The M.S. Program in Computer Science

The Master of Science program in Computer Science prepares individuals for a Ph.D. program, research careers in industry, or advanced technical positions in industry and government. The program is designed for students who offer evidence of above average scholastic ability at the undergraduate level. Upon completion of the M.S. program of study, the student will have knowledge in each of the following three core areas:

The student will also have a significant exposure to application areas that emphasize the integration of the core areas and will have the opportunity to participate in a research project under the direction of a faculty member. The student will also acquire advanced programming skills as a part of the program.

Completion of the M.S. program normally requires from one and one-half years to two years beyond the undergraduate degree but may require additional time for students whose undergraduate degree is in an area other than computer science. Two academic years usually are required for the completion of the M.S. degree if financial assistance is provided. Each candidate is required to complete specific course requirements and pass a final M.S. exam. The coverage of the exam depends upon the research option selected by the student. These options are described in detail below.

General Requirements

The basic requirement for the M.S. in Computer Science is successful completion of 30 credit hours of approved courses. At least 24 of the 30 hours must be at the 800 level. Students may include up to 6 hours of approved courses from outside the Department of Computer Science. This 6 hours of approved courses may include courses transferred from another university. All requirements of the Graduate School for the M.S. degree must also be met. A student's program of study must be approved by both the student's advisory committee and the Director of Graduate Affairs. Each student must take at least one course at Clemson University from each of the three core area course groups.

Area	Course(s)
Systems	820, 822, 824
Programming Languages and Translators	827, 828, 829
Theory and Complexity	838, 839, 840

Each student must also take at least one course at Clemson University from one of the other three core area course groups.

Area	Course(s)
Computer Graphics	805, 808, 811
Computer Networks	851, 852, 853
Software Engineering	872, 873, 875

Of the 30 credit hours of approved courses required for graduation, the student may not include credit for CPSC 628 or 801. Additionally, only one 681, 881 or 981 can be included and only if the course is one in which a final exam is given. Credit for 95x courses is possible only with the prior approval of the director of graduate affairs and currently is only applied toward the M.S. degree at one hour per seminar per semester. A student must also have a grade point average of at least 3.0 in the 30 credit hours used to satisfy the requirements for graduation.

The Advisory Committee

The Director of Graduate Affairs is the advisor of all new graduate students. During the second semester of study each M.S. student should form an advisory committee. The chair of this committee replaces the Director as the student's advisor. The advisor must be a tenured or tenure track faculty member in the Department of Computer Science. The student is also permitted to select one additional member of the advisory committee. The additional member may come from outside the Department. The Department will assign the third member.

Selection of both the advisor and the second member is by mutual consent of the student and the faculty member. A student is free to dissolve an existing advisory committee and form a new one at any time. Likewise, the advisor is free to dismiss a student. If a student is unable to find an advisor, one will be appointed by the Chair of the Department.

Research Options

Three options are provided in the M.S. program:

The Presentation Option

In the presentation option, a student may perform one of the following:

1. Read a collection of research papers in an area in which the research advisor is working. The area is expected to be quite focused. For example, "Computer Networks" would be an inappropriately broad area, but "Modeling the Effects of Self-similarity in Network Traffic on Packet Drop Rates" is appropriately focused.
2. Produce a well-documented program that is useful to the advisor.
3. Perform an empirical investigation of some topic of interest to both the student and the advisor.

When the student has completed the readings or project, he/she will give a presentation containing appropriate background material and results in an open colloquium. The final examination is an oral examination conducted by the student's advisory committee. The student is expect to demonstrate a mastery of the selected topic area.

A student is expected to enroll in CPSC 888 for 1-3 hours credit in the semester in which the presentation occurs. However, these hours may not be counted in the 30 credit hours used to satisfy the requirements for graduation.

The Research Paper Option

A student who pursues the research paper option is expected to conduct original research and write up the results in a formal research paper. The paper should be written in a format and style suitable for submission to a national conference or archival journal. It is not necessary that the research results reach the level of significance required for acceptance by a national conference or journal, but the quality of the presentation must! The paper should typically be 15 to 25 double spaced pages in length and must contain introductory material which properly places the work in the context of existing research.

The final examination is an oral examination conducted by the student's advisory committee. The student is expect to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of both the research results presented and the pre-existing body of knowledge that the results extend. A student is expected to enroll in CPSC 888 for 3 hours credit in each semester in which the research is ongoing and may count 3 hours of CPSC 888 among the 30 credit hours used to satisfy the requirements for graduation.

The thesis option is designed for students who have a strong interest in research and who can complete an original and creative research project. The scope and significance of that research is expected to be significantly beyond that which is required for the research paper. The quality of the research and presentation should be such that the thesis or a derivative work is acceptable for publication in a refereed conference proceedings or archival journal.

The final examination is an oral examination conducted by the student's advisory committee. The student is expect to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of both the research results presented and the pre-existing body of knowledge that the results extend.

A student pursuing the thesis option must include 6 hours of CPSC 891 credit among the 30 credit hours used to satisfy the requirements for graduation.