Computer Science Graduate Students Orientation - Fall 2015
Welcome to the Computer Science Graduate Students Orientation at Lan Wang in Fall 2015. Explore the department overview, program overviews, common issues, and engage with the Graduate Student Association. Meet the faculty, understand the academic requirements for the Master's and Ph.D. programs, and get acquainted with key personnel like academic advisors and the department secretary.
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Computer Science Graduate Students Orientation Lan Wang Fall 2015
Agenda Welcome by Dr. Dasgupta Main Presentation Department overview Program overviews Common issues Graduate Student Association Open Questions
Department of Computer Science Office: DH 375 Offering Computer Science: Bachelor, Masters, Ph.D. Information assurance: Graduate Certificate Bioinformatics: MS (with other departments) Cutting-edge research Areas such as: artificial intelligence, bio-inspired computing, big-data, natural language processing, networking, security, software engineering, etc. Strong research funding and publication record
The roll-call (our faculty) William Baggett Dipankar Dasgupta (Chair) Scott Fleming Max Garzon Santosh Kumar Kriangsiri Malasri (Advising Coordinator) Vinhthuy Phan (Undergraduate Coordinator) Marko Puljic Vasile Rus Sajjan Shiva Deepak Venugopal Lan Wang (Associate Chair and Graduate Coordinator) Zhuo Lu
Who I should HAVE MET Department secretary: Lyndsey Rush (DH 375) Give any forms for me to sign to the secretary Your academic advisor If you do not have one yet, talk to Kriangsiri (Top) Malasri and he will assign you one. Call him/her Dr. Lastname (e.g., Dr. Wang) or firstname if your advisor prefers Get your advisor s permission before you do anything related to your courses and research Set up an appointment before meeting your advisor. If you have any questions, ask your advisor first. Your advisor should email me any questions he/she cannot answer. You can change academic advisor, but let Top know and email both the old and new advisors
Master Program: Requirements 34 credits (will be 33 starting Fall 2016) Main points 4 core courses: COMP 7012, 7212, 7612, 7712, At least 3 of the 4 have to be B- or better Maximum 6 credits of non-coursework (project/thesis/independent studies etc.) At most 6 credits of 6000-level courses Project/Thesis: COMP 7996 or COMP 7980 GPA : should be at least 3.0 Grades : should not have more than two C+/C/C- , No D or F Programming test requirement
Ph.D. Program Requirements Course credits Qualifying exams: 4 core courses Comprehensive exam/Dissertation Proposal Final Dissertation defense Remember to fill out the PhD curriculum planning form (on department website) the first semester. Must be approved by advisor, graduate coordinator and department chair
Ph.D. Program Course credits 72 credits from Bachelor degree If you do not come with a Master s The 4 Master level core courses, must get at least B in all of them, before your first 36 credits In case of failure, an additional exam will be given If you come with an approved Master, you need (72 number of graduate credits from you MS degree) 8000- level courses. Other requirements 9-15 credits of COMP 9000 (Dissertation) must be consecutive At least 18 credits of 8000-level or above courses At most 15 credits of Independent studies
Approved Masters Degree Courses and requirements similar to our MS degree Give your transcript to advisor for evaluation Advisor makes his/her recommendation to the graduate committee over email along with your transcript If approved (up to 36 credits), put this info in the PhD curriculum planning form. Put in degree candidacy form when graduating.
Ph.D. Program Comprehensive exam/Dissertation proposal Student should find a dissertation proposal advisor Settle for an advisor 2 years after BS/1 year after M.S. No need to be your initial advisor Prepare a dissertation proposal what research to do for dissertation? Select a dissertation committee 4 members minimum Set a date for comprehensive exam Include dissertation proposal defense Questions on areas of study
Ph.D. Program Dissertation defense Final defense with dissertation committee Have the final draft of the dissertation early to the committee Follow graduate school guidelines to the letter
Ph.D. Program What to do NOW! If you re a new Ph.D student Talk to your initial advisor ASAP Fill out a Ph.D Planning Form Available from the department web site: http://www.cs.memphis.edu/index.php?p=forms Have you advisor approve it and send it to the department If you are a current Ph.D. student and have not filled in the form, do it ASAP. Form needs to be updated and approved after passing qualifying exam.
