[See below important comments by the translator, Alexander Gelbukh, marked in yellow. These are my personal comments and are not part of the original document.]

[Do read the call, understand the instructions, and follow them exactly! Fortunately, most people don’t, which makes the work of the selection committee easy.]

[This text is not an official document (no guarantee of any kind); for formal purposes refer to the original document linked from the CIC official website. However, do read my comments here, you will find them useful. If you still want to see the original text (but read this page first!), here is the live web version and here is a cached version (maybe outdated).]

CALL
PhD in Computer Science
Spring 2020

Presentation

The National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), via the Computer Research Center (CIC-IPN), calls to those interested in pursuing studies in the PhD Program in Computer Science, face-to-face modality, to start in the January-June 2020 school term on the following bases:

The CIC-IPN offers the PhD in Computer Science (hereafter referred to as DCC), a full-time program designed to train professionals who have a Master of Science and / or Engineering degree and aspire to obtain a PhD degree, to develop research in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

In order to obtain a PhD in Computer Science degree, the student must demonstrate his or her ability to perform original and quality research. For this, the DCC program provides its students with a solid and international quality training, which is recognized and endorsed by the National Quality Postgraduate Program (PNPC) of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT).

Complete information on the DCC Curriculum can be found at the link: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/dcc.

Admission profile

The applicant must have solid knowledge that allows him or her to approach the analysis and design of computer systems, models and algorithms, as well as a good level in the domain of mathematics, which together allow him or her to develop an original and quality research project in the field of computer science.

The applicant must have a Master's degree in Science or a Master's degree in Engineering, as well as have an academic and professional history that demonstrates their academic and intellectual qualities and coherence in their trajectory, which ensures the completion of their doctoral studies in a successful way and in the required times.

Graduation profile

A PhD in Computer Science will have solid knowledge, experience and creativity to carry out scientific research, generating relevant and innovative contributions to provide solutions to scientific and technological problems, in some of the program's specialties.

A PhD in Computer Science will have developed during his or her training process the critical capacity, skills and abilities to solve problems that support and promote the general advancement of knowledge, and that respond to the needs of industry and the public and social sectors, both nationally and internationally. By applying the knowledge acquired and skills developed in their doctoral work, PhD in computer science will be able to promote scientific and technological research, with the implementation of basic and applied research projects.

Admission requirements

To enter the program, the applicant must comply with the requirements established in the IPN Postgraduate Studies Regulation (REP-IPN), chapter I, articles 8, 10, 11 and 12. For more information, check the REP-IPN through the following URL: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/REP/.

The requirements are as follows:

1. To hold an official degree or certificate of completion of undergraduate studies, or equivalent document for applicants who have completed studies abroad.

2. To possess, as the case may be, the degree or certificate of the master's degree exam.

3. To pass the admission process established in this call, demonstrating the ability to continue the studies at the doctoral level, through reaching the minimum score established by the Admission Commission for this process, the result of an interview with said commission, as well as the defense to the presentation of the research proposal for doctoral studies.

4. To prove the mastery of four English language skills based on level B2 of the common European framework of reference for languages, in accordance with the provisions of article 8, section VI and its last paragraph, and the agreement of the Board of Teachers of the Computer Research Center in this regard.

5. Not to have been definitively expelled from any program of the Institute, by reasoned and motivated resolution of the Academic College, unless it has been revoked by said collegiate body.

6. To express, through a letter of reasons and a research proposal for doctoral studies, your interest in developing research in one of the lines promoted by the Center for Computer Research. Computer Research.

Credit revalidation

Those applicants interested in obtaining a revalidation of credits of postgraduate learning units previously studied must submit the application to the teachers' school in accordance with the provisions of articles 15 and 17 of the IPN Postgraduate Studies Regulation.

Requirements for obtaining the degree

Enrolled students must comply with the provisions of article 49 of the Regulation of Postgraduate Studies of the IPN in relation to the requirements for obtaining the degree, as established by agreement of the College of Teachers, namely:

I. To be enrolled in the PhD program in Computer Science.

II. To accredit the pre-doctoral exam.

III. To comply with your final individual program of activities.

IV. To have one of the following products, which should be related to your research work:

1. Scientific or technological article published in a specialized journal that is in levels A, B or C of the Institute's Journal Catalog, or acceptance letter for such publication.

