Update 18 Oct 2023: The department is modifying PhD requirements, so this guide is outdated.

Wondering what classes to take in your first year? Here are some quick recommendations (and an overview of the CIS PhD course requirements). Scroll down for the TLDR.

Table of Contents

CIS Course Requirements

Note: Course codes changed from three digits to four digits (ie: Software Foundations used to by CIS 500 but is not CIS 5000) in spring of 2022. If you see any course codes with only three digits, just add a zero at the end.

In general, CIS PhD students need to take eight courses: four WPE-Is and four seminars. A WPE-I, or Written Preliminary Exam One, is basically a “core” course or breadth requirement. If you’ve heard of them, it’s basically our department’s version of qualifiers or qualifying exams.

You can choose four WPE-Is out of a list of eight, and these eight choices are split into two buckets: foundations and systems.

  • Foundations: 5000 (Software Foundations), 5020 (Analysis of Algorithms), 5110 (Theory of Complexity), 5200 (Machine Learning)
  • Systems: 5050 (Software Systems), 5550 (Internet and Web Systems), 5480 (OS), 5710 (Architecture)

Another note: People often refer to courses by their number, and the change to the four-digit course code system is very recent, so you may hear people talk about “five hundred” rather than “five thousand” or “Software Foundations.”

You need to pass at least one from each bucket, and systems WPE-Is must be passed by achieving the appropriate course grade—you must take the class (and do the homework). Some foundations classes allow you to pass the WPE-I by taking the class or passing the final exam. Official passing thresholds are posted on Piazza at the beginning of every semester.

If you’d like to attempt the WPE-I exam without taking the class, wait for Britton to send the sign-up form at the end of the semester that it’s offered, usually a week before finals week. If you “exam out” of a WPE-I, you do not need to take another class in its place. If you really wanted to, you could theoretically exam out of three foundations WPE-Is and just take one systems class.

The four seminars can be any graduate-level seminar in the University. Yes, any of them. In general, this means any class with the course code 500 and above. Research credits, like 899, don’t count. If you have a masters, you should be able to get two of these courses waived.

When in doubt (or just in case), ask Mayur Naik (Graduate Group Chair) or Britton Carnevali (CIS Academic Coordinator)!

The Masters Along the Way

The PhD course requirements are basically a masters—and if you fulfill the course requirements for the MSE in CIS, you can receive a masters while working on your PhD. It’s actually not that hard to align your courses!

The MSE requires ten courses, and seven of them must be CIS courses. These seven courses include four core courses (taking four WPE-I courses, not examming out, will cover these) and three CIS elective courses (any CIS course numbered 5XXX to 7XXX, and at most one 7000 topics course). The remaining three courses can be any CIS 5XXX-8XXX or approved non-CIS course (you can take another CIS 7000 topics course for this category). You can also petition to have an unlisted course approved. You can even use two independent study credits as electives with advisor approval!

Contact Swapneel Sheth (Director and Program Chair of the CIS/MSE program) at swapneel@seas.upenn.edu and Redian Furxhiu (CIS/MSE Program Coordinator) at redian@seas.upenn.edu with questions or course approval requests.

TLDR

  • MSE = 4 Core Classes + (2 advisor-approved independent studies + 1 CIS elective) + 3 electives
  • PhD = 4 WPE-Is + 4 seminars
  • MSE-along-the-way = 4 WPE-Is + 2 independent studies + 1 CIS elective + 3 electives

Just plan your seminar classes well and you can get the masters without much extra trouble.

PhD Milestones at a Glance

  • WPE-I (also known as qualifying exams): pass 4 by the end of second year
  • Seminars: pass 4 by the end of second year
  • WPE-II (also known as the candidacy exam): a (~10K words) written report and oral presentation (by the end of second year)
  • Teaching Practicum: TA two CIS classes
  • Dissertation Proposal Defense: write and defend your dissertation proposal (outline of about a year’s worth of work to finish your dissertation) by the end of fourth year
  • Dissertation Defense: write and defend your thesis, become a doctor, and celebrate! (usually done at the end of fifth or sixth year)

If you’re worried about the timing of some of these milestones, talk with your advisor or the Graduate Group Chair! The department is willing to work with you and has made adjustments for other students in the past. You can do it!

TLDR

In your first semester, take 1 WPE-I, 1 graduate-level seminar, and 1 independent study. Depending on your previous experience, you may be ready to take more classes or get involved more heavily in research. Be sure to discuss your plans with your advisor.

Modified on June 14, 2022, to reflect course code changes from three digits to four digits (ie: 7000 instead of 700), advisor approval for counting CIS 8990, contact informaton for CIS/MSE, and Piazza post for seminar courses.