See important [comments in red color] by the translator, Alexander Gelbukh. This is not an official document; for formal purposes refer to the original document (but first read my [comments] here!).

 

 National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), Research Center in Computing (CIC-IPN)

 

CALL

 

for those interested in pursuing studies in the PhD program in Computer Science, face-to-face modality,
to start in the school year in August - December 2019

 

Presentation

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

In order to obtain the PhD degree in Computer Science, it is necessary to carry out original and quality research. The DCC provides a solid formation of international quality recognized and endorsed by the National Postgraduate Programs of Quality list (PNPC) of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT).

The full information on the DCC Study Plan can be found in 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 systems, models and computational 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 proposal in the field of computer science.

The applicant must have a Master's degree in science or in engineering, as well as have an academic and professional record that demonstrates his or her coherent academic and intellectual ability in his or her career to ensure the conclusion of his or her doctorate studies successfully and in the prescribed time.

Graduation profile

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

The graduate 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 the industry and the public and social sector, both at the national level as an international. Through the application of acquired knowledge and skills developed in their doctoral work, PhD in computer science will be able to advance scientific and technological research, with the realization of basic and applied research projects.  

Admission requirements

To enter the DCC program, the applicant must meet the requirements established in the Regulation of Postgraduate Studies of the IPN (REPIPN), Chapter I, articles 8, 10, 11 and 12. For more information, you can consult the REP-IPN on the website http://www.cic.ipn.mx through the Normative Framework section.

 

The requirements are the following:

1.     Possess official degree or certificate of completion of undergraduate studies, or equivalent document for applicants who have studied abroad.

2.     Possess, if applicable, the degree or the examination certificate of the Master's degree.

3.     Approve the admission process established in this call, demonstrating ability to continue their studies at the doctorate level, through reaching the minimum score established by the Admission Commission for this process, as well as the defense to the presentation of the doctoral work proposal.

4.     Proof of proficiency in four English language skills based on the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, as established in Article 8, Section VI and its last paragraph, and the corresponding agreement of the Council of Teachers of the Computer Research Center in this regard.

5.     Not to have definitively withdrawn 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.     Manifest, through a letter of motives and a research proposal of doctoral work, their interest in developing research in any of the research lines relevant for the Center for Research in Computing.

 

Revalidation of Credits

Those applicants interested in obtaining a revalidation of credits from previously completed graduate learning units must submit the application to the faculty association in accordance with the provisions of articles 15 and 17 of the IPN Graduate Studies Regulation.

Admission process

The Admission Process consists of the preparation of a doctoral work proposal, the online registration and the sending of the academic, research and accreditation files, as described in the following steps:

 

Step 1: Prepare the doctoral work proposal.

The applicant must prepare a proposal for doctoral work, which will pose a preliminary research topic, which should be prepared with the support of a proponent teacher. The proposing professor is a CIC-IPN professor with a doctor degree who proposes entry to the DCC of the candidate as his possible thesis supervisor.

The doctoral work proposal must include the following elements:

a.        Title of the proposal.

b.        Review of the related works reported in the state of the art, in and outside the CIC. [Note by A. Gelbukh: you should include papers by your future advisor, 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 and reject your application.]

c.        Preliminary description of the problem to solve.

d.        General objective.

e.        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 necessary for the development of the proposal. [Note by A. Gelbukh: don’t ask for too much resources, otherwise the jury can decide that the school does not have necessary resources for your topic and reject your application. Better, demonstrate that all necessary resources are already available at the Lab you apply to.]

i.         References (include the main articles you have consulted, in PDF format). [Note by A. Gelbukh: that is, attach the complete text of the most relevant papers to which you have references in your proposal.]

 

Step 2: Submit an application for admission.

 

To do this, you must complete the online application to start the admission process, through the following link: http://www.cic.ipn.mx/sitioCIC/index.php/formulario-de-registro. [Note by A. Gelbukh: See my translation and explanation of the steps.]

 

Step 3: 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.               Certificate and transcript of undergraduate studies, where the general average of the scores is specified, as well as the conclusion of the same. [Note by A. Gelbukh: This is your BSc transcript.]

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

c.               Score transcript of studies of masters, where the general average of its qualifications is indicated.

d.               Diploma and certificate of the Master's degree. In case of being in process, present the receipts that prove it. [Note by A. Gelbukh: in some countries, only one of these documents c or d exists; then that one should be enough.]

e.               Unique key of the Population Registry (CURP). [Note by A. Gelbukh: this is obtained when you come to Mexico; no need to submit it in advance.]

f.                Birth certificate.

g.               Letter signed by the applicant stating that he or she did not drop out of a postgraduate course at the IPN. [Note by A. Gelbukh: You can use this template.]

h.               Admission application form with a small-sized photograph. This form must be generated through the online registration indicated in Step 2. [Note by A. Gelbukh: Sign this form where at the bottom it says "FIRMA DEL ASPIRANTE" ("SIGNATURE OF THE APPLICANT").]

