Information Technology PhD Program

Doctoral Program

The PhD in Information Technology provides a research-intensive focus in the interdisciplinary areas of information systems, cyber security, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This program prepares individuals for careers in academia, government, and/or industry.

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Why Pursue a Information Technology PhD

Commitment to research and a passion for teaching are two of the qualities that distinguish both our doctoral faculty and our graduates. Doctoral students work closely with faculty members in small classes, seminars, research projects and other assignments, aimed towards developing the analytical skills competencies to conduct independent quality research. Full-time professionals can balance career and education by completing the program as a part-time student.

Research Opportunities

In the Alvarez College of Business, faculty consistently publishes in premier information systems journals, such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, and Journal of Management Information Systems, and premier cyber security and data analytics journals such as IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, and IEEE Transactions on Big Data. Faculty publications are also listed as highly cited (top 1% in discipline) and hot (top 0.1% in discipline) on the Thomson Reuters (now known as Clarivate Analytics) Web of Science database. In turn, this also helps students keep current and aware of trends/changes in the fields of Information Systems, Cyber Security, Data Analytics and AI.

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National Endorsements

UTSA has been designated as a Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security in the areas of CAE-Education, CAE-Operations and CAE-Research and is one of only 10 institutions in the nation to achieve all three designations.

Admission & Application Requirements

Applications are submitted through the UTSA Graduate Application. Please upload all required documents (listed below) on your UTSA Graduate Application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure completion and submission of the application, a nonrefundable application fee, and all required supporting documents are on file with UTSA by the appropriate application deadline.

Information Technology (PhD)
	Required Degree	Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or have proof of equivalent training at a foreign institution.
	Minimum GPA	3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) Departments may consider GPA of last 60 semester credit hours
	Coursework	18 credit hours in an area related to this graduate degree and at least 12 hours must be at the upper-division level.
	Transcripts*	Required from all institutions attended; international transcripts must be recorded/translated to English
	Credential Evaluation	Required if you have earned university-level credit from foreign institutions. Submit an evaluation of your transcripts from Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) directly from the graduate admission application platform
	GRE/GMAT	Required scores not older than five years.
	English Language Proficiency	550 TOEFL Paper / 79 TOEFL Internet / 6.5 IELTS / Duolingo 100
	Purpose Statement	Required
	Resume	Required
	Letters of Recommendation	3 academic or professional reference(s) demonstrating your attributes for successful completion of this program (you will request these through the Graduate Admissions Application; let your recommenders know of your deadline to ensure submissions are on time)
*Unofficial transcripts will be taken into consideration for admissions; however, if admitted into the program, you must submit official transcripts to the University.

Apply 2023-24 Application Apply 2024-25 Application

Application Deadlines

Applicants are encouraged to have their admission file completed as early as possible. All applications, required documents and letters of recommendation, if applicable, must be submitted by 5:00 PM U.S. Central Time on the day of the deadline. Deadlines are subject to change.

Information Technology (PhD)
Completed applications will be reviewed for admission on a rolling basis. Decisions generally will be made and sent to applicants within 4 to 6 weeks of receiving the application.
Academic Year 2023-24	International	Domestic
Fall 2023	February 1	February 1
Spring 2024	September 1	September 1
Summer 2024	Not Available	Not Available
Academic Year 2024-25	International	Domestic
Fall 2024	February 1	February 1
Spring 2025	September 1	September 1
Summer 2025	Not Available	Not Available

Funding Opportunities

Full-time PhD students are generally funded with our financial package which consists of a research or teaching assistantship with paid tuition and fees for up to four (4) years. Part-time PhD students do not qualify for guaranteed funding however additional resources may be available.

Career Options

UTSA prepares you for future careers that are in demand. The possible careers below is data pulled by a third-party tool called Emsi, which pulls information from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, online job postings, other government databases and more to give you regional and national career outlook related to this academic program.

While in a doctoral program, a student may earn a master’s degree provided the following conditions are satisfied:

A student must be admitted to candidacy.
A student is eligible to receive a master’s degree upon completion of University-wide requirements and any additional degree requirements specific to the program.
The Doctoral Studies Committee, Department Chair, and the Graduate Associate Dean of the College must recommend students for the degree.
The student must apply for graduation by the published deadline the semester prior to awarding the doctoral degree.
All required coursework in the doctoral program at the time of admission to candidacy must have been taken within the previous six years.
If the master’s degree requires a thesis, the degree cannot be awarded on the basis of the doctoral qualifying examination.
Students will not be approved for an additional master’s degree in the same field in which an individual has previously received a master’s degree.

This program will admit full-time as well as part-time students for a Fall term start. This program will only admit part-time students for a Spring term start. Full-time students will normally be expected to enroll for nine hours each long semester, and three hours in the summer semester while part time students are expected to enroll for a minimum of three credit hours each semester. Courses are offered at a variety of times during the semester. Funded full-time students normally serve as either a teaching assistant or research assistant throughout the program.