• Curriculum & Sessions
    This Ph.D. program is applicable for all doctoral students (including the international and those from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) enrolled in Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI) in the Data Science and Information Technology area.

Educational Objective

Cultivate doctoral students to be academic leaders and future industry scientists.
  • Work Plan
    Within the first three weeks, all Ph.D. students need to complete the work plan for the curriculum advised and approved by the Advisor group and submit to the Graduate Office. During the registration of each semester, students can modify their work plan after approval from Advisor group and submit to the Graduate Office.
  • Normative Time
    Normative Time is the elapsed time, calculated to the nearest semester, which students would need to complete all requirements for the doctorate, assuming that they are engaged in full-time study and making adequate progress toward their degrees. Normative Times for doctoral programs have been recommended by TBSI faculty and approved by the Academic Advisory Committee (AAC). The typical Normative Time is 4 to 5 years for doctoral students without Master’s degrees and 3 to 4 years for those with Master’s degrees.
  • Preliminary Requirements (Prelim)
    All Ph.D. students are expected to take and pass TBSI preliminary examination within 2 years after admission. The exam will be in a form of interview and written exam, and an exam committee that consists of TBSI core-PIs will evaluate students’ level of mastery of professional knowledge required for academic research in specific areas. The Qualifying Examination may not be taken and application for study at UC Berkeley shall not be submitted until the pass for the Preliminary Requirement is issued.
  • Qualifying Examination (Quals) and Progress to Date
    The Qualifying Examination is an important checkpoint meant to show that students are on a promising research track toward the Ph.D. degree. The Qualifying Examination includes the presentation and defense of a thesis proposal. The Quals Exam Committee formed by four TBSI Core-PI shall not only evaluate the student's thesis proposal but also his/her progress to date. The student needs to submit a write-up Quals report at the same time.Quals Deadlines: The Qualifying Examination must be taken before the end of the fourth year and at least one semester before the final defense.
  • Annual Progress Report
    After completing their Prelim or their second year of residency (whichever comes first), students are required to submit an annual progress report including the progress of their study and research in the past year, objectives and work plans for the next stage, and etc. After being reviewed by advisor (group), students are required to improve their work as suggested if their research progress is deemed as unsatisfactory. For another unsatisfactory of the annual progress, a student will receive further recommendations of diversion.

Dissertation and Final Defense

  • Students shall spend a minimum of two years of actual research on their doctoral dissertation. Doctoral dissertation shall be written in English. Dissertation review: The dissertation should be reviewed by the Advisor group firstly and then peer-reviewed by at least two other faculties or industrial experts (from home and abroad respectively). Only being approved by the AAC, industrial expert(s) are eligible to serve as dissertation reviewer. After dissertation review, a doctoral candidate needs to apply, schedule and give a final defense to his/her dissertation. After passing the final defense, a doctoral candidate can submit his/her Ph.D. degree application to the AAC.
  • Course Credit Requirements
    All doctoral students will be advised by Advisor group formed by the professors from Tsinghua University, UC Berkeley, and TBSI full-time faculty members. After the completion of the program requirements and approval from the AAC, doctoral students will be awarded by interdisciplinary doctoral diploma from Tsinghua University and visiting certificate from UC Berkeley.