2. Patent registration before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property.

The tutorial committee will evaluate the concordance of the products with the student's research work, and will take the result of the evaluation for the approval of the Board of Teachers.

V. To develop a doctoral thesis with the characteristics indicated in the Regulation of Postgraduate Studies of the IPN.

VI. To pass the degree exam.

Research proposal for doctoral studies

The applicant to enter the Doctorate in Computer Science must begin with the preparation of a research proposal for their doctoral studies, which must be carried out under the supervision of a proposing professor. This proposal will form a part of the research file of the applicant.

In this proposal, the applicant will present a tentative research topic. The proposing professor is a CIC-IPN professor with a PhD degree who proposes the applicant’s admission to the DCC as his or her possible thesis advisor.

The PhD research proposal must include the following items:

[Some years ago, they required exactly 15 pages. Then I heard that 4-5 pages was enough. I would recommend having it nearer to 15 pages if you have time.]

[Please structure the document exactly in these sections. You can add more sections, such as Methodology, Evaluation, etc., but please do have the sections specified below, in the order in which they are specified.]

a. Title of the proposal. [Avoid topics on languages not relevant for Mexico. Language-independent topics are the best. Working on English or Spanish is OK. Any other language would be problematic. After you are admitted, you can change your topic. So you can work on it later on (but discuss it with me now); however, for the official admission process avoid topics like “Modeling sandhi in the Marathi language”: the committee would not find such a topic relevant to Mexico.]

b. Review of related works published in the state of art, in and outside the CIC. [You should include papers by your future advisor (me in this case), to demonstrate that he or she has enough experience in the topic to guide your work. Otherwise, you risk that the jury might decide that your topic is not appropriate for this school because nobody here is an expert in it, and reject your application.]

c. Preliminary description of the problem to be solved.

d. General objective.

d. Goals (specific objectives).

f. Possible expected results and the relevance of the scientific contribution that is expected to be obtained.

g. Tentative program of activities.

h. Resources needed for the development of the proposal. [This is not a place to request resources; instead, this is a place to prove that nothing is missing. Don’t ask for too much resources, or the jury can decide that the school does not have necessary resources for your topic and reject your application. Do the opposite: show that all necessary resources are already available at our Lab. We have three modern GPU servers; ask me about other resources you might need.]

i. References (include the full text of the main articles in PDF format). [That is, include the full text in PDF of the most relevant papers to which you have references in your proposal. I recommend that you have in your web folder a subfolder References, and there the PDF files numbered according to the reference number in your proposal document, such as “5 - BERT embeddings.pdf” for the paper [5] in your proposal. You do not need to include files for all references, only for the most important ones.]

Admission process

The process begins with the online registration of the applicant. Subsequently, the academic, research and accreditation files must be sent, to subsequently conduct an interview with the Admission Committee for the defense of the research proposal of doctoral studies, as well as an interview for psychometric tests. The complete process is described in the following steps:

[Please send things by the deadline, even if incomplete or incorrect. In this case, is better to send incomplete or incorrect application / file in time, than to send it perfect when it is too late. Incomplete or incorrect application can be completed or corrected later.]

Step 1: Fill in the admission application.

[In this next form, there is a question on how you knew about the program. Please indicate my name there: Prof. Alexander Gelbukh.]

[See my translation and explanation of the steps (though it might be somewhat outdated) before you fill in the next form.]

To do this, you must register your application to start the admission process through the web application available in the following link: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/registroA20/.

Once the application is registered, the applicant will obtain a registration identification key (regID), which will be used subsequently both for sending the files and for obtaining feedback on the progress of the ongoing admission process.

To monitor the progress of the application the applicant must access the following link: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/seguimientoA20DCC/. [There you will see whether your application is received, which of the required documents were accepted, and which documents were missing or were not accepted and thus need urgent correction. Ask your advisor for interpretation of the information there.]

Step 2: Send the Academic File.

