Silicon Valley University
Doctor of Computer Engineering (DCE)
Program Outline and Study Plan
DCE Program Outline
DCE Curriculum:
Minimum 108 semester credit hours of graduate study:
(a). 96 credit hours are required to be graduate course work
o 38 credit hours of CS/CE graduate core courses
o 19 credit hours of CS/CE 400/500 level graduate elective courses
o 18 credit hours of MBA 400/500 level business focus courses
o 21 credit hours of DCE 600 level advanced concentration courses, including 3 credit
hours of required Research Seminar (CE689) course.
(b). 12 credit hours are required in doctoral thesis or capstone research project work
(c). Minimum 3 years and Maximum 7 years to complete the degree
(d). DCE is an advanced professional degree with concentration in Software/Database
Systems Design or Hardware/Embedded Systems Design.
(1). CS/CE Graduate Core Courses (38 Credit Hours):
All DCE graduate students need to be successfully completed 38 or more credit hours in the selected core requirement area. The required core courses are listed in the following:
CS400M Operating Systems 3 credit hours
CS400M-L Operating Systems Lab 1 credit hour
CS404M Compilers 3 credit hours
CS440M Computer Networks I 3 credit hours
CE450M Computer Architecture I 3 credit hours
CE454 Microprocessor Design 3 credit hours
CE454M-L Microprocessor Design Lab 1 credit hour
CS500 Operating System Design 3 credit hours
CS502 Design and Analysis of Algorithms 3 credit hours
CS520 Database System Principles 3 credit hours
CS540 Computer Networks II 3 credit hours
CE550 Computer Architecture II 3 credit hours
CE560 Embedded Computer Systems Design 3 credit hours
(2). CS/CE 400/500 Level Graduate Elective Courses (To Elect 19 Credit Hours)
All DCE graduate students need to be successfully completed 19 or more credit hours in CS/CE selected requirement area. The required CS/CE 400/500 level elective courses are listed in the following:
CE456 Fundamentals of VLSI Design 3 credit hours
CE460 Introduction to Embedded Systems 3 credit hours
CE460M-L Introduction to Embedded Systems Lab 1 credit hour
CS522 Database Administration 3 credit hours
CS524 Transaction Processing and Distributed Databases 3 credit hours
CS541 Internetworking with TCP/IP 3 credit hours
CS542 Network Management 3 credit hours
CS543 UNIX Network Programming 3 credit hours
CS544 Network Administration 3 credit hours
CS560 Software Engineering 3 credit hours
CS561 Software Design and Architecture 3 credit hours
CE562 Embedded Software Design 3 credit hours
CS562 Software Quality Assurance 3 credit hours
CE572 Embedded Hardware Design 3 credit hours
CE596-001 Digital Design with FPGA’s 3 credit hours
CE596-004 ASIC CMOS Design 3 credit hours
CE596-006 System On Chip (SoC) Design 3 credit hours
CE596-007 Real Time Computer System 3 credit hours
CE596-008 IC Placement & Routing Design 3 credit hours
CS596-011 Web Data Mining 3 credit hours
(3). Business and Management Focus 400/500 Level Courses (To Elect 18 Credit Hours)
All DCE graduate students need to be successfully completed 18 credit hours in selected Business and Management focus area.
The required 400/500 level Business and Management elective courses are listed in the following:
BA505 Managerial Accounting 3 credit hours
BA515 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 3 credit hours
BA544 Project Management 3 credit hours
BA548 Managing Innovation & Technology 3 credit hours
BA551 Operational Management 3 credit hours
BA553 Business Process Management 3 credit hours
(4). DCE 600 Level Advanced Concentration Courses (To Elect 21 Credit Hours)
All DCE graduate students can declare a concentration in one of the following areas: hardware & embedded systems, or software
& database systems under the condition that they successfully complete 21 or more credit hours of advanced electives in the selected concentration area. The 3 credit hours of Research Seminar course CE697 is required for all DCE candidates. The required 600 level advanced concentration courses are listed in the following:
CS600 Advanced Operating Systems 3 credit hours
CS602 Advanced Design and Analysis of Algorithms 3 credit hours CS620 Advanced Database System and Application 3 credit hours CS621 Distributed and Parallel Database Systems 3 credit hours CS622 Advanced Business Intelligence and Analytics 3 credit hours CS640 Advanced Network System Development 3 credit hours
CE650 Advanced Computer Architecture 3 credit hours
CE651 Parallel Computer Architecture 3 credit hours
CS660 Advanced Software Engineering 3 credit hours
CE671 Advanced VLSI Physical Design 3 credit hours
CE672 Advanced ASIC Chip Synthesis 3 credit hours
CE697 Research Seminar (May be Repeated) 1 credit hour
Total Research Seminar credits required 3 credit hours
(5). Doctoral Research (Minimum 12 Credit Hours)
Students enrolled in the DCE program are required to demonstrate competency in research. After passing the Written Comprehensive Examination and Written Qualifying Examination, upon approval from the doctoral advisor, the students will enroll in Doctoral Research (DCE698 and DCE699) courses each trimester to build the ability of investigating computer engineering problems and demonstrate contribution to knowledge in the field.
