The University of North Florida in Jacksonville has unveiled its first Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program, to add to the other prestigious doctoral programs offered at UNF. The new Ph.D. in Computing is now accepting applications and will open in Fall 2024.  

While UNF already offers professional doctoral degrees such as the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and the Doctor of Education Degree (EdD), the new Ph.D. in Computing is a traditional research-based doctorate and can lead to research-focused careers in academia, industry or government. 

“As UNF's first Ph.D. program, this serves as an important step in UNF’s evolution as a top research university,” said Dr. William (Chip) Klostermeyer, dean of UNF’s College of Computing, Engineering and Construction. “It will help us recruit new faculty and students as well as enable new partnerships with local industry, other universities and funding agencies. We spent many years working to establish a Ph.D. in the School of Computing and are very proud to have finally received approval.”  

The program offers students an advanced, research-based education in computing to prepare students for research and development roles in private and public sectors and for collegiate academic positions. The curriculum focuses on intelligent systems and cybersecurity, preparing students to conduct research and study a wide range of computing topics, including AI, data mining, computer security and algorithms. Concentrations in cybersecurity and intelligent systems will be available.  

The cybersecurity concentration is focused on studying the concepts, theories and security foundations of computing and communication systems to develop innovative solutions for enhancing the security of computing environments and to contribute to cybersecurity literature. 

The intelligent systems concentration focuses on studying theories, concepts and systems inspired by the intelligent behaviors of humans, species and biological systems. The program encourages multidisciplinary research approaches and prioritizes research problems with direct economic and community impacts.  

For more information and to apply, visit the Ph.D. in Computing webpage.