Guide to Artificial Intelligence PhD Programs

What does an artificial intelligence PhD program entail?

Doctoral programs differ between schools and between countries. In the U.S., they generally last between five and seven years, during which many students receive fellowships or assistantships that include tuition remission and a stipend to cover living costs. To earn the doctorate, students typically fulfill coursework, examinations, and dissertation requirements.

Coursework

In the early years of their program, students take graduate-level courses in computer science, applied mathematics, and topics in artificial intelligence. Sometimes, these include remedial courses in programming or mathematics.

Graduate-level courses might include randomness and computation, statistical learning theory, natural language processing, human-computer interaction research, deep learning, and data mining.

Qualifying Examinations

Doctoral students usually have to take two sets of examinations throughout their program. While different schools have different names for these oral and written examinations — qualifying exams, comprehensive exams, preliminary exams, and more — they are typically consistent in their purpose.

The first set of exams, often called breadth exams, is meant to ensure a student has a sufficient grasp of the field of computer science as a whole. The second set, often called depth exams, is meant to ensure a student has developed expertise in relevant areas of the discipline to support their research.

Dissertation Proposal & Defense

After successfully passing the second set of exams, a doctoral student begins writing a dissertation proposal that lays out the purpose, methodology, and anticipated next steps of their research, plus a summary of any research to date.

After successfully defending this proposal in front of some or all members of their dissertation committee, the student is considered ABD — all but dissertation — and can begin writing. Some also consider completion of this phase the beginning of a student’s doctoral candidacy.

Dissertation & Defense

In the final years of their programs, PhD candidates write their dissertations and prepare to defend them in front of a committee of scholars assembled from their departments and the field as a whole. Sometimes candidates also give a public defense for their colleagues, friends, and family.

After successfully defending, incorporating any changes, and depositing their dissertation with their university’s dissertation office, students are awarded their PhD. Throughout their program, these students may also receive one or two master’s degrees en route to the terminal degree.

Academia

Those who stay in academia usually do so because they enjoy teaching, enjoy the freedom to pursue research interests independent of corporate interests, like the flexibility of an academic schedule, want the security of tenure, or a combination of these.

While many artificial intelligence researchers pursue post-doctorates after they finish their PhDs, their ultimate goal will typically be landing a tenure-track assistant professorship at a college or university. In the U.S., Salary.com lists the average salary for an assistant professor in computer science at $86,892. Over time, and after completing the often arduous tenure process, an AI academic can expect to rise to the rank of associate professor and eventually full professor, for which Salary.com lists an average salary of $121,458.

These salaries are substantially lower than what an AI PhD can earn in industry — but this does not mean that academic positions are any less competitive. While universities have been adding AI faculty to provide training for interested undergraduate and graduate students, job openings have not always kept pace with the increasing number of PhDs these programs produce.

Industry

In industry, artificial intelligence PhDs often find roles as high-level machine learning engineers, research scientists, or research directors in tech companies or labs like Google’s DeepMind and Meta AI. In these positions, they typically undertake, design, or direct research to support new products, features, or other initiatives.

Competition for these roles is fierce, in part because compensation, though it can vary widely, is consistently high. An entry-level PhD research scientist role at Google has historically advertised a salary range of $126,000 to $190,000 plus bonus, equity, and benefits. In some cases, according to AI Paygrades, PhD research scientists at top tech companies can earn close to or more than $1,000,000 annually — though, of course, these jobs are few and far between.

Department Profile

While you can expect undergraduate and master’s programs to have fairly consistent curricula, at the doctoral level the research profile of the department as a whole — an emphasis on computer vision, for example — really starts influencing the kind of research you can undertake there. Often, a department’s profile is evident from its website, faculty, and course offerings, but do not hesitate to reach out to an admissions officer to ask whether its strengths might be a good match for your interests.

Faculty

Core to ensuring a program matches your interests is ensuring that there are faculty members in the department who work in your desired subject areas. More so than in undergraduate and master’s programs, PhD students work closely with their department’s faculty, often on a first-name basis. In the end, a successful dissertation comes down in large part to having a successful relationship with your faculty advisor.

Industry Relationships

One of a program’s biggest advantages can come from the industry relationships it cultivates. These relationships yield not only internship opportunities, but potentially also job pipelines. When looking at programs, check to see if they list industry relationships on their website, email the department directly, or review alumni profiles to see where students interned during their studies.

Location

The location of an AI PhD program is important for the kinds of industry relationships available, but perhaps more importantly, it matters because you will be spending a considerable portion of your life there. As you research, be realistic about whether you want to spend five to seven years in a city. You might also take into account a city’s cost of living, knowing that your only income as you are completing your doctorate will likely be your stipend.