The purpose of the graduate program in Computer Science and Engineering is to facilitate the student's continued professional and scholarly development. The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program is designed to prepare the student to conduct research and development in an area of concentration. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering is one of seven departments in the College of Engineering, the fourth-largest engineering college in Texas. Its mission is to serve the needs of the region, the state, and the nation by providing quality educational and innovative, relevant research programs in computer science and engineering. The department strives to offer first-rate undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education opportunities, conduct research and development technologies in selected areas, and facilitate technology transfer for the betterment of the quality of life. Its internationally recognized faculty members are engaged in breakthrough research across the leading areas of computer science and engineering. Database: temporal databases, object-oriented databases, database models and languages, distributed database systems, indexing and hashing techniques, conceptual modeling, data security, logic and databases, query optimization, relational design theory, user interfaces, data repositories.