The student must write a thesis to document the findings and pass an oral thesis defense requirement to defend the thesis. The thesis must be made available to all examiners one month prior to the examination. The oral defense shall consist of a presentation of the results of the thesis and the defense of thesis findings under challenges from examiners. This examination is open to all faculty members of Silicon Valley University, but only members of the Doctoral Research Committee have a vote. The Doctoral Research Committee will decide if the candidate will be awarded the Doctoral Degree of Computer Engineering (DCE)
Admission Requirements for DCE Students:
(1) Minimum GPA is 2.750 for applicants with Bachelor’s degree (2) Minimum GPA is 3.000 for applicants with Master degree
(3) Minimum TOEFL score is 550 for international students whose native language is not English (4) GRE score is used as an admission reference
Examinations for DCE Students:
(a) Written Comprehensive Examination
The examinations for concentration in Software/Database Systems will include the following six subjects:
1. CS440M Computer Networks I 2. CE450M Computer Architecture I 3. CS500 Operating System Design
4. CS502 Design and Analysis of Algorithms 5. CS520 Database System principle
6. CS540 Computer Networks II
The examination for concentration in Hardware/Embedded Systems will include the following six subjects:
1. CS400M Operating Systems 2. CS440M Computer Networks I 3. CE450M Computer Architecture I 4. CS540 Computer Networks II 5. CE550 Computer Architecture II
6. CE570 IC Design
The minimum passing score is 420 points (70%) with no single subject below 60 points. Students can only have twice opportunities to pass this examination
(b) Written Qualifying Examination .
For students concentrated in the Software/Database Systems, the examination will include the following six subjects:
1. CS600 Advanced Operating Systems
2. CS602 Advanced Design and Analysis of Algorithms 3. CS620 Advanced Database System and Application 4. CS622 Advanced Business Intelligence and Analytics 5. CS640 Advanced Network System Development 6. CS660 Advanced Software Engineering
For students concentrated in the Hardware/Embedded Systems, the examination will include the following six subjects:
1. CS600 Advanced Operating Systems
2. CS640 Advanced Network System Development 3. CE650 Advanced Computer Architecture 4. CE651 Parallel Computer Architecture 5. CE671 Advanced VLSI Physical Design 6. CE672 Advanced ASIC Chip Synthesis
The minimum passing score is 450 points (75%) with no single subject below 70 points. Students can only have twice opportunities to pass this examination
Advance to DCE Candidacy:
(1) Earned BS or MS degree at accredited institute
(2) Total GPA in the DCE course work is above 3.3 (B+ average) (3) Successfully pass Written Comprehensive Examination (4) Successfully pass Written Qualifying Examination
Approval of Research Proposal:
After successfully passing Written Comprehensive Examination and Written Qualifying Examination, the DCE candidate will work with his Doctoral Research Advisor to present a research proposal to the Doctoral Research Committee and obtain approval from the committee.
Final Oral Capstone Research Project/Thesis Defense:
Five committee members with one from outside the university must be unanimously vote “Yes” to pass. Candidates only have single opportunity to pass this examination. Oral Defense Committee members: Thesis Advisor, Two faculty from CS/CE Department, One Faculty from Business/Management Department, and One faculty from outside SVU.
Publication of Research Results:
During course of study, DCE students are highly encouraged to submit articles for publication in academic journals or present in conferences that is related to their field of specialization.
Graduation Requirements for DCE Students:
(1) Completion of 96 credit hours of course work (2) Pass the Written Comprehensive Examination (3) Pass the Written Qualifying Examination
(4) Completion of 12 credit hours of doctoral capstone research/thesis (5) Pass the oral thesis defense
(6) Overall GPA 3.300 or higher
