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All Graduate School regulations and procedures apply. It is the student's responsibility to read and understand the LSU Graduate School requirements, such as time limitations and residency requirements. The basic process for satisfying the degree requirements for the doctorate is as follows:

The student, immediately upon entering the program, contacts the Graduate Advisor of the Department of Computer Science, who serves as the interim advisor. The student and his/her advisor together assess the student's curriculum requirements, and the student begins to schedule courses. A beginning student normally takes three years of graduate course work above the baccalaureate.
During the first year of enrollment, the student should initially consider a research specialization area and request a major professor who is involved in that area and is willing to supervise the student's research. The major professor is chosen from the Graduate Faculty in the Department of Computer Science.

In the event that the research area requires additional supervision from a faculty member not in the Department of Computer Science, a “research advisor” must also be chosen from the Graduate Faculty in that area, subject to approval by the major professor and the Graduate Advisor.
By the end of the first year of study, the student should file a plan of study, which specifies research goals and curriculum plans. Once the student's advisory committee, the Chairman of the Department of Computer Science, and the Graduate School, has accepted the plan of study, the student becomes an applicant for the doctorate. Moreover, the student can now begin to fulfill the residency requirement, which consists of two successive regular semesters of full-time coursework.

With this plan of study, the student requests an advisory committee consisting of the major professor and at least two other faculty members from the Graduate Faculty in the Department of Computer Science. If the student has chosen to have a minor field of study, a professor from the Graduate Faculty in the minor field must be added to the advisory committee. Although each student is responsible for his/her own progress through the program, the advisory committee is responsible for ensuring that the student's curriculum is of high academic quality and appropriate to allow the student to pursue his/her research and career goals. The committee, chaired by the major professor, also advises the Graduate Advisor and the Chairman of the Department of Computer Science on matters concerning the student. The committee is nominated by the Chairman of the Department of Computer Science and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. At least two members of the advisory committee must be full members of the Graduate Faculty; the other members of the committee can be full or associate members of the Graduate Faculty.
The student continues the course work, as indicated in the plan of study.

The central focus of the doctoral program is research. The student is encouraged to begin as soon as possible to participate in research, often guided by ongoing faculty research projects. Students should also develop dissertation research plans as early as is reasonable. To facilitate this effort, the student should consider taking reading courses and seminars in the appropriate areas.
The student requests permission to take the Written General Examination.
After the student has passed the Written General Examination, the student must submit a written proposal of his/her doctoral research project to the student's committee. The proposal will be discussed and defended before the student's advisory committee in the oral general examination. In order to keep the advisory committee informed of progress, the student must meet with the committee at least once every regular semester after the oral defense of the dissertation proposal.
Once the student passes the oral examination, the student is admitted to candidacy for the degree. The student should now begin to take the CSC 9000 dissertation research course, if he/she has not already begin to do so. At least nine hours of CSC 9000 must be taken.
The student carries out the proposed dissertation research, writes the dissertation, and submits it to his/her advisory committee.
The student defends the dissertation in a public oral examination before his/her advisory committee. Formal approval of the dissertation by the committee and by the Graduate School constitutes completion of the requirements for the doctoral degree. The Ph.D. dissertation must be submitted to committee members at least two weeks prior to the final examination date. The room, time, and date of the presentation examination, along with the names of the candidate and advisory committee members, and the title and abstract of the dissertation, must be announced in advance by e-mail to gradsec@bit.csc.lsu.edu (at least three working days before the exam). Failure to follow this policy is sufficient cause for postponement of that date.