The applicant must send the Academic File in the form of a PDF file, which must contain the compilation of the scanned versions of the following documents of the applicant:

a. BSc transcript, where the general score average is specified, as well as the finishing of the same. [This is your BSc transcript.]

b. Bachelor's degree and professional certificate. [This is your BSc diploma. In some countries, only one of the documents (a) or (b) exists; then that one should be enough. See a note below for international applicants.]

c. MSc transcript, indicating the general score average.

d. Diploma and certificate of the Master's degree. In case of being in process of issuing, present the evidence that prove it.

e. Unique Key of the Population Registry (CURP). [This will be obtained when you come to Mexico; no need to submit it now.]

f. Birth certificate.

g. Letter signed by the applicant in which he or she states that he or she has not been expelled from any graduate program of the IPN. [You can use this template.]

h. Admission application form with a small-size photo. This form must be generated through the online registration indicated in Step 1. [Sign this form where at the bottom it says "FIRMA DEL ASPIRANTE" ("SIGNATURE OF THE APPLICANT"), scan it, and submit the scanned image. If you don’t have a scanner, then take a photo of your signature and paste it into the PDF file or its screenshot image.]

The applicant must send [the sooner the better, to detect any problems in time and be able to correct these before the deadline; plus, since the visa paperwork takes much time, the sooner you get your admission the better the chances for you to get your visa in time and to buy your ticket cheaper] an email with a PDF file named DCC01-regID.pdf [change here regID to the number on your application form, e.g., DCC01-1234.pdf], which must contain the Academic file, directed to the account admision@cic.ipn.mx, with the email subject DCC01-regID, where regID corresponds to the identifier obtained from the online registration process. The staff of the Department of Educational Technologies will provide acknowledgment of receipt and feedback about the information received in said file.

[Whatever you send to them, always send it with a copy to your advisor -- me in this case.]

Notes for foreign applicants.

Proof of studies abroad such as the bachelor's degree, transcript, [also MSc degree and transcript] as well as birth certificate [5 documents: BSc and MSc diplomas, BSc and MSc transcripts, birth certificate], must be submitted with their translation into Spanish and duly legalized (apostilled). The sending of the professional certificate does not apply to foreign applicants. The sending of the CURP is not mandatory for foreign applicants, who, if admitted, will receive this code at the time of regularizing their immigration status once they enter to Mexico.

[For application, you may send the documents without legalization (apostille), which can be provided later upon acceptance. Send what you can (before the deadline!); later you can complete or correct it.]

[Please send all documents that are not in English or Spanish, always along with translation. At the moment of application, you can provide your own homemade translation into English, and the official translation into Spanish can be provided upon acceptance. In your own translation, you can translate the important / relevant parts, for us to understand what the document says.]

For more information on procedures for foreign applicants, see the following link: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/aspirantesExtranjeros/. [This page seems to have information you need after admission. It is good for you to read it now and start preparations, but it seems to have nothing that you need to understand at the moment of submission.]

Step 3: Send the Research File.

The applicant must send the Research File in the form of a link that allows the download of the electronic version of the following documents, organized in folders according to the following:

a. PDF document containing your PhD research proposal. [See the section “Research proposal” above and follow exactly the instructions there.]

b. PowerPoint file containing the presentation of your research proposal for doctoral studies, with a maximum length of 15 sheets. [This can be less formal and more understandable to experts: this is what you will present to the jury of experts at your interview. They will ask real questions on this presentation.]

C. Nomination letter signed by the proposing professor. [That is, if I will be your advisor (= proposing professor), then I provide this letter to you; ask me for it.]

d. Curriculum Vitae of the applicant.

e. Letter of reasons to enter the program. [Explain in free form why you decided to study here. E.g., you have read my papers and were impressed and motivated by them. It is a plus for you if you explicitly mention that you are already familiar with our publications.]

f. Three letters of recommendation in free format, issued by researchers with a PhD degree, at least one of which must have affiliation different from the institution where the applicant studied his or her master's degree. These letters must express an opinion about the applicant's competitiveness and abilities based on the research work carried out and the results obtained.

The applicant must send an email containing the URL for downloading of the research file to the account admision@cic.ipn.mx, with the email subject DCC03regID, where regID corresponds to the identifier obtained from the registration process online, within the dates established in this call. The DCC Coordination will acknowledge receipt of said file.