 

The applicant must send an email with a PDF file, which must contain the Academic File, to the account admision@cic.ipn.mx, with the subject of the email “Expediente Académico DCC” and his or her full name, according to the dates established in this call [Note by A. Gelbukh: the sooner the better, to detect any problems in time and be able to correct them before the deadline]. The personnel of the Department of Educational Technologies will acknowledge receiving the said file.

 

Note for the case of foreign applicants. The proof of study abroad such as the bachelor's degree, master 's degree, transcripts and birth certificate, must be submitted with translation into Spanish and duly legalized (with an apostille if applicable). The sending of the professional ID card and the CURP does not apply to foreign applicants.

 

              For more information, see http://www.informatica.sip.ipn.mx/posgrado/docs/formatos/dap/BPP/Sistema%20d e% 20Qualidad% 20Académica.pdf.

 

Step 4: Send the Research File.

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

a.          PDF document containing your Doctoral Work Proposal. [Note by A. Gelbukh: I recommend exactly 15 pages.]

b.          PowerPoint file that contains the presentation of your doctoral work proposal, considering a maximum extension of 15 sheets.

c.          Application letter signed by the proposing advisor. [Note by A. Gelbukh: That is, if I will be your advisor, then I will provide this letter to you.]

d.          Curriculum Vitae of the applicant.

e.          Letter of reasons to enter the program. [Note by A. Gelbukh: explain why you decide to study here. E.g., you have read our papers and were impressed and motivated by them.]

f.           Three letters of recommendation in free format, issued by researchers with PhD degree, of which one 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 competitiveness and capabilities of the applicant based on the research work carried out and the results obtained.

 

The applicant must send an email containing the URL for the download of the Research File to admision@cic.ipn.mx, with the subject “Expediente Investigación DCC” and his or her full name, according to the dates established in this call. [Note by A. Gelbukh: the sooner the better, to detect any problems in time and be able to correct them before the deadline. Also, 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.] The Coordination of the DCC will acknowledge receiving the said file.

 

Step 5: Presentation and Defense of the doctoral work proposal.

The coordination of the DCC program will provide feedback to the applicant about the fulfillment of steps 2 to 4. Once these are met, the presentation and defense of the doctoral work proposal will be scheduled, for which the coordination of the program will inform the applicant of the date, time and jury assigned. The presentation must have a maximum duration of 20 minutes and will be held in the presence of the proposing advisor, who will participate as a member of the jury.

In the case of those applicants who reside abroad or outside the metropolitan area of ​​Mexico City, the presentation before the Admission Commission will be made through the videoconference system via 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 compilation of the scanned versions of the following documents:

                  i.                   Proof of the result of the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE-General Test) or Graduate Admission Examination (EXADEP). Vouchers with a maximum age of up to 5 years at the end of the registration period are valid.

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

 

The applicant should send the Accreditation File in PDF format to the DCC Coordination as an email attachment to admision@cic.ipn.mx, with the subject Expediente de Acreditación DCC, according to the dates established in this call.

 

About the Graduate Record Examination (GRE General Test) and the Graduate Admission Examination (EXADEP).

 

[Note by A. Gelbukh: EXADEP is a Spanish-language version of the GRE, probably somewhat easier.]

 

[Note by A. Gelbukh: as you can see see below 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. 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 the EXADEP, you must make an appointment and take the test through the official Educational Testing Service (ETS) portal. The information on the GRE is available at https://www.ets.org/gre, while the information regarding EXADEP can be consulted via https://www.ets.org/exadep. In the case of the GRE exam, the following information must be indicated in the list of institutions assigned by the ETS:

 

              Code:               Country:               Institution:              

              7509               Mexico               Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CIC IPN)

 

About the Accreditation of English language proficiency in four skills based on Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

             

The applicant can prove proficiency in the English language through any of the following options:

 

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

 

                                         i.         IELTS

                                       ii.         ESOL SKILLS FOR LIFE

                                      iii.         CENNI

                                      iv.         TOEFL PBT [Note by A. Gelbukh: see the institution code below; (in the next year's call hard copy will not be required) request the hard copy original. See below why this option is not recommended.]

                                       v.         TOEIC [Note by A. Gelbukh: I’ve heard that this one is difficult, but the results are given in one day.]

                                      vi.         ISE

                                    vii.         OXFORD TEST OF ENGLISH

 

In all cases, and for verification purposes, the applicant must present the original document of the proof of accreditation issued by the institution, which must be valid at the date of registration.

 

[Note by A. Gelbukh: 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 sending us your (in the next year's call hard copy will not be required) hard copy original, not instead of it!]