Programming Test Make sure you can write programs that run 1 week before semester begins 1 hr test on computer Java, C or C++ (ask if you want to use other language) You must either Pass the test within your first 2 attempts Take a programming course (chosen by the department) and get a B or better (B- do NOT count) Remember, this course does NOT count towards the degree Students who have not passed programming test cannot be department GA.
Course Registration GA: university-supported graduate assistants are expected to carry a 9-credit-hour load every semester (or 6 hours when enrolled only in thesis or dissertation hours). https://web0.memphis.edu/gradcatalog/assistantship.php Grant-supported GAs may register in fewer than 9 credits but international students still need to follow the rules below. International Students: Graduate students may reduce to fewer than 9 credit hours only if they have met all coursework requirements and have dissertation-only, thesis-only, or final-project-only remaining.
Not all courses count Some classes do not count towards the degree Any pre-req course Course for non-majors: COMP 6001, 6005, 6014, 6011, 6030, 6040, 6270, 6601, etc. Cognitive Science seminar (COMP7/8514): only if closely related to computer science or your research need to get advisor s approval (based on course syllabus) Courses from other departments Rule of thumb: may count 1-2 at most toward a degree, but must have approval of your advisor before taking the course (above 2 need advisor s statement on why) Easier version of our courses from other departments do not count (e.g. MIS database)
Academic Fraud Serious matter! Zero tolerance Plagiarism/Cheating: doing the following without clearly acknowledging the source Direct copying the work of another person Paraphrasing the ideas of another person Recycling previously submitted work Potential action F grade cannot be removed Appear at University committee
Academic Probation GPA < 3.0 Academic Probation First semester: You must talk to your advisor and grad coordinator before registration You will lose your GA Two consecutive semesters: You will appear before a 3-member committee Make your case Committee may decide Terminate your student status Require you to take extra courses To avoid getting into trouble Work hard Don t overload yourself
Other Common Issues 1-credit COMP7950 removed in 2015-2016 catalog If you ll graduate in Fall 2015 or later, switch to new catalog. Otherwise, register this course under your advisor s section. Transfer credits Talk to advisor. Apply for credit transfer in the first semester Must be CS relevant course that has not been used to fulfill another degree No UG level course can be transferred For Masters students: at most 12 For Ph.D. students: at most 36 For PhD students, advisor puts his/her recommendation in the PhD curriculum planning form. Waiving core courses Need to be approved by advisor based on transcript, course syllabus, etc. Advisor: email me for MS students, record in PhD form for for PhD students
Misc Information CS Notice board : Outside the CS dept office Departmental activities Fall: Social have a bit of fun! Spring: Research day show off your research Computer Science Colloquium Fridays 12:30 2pm All undergraduate and graduate students are welcome and department GAs must attend.
Computer Science Graduate Student Association Goals Better communication and interaction among graduate students in the Computer Science department. Student participation in departmental activities Activities Organize CS research day, CS open house, etc. Participate in open house, faculty hiring committees, student recruitment, and curriculum development. Nominate fellow students for scholarships/awards. Develop videos on research, lab activities, etc.
Roles of Officers and Members President Lead monthly meetings correspond with faculty advisors plan events for the graduate students Secretary Assist the president in planning events record notes from meetings distribute the notes to the graduate students for reference Vice President, treasurer, Liaisons represent graduate students on faculty committee, e.g., hiring, graduate curriculum, etc. report the committee activities to students and get feedback Members: all CS graduate students Elect officers and liaisons Participate in the CSGSA activities
Immediate Actions Solicit volunteers for the officer positions: president and secretary If multiple students volunteer for a position Each candidate gives a short speech of why they would like to be in the position Voting Establish forum for discussion, meeting space, mailing list. Develop by-laws for electing officers and liaisons in the futures.