[Whatever you send to them, always send it with a copy to your advisor -- me in this case.]

[It is better if you send me your docs before sending your docs to them, for me to advise you on whether your docs are OK. However, if we don’t communicate before the deadline, then please go ahead and send the docs in time: it is better to send incomplete or incorrect application in time than to send it perfect when it is too late. Incomplete or incorrect application can be completed or corrected later.]

Step 4: Presentation and defense of the PhD research proposal.

The coordination of the DCC program will provide feedback to the applicant regarding the fulfillment of steps 1 to 3. Once these are fulfilled, the presentation and defense of the research proposal will be scheduled, for which the coordination of the program will inform the applicant on the date, time and jury assigned. The presentation must have a maximum duration of 20 minutes and will take place in the presence of the proposing professor, who will participate as a member of the jury.

In the case of those applicants residing abroad or outside the metropolitan area of Mexico City, the presentation before the Admission Commission will be done through the videoconferencing system via the Internet. The scheduling of said appointment will be agreed directly with the applicant via email.

Step 5: Attend an interview with the Admission Committee.

The applicant must hold an interview with the Admission Committee, for which he or she must attend the facilities of the CIC-IPN, according to the date and time schedule, which will be indicated through the contact email and can be consulted in the “Admission Process” section of the official portal of the CIC-IPN.

This interview consists of the realization of three psychometric tests, whose application will be in charge of psychology professionals, with the objective of identifying the compatibility between their psychological profile and the entrance profile of the doctoral program, in order to favor success in their academic training.

The estimated time of these tests is 4 hours. It is recommended to have had enough rest the night before and have had breakfast beforehand.

In the case of those applicants residing abroad or outside the metropolitan area of Mexico City, the interview with the Admission Committee will be conducted through the videoconferencing system via the Internet. The scheduling of said appointment will be agreed directly with the applicant via email.

Step 6: Send the Accreditation File.

The Accreditation File must be integrated into a PDF file with the collection of the scanned versions of the following documents:

i. Proof of the knowledge of the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE General Test) or Postgraduate Admission Exam (EXADEP). Valid are certificates with a maximum age of up to 5 years at the end of the registration period.

ii. Document proving the mastery of four English language skills.

The applicant must submit the Accreditation File as a PDF file with the name DCC02-regID.pdf, as an attachment to email to the account admision@cic.ipn.mx with the subject DCC02-regID where regID corresponds to the identifier obtained from the online registration process, within the dates established in this call.

About the Graduate Record Examination (GRE General Test), and the Postgraduate Studies Admission Exam (EXADEP)

[EXADEP is a Spanish-language version of the GRE, probably somewhat easier.]

[As you can see below under the admission criteria, only the quantitative reasoning score of the GRE will be considered; the qualitative reasoning and writing scores of the GRE test will be completely ignored, so you may not waste effort on these two sections. One of our students was admitted with no problems having the scores 0 (qualitative) – 170 (quantitative) – 0 (writing). I do not know how EXADEP is structured but there should be some equivalent of those sections in it.]

To schedule and sit for the GRE or EXADEP exam, you must book an appointment through the official Educational Testing Service (ETS) portal. The information to perform GRE can be consulted at https://www.ets.org/gre, while the information regarding EXADEP can be consulted through https://www.ets.org/exadep.

In the case of the GRE test, the following information must be indicated in the list of institutions attached to the ETS:

Code: 7509, Country: Mexico, Institution: National Polytechnic Institute (CIC IPN).

It is important to verify that the date of delivery of the results of these exams is prior to the deadline for the delivery of the accreditation file (see section Important Dates of this call).

About the accreditation of English proficiency in four skills based on Level B2 of the common European framework of reference for languages

The applicant may prove English proficiency through one of the following options:

a. Through the accreditation of any of the English language proficiency certifications endorsed by the IPN Foreign Languages Training Directorate (DFLE-IPN), which can be:

i. Cambridge PET
ii. Cambridge IELTS
iii. Trinity College ISE
iv. TOEFL IBT [I recommend you to request and keep a hard copy certificate. They seem to be reluctant to send certificates to other countries, so if you can, request them to send your certificate to a friend of yours in the US.]
v. TOEIC [I’ve heard that this one is more difficult, but the results are given in one day.]
vi. CENNI

For information about the minimum required score, as well as the validity period recognized for each certification, it is recommended to consult directly the following link http://www.cic.ipn.mx/refDFLE/. [The certificates are accepted only if they are not older than some number of years, even if the certificate itself does not indicate any expiration date -- see the mentioned page for details.]

