Graduate Student Meeting

Department of Computer ScienceKent State UniversityFall 2003

August 2003 New CS Graduate Curriculum 2

Department Administration

Dr. Johnnie Baker, Chair Dr. Robert Walker, Assistant Chair Dr. C.C. Lu, Graduate Coordinator Dr. Jonathan Maletic, Curriculum Coordinator

Sue Peti, Secretary to the Chair Marcy Curtiss, Graduate Secretary

New Graduate CurriculumFall 2004

Department of Computer Science

Kent State University

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Graduate Curriculum Changes

Substantial changes to:Master of ScienceMaster of ArtsDoctor of Philosophy

Changes include:Course requirementsExit requirementsQualifier Exams

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Goals of New Curriculum

Enhance the production of scholarly work Support current and future research initiatives Greatly increase the diversity of course

offerings Enhance retention and matriculation of

students Address the ever changing needs of industry

and the computer science community.

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Transition & Timeline

Program takes effect in Fall 2004

Masters Students planning to graduate during Fall ‘04 or later should seriously consider finishing under the new program

New or recent Ph.D. students should move to new program Don’t take Qualifier Exams Take Preliminary Exams instead

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Master of Science

24 credits of course work8 courses (3 credits * 8 = 24)6 courses must be 60000 level or above

Master’s Plan of Work 2 credit Masters Seminar (CS 69191)6 credit Masters Thesis & DefenseTotal of 32 graduate level credit hours

26 credits at 6000 level or above.

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What’s Changed? (M.S.)

NO required core coursesPlan of Work (new)

This determines what courses to takeOnly 2 courses at the 50000 level count Only 3 credits of Research or Research

Seminar count (may take more)Masters Seminar (new)

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M.S. Thesis & Defense

6 Credits CS 69199Write suitable Thesis under direction of a

Research AdvisorThesis topic must be approved by

Advisor and Graduate CoordinatorThesis Committee - Advisor & two other

graduate facultyFinal defense approved by committee

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Master of Arts

27 credits of course work9 courses (3 credits * 9 = 27)7 courses must be 60000 level or above

Master’s Plan of Work2 credit Masters Seminar (CS 69191)3 credit Research & Project DefenseTotal of 32 graduate level credit hours

26 credits at 60000 level or above

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What’s Changed? (M.A.)

NO required core coursesPlan of Work (new)Only 2 courses at the 50000 level count Masters Seminar (new)NO qualifier exit examination3 credits Research as MA project (new)Project defense (new)

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Masters Plan of Work

Department will provide a form to fill outDescribes courses and program MS/MA Filled out by Student and AdvisorStudent must complete at least one

course in three different topic areasApproved by Advisor and Graduate

CoordinatorCan be changed but must be approved

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CS 69191 Masters Seminar

2 credit hours - offered every term Must make a public presentation a minimum of

one time before graduation Presentation based on research, course

project work, etc. Can not count Defense as the presentation Must be done one term before graduation and

not more then two years after starting the program

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Objective of Seminar

Act as a forum for students to improve presentation skills

Foster improved student-faculty interaction

Venue to discuss research being done within the Department

Can be taken multiple times (do not have to give a presentation every time)

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Doctor of Philosophy

Preliminary Examination Doctoral Plan of Work with Major & Minor

concentrations 3 credits of CS 89191 Doctoral Seminar 27 credits at 70000 level or above:

18 credits course work 9 credits course work or research

Candidacy Examination 30 credits Dissertation and defense 60 total credit hours

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What’s Changed? (Ph.D.)

Qualifiers droppedNew preliminary exam addedNo required core coursesNew Plan of Work with Major and Minor

Concentration course requirementsOnly 9 credits of Research countNew Doctoral Seminar

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Preliminary Exam

Intended to assess a Graduate Student’s understanding of the prerequisite concepts for entrance into Doctoral program Must complete (pass) exam 20 months after

entering program Topic based (NOT course based) Not research issues but core knowledge A reading list will be provided Offered in August and January each year

First offering: January 2004

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Prelim Exam Topics

Exam 1 Discrete Structures Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Exam 2 Foundations of Programming Languages Data Structures and Fundamentals of Programming

Exam 3 Computer Operating Systems Computer Architecture and Organization

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(Draft) Reading List

Rosen, Discrete Mathematics and its Applications, McGraw Hill, 2003

Brassard & Bratley, Fundamentals of Algorithmics, Prentice Hall, 1996

Sebesta, Concepts of Programming Languages, Addison-Wesley, 1998

Ford & Topp, Data Structures with C++, Prentice Hall 2002

Silberschatz & Galvin, Operating Systems Concepts, Addison-Wesley, 2003

Patterson & Hennessy, Computer Organization & Design, Morgan Kaufmann 1998

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Doctoral Plan of Work

Major Concentration 3 courses taken (in Masters) or yet to be taken Advisor determines Depth of knowledge in research area

Minor Concentration 3 courses taken (in Masters) or yet to be taken Student and Advisor determine Breadth/depth knowledge in related area

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Coursework Requirements

18 credits of 70000 coursework beyond Masters (6 courses) rest can be Research

Courses taken during Masters program can count as Major/Minor Concentration courses

However, must take other coursework to fulfill the 18 credit hour requirement

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CS 89191 Doctoral Seminar

Same format and objectives as Masters Seminar

Ph.D. students must do two presentations before graduating

Must take the course twice (3 credits). It is only offered for 1 or 2 credits. May take more then 2 times

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Final Ph.D. Requirements

Candidacy Exam – Department is defining a new standard format

Dissertation topic and committee must be approved by advisor and graduate coordinator

Final public dissertation defense

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Transition – Fall ‘04

Masters students planning to graduate during Fall ‘04 or later should seriously consider moving to new program

Ph.D. students (new or recent) should move to new program by taking Prelims instead of Quals.

Doctoral/Masters Seminar will be offered Fall ’04

Prelims will be offered in January 2004

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FAQ

How do I switch to the new Masters program?Fill out Masters Plan of WorkTake Masters Seminar (F’04)

I’ve already taken the core courses, will they count in the new program?YES, the new program subsumes the old one

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FAQ

I’ve passed part of the Qualifying Exams already, can I move to the new program?Talk with your advisor and Grad Coordinator

I’ve been in the Doctoral program for a year, have not done the Quals, and want to move to the new program. Can I?Yes, we will give extra time to transitional

students

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FAQ

Do 50000 level courses count towards the Ph.D. degree?No, only 70000 level and above

I’ve pass part of the Quals for the MA, can I move to the new program?Yes, you need to do the Masters Seminar,

Masters Plan of Work, and MA project & defense

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Questions?

Other questions?

Look to Graduate Website for more updates and further materials

www.cs.kent.edu

Plan of Work Forms will be up soon