phd computer science brown university

Graduate Programs

Computer science.

The Department of Computer Science's master's program is suitable both for those who wish to improve their professional competence in computer science and for those who seek to prepare for further graduate study.

The Department of Computer Science's master's program is suitable both for those who wish to improve their professional competence in computer science and for those who seek to prepare for further graduate study.

The program offers two options (research project and coursework only) that enable individuals to customize their studies to match their particular ambitions and experiences. Computer-science classes at Brown are taught by the same professors who have earned our department's reputation for innovative education and research. The department has expertise in a variety of areas of computer science, including algorithms and data structures, artificial intelligence, automated reasoning and planning, computational biology, computer security, cryptography, database management systems, distributed systems, agents, graphics and visualization, human-computer interaction, natural language processing, networking, operating systems, constraint programming, programming languages, robotics and computer vision, and software engineering. Students may also choose the Professional Track and engage in a 2-4 month internship.

Additional Resources

The Department of Computer Science provides leading-edge computing technology to all its students. Each Sc.M. student has access to a shared CS department office equipped with desktop computers and docking stations. In addition, Sc.M. students have access to all our research labs.

Application Information

Application requirements, gre subject:.

Not required

GRE General:

Not required, but score submission is encouraged.

TOEFL/IELTS:

Required for any non-native English speaker who does not have a degree from an institution where English is the sole language of instruction or from a University in the following countries: Australia, Bahamas, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada (except Quebec), Ethiopia, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Gambia, Uganda, United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales), West Indies, Zambia). The TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and the IELTS Indicator exam are accepted. Students from mainland China may submit the TOEFL ITP Plus exam The minimum TOEFL score is 105 and the minimum IELTS score is 8.0.

Official Transcripts:

Required. All applicants may upload unofficial transcripts for application submission. Official transcripts are ONLY required for enrolling students before class start. An international transcript evaluation (WES, ECE, or SpanTran) is required for degrees from non-U.S. institutions before enrollment. Applicants who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate program should plan to submit their fall semester grades as a part of their application for fullest consideration. If the application deadline passes before fall grades are available, please provide a copy of your in progress coursework if it is not included on your transcript and plan to follow up with grades when they are made available. We also encourage you to provide your in progress coursework for the spring semester, if available.

Letters of Recommendations:

Three (3) letters of recommendation required for external applications. Brown undergraduates considering the fifth-year master's degree option should submit two (2) letters of recommendation. Recent graduates (within 3 years) and current students should provide at least 2 letters of recommendation from professors who can speak to your coursework in Computer Science.

Personal Statement:

The personal statement will require you to answer program-specific questions about your preparation, interests, experience, and goals.

Additional Requirements:

If you have any questions regarding the application process for this program, please email  [email protected] .

Dates/Deadlines

Application deadline, 5 th year deadline, tuition and funding.

• Graduate Tuition & Fees : Please visit the Bursar's Office for up-to-date tuition rates.
• Scholarships : A small number of full-tuition scholarships are available. Please see  https://cs.brown.edu/degrees/masters/applications/ .

Completion Requirements

All students will complete a two-course specialization in one of ten approved areas or Pathways. The remaining six required courses consist of four CS or closely-related courses plus either two courses in which work is towards completion of a research project or two graduate-level CS courses. Students must have a B average over all courses used to satisfy the requirements. All courses must be taken for a grade, and all grades must be C or better (S's may not be used).

Alumni Careers

Contact and Location

Department of computer science, mailing address.

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PhD Visit Day Information - March 16-17, 2023

Congratulations on your acceptance to Brown's Computer Science Ph.D. program! We have an exciting agenda of events planned for you to get to know professors, other students, the department culture, and the campus environment. We can't wait to have you join our community and look forward to sharing our experiences here with you! 

For more information on Brown CS, browse the links at the top of the page. You can also see the current faculty by face or by research interests .

Your hosts this year are Catherine Chen , Kuang-Chen Lu , and  Shijie Wang . If you have any questions about the recruiting weekend or the graduate program at Brown in general, please contact them at [email protected] , or individually !

Q: What will the visit days be like? A: We are hosting a hybrid visit event this year, which means you have the ability to come in person if you wish (yay!) or join over Zoom at your convenience.  We will also use Slack to coordinate events - be sure to check out the schedule for the appropriate links!

Q: I'm not in the Slack! What do I do? A: If you haven't received one yet by mistake, reach out to one of Catherine, KC, or Shijie, and we'll be sure to send you a personal invitation!

Q: Will the events be recorded? A: Yes! All Zoom programming from the event was recorded. You can access them in a Google drive folder here .

Q: I can't make it for the live scheduled events! What do I do? A: Don't worry -- even though we would prefer you attend the main event, you can still visit another time. Please contact us to arrange your visit.

Computer Science at Brown University Providence, Rhode Island 02912 USA Phone: 401-863-7600 Map & Directions / Contact Us