[For ETS exams, such as TOEFL, I advise you to send the scores to us via the ETS system by indicating the institution code: B770, country: Mexico, institution: CIC IPN Instituto Politécnico Nacional. This is in addition to keeping just in case a hard copy certificate.]

[For all other documents, for admission you send only scanned copies, and you can present the original hard copy by the time of your enrollment. However, in the case of the English test (maybe except for TOEFL), you may have to send us the hard copy original certificate of your English test as a part of your admission process. Ask the committee whether this is still required and whether they can proceed now with a scanned copy, so that you will bring the original hard copy later.]

b. A second option to accredit this requirement is the free demand presentation of the language proficiency exam for postgraduate admission to the IPN (4 skills), which can be done through any of the Foreign Language Centers (CENLEX-IPN).

To opt for this option, the applicant must follow the procedure described on the CENLEX web page of their choice:

For the CENLEX Zacatenco: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/examenZacatenco/.

For CENLEX Santo Tomás: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/examenStoTomas/.

The minimum passing grade in the English language proficiency test applied by CENLEX-IPN is eight (8), which must be obtained in all four skills.

c. A third option to prove this requirement is through the documentation that proves previous studies of the English language, which must have been carried out in an institution endorsed by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP).

d. If the applicant is a native English speaker, you must send the supporting documentation in order to perform the corresponding validation.

e. A further option for the accreditation of the English language is to request, through the DTE, the registration for the presentation of the corresponding exam in the Center for Foreign Languages (CENLEXIPN) Zacatenco according to the dates described in the important dates section of this call.

To opt for this option, the applicant must register their exam application in the DTE, for which they must submit a copy of an official identification (INE, passport, or professional ID) according to the dates established in this call, to later cover the cost.

The minimum passing grade in the English language proficiency test applied by CENLEX-IPN is eight (8), which must be obtained in all four skills.

To verify compliance with this requirement, the applicant must present the original document of the proof of accreditation issued by the institution, which must be valid at the date of enrollment, and will be received for submission to validation by the IPN Foreign Language Training Directorate (DFLE-IPN).

[Note that you will need to provide hard copy original certificate in all cases. I am not sure at what part of the process you do it: hopefully, you provide now a scanned copy, and later bring in person the hard copy, as is the case with all other documents, but ask the committee: in the past they requited applicants to send us the hard copy before admission. As to TOEFL, it seems that the requirement for the hard copy can be relaxed; ask the committee (or me) if you don’t have the hard copy of the TOEFL certificate. For all other cases (except the TOEFL), you do need to provide the hard copy.]

Publication of the Results

The Admission Committee of the Board of Teachers will evaluate the applicants' files and determine those that will be admitted to the Doctorate in Computer Science. The list of admitted applicants will be published in the Admission Process section of the official portal of the CIC-IPN. The ruling will be final.

For foreign applicants: To speed up the immigration procedures of foreign applicants, the Admission Committee will promptly notify the applicant about the result of the admission process.

Selection criteria

In the selection process of the applicant, the following will be considered:

• The score obtained by the quantitative reasoning ability in the EXADEP exam or in the GRE exam. [Only the quantitative reasoning score is considered; the qualitative reasoning and writing scores of the GRE test will be completely ignored. I do not know how EXADEP is structured but there should be some equivalent of those sections in it.]

• Compliance with the level of English language proficiency.

• The quality of the defense of the research proposal for doctoral studies.

• The result of the interview by the Admission Committee.

• Submission of academic and accreditation files within the deadlines.

Donations

The admitted applicants must formalize their registration to the program without any mandatory payment, but with the possibility of making a voluntary contribution as a donation for opening their file, to the account indicated by the corresponding academic unit. Donation collection accounts must correspond to the departments of the National Polytechnic Institute authorized for this purpose.

