Introduction to CSE Grad Programs and Admissions

Prof. Gagan Agrawal

Grad Studies Chair

Department Personnel

34 tenure-track faculty– 2 hires this past year– recruiting for addt’l faculty (both junior and senior

level) 6 full-time teaching faculty 11 technical staff (IICF) 10 administrative staff

Degree Program Profile

M.S. and Ph.D. ~260 grad students 30-50 MS degrees/yr 15-25 PhD degrees/yr

We received more than 700 applications for Autumn 2008

We admitted about 45 as funded (PhD) students

Another 250 admitted as unfunded (masters) students

Yield: 21 PhD students and nearly 50 MS students

Admissions in 2008

Admissions Requirements for PhD

GPA of at least 3.5 Average of GRE verbal and quantitative needs to be

at least 75th percentile Analytical at least 4.0 Strong letters

– Prior research experience is helpful

Good fit with department research programs Strong commitment for PhD should be stated in

application

Funding for PhD students

Grad school fellowships Teaching assistantships Research Assistantship Combination of TA and RA

Admissions Requirements for MS

GPA of at least 3.0 (preferably 3.2 – 3.3) High quantitative GRE – reasonable verbal

and analytical scores Self-funded in most cases

– Many jobs may be available on campus

Degree Programs

Masters non-thesis / coursework Masters thesis / research Ph.D

Admitted Groups

Masters non-thesis / unspecified Research Masters Direct Ph.D track

Type Conversions

Masters non-thesis students can switch to thesis option by finding an advisor for masters thesis

Masters students become Ph.D students if they take and pass Ph.D qualifying examination

Research masters students cannot switch to non-thesis option

– petition to grad studies in truly exceptional circumstances

Ph.D students cannot switch to masters program– petition to grad studies in truly exceptional circumstances

The Graduate (Foundational) Core

5 classes form the graduate core – 725 (Theory of Computation) – 755 (Programming Languages) – 760 (Advanced Operating Systems) – 775 (Computer Architecture) – 780 (Algorithms)

3 credits each, each offered twice a year Corresponding undergrad core classes (625, 655,

660, 675, and 680) are prereqs – take if you don’t have the background

``Core’’ Requirements

Masters program (thesis and non-thesis)– Pass three of the five core classes

780 required, at least one of 760 and 775 required

– In the other two areas, should have equivalent class to pre-core, or pass the pre-core

Masters non-thesis: – Take comprehensive exam in three of the five areas

Ph.D program requires passing a written qualifying examination based upon these 5 (most students take classes for credit)

– Acceleration Option: all classes for credit and 3.6 average (detailed later)

Types of Classes (Ph.D students)

Core Classes Pre-core Classes – 625, 655, 660, 675, and 680 – can’t count

for any of the requirements Other 600 / 700 / 800 level graded classes

– Includes 788 – Graded A, A-, B+, …

Research Credits – 793, 888, 999 – Graded S/U only

CIS 885 – 1 credit, S/U, offered only in Fall and required for all grad students

Types of Classes (MS Students)

Primarily Undergrad Classes – 616, 625, 630, 655, 660, 670, 675, 677, 680 – Can count at most 3 for credit

(Foundational) Core classes Applied Core Classes Other letter-graded CSE classes Research Credits (793, 888, 999) Classes from other related departments

– Limit of 9 credits – Need advisor permissions (need to be closely related to CSE)

Applied Core

Six classes currently listed – 621 – High Performance Computing (Fall only) – 678 - Internetworking (Winter only)– 681 - Graphics (Fall, Winter)– 730 - AI (Fall only)– 756 - Compilers (Spring only) – 770 - Databases (alternate winter quarters)

MS Thesis option students need to take at least 2 MS Non-thesis need at least 3

Course Requirements

Masters non-thesis – 45 credits of graded classes

Including foundational core and applied core classes Limit on number of primarily undergrad classes

– 885 is required – A total of 50 credits

Masters thesis – 30 credits of graded classes

Including foundational core and applied core classes Limit on the number of primarily undergrad classes

– 885 is required – 15 research credits are required – A total of 45 credits

Other Requirements for Masters

Non-thesis option – A comprehensive examination – Offered twice a year (Sept. and March) – 3 1.5 hr exams over two days, based on choice of 3

among the 5 core classes 780 required, at least one of 760 and 775 required

Thesis Option – An oral examination of the thesis – A committee with at least 2 faculty members, including your

advisor

Ph.D program Requirements

Qualifying examination – Offered twice a year, September and March – 5 1.5 hr exams based upon the 5 core areas – A max of two attempts are allowed – Direct Ph.D track students are normally expected to take it after the first

year – Must pass within your second year to be eligible for support later

Acceleration Option – Take each of the 5 core classes for credit within first three quarters– Have a 3.6 average in these classes – Qualify for conditional pass – need to show research progress by second

spring to remove the condition – Recommend that everyone tries this

Unless you have several core classes and can take quals in 2 quarters

Ph.D Coursework Requirements

One major and two minors Major:

– 15 graded credits, not including core

Minor: – 9 credits in each, not including core – A total of 3 credits across 2 minors could be non-

graded: 793/888

Normal Support Policies

Initial support for 2 years – Requires satisfactory GPA – Requires good performance on TA/RA duties – International students must pass the spoken English test to

be eligible for year 2 support

Third and Fourth Years – Must have passed the Ph.D qualifying examination – Satisfactory research progress, as judged by grad studies

committee – In most cases, as RA only

Normal Support Policies

Years 5 and 6 – Must have passed Ph.D candidacy examination – Satisfactory or better research progress– In most cases, as RA only

Limit on TA support – 6 academic year quarters over the length of your stay – Exception: 1 per advisor allowed as exception at anytime

All of the above entering the department guaranteed support

– If you are entering w/o support, case-by-case after passing quals