Computer Science

PhD, Specialization in Applied Data Science

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION 

FULL ASSISTANTSHIPS (TUITION AND STIPEND) ARE AVAILABLE.  ALL AREAS OF INTEREST IN DATA SCIENCE ARE WELCOME.  it is recommended to APPLY BY MARCH 5TH FOR FULL CONSIDERATION FOR FALL SEMESTER. 

Overview 

A joint specialization program with the Cleveland Clinic.  The Department of Computer Science (CS) offers programs of course work and research leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, Applied Data Science Specialization, which is run as a joint venture with the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute (LRI).  Department faculty and staff members of LRI work in cooperation to offer graduate training in data science in relation to medical and biological sciences. Students will be provided with a unique opportunity to conduct research at one of the nation’s top medical research institutes.  

Classes are taken on the CSU campus, and the research is performed either on the ever-expanding Cleveland Clinic campus (a short, 3-mile bus ride from CSU on the Healthline) or on the CSU campus. 

WH Outside Photo 2
$40 Million Washkewicz College of Engineering Building Expansion

Overhead View of Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute
Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute 

Faculty and Research  

The faculty of the Applied Data Science program include members from the Departments of Computer Science, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Math and Statistics, and Physics at CSU, and over 30 adjunct faculty members from the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.  The ADS faculty at CSU and at the Cleveland Clinic conduct their world-recognized  research  in the following areas: 

  1. Biomedical data science and informatics to solve challenging problems in biology, medicine and public health by applying concepts and methods from computer science and data science together with principles of information science. 
  2. Data ethics; Bias in medical information, Fairness in and fairness via AI, Health privacy, and Cybersecurity in healthcare. 
  3. High performance computing infrastructure, including hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing technologies, to empower big data medical research. 

CSU and the Cleveland Clinic offer a vibrant research environment, including top-notch research facilities, core technical support, weekly technical seminars, and social programs.  

Course Requirements 

The program provides a foundation built on fundamentals in computer and data science topics.  In-depth knowledge in the specific field of interest is gained from advanced courses in engineering and sciences.   In brief, the course requirements for the ADS program include: 

Core ADS courses

CIS 606 – Analysis of Algorithms
CIS 666 - Artificial Intelligence
CIS 667 - Bioinformatics
STA 567 – Applied Regression Models

  • Two courses in advanced engineering mathematics (e.g., STA 524 Probability and Mathematical Statistics, STA 536 Design and Analysis of Experiments)
  • One course in research communications (e.g., ESC 720 Research Communications, BIO 785 Practical Grant Writing)
  • Two courses from outside of engineering, in areas such as biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, health sciences
  • Ten credits of engineering electives; options include 600-level CIS, EEC, BME and STA courses.
  • Students who do not have a degree in a computing field will be recommended to take CIS 545 Architecture and Operating Systems and CIS 550 Introduction to Algorithms before taking three CIS core subjects. Note that these two 500-level courses are counted toward the PhD in Engineering degree.

For PhD program details, see the  Graduate Catalog. 
For details about the ADS Qualifying Exam, see this. 
PDF icon ADS-QE-policy.pdf

Program Committee

Brian Davis, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Affairs
Washkewicz College of Engineering, CSU
https://engineering.csuohio.edu/dean/deans-office-administration

Nolan Holland, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor, Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering
Washkewicz College of Engineering, CSU
https://facultyprofile.csuohio.edu/csufacultyprofile/detail.cfm?FacultyI...

Chansu Yu, PhD
Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Washkewicz College of Engineering, CSU
https://academic.csuohio.edu/yu-chansu/

Paul Bishop, PhD, RVT
Director, Vascular Core Laboratory
Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute (Miller Family), Cleveland Clinic
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/heart/research-innovations/re...

Daniel Blankenberg, PhD
Assistant Staff, Genomic Medicine Institute
Lerner Research Institute of Cleveland Clinic
https://www.lerner.ccf.org/genomic-medicine/blankenberg/

Daniel Rotroff, MSPH, PhD
Assistant Staff, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences
Lerner Research Institute of Cleveland Clinic
https://lerner.ccf.org/quantitative-health/rotroff/

Program Faculty

All Computer Science program faculty, CSU
Brian Davis, Ph.D., CSU
Nolan Holland, Ph.D., CSU
Chansu Yu, PhD, CSU
Paul Bishop, PhD, RVT, Cleveland Clinic
Daniel Blankenberg, PhD, Cleveland Clinic
Daniel Rotroff, MSPH, PhD, Cleveland Clinic

Balu Krishnan, PhD
Staff, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/research/neurological/epilepsy/advanced-n...

Larisa Tereshchenko, MD, PhD
Associate Staff, Quantitative Health Sciences, Cleveland Clinic
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/staff/29410-larisa-tereshchenko

For Information Contact

Graduate Program Director, ADS 
Department of Computer Science  
Cleveland State University 
2121 Euclid Avenue, FH 212 
Cleveland, OH 44115-2425 
216-687-4604
E-mail: Brian L Davis (b.l.davis@csuohio.edu)
or Chansu Yu (c.yu91@csuohio.edu)