare you to work in the transformative "fourth paradigm" of science and engineering, an interdisciplinary field relying on big data and advanced software, hardware, and statistics skills.
A streamlined five-year plan of study provides learning opportunities in the foundations of informatics, programming, and computer science, structuring large-scale data sets, machine learning, and statistical data analysis. Elective coursework allows students to customize their program of study in one of the following emphasis areas:
- Computer Science - focusing on computer systems, machine learning, software engineering, human-computer interaction, and gaming, among other areas. Health and Bioinformatics - focusing on genetic and genomic analysis, population health, and disease transmission.
- Cyber and Software Systems - engaging in the design and implementation of cyber-physical and large-scale software systems.
- Ecological and Environmental Informatics - addressing ecological and environmental analyses and remote sensing.
- Electrical and Computer Engineering - analyzing, designing, and implementing electrical, electronics, and computer systems.
- Health and Bioinformatics - focusing on genetic and genomic analysis, population health, and disease transmission.
Students will engage in significant research and development work under the mentorship of a faculty member in computer science, electrical engineering, or informatics to develop and assess original and creative solutions to open informatics and computing research questions, work which culminates in the preparation and defense of a dissertation.
This program is designed for students with strong preparation in an area of science, including biology, computer science, ecology, environmental science, and electrical engineering, and experience in computer programming and data analysis gained through successful completion of a relevant undergraduate or graduate program.
As a graduate, you will be prepared to be a leader in industry, not-for-profit, or government research labs, a faculty member or research scientist in academia, or an entrepreneur in cutting-edge informatics application areas such as bioinformatics, population health and health informatics, environmental sustainability, ecology and ecoinformatics, software engineering, electrical or computer engineering, wearable computing, cyber-physical systems, and cybersecurity. Students’ research and education will be strengthened through broad collaborations with a variety of academic, government, and private entities. Informatics and Computing PhD program partnerships span the university, multiple centers and institutes, and various organizations.
Student Learning Outcomes
Core Informatics and Computing Outcomes
- Identify, explain, and assess the major theories, research methods, and technical approaches driving informatics-driven science and engineering and the impact of these elements on society.
- Identify, explain, synthesize, and apply the fundamental concepts of informatics, including large-scale data representation and organization, various types of programming languages, software development methods, data processing, information extraction and machine learning, and statistical analysis.
- Identify, survey, analyze, organize, and critically distill information from the scientific literature within an informatics emphasis area and creatively identify open research questions.
- Independently apply appropriate expertise, methods, and tools to the creative design, execution, and assessment of an investigation that addresses original informatics research questions.
- Compose and engage in highly effective written and oral communication in informatics areas; demonstrate clear argumentation and logical cohesion in a variety of written and oral communications, including scholarly dissemination, funding requests, industry, and lay-communication.
- Identify, explain, synthesize, and apply the interdisciplinary combination of core informatics and in-depth disciplinary expertise defining one of the following emphasis areas:
- Use mathematical abstractions to model and understand complex software systems.
- Design algorithms and methods to carry out computations spanning a wide range of fundamental and applied research areas.
- Explore the intersection between traditional fields of computer science and other methodological areas, such as informatics and statistics.
- Use mathematical abstractions to model complex software and cyber systems, including secure systems, wearable computing, and cyber-physical systems.
- Design, develop, and apply software to control complex software and cyber systems.
- Explore innovations in informatics by combining mathematical abstractions traditionally used to predict physical processes (differential equations, stochastic processes, etc.) with algorithms and other mathematical abstractions traditionally used in computer science.
- Integrate mathematical abstractions and modeling with data from the field to determine and analyze ecological relationships.
- Construct and execute multi-step workflows using appropriate software and data sources to solve problems in a variety of application areas, and critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to generating data, analyzing data, and interpreting results.
- Elucidate the breadth of statistical methods available in environmental analysis and select the appropriate method for the issue or problem under analysis.
- Use mathematical abstractions to model complex electrical and electronics systems.
- Analyze, design, implement, and manufacture complex electrical and electronics systems.
- Explore innovations in applying advanced methods and algorithms in informatics and computer science for modeling, analyzing, designing, and implementing complex electrical, electronics, and computer systems.
