Bulletin 2000-2002
School of Science
Science Building (LD) 222
402 North Blackford Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3276
(317) 274-0625
School of Science Home Page 		Department of Computer and Information Science
Engineering, Science and Technology Building, SL 280
723 W. Michigan Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5132
(317) 274-9727
Department of Computer and Information Science Home Page

Master of Science

This program leads to a Master of Science degree from Purdue University. Many courses are offered in the late afternoon or evening to accommodate working students.

Research experiences are an essential aspect of graduate study. Students are highly encouraged to expand their knowledge of modern computing and pursue either a research thesis or project. Computer science continues to evolve rapidly. Students are expected to work closely with their faculty advisor and to contribute to the knowledge growth of the field.

Application for Admission

Submit applications for admission to the graduate program directly to the Department of Computer and Information Science. Applications should be complete by May 1 for the following fall semester and September 15 for the following spring semester. To be considered for departmental graduate assistance, all application materials must be received by January 15 for the following fall semester or September 15 for the following spring semester. Apply early because it may take up to six months to complete the application process. See the department’s Web site for additional information.

Students interested in advanced study or students who are required to complete preparatory courses and are waiting on application processing may take courses as graduate non-degree students. However, no more than 12 graduate credit hours earned as a non-degree student may be counted toward a graduate degree program. For guidelines and applications, contact the IUPUI Graduate Office, Union Building, 620 N. Union Drive, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5167; phone (317) 274-4023.

General Admission Requirements

The applicant to the graduate program must have a bachelor’s or equivalent degree.

The applicant’s record should exhibit outstanding achievement as indicated by the grade point average for each degree over his or her entire academic record. An applicant is expected to have a GPA of at least a 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 (letter grade A). The record should also demonstrate strong individual accomplishments and recommendations from independent references.

All applicants must submit their scores on the General Aptitude Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The applicants are strongly encouraged to submit scores for the Computer Science subject test also.

All applicants should have a background in the following core areas of computer science:

  1. Software development experience in a high-level language
  2. Data structures and algorithms
  3. ystems (operating systems, compilers, and programming languages)
  4. Theory (discrete math and theory of computation)
  5. Hardware (computer architecture)

In addition, applicants should have a strong background in mathematics, including calculus, linear algebra, and in numerical computations.

All applicants whose native language is not English must submit a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 580 or pass an equivalent test administered by the university.

Provisional Admission

Those students who do not satisfy the admission requirements may request provisional admission only to the Graduate Program if they satisfy the following requirements: possess a bachelor’s degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0
and
have taken 5 semester hour credits of calculus (MATH 163 or equivalent)
and
CSCI 265 (C++) or equivalent experience or credit

If provisional admission to the Graduate Program in Computer Science is granted, the student will be required to satisfy the stipulations of the admission, which may include satisfactorily completing one or more courses, before admission without provisions is granted.

Requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Computer Science

To receive the Master of Science degree, the applicant must be admitted as a graduate student without provisions and complete 30 semester credit hours of study in CSCI courses numbered 500 or above, at least 6 credit hours of which must be from the following core courses:

503 Operating Systems

504 Concepts in Computer Organization

565 Programming Languages

580 Algorithm Design, Analysis, and Implementation

Each student is required to submit to the Graduate Committee for approval an initial plan of study during the first year in the program. This is prepared in consultation with the faculty advisor. Prior to the semester of expected graduation, the student’s formal plan of study must be submitted to, and accepted by, the Purdue University Graduate School. Each student must register in CAND 991 for 0 credits during the final semester before graduation.

Credit for Courses from Outside the Department

Credit for graduate courses taken at other institutions may be transferred with the approval of the Graduate Committee and the Graduate School if the courses have not been used for other degree requirements. Transfer credits are normally limited to 6 credit hours and are restricted to courses in which the grade is B or better. Up to 6 credit hours of graduate credit from a closely related discipline may be used to substitute for the elective courses subject to approval by the department prior to enrolling in them.

Assessment

The student’s Graduate Examination Committee will examine the student’s project or thesis and general proficiency in computer science. Grades of A and B are expected; up to 6 credit hours of C may be included provided an overall GPA of 3.0 (B) is maintained. Other grades are unacceptable.

Programs of Study

The department offers two programs of study within its Graduate Program: the Research Program and the Applied Program.

The objective of the Research Program is to develop a general knowledge of computer science, depth in a specific area, and an ability to do independent research. The student learns research techniques by working in close cooperation with a faculty member while doing the thesis research. In addition to the two core courses and 6 to 9 credit hours of thesis work, the student completes a sufficient number of electives from the department’s graduate level courses to satisfy the requirement of 30 credits hours total.

The objective of the Applied Program is to develop skills and knowledge of the computer science fundamentals and an ability to apply these to practical problems. In addition to the two core courses, it requires at least two courses from a specialization list, 3 to 6 credits of work in the project course, 695, and a sufficient number of electives from the department’s graduate courses to complete the requirement of 30 credits hours. The course work is designed to provide breadth of knowledge to the professional as well as specialized knowledge in the areas that the project will require. The project normally involves at least two semesters of intensive work on an application of the course material to a problem of practical importance. This might be a project from the student’s work environment, internship, or a faculty member’s work. Its objective is generally of a more immediately practical nature than the thesis in the Research Program. The student carries out the project under the supervision of a faculty member.

The Applied Program offers a menu of courses from which the individual selects one or more specializations to prepare for the proposed project. To define a specialization, the graduate advisor and student identify on the plan of study two or more courses that provide depth in a cohesive theme. The following are examples of specialization lists for which the department presently offers courses: Software Systems, Networks and Distributed Systems, Databases, Visualization, and Bioinformatics.
 

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