Graduation Requirements
Students must complete the following requirements in order to earn the respective graduate degrees from the CS department. The Master's degree program has both a thesis and a non-thesis option which can be chosen by the student after consultation with his/her selected advisor.
MS Degree (MS/CS)
All students completing a Master's degree must fulfill the following minimum requirements:
The student must earn a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work approved by the CS Department. This course work must include at least 15 credit hours of course work numbered 8000 or above (CS 8990 Thesis Research credit is counted in the required 15 credit hours, but CS 8980 is not).
The overall GPA of course work taken as an enrolled graduate student must be at least 3.0 (out of 4.0).
Courses taken in other departments (up to 6 credit hours) will be considered for approval as part of a student's MS degree program provided these courses are germane to the student's MS program and the approval is sought prior to the student undertaking the course work.
Non-Thesis Option
In order to complete the non-thesis option, the student must complete an independent project under a faculty advisor approved by the department. This project is carried out by enrolling in CS 8980 (Non-Thesis Research) for at least one hour of credit. This project is documented and presented to a faculty committee of at least three graduate faculty members and defended in a public defense as part of a final oral examination. The CS 8980 course grade is assigned by the student's faculty advisor upon the conclusion of the oral examination. This course is graded on an S/U basis and cannot be used to increase the student's overall GPA in graduate work. In this option, at most, 3 credit hours of Research, Reading, and/or Problem courses (such as CS 8980, 8990, 8085) can be counted toward the 30-hour MS graduate requirements.
Thesis Option
In order to complete the thesis option, the student must complete an independent project under a faculty advisor approved by the department. This project is carried out by enrolling in CS 8990 (Thesis Research) for at least three hours of credit. A maximum of six credit hours of CS 8990 can be counted toward the required 30 credit hours for the MS degree program. The thesis project is documented in a formal thesis, presented to a faculty committee of at least three graduate faculty members (one of whom is a faculty member from another department) and defended in a public defense as part of a final oral examination. The CS 8990 course grade(s) is/are assigned by the student's faculty advisor upon the conclusion of the oral examination. CS 8990 is graded on an S/U basis and cannot be used to increase the student's overall GPA in graduate work. In this option, at most 9 credit hours of Research, Reading, and/or Problem courses (such as CS 8980, 8990, 8085) can be counted toward the 30-hour MS graduate requirements.
Seminar Attendance: The approval of the M3 form is tied to the attendance records for the department's seminar series. MS students are required to satisfy the seminar attendance requirement in at least two semesters prior to graduation. Attendance at half of the approved CS seminars per semester meets this requirement.
Ph. D. Degree
All students completing a Ph. D. degree must fulfill the following minimum requirements:
Complete all of the course work requirements of the Master's degree in CS or have an MS degree in CS from another institution. The student must have maintained an overall GPA of at least 3.4/4.0 in their prior graduate level course work (excluding research and problems courses).
Pass a qualifying examination to be admitted to candidacy in the CS Ph.D. program.
Earn a minimum of 72 credit hours of course work and research past the student's BS degree.
Pass a comprehensive examination covering their areas of expertise.
Complete a doctoral dissertation on a topic approved by the candidate's advisory committee.
Defend the dissertation in a final oral examination.
Have at least one journal paper submitted, accepted or published, as approved by the advisor.
Seminar Attendance: The approval of the D4 form is tied to the attendance records for the departmentŐs seminar series. PhD students are required to satisfy the seminar attendance requirement in at least four semesters prior to graduation. Attendance at half of the approved CS seminars per semester meets this requirement.
Additional Notes
MS Thesis and Non-Thesis Requirements: The MS thesis or non-thesis project is the distinctive element of the MS degree program. Documentation of the project work is an extended report on a technically substantive research project that involves basic computer science and, possibly, one of its many application areas. Interdisciplinary topics for both thesis and non-thesis project reports are encouraged. Both thesis and non-thesis projects are defended.
To satisfy the Graduate School, the MS thesis must be "the student's own work and must demonstrate a capacity for research and independent thought." It is not required that the MS thesis involve the discovery or creation of new knowledge, as is the case for the Ph. D. thesis. An MS thesis must show the student's ability to carry through to completion a project of a credible level of difficulty that draws on the knowledge and experience gained through advanced graduate course work.
Annual Review
All graduate students will be reviewed annually using electronic or face-to-face means, whichever best meets the needs of each degree program. Annual reviews of graduate students will be done by the advisor of record and include the indicators listed below, not all of which are applicable to all graduate students every year.
- Review of progress toward degree completion using program of study as a guide.
- Areas in which student is meeting or exceeding expectations.
- Areas in which student needs improvement.
- Number of presentations (single or co-authored) at local, regional and national conferences
- Number of publications (single or co-authored)
- Notification of any grant/ fellowship applications submitted
- Notification of any grant/ fellowship applications funded
- Involvement in any partnerships programs of research, outreach, or appropriate professional activity with non-university organizations
- Notification of any teaching awards
- Notification of any research awards
- Notification of any other awards, specify
- Notification of any conference travel
- Notification of any department/ college awarded fellowship/ scholarship
- Participation and evaluation of any internship experience
- Update on job search; notification of job placement
Related Links
ME DegreeGraduate Handout PDF (download)