Maximum Enrollment

The maximum student enrollment projected for admission to the PhD in Computer Science for the January-June 2020 semester is 20 students, which will be covered only with those applicants who meet the requirements established in the admission process.

While the PhD program in Computer Science is a full-time program, up to 10% of accepted applicants may choose to register as part-time students, who must be available to attend program activities for a minimum of 20 hours per week and attend the courses at regular scheduled times each semester.

Scholarships and Support

The Doctorate in Computer Science is attached to the National Quality Postgraduate Program of CONACyT [Mexican Ministry of Science], within which it has the highest level of quality as an International Competition Program.

Students enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Computer Science (DCC) of the CIC-IPN, may apply for a monthly maintenance scholarship corresponding to 6 Units of Measurement and Update (UMA) [about USD 850, more than enough to live in the country (renting a modest room) given the current prices; see calculations in my presentation on http://www.gelbukh.com/calls/CIC-scholarships-2018.pdf], provided that they meet the requirements established by the Regulation of CONACyT scholarships.

[Most important requirement is the sufficient average score (CGPA) from the previous degree: typically, the arithmetic average score in your transcript should to be at least the average of the maximum possible score and the minimum pass score in your university. In some countries, the scores are counted differently; contact me if in doubt, or if you don’t have sufficient score.]

CONACyT may grant said scholarship, subject to its budget availability, to those students with full-time dedication within the postgraduate program for a maximum period of 8 semesters, in accordance with the current regulations of the CONACyT itself. Therefore, students accepted under the part-time modality may not apply for the CONACyT scholarship.

For more information, consult the link: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/becasCONACYT/.

In addition to the CONACYT scholarship, the IPN will provide medical service coverage before the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) during the period of postgraduate studies, with the corresponding permanent social security number.

Important Dates

Semester 2020 A

Activity Period / Date
Filling in the application for admission	From October 7 to November 9, 2019
Submission of the Research File	From October 7 to November 9, 2019
Submission of the Academic File	From October 7 to November 9, 2019
Submission of the Accreditation File	From October 7 to December 6, 2019
Information Sessions [attending via Internet, or maybe skip this]	October 18 and 31, November 8 and 9, 2019
Open Labs	November 7, 8 and 9, 2019
Registration for the English exam of the CENLEX of the IPN (free demand) [only for those who opts for this option]	Consult directly in the preferred CENLEX
Completion of the English exam in the CENLEX of the IPN (free demand) [only for those who opts for this option]	Consult directly in the selected CENLEX
Registration for the English exam of the CENLEX Zacatenco of the IPN (managed by CIC) [only for those who opts for this option]	Until November 5, 2019
English exam in the CENLEX Zacatenco of the IPN (managed by CIC) [only for those who opts for this option]	November 12, 2019 10:00 a.m.
Academic Interview with the Admission Committee for Foreigners (via Skype)	November 7 and 8, 2019
Defense of the PhD research proposal	From October 21 to November 29, 2019, according to the coordination schedule
Psychological Interview with the Admission Committee [by Skype for foreigners]	November 11-15, 2019
Publication of foreign aspirants results [My guess that if you miss some deadline, they may give the result later rather than reject you.]	November 13, 2019
Publication of national aspirants results	December 13, 2019
Enrollment in the IPN	January 13-17, 2020
Start of the semester	January 20, 2020

Information

For information related to academic aspects:

Dr. Raúl Acosta Bermejo
DCC Program Coordinator
Tel. +52 (55) 5729 6000 extension 56652
Email: dcc@cic.ipn.mx

For information related to administrative aspects:
Lic. Diana Julieta Díaz Díaz
Department of Educational Technologies
Telephone +52 55 5729 6000 ext. 56501
Email: admision@cic.ipn.mx

Unforeseen situations

The academic and administrative processes related to this call and the completion of postgraduate studies at the National Polytechnic Institute, are carried out without distinction, whether for reasons of gender, race, color, language, religion, political or other opinions , national, ethnic or social origin, fortune, birth or any other situation. All this in order to ensure equity, equality and non-discrimination.

Any situation arising during the admission process not contemplated in this call will be resolved in full compliance with the Postgraduate Studies Regulations by the competent authority as appropriate.