Why George Mason University?

1. Ranking: Our CS department ranks 33rd in the US. GMU is a top-10 university for cybersecurity training.
2. Stipend: RA/TA >= $3,100/month (starting in Fall 2023). Tuition and health insurance are all covered.
3. Safety: When you study in the US, safety is critical. GMU is ranked among the safest colleges.
4. Living cost: You can rent a bedroom at $500-$700 per month.
5. Dining: Buffet at $8/meal. Our campus dining is rated as one of the best in the US.
6. Diversity: Our area (Fairfax, VA) is very diverse. Discrimination is not a concern here.
7. Area: Fairfax has numerous international (Chinese, Indian, Korean, European...you name it) supermarkets and restaurants. As one of the richest counties in the US, it is home to 11 Fortune 500 headquarters. It is close to Washington DC, the Shenandoah National Park, and two big airports. Amazon's 2nd headquarter is in the adjacent area and Google investing big here. NSF, DARPA, CIA, The Pentagon, DoD, US Army, US Air Force, and Office of Naval Research are all near.
8. Climate: Four distinct seasons with mild weather.

Why my lab?

1. Cutting-edge Security Research: Cybersecurity jobs are in high demand. According to Fortune, in the U.S., there are about 1 million cybersecurity workers, but there are around 715,000 jobs yet to be filled. Thus, Security is a very promising area. Security research of my lab has been published in the most prestigious security conferences and journals, such as Oakland, CCS, USENIX Security, and NDSS. I have served as a TPC member or session chair in many conferences, such as USENIX Security, NDSS, and UbiComp. I am broadly interested in any topics related to Computer Systems Security (such as IoT), Software Security (such as vulnerability discovery), and AI security. Homepage: https://cs.gmu.edu/~zeng/
2. Great PhD Training: As an Associate Professor, I have rich experiences in advising students. My first PhD student had no background in Security, and defended his dissertation in his 4th year (publications: NDSS’19, MobiCom’19, RAID’19, AsiaCCS’21, ACSAC’21, UbiComp’22). He is now a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the US. Other students are also doing a great job. Instead of pushing students, I encourage and promote the passion for doing great research. I meet each student once per week. If they want, they can stop by my office anytime to discuss with me. They can also send me emails asking for help, and I reply to such emails promptly.
3. Abundant Funding: Our research has received over $3 million of grants from NSF, including an NSF CAREER Award (one of the most prestigious awards at NSF). Students in my lab never worry about funding. For example, I have purchased around 10 drones for my students’ research on drones. We have a server with four GPUs to support the AI security study. Each student has her/his own desktop with GPU.

Requirements for PhD study positions

• Degree: A degree in CS/EE/Math is required. Your undergraduate university should be ranked top-500 in the world. For example, for students from China, they should graduate from 985 or top 211 colleges.
• (Or) Research Experience: If your degree does not satisfy the requirement above, then research experience is expected, for instance, publishing a paper in a good CS conference, such as AsiaCCS, RAID, WiSec, DIMVA.
• English: GRE is not required. TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, or PTE will work. Please refer to https://www.gmu.edu/admissions-aid/apply-now/how-apply/international/english-proficiency-requirements. If you are exceptional in research, we can discuss the possibility of lowering the language requirement.
• Passion for research: This is the most important. I hope you really love research, and understand the purpose of PhD study is to do meaningful and impactful research, rather than to merely get a PhD degree. If you need your advisor to push you to work hard, please do not apply.

Application and deadlines

• Online Application: https://www.gmu.edu/admissions-aid
• Deadlines for Fall: If you submit the application by December 1, your case will be given full consideration for getting financial support; if you submit it by March 15, you still have a chance to get financial support, although it is lower.
• Deadlines for Spring: If you submit the application by August 15, your case will be given full consideration for getting financial support; if you submit it by October 15, you still have a chance to get financial support, although it is lower.
• Goals Statement: In your Goals Statement (aka, Personal Statement), it is critical to indicate your interest in working with me on Security, so I can pay special attention to your application.
• Contact: If your are interested, please send me an email (zeng@gmu.edu) including your CV, English scores, transcripts, GPA and your ranking in the class.

Chinese/中文

为什么选择George Mason University?

