Graduate Student Meeting Department of Computer Science Kent State University Fall 2003

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum2 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 Curriculum Fall 2004 Department of Computer Science Kent State University

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum4 Graduate Curriculum Changes Substantial changes to: Master of Science Master of Arts Doctor of Philosophy Changes include: Course requirements Exit requirements Qualifier Exams

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum5 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.

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum6 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum7 Master of Science 24 credits of course work 8 courses (3 credits * 8 = 24) 6 courses must be level or above Master’s Plan of Work 2 credit Masters Seminar (CS 69191) 6 credit Masters Thesis & Defense Total of 32 graduate level credit hours 26 credits at 6000 level or above.

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum8 What’s Changed? (M.S.) NO required core courses Plan of Work (new) This determines what courses to take Only 2 courses at the level count Only 3 credits of Research or Research Seminar count (may take more) Masters Seminar (new)

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum9 M.S. Thesis & Defense 6 Credits CS Write suitable Thesis under direction of a Research Advisor Thesis topic must be approved by Advisor and Graduate Coordinator Thesis Committee - Advisor & two other graduate faculty Final defense approved by committee

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum10 Master of Arts 27 credits of course work 9 courses (3 credits * 9 = 27) 7 courses must be level or above Master’s Plan of Work 2 credit Masters Seminar (CS 69191) 3 credit Research & Project Defense Total of 32 graduate level credit hours 26 credits at level or above

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum11 What’s Changed? (M.A.) NO required core courses Plan of Work (new) Only 2 courses at the level count Masters Seminar (new) NO qualifier exit examination 3 credits Research as MA project (new) Project defense (new)

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum12 Masters Plan of Work Department will provide a form to fill out Describes courses and program MS/MA Filled out by Student and Advisor Student must complete at least one course in three different topic areas Approved by Advisor and Graduate Coordinator Can be changed but must be approved

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum13 CS 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum14 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)

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum15 Doctor of Philosophy Preliminary Examination Doctoral Plan of Work with Major & Minor concentrations 3 credits of CS Doctoral Seminar 27 credits at level or above: 18 credits course work 9 credits course work or research Candidacy Examination 30 credits Dissertation and defense 60 total credit hours

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum16 What’s Changed? (Ph.D.) Qualifiers dropped New preliminary exam added No required core courses New Plan of Work with Major and Minor Concentration course requirements Only 9 credits of Research count New Doctoral Seminar

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum17 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum18 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum19 (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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum20 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum21 Coursework Requirements 18 credits of 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum22 CS 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum23 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum24 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum25 FAQ How do I switch to the new Masters program? Fill out Masters Plan of Work Take 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum26 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum27 FAQ Do level courses count towards the Ph.D. degree? No, only 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

August 2003New CS Graduate Curriculum28 Questions? Other questions? Look to Graduate Website for more updates and further materials Plan of Work Forms will be up soon