The principal considerations for entry into any doctoral program should be the individual student's aptitudes and a powerful motivation to pursue a career in research and/or university teaching.

The Ph.D. degree, while necessary for college teaching and for research, within either a university or an industrial setting, is not a prerequisite for the vast majority of jobs in the computing field. Entering this program should be considered only by those individuals who have done exceptionally well in their previous university studies in computer science, mathematics or a related science.

However, there are some individuals who may have concentrated in other areas of study as undergraduates and later discovered a considerable aptitude – even a passion – for the subject of computer science, and have gone on to pursue the doctorate successfully.

In some instances professional workers who have been involved in the field for years, and who may have become dissatisfied with the limited intellectual horizons available to them may then seek the opportunity to work at the frontiers of computer science, an opportunity that participation in a doctoral program of high quality can provide. Students with outstanding undergraduate records and sterling recommendations to be admitted as matriculated candidates in the Program directly after receiving the bachelor's degree.

Any individual seriously considering applying for entrance into the Ph.D. Program in Computer Science should obtain a copy of The Graduate Center Bulletin and The GC Student Handbook: both sources provide an excellent and comprehensive guide to Graduate School policy and services. These publications are available for pick-up at the Office of Admissions and the Registrar's Office.

Additionally, the following offices can provide answers to many of the most commonly-encountered problems an applicant – or new student, for that matter – may face: