The following answer is based on my experience as a doctoral researcher in distributed systems. Computer science is a big field with vast differences in the quality and quantity requirements of your Ph.D. supervisor.
Having said this, you’ll probably need somewhere between two to five publications to get a Ph.D. in computer science.
I have created a simple calculator just for fun — try it yourself here: 👇
At the end of this article, I’ll also give you a full table for your reference.
The quality of the venues is more important than the
However, you need both quantity and quality to have a shot for top-tier conferences with close to 20% acceptance rates. It’s not an either-or decision. You need to have it all.
To get accepted to two top conferences (assuming a
Therefore, if you submit a research paper every two to three months, you are safe and will likely be accepted to two to four conferences during your research time. This will be enough (content-wise) to set up your first draft of the doctoral thesis.
| University, Advisor, Area, Aim | Estimated Number of Papers |
|---|---|
| Top-tier University, High Expectation Advisor, High Publication Area, Aiming for Academia | 6+ papers |
| Top-tier University with High/Moderate Expectation Advisor in High/Moderate Publication Area | 4-6 papers |
| Top-tier University with Low Expectation Advisor or Low Publication Area | 2-4 papers |
| Mid-tier University with High Expectation Advisor in High Publication Area | 4-6 papers |
| Mid-tier University with Moderate Expectation Advisor or Moderate Publication Area | 2-4 papers |
| Mid-tier University with Low Expectation Advisor in Low Publication Area | 1-2 papers |
| Lower-tier University with High/Moderate Expectation Advisor | 2-4 papers |
| Lower-tier University with Low Expectation Advisor | 1-2 papers |
While working as a researcher in distributed systems, Dr. Christian Mayer found his love for teaching computer science students.
To help students reach higher levels of Python success, he founded the programming education website Finxter.com that has taught exponential skills to millions of coders worldwide. He’s the author of the best-selling programming books Python One-Liners (NoStarch 2020), The Art of Clean Code (NoStarch 2022), and The Book of Dash (NoStarch 2022). Chris also coauthored the Coffee Break Python series of self-published books. He’s a computer science enthusiast, freelancer, and owner of one of the top 10 largest Python blogs worldwide.
His passions are writing, reading, and coding. But his greatest passion is to serve aspiring coders through Finxter and help them to boost their skills. You can join his free email academy here.