- Examine statistical methods, computer programming techniques, and current research areas within healthcare and bioinformatics.
- Apply statistical methods and computer programming techniques to analyze such bioinformatics data as genetic sequencing, gene and protein expression, and cellular organization.
- Develop statistical methods and computer programming techniques to analyze health outcomes, and patterns of health determinants, including social factors of health, and predict the effects of policies and interventions on issues of public health.
- Apply statistical methods and computer programming techniques to develop innovations in healthcare services delivery, management, and planning leading to lower healthcare costs and greater availability.
Details Accordion Closed
Graduate Admission Information
The NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies.
Admission requirements include the following:- Transcripts.
- Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale ("A" = 4.0), or the equivalent.
Visit the NAU Graduate Admissions website for additional information about graduate school application deadlines, eligibility for study, and admissions policies.
Ready to apply? Begin your application now.International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy.
Additional Admission Requirements
Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.
- Three letters of recommendation
- Personal statement or essay
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae
- Expertise in key foundational areas in informatics, including core topics such as programming, data structures, software development methods, and statistics, as well as areas that support specific emphases, such as biology, ecology, and cyber systems.
Doctoral Requirements
This Doctoral degree requires 60 units distributed as follows:
- Core Requirements: 41 units
- Computing and Statistics: 15 units
- Professional Development: 6 units
- Graduate Research: 3 units
- Dissertation: 17 units
- Emphasis Requirement - Select one: 19 units
- Computer Science Emphasis
- Cyber and Software Systems Emphasis
- Ecological and Environmental Informatics Emphasis
- Electrical and Computer Engineering Emphasis
- Health and Bioinformatics Emphasis
Take the following 60 units which includes core requirements and an emphasis.- Core Requirements: 41 units
- Core Requirements (41 units)
Dissertation (17 units)
Emphasis Requirement - Select one (19 units)
Computer Science Emphasis (19 units)
- CS/INF Electives (6 units)
- Electives (9 units)
- Select additional graduate-level coursework as guided by research needs and advisor input.
- Seminar (4 units)
Cyber and Software Systems Emphasis (19 units)
- CS/EE/INF Electives (6 units)
- Electives (9 units)
- Select additional graduate-level coursework, as guided by research needs and advisor input.
- Seminar (4 units)
Ecological and Environmental Informatics Emphasis (19 units)
- Ecoinformatics (3 units)
- Electives (9 units)
- Select additional graduate-level coursework relevant to ecological and environmental informatics, as guided by research needs and advisor input.
- Seminar (7 units)
Electrical and Computing Engineering Emphasis (19 units)
- EE Electives (6 units)
- Select graduate-level EE courses as guided by research needs and advisor input.
- Electives (9 units)
- Select additional graduate-level courses from CS, CYB, EE, INFR, MAT, STA, or other relevant discipline as guided by research needs and advisor input.
- Seminar (4 units)
- EE Electives (6 units)
Health and Bioinformatics Emphasis (19 units)
- INF Electives (6 units)
- Select graduate-level INF courses in the areas of health or biological informatics, as guided by research needs and advisor input.
- Electives (9 units)
- Select additional graduate-level coursework, as guided by research needs and advisor input.
- Seminar (4 units)
- INF 510 (1 - 2 units)
- Alternate seminars in other departments relevant to research needs. (2 - 3 units)
- INF Electives (6 units)
You may not use the same course to satisfy more than one degree requirement.
In addition, students must successfully complete the following requirements:
- Comprehensive qualifying examination by the end of the fourth term
- Advancement to candidacy examination by the end of the seventh term, and
- Dissertation defense
Additional Information
This degree program consists of a minimum of 60 units of study and can be completed in 5 years. Students may take more than 17 units of dissertation credit, as it is a requirement that students enroll in INF 799 each term they are preparing their dissertation. Students may also take more than 19 units of emphasis coursework, as guided by research needs and advisor input.
Students admitted to the program may be required to correct deficiencies in their preparation by taking additional undergraduate or graduate coursework, as guided by research needs and advisor direction and counsel.
Some required courses in this degree program may have prerequisites that students must also complete. For specific prerequisite information, students should investigate detailed course information or discuss the issue with their advisor.
Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.