Masters in Computer Science

Admission Requirements

1. Two letters of recommendation concerning the applicant's potential for success in the graduate program, mailed to the School of Computer Science.
2. A minimal grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 overall or 3.00 on the last two years of undergraduate work.
3. Evidence that courses equivalent to our basic undergraduate courses have been completed with an average grade of B or better. [See Appendix I for a list of the required background courses.] The school may elect to conditionally admit an outstanding applicant who has satisfied all but one or two of the background requirements, but the student must complete them immediately after beginning the graduate program. These courses will not count towards the Master's degree requirements.
4. Evidence that a bachelor's degree in some field has been earned from an accredited four year college or university must be presented on an official transcript. If a degree is in progress, admission may be granted contingent upon the Graduate College and the School receiving copies of the final transcript immediately after graduation.
5. Results of the Graduate Record Examination.

Degree Requirements

• At least 24 credits must be in computer science.
• At least 18 credits of computer science courses must be at the 700 level.
• If equivalent courses have not been taken previously, CSC 656, 677, and 678 must be included.
• At most six credits of CSC 791 (Thesis Option) or three credits of CSC 790 (Project Option) can be included.

Assistanships

Teaching Assistantships do not include summer stipends but do include, after a nine-month employment period, summer course fee waivers. Research Assistantships may offer assistance for the full 12 months.

Application forms are available from the Graduate College and completed applications should be submitted to them by April 1. A single application form is used for both Graduate and Research Assistantships.

Laboratories

Graduate students have access to computing equipment operated by the school as well as equipment operated by the University of Nevada System Computing Center. The school operates nearly 100 Sun, DEC, and SGI O2 workstations, all running UNIX and all connected to a local area network. The workstations include graphics workstations. A number of personal computers are available for research and special projects. Students may also obtain permission to access an on-site supercomputer operated by the National Supercomputing Center for Energy and the Environment.

Graduate Faculty

• Wolfgang W. Bein
• Hal L. Berghel
• Ajoy K. Datta
• Laxmi P. Gewali
• Lawrence L. Larmore
• John T. Minor (School Director)
• Thomas Nartker
• Jan Pedersen
• Kazem Taghva
• Evangelos Yfantis

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

Admission Requirements

In addition to the requirements of the Graduate College, applicants for admission to the Ph.D. program in computer science must meet the following requirements.

• Students are expected to have a master's degree in computer science before applying to the Ph.D. program. On rare occasions an unusually capable student may be admitted to work directly for the Ph.D. degree without having a master's degree.
• A GPA of 3.3 (on a 4.00 scale) or higher in post-baccalaureate course work is required for admission.
• At least three letters of recommendation (preferably from academic sources) attesting to the applicant's professional competence and academic potential are required.
• A personal statement of purpose which should be as specific as possible, and should include the applicants objectives and area(s) of interest, is required.
• Satisfactory scores on both the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and from the Computer Science subject test (C29) are required. Official score reports from the last five years are acceptable.

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. degree is awarded to a candidate who has demonstrated breadth of knowledge in computer science in general, and has displayed depth of knowledge in the area of specialty as well as the ability to make original contributions to the body of knowledge in this field.

To successfully complete the Ph.D. program a student must fulfill all the Graduate College degree requirements as well as the following requirements:

• Complete 48 credits of course work.
• Satisfactorily pass the written comprehensive examination
• Satisfactorily pass an oral qualifying examination
• Prepare a dissertation that must be acceptable to his or her Ph.D. committee
• Satisfactorily pass an oral defense of the dissertation examination.
• Maintain a satisfactory rate of progress.

Course Requirements

A student entering the Ph.D. program with a master's degree in computer science is required to take at least 48 credits of course work subject to the following conditions:

• At least 42 credits must be in computer science.
• At least 18 credits of computer science courses must be at the 700-level (excluding CSC 799 credits).
• Includes exactly 3 credits of CSC 792 (research seminar).
• Includes a maximum of 18 credits of CSC 799 (dissertation research).

A student entering the Ph.D. program with a bachelor's degree is required to take at least 24 extra credits of 600 and 700-level of computer science courses in addition to the above 48 credits (at least half of them must be at 700-level).

The Comprehensive Examination

The written comprehensive examination will be given twice a year. The examination will test the student's breath of knowledge in the following four core areas and in two application areas of his/her choice.

Core Areas

• Automata, formal languages, and computability
• Design and analysis of algorithms and data structures
• Programming languages and compilers
• Operating systems and computer architecture

Application Areas

• Artificial intelligence
• Computer graphics and image processing
• Computer simulation and networks
• Database systems
• Software engineering and reliability
• Document Analysis

The level of the examination is that of 600-level and 700-level courses in each area. A syllabus will be published well in advance of the exams listing the topics to be covered in each exam. Students are expected to take the comprehensive examination within 2 years of entering the Ph.D. program. All Ph.D. students are urged to take this examination as early as possible. Preference is given in the allocation of student financial support to those who have passed the comprehensive examination. The comprehensive examination may be attempted at most twice. Students who do not pass the comprehensive examination the first time, must retake the examination at the next scheduled offering. Failure to pass the comprehensive examination after two attempts will normally lead to dismissal from the Ph.D. program.

After passing the comprehensive examination a research topic of mutual interest to the student and his/her proposed committee is selected. At this point the student formally begins his/her research study.

The Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination is an oral examination designed to test the depth of the student's knowledge in his or her area of research specialization. It must be taken before either (a) 2 years after passing the comprehensive examination or (b) 4 years after entering the Ph.D. program. It generally focuses on his/her dissertation proposal. The main purpose of this exam is to evaluate the technical merits and feasibility of the student's proposal for his/her Ph.D. dissertation. The examination must be conducted by the student's Ph.D. committee. This committee consists of five faculty members of whom one must be from outside the school of computer science. The student's advisor is the chairperson of this committee. The faculty member from outside the school is selected by the Graduate College from three faculty members who are suggested by the student in consultation with his or her advisor.

The student must prepare a dissertation proposal prior to taking this examination. This proposal should have already been approved by the student's advisor. This proposal must be given to the Ph.D. committee members at least two weeks before the date of the qualifying exam. The proposal must contain a discussion of the background literature on the problem area, description of the specific topic of research proposal approach, feasibility arguments, the objective of the research project, and a list of references.

The student begins the exam with a presentation of his or her dissertation proposal. The remaining time is used for discussion and asking questions to determine if the student has sufficient depth of knowledge to carry out the proposed research. The examination cannot be taken more than twice. After successful completion of the qualifying examination, the student is advanced to candidacy for the degree.

Preparation of Dissertation

The candidate must prepare a dissertation on his or her research. The Ph.D. dissertation should represent a significant original research contribution to the field of computer science, and be publishable in a recognized refereed journal.

Oral Defense

After completion of the dissertation the candidate must pass a final oral examination in defense of his/her dissertation. The candidate must make the final changes, if any, in the dissertation within three months from the date of the oral defense.

A candidate can defend his or her dissertation at most twice. The final dissertation must be approved by each member of the committee.

Satisfactory Progress

To maintain satisfactory progress in the Ph.D. program a student must:

• Pass the comprehensive examination within 2.5 years of entering the Ph.D. program.
• Maintain a minimum grade point average required by the College of Engineering.
• Pass the qualifying examination within 4 years of entering the Ph.D. program.
• Maintain satisfactory progress towards research.
• Students who enter the Ph.D. program with a master's degree, must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. degree within six years. Those who enter the Ph.D. program with a bachelor's degree must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. degree within eight years

If these requirements are not met the school may place the student on academic probation or drop him/her from the Ph.D. program.