UofC • This Is Now

Location

Information and Communications Technology Building, Room 602

Faculty number

(403) 220-6015

Fax

(403) 284-4707

E-mail address

gradapps@cpsc.ucalgary.ca

Web page URL

http://www.cpsc.ucalgary.ca

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Master of Science (MSc), thesis-based

The Master of Science degree with a specialization in Software Engineering is offered jointly through the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This specialization is offered in both a thesis-based route and a course-based route in the Computer Science Department. Software Engineering is a formal specialization.

In addition to Faculty admission requirements, the department requires:

(a)An undergraduate background of either:
A four-year Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science from a recognized institution with a minimum GPA of 3.3 in the last 2 years (i.e., last 20 half course equivalents) of the undergraduate program
OR

A four-year Bachelor's degree or equivalent from a recognized institution with a minimum GPA of 3.3 in the last 2 years (i.e., last 20 half course equivalents) of the undergraduate program. In addition, candidates must have an undergraduate course at the 3rd or 4th year level in each of the following computer science areas:

·Theory of Computation

·Software Engineering

·Systems (Operating Systems, Compilers, Distributed Systems, Networking)

·Application (Artificial Intelligence, Graphics, Databases, etc.)

The cumulative GPA for these courses must be at least 3.3.

Post-degree Computer Science courses may be considered in calculating the GPA. Exceptions to the GPA requirements may be considered for students with either:

·Demonstrated research excellence, or

·GRE General scores of at least 600 verbal and 750 quantitative and either 720 analytical (old test format) or 5.5 (new test format)

(b)For applicants required to provide proof of proficiency in English, a TOEFL score of 600 (written test), 250 (computer-based test) or 100 (internet-based test)

Students applying for entry to the Master of Science in Software Engineering will be assessed on qualification as in (a) above, but with a GPA of 3.0 and at least three years relevant experience in the software industry following the Bachelor's degree.

Deadlines for the submission of complete applications:

1 February for September admission

15 June for January admission

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring the grade point average to a required level for admission.

Graduate programs must be chosen in consultation with the supervisor and approved by the Computer Science Graduate Affairs Committee. In addition to the Faculty requirements, the Department requires:

Master of Science
(thesis program)

(a)Course Requirements: CPSC 699, plus

(b)4 additional half-course equivalents. At least two half-courses must be graduate-level computer science courses (labelled CPSC or SENG) and at most one half-course can be an undergraduate course numbered at the 500-level.

We recommend that students who are considering continuing on to a doctoral program or entering certain career paths, select courses that demonstrate some breadth across Computer Science (see PhD Breadth Requirements for courses).

(c)Seminar Requirement: Students are required to give a department seminar presentation on a topic related to their graduate research.

Master of Science with Software Engineering Specialization (Thesis Route)

(a)Course Requirements: CPSC 699, plus

(b) 4 half-course equivalents. At least three of these half-course equivalents must be taken from the Approved SENG list (available from the Department), and at most one half-course can be an undergraduate course numbered at the 500-level.

We recommend students who are considering continuing on to a doctoral program or entering certain career paths, select courses outside the Approved SENG list that demonstrate some breadth across Computer Science (see PhD Breadth Requirements for courses).

(c)Seminar Requirement: Students are required to give a department seminar presentation on a topic related to their graduate research.

Master of Science with Software Engineering Specialization (Course-Based Route)

(a)Ten half-course equivalents of which at least seven half -course equivalents must be graduate courses

(b)At least 6 half-courses selected from the Approved SENG list (available from the Department)

(c)A half-course or full-course may be taken as a project in the area of software development as part of the course requirement

Doctor of Philosophy

(a) Course Requirements: Students will be required to have achieved at least a grade of B in at least eight half-courses beyond the requirements for an undergraduate degree before completion of the PhD degree. At least three of these must be taken while the student is enrolled as a PhD student in Computer Science. Of the eight half-courses, at least six must be graduate level courses, with the remaining two courses being either graduate level courses or advanced (500-level) undergraduate courses.

(b) Breadth Requirements: Students must have achieved at least a grade of B in two graduate courses in each of three categories. These three categories are to be selected from the following four categories:

A. Applications: Includes Graphics, Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, and Scientific Computing

B. Systems: Includes Databases, Compilers, Networks, Operating Systems, and Software Engineering

C. Theory: Includes Algorithms, Computational Complexity, Quantum Computation, Numerical Analysis, Cryptography, Category Theory, Programming Languages Theory

D. External to Computer Science: If this category is used, the two courses must be presented with a justification as to why they are another area, and must be approved by the student's supervisor and the graduate committee.

An alternative breadth/depth program that satisfies the supervisor, the supervisory committee, and the graduate committee may be proposed in special cases. In case of conflict, an appeal committee will be struck by the Head of the Department.

(c) Seminar Requirement: Students are required to give a department seminar presentation on a topic related to their graduate research.

None

For thesis-based programs only, at most one half-course at the 500-level may be taken as part of the course work requirement. This must be recommended by the supervisor and approved by the Graduate Director.

For the MSc with SENG specialization (course-based route), at most three half-course equivalents at the 500-level may be taken as part of the course work requirement.

Expected completion time is two years for thesis-based Master of Science students and five years for course-based students. Expected completion time for doctoral students entering with a Master's degree is three years, and four years for a student transferring to the doctoral program without a Master's degree.

Generally, students are admitted to a specific research area and supervisor. Sometimes students are admitted to a specific lab or research area only and are assigned an interim advisor. In the latter case, the student must find a permanent supervisor within six months of the start of the program. Students may seek a change in research area or supervisor after admission. Such a change must be satisfactory to the student, and to the proposed new supervisor. Provided this change meets any current supervisory load constraints, this change will be supported and approved by the Graduate Director.

Doctoral students select their supervisory committee members in consultation with their permanent supervisors.

Final thesis oral examinations are open examinations.

There is a written departmental examination and an oral candidacy examination in the doctoral program, before the final thesis oral defence. The departmental written examinations are taken by the student after course work is completed and before the Faculty oral candidacy examination. The written component consists of one or two question and answer examinations (normally with a total length of six hours) and a take-home examination (normally 3-5 days), which cover the breadth of the candidate's area of specialization. The scope of the exam is defined by a reading list, prepared by the student's supervisor in consultation with the supervisory committee, and given to the student at least two months before the written examinations.

Research proposal requirements are determined by the supervisor at the Master's level.

A research proposal, approved by the student's supervisory committee before the oral candidacy examination, is required at the doctoral level. The proposal will contain an abstract, a literature survey, an analysis of the literature, an overview of the proposed research, and references.

None

Financial assistance may be available to qualified students. For information on awards see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this calendar.

Students applying for scholarships must submit their applications to the Department by the third week in January.

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Information on faculty research interests may be found at: http://www.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/Research/