 

[Note by A. Gelbukh: For all other documents, for admission you only send scanned copies, and you can present the original hard copy by the time of your enrollment. However, in the case of the English test, you will have to send us the (in the next year's call hard copy will not be required) hard copy original certificate of your English test as a part of your admission process. Ask me for the address to send it. I do realize that you may only have a PDF copy and not the hard copy; however, the original hard copy is indeed required for admission. In addition, its validation can take us weeks, so please send it in advance. In the past, we had problems with obtaining a hard copy certificate from ETS for the TOEFL tests. Because of this difficulty, if you don’t have the hard copy original for your TOEFL test, then I would recommend you to avoid TOEFL and opt for some other option, such as IELTS.]

 

For information about the minimum score required in each case, it is recommended to consult directly http://www.dfle.ipn.mx/Galerias/Paginas/Referente.aspx.

 

b.        This requirement can be accredited through the documentation that proves previous studies of the English language, which must have been done in an institution endorsed by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP).

 

In this case, the applicant must submit the original documentation accrediting the completed studies to the Department of Educational Technologies (DTE) of the CIC-IPN, with date of issue not exceeding one year, so that it is sent for validation to the DFLE-IPN.

 

c.        If the applicant is a native English speaker, he or she must present the supporting documentation in the DTE in order to carry out the corresponding validation by the DFLE-IPN.

 

d.        Another alternative for the accreditation of the English language is through the presentation of the corresponding exam in the Foreign Language Center (CENLEX-IPN) according to the planning of available dates. To opt for this option, the applicant must file their examination request in the DTE, for which they must submit a copy of an official identification (INE, passport or professional certificate) according to the dates established in this call, and later pay the fee. The minimum passing grade in the examination of English language proficiency applied by CENLEX-IPN is eight (8).

 

Publication of the results

The Commission of Admission of the College of Professors will evaluate the files of the candidates and will determine those who will be admitted to the Doctorate in Computer Sciences. The list of admitted applicants will be published in the Admission Process section of the official CIC-IPN portal. The ruling will be unappealable.

 

For foreign aspirants. To expedite the immigration procedures of foreign applicants, the Admission Commission will notify the applicant in a timely manner 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 skill of quantitative reasoning in the EXADEP exam or GRE test. [Note by A. Gelbukh: only the quantitative reasoning score is considered; the qualitative reasoning and writing scores of the GRE test will be ignored. I do not know how EXADEP is structured but there should be some equivalent of those sections in it.]

•             The level of proficiency in the English language.

•             The proposal of the doctoral work.

•             The professional and academic career of the applicant.

 

Donations

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

 

Maximum number of students admitted

The maximum number of students foreseen for admission to the Doctorate in Computer Science for the semester August - December 2019 is 20 students, which will be covered only by those applicants who meet the requirements established in the admission process.

 

Up to 10% of accepted applicants may opt to register as part-time students, which must be available to attend program activities for a minimum of 20 hours per week and attend the courses at the scheduled times each semester.

 

Graduation Requirement

Enrolled students must adhere to the provisions of article 49 of the IPN Graduate Studies Regulations regarding the requirements for obtaining the degree, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement of the Teachers' Association, namely:

         I.         Be enrolled in the Doctorate program in Computer Science.

       II.         Accredit the predoctoral examination.

     III.         Fulfill your individual final program of activities.

     IV.         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 and C of the Catalog of Journals of the Institute or acceptance letter for publication.

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

The tutorial committee will evaluate the accordance of the products with the research work of the student, and will turn the result of the evaluation for the approval of the Graduate Teachers' Association.

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

     VI.         Pass the grade exam.

Scholarships and support

The PhD in Computer Science is registered on the National Postgraduate Program in Quality list of CONACyT [Note by A. Gelbukh: ministry of science] with the highest level of quality as an International Competence Program.

 

Students enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Computer Science (DCC) of the CIC-IPN may request a monthly maintenance grant corresponding to 6 Units of Measurement and Updating (UMA) [Note by A. Gelbukh: about USD 700, 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 Scholarships of the CONACyT. [Note by A. Gelbukh: most importantly, sufficient average score (CGPA) from the MSc degree. The rules are the same for citizens and for international applicants. An exception is the requirement of an average score of at least 8.0, as scaled to the Mexican scale, for the international applicants. This means that your average score in your transcript is to be at least (the maximum possible score minus the minimum pass score) divided by 2. In some countries, the scores are counted differently; contact me if in doubt.]

 

The CONACyT grants said scholarship for a maximum period of 8 semesters to full-time students within the graduate program, in accordance with the current norms of CONACyT itself. Therefore, students accepted under the part-time modality will not be able to apply for the CONACyT scholarship.

 

For more information, consult http://www.conacyt.mx/index.php/becas-yposgrados/becas-nacionales.

 

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

 

Information

 

 

Important dates

 

 

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, either for reasons of gender, race, color, language, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic or social origin, wealth, birth or any other situation. All this is in order to ensure fairness, equality and non-discrimination.

 

Any situation originated during the admission process not foreseen in this call, will be resolved in full compliance with the Regulation of Postgraduate Studies by the competent authority as the case may be.