Procedures & Requirements for Graduation
The Program Guidelinerequirements are outlined on the Program Information page.
Degree Requirements
Candidates for a master's degree are normally required to satisfy a residency requirement of at least two semesters of full-time graduate study or the equivalent on a part-time basis. Each student must have a graduate advisor to direct his/her pursuit of the M.S. degree. With the aid of the graduate advisor, the student must choose an M.S. Advisory Committee and complete a Plan of Study which specifies the courses to be taken and the option, Plan I (thesis) or Plan II (non-thesis). In either case, Plan I or Plan II, the student is required to pass a final oral examination that covers work presented for the degree. These requirements are now described in detail.
Advisory Committee
Prior to completing 12 credit hours of graduate course work in the M.S. program, the student must select a computer science graduate faculty member to serve as academic advisor, research director, and chairman of the student's M.S. Advisory Committee. In conjunction with this advisor, the student must invite at least two other graduate faculty members to serve as M.S. Advisory Committee members. The M.S. Advisory Committee will provide any necessary direction to the student as well as be responsible for approving the Plan of Study and administering the final oral examination.
Plan of Study
The student, in consultation with his/her major advisor, must complete a Plan of Study consisting of at least 30 semester hours. The Plan of Study must be submitted prior to the completion of 12 semester hours of graduate work. This document specifies the courses and options chosen by the student and must be approved by the student's M.S. Advisory Committee and the Chairman of the GSC. With M.S. Advisory Committee approval, this Plan of Study may be changed during the course of the student's graduate program.
In order to insure that the graduate of the M.S. program will have acquired a sufficient breadth of knowledge in computer science, the following three courses or their equivalents are required if they were not previously taken at the upper division as an undergraduate:
- CS 5500 Operating Systems I
- CS 5700 Computability, Automata and Formal Languages
- CS 5720 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
The entrance requirements coupled with these three courses insure that the graduate of the M.S. program will have acquired a sufficient breadth of knowledge in computer science. Students who have had advanced undergraduate courses in these exact areas will not be allowed to take these courses for graduate credit, but instead are required to include other graduate level computer science courses in their Plan of Study.
The Plan of Study must also satisfy a depth enhancement requirement. To satisfy this requirement the graduate student's Plan of Study can include unlimitedcomputer science courses that are cross-listed with 4000 level computer science courses.
The remaining courses in the Plan of Study are electives. The number of courses will depend on whether a thesis or the course only option is chosen. Plan I requires a thesis worth 6credit hours. Up to 6 hours of graduate level courses may be taken in other departments. The student's Advisory Committee must approve such courses before they are taken. Any course, which is cross-listed with computer science, is considered a computer science course, regardless of the department in which the student actually registers. The student must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 or be subject to being placed on probation or denied the privilege of continued enrollment as a graduate student in the University.
A graduate student who has hours to transfer should complete a Transfer of Credit form, which is available from the Computer Science Department office. This form must be given to the student's advisor for his or her signature and further processing. There are two types of courses eligible for transfer: 1) graduate courses in computer science, taken at another institution and not applied towards another degree and 2) graduate courses in computer science taken at UCCS while the studentwas inunclassified status. The total number of credits to be transferred cannot exceed nine hours. Only courses in which a grade of B or higher was earned can be transferred.
Thesis (Plan I)
Students who intend to write an M.S. thesis should develop a thesis proposal in conjunction with their major advisor that outlines the topics, scope, and objectives of the proposed thesis. The thesis topic will normally be in a common interest area to both the student and the thesis advisor. The thesis proposal should be discussed with and approved by the student's M.S. Advisory Committee before the student begins the research and writing of the thesis. A signed copy of the proposal must be placed in the student's permanent file.
The thesis should represent the best writing possible by the student and is not to be written or extensively edited by the student's major advisor. Original research work is praised though not necessary. Implementation and survey type theses are acceptable as is quality work related to the student's professional activities. However, the work must be accomplished while the student is enrolled in the master's program. The thesis is intended to furnish objective evidence of the student's ability to use independently and constructively the information, skills, and powers acquired in his/her graduate work. Students should begin writing their thesis early so there will be sufficient time for evaluation by the thesis advisor and rewriting by the student.
In mechanical features, all theses must comply with the specifications of the Graduate School. These specifications are contained in the document entitled "Thesis andDissertation Manual" which is available on the Graduate School website. It is the student's responsibility to be familiar with this document so that a thesis acceptable to the Graduate School can be produced. This document specifies thesis form and standards, not technical content. Technical content is subject to the approval of the M.S. Advisory Committee. A copy of the thesis should be uploaded to the Computer Science Department GSC repository following the instructions given at the time of scheduling the defense.
Course Only Option (Plan II)
Students must complete a total of 10 graduate level classes. The student's advisor must approve the courses selected. Up to 2 classes from outside the Computer Science Department may be included with advisor approval.
Final Oral Examination (Defense)
For either Plan Plan I, or II the student is required to pass an oral examination on work presented for the degree.
The final oral examination should be scheduled according to the deadline established by the UCCS Graduate School Office. Under Plan I, the examination will consist of a defense to the thesis and its foundations. Under Plan II, the examination will consist of a defense of the project and its foundations. It is the responsibility of the M.S. Advisory Committee to administer the examination and to report the results to the Graduate School. It is the responsibility of the student to upload a copy of the thesis or project report to the GSC repository at least one week (preferably two weeks) in advance of the scheduled examination following the instructions given at the time of scheduling the defense, and to schedule the examination in concurrence with the M.S. Advisory Committee. This examination is open to the public.
If the student fails the final oral examination, the student may not attempt the examination again until at least three months have elapsed and until the student has covered such work as may be prescribed by the M.S. Advisory Committee. The student may retake the examination only once. If this examination is failed twice, the student will be terminated from the program.
A master's degree student must be registered either for course work or as "Candidate for Degree" (CS 9990, 0 credit hours) the semester in which the final oral examination is scheduled.
Time Limits
Full-time graduate students should be able to complete the M.S. degree in computer science intwo and a half years. Part-time students, takingone courses per semester, should complete their work in three to four years. Most graduate courses are offered in the late afternoon and evening in order to provide graduate study opportunities for working professionals. All work toward the M.S. degree must be completed within a six year time limit. If the degree cannot be completed within this time period, then the student must request an extension from the Graduate School and validate any course work more than six years old, possibly by special examination.
Graduate Studies Committee
The Department of Computer Science at UCCS has a Graduate Studies Committee which reviews graduate student progress once a year and writes to students when a lack of progress is encountered; reviews and approves Plans of Study and changes in these plans; and may be asked to assist in the selection of graduate advisors and M.S. Advisory Committees.
Progress Toward Degree
Any student who does not enroll for three consecutive semesters will be automatically inactivated from the programby the admissions department. The student must then re-apply and be re-admitted to continue in the program.
For additional information please contact the Computer Science Department.