1. 排名: CS在全美排名33. Cybersecurity training全美前10.
2. 工资: >=$3,100每月 (Fall 2023开始). 免学费、带医疗保险.
3. 安全: 出国留学, 安全很重要. GMU位列全美最安全校园之一.
4. 生活成本: 独立卧室租金约$500-$700每月.
5. 吃: $8每餐(all you can eat: 单独给你煎的omelet, 炒粉, 中国菜, 冰激淋, 几十种沙拉, 水果, n多甜点, 10多种饮料. 汉堡, pizza, 意大利面就不用说了). GMU食堂位列全美最优之一. 学校自己搞温室, 提供新鲜蔬菜.
6. 文化多样: GMU位于弗吉利亚的Fairfax. 她是全美人口与文化多样性的代表地区. 种族歧视在这里没有土壤.
7. 好地方: Fairfax有众多中餐厅和中国超市, 也有非常多日本、韩国、印度、欧洲饭店. 作为全美最富有的郡之一, Fairfax是11家Fortunue-500公司总部所在地. 她靠近Washington DC, 雪兰多国家公园, 以及两个大型机场 (可直飞中国). Amazon第二总部就在旁边; Google也在该地区开分部. 众多联邦机构 (比如NSF, DARPA, CIA, The Pentagon, US Army, US Air Force, and Office of Naval Research) 都在附近. 周末坐半个小时地铁, 去DC喝喝早茶, 逛逛博物馆, 吃吃米其林, 相当惬意. DC的博物馆多如繁星, 在国家自然与历史博物馆可以身临其境地体会《博物馆奇妙夜》中的奇幻，在国家美术馆可以一睹梵高、达·芬奇、莫奈等大师的真迹风采; 划重点: 免门票.
8. 气候: 四季分明, 气候温和. 夏天不会太热, 冬天不会太冷.

为什么选择这个实验室?

1. 杠杠的安全研究: 根据Fortune, 全美有约 100万的安全职位, 而由于安全人才急缺, 其中超过70万个岗位还没招到人. 本实验室的研究成果发表在顶尖安全会议和期刊, 比如安全四大会议. 我在众多著名会议中担任程序委员会委员, 比如USENIX Security, NDSS. 我对安全研究的众多课题都有兴趣, 所以你总能找到一个自己喜欢的课题. 主页: https://cs.gmu.edu/~zeng/
2. 棒棒的博士生指导: 今年是我开始教职的第8年, 在指导学生方面经验丰富. 我的第一个博士生在没有安全背景的情况下, 第四年成功完成博士论文答辩 (论文: NDSS’19, MobiCom’19, RAID’19, AsiaCCS’21, ACSAC’21, UbiComp’22), 现在美国公立高校任教. 其他学生也成绩斐然, 并且在NEC Labs America, Google, Facebook实习. 我从不实施微观管理, 而是鼓励和提倡学生做研究的热情. 每周跟学生单独开会一次. 我最喜欢质疑我的学生, 这样开会才有的聊. 学生实验受挫, 我从来都是鼓励, 毕竟没有挑战, 哪来的好研究. 如果学生需要, 可以随时来我办公室讨论. 学生的邮件, 我基本都是秒回. 我的idea太多, 以至学生可以挑着做自己喜欢的. 学生的文章, 我一个字一个字改.
3. 多多的研究经费: 我们的研究已经获得NSF超过$300万的支持, 其中包括NSF CAREER Award (NSF颁给年轻学者的最重要奖项). 我的学生从不需要为经费发愁. 为了支持无人机研究, 实验室已经购买了10个不同种类的无人机. 为了支持AI安全研究, 实验室购买了一台有4个GPU的机器. 为了支持IoT研究, 已购买了上百个IoT设备. 每个学生都有自己带GPU的机器.

博士招生要求

• 学位: 本科即可; 专业: CS/EE/Math. 985或较好的211大学本科.
• 研究经验(非必须): 如果学位条件不满足, 没有关系, 有研究经验也可以, 比如在较好的计算机会议或期刊发表论文.
• 语言要求: 不需要GRE. 托福, 雅思, Duolingo 或者PTE都可以. 具体要求请参见https://www.gmu.edu/admissions-aid/apply-now/how-apply/international/english-proficiency-requirements. 当然如果你在其他方面出类拔萃, 语言方面的要求也可以适当放松.
• 做研究的热情: 这是最重要的一点. 希望你是真心热爱研究, 清楚读博的目的是为了做有意义、有影响力的研究.

Application and deadlines

• Online Application: https://www.gmu.edu/admissions-aid
• Deadlines for Fall: If you submit the application by December 1, your case will be given full consideration for getting financial support; if you submit it by March 15, you still have a chance to get financial support, although it is lower.
• Deadlines for Spring: If you submit the application by August 15, your case will be given full consideration for getting financial support; if you submit it by October 15, you still have a chance to get financial support, although it is lower.
• Goals Statement: In your Goals Statement (aka, Personal Statement), it is critical to indicate your interest in working with me on Security, so I can pay special attention to your application.
• Contact: If your are interested, please send me an email (zeng@gmu.edu) including your CV, English scores, transcripts, GPA and your ranking in the class.