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Department Overview
Master of Science
Doctor of Philosophy
Department Overview
Faculty
Professors: Farokh Bastani, Ramaswamy Chandrasekaran, Ding-Zhu Du, András Faragó, Gopal Gupta, Dung T. Huynh, Dan Moldovan, Simeon C. Ntafos, Balaji Raghavachari, Hsing-Mean (Edwin) Sha, Ivan H. Sudborough, Bhavani Thuraisingham, Klaus Truemper (emeritus), Kang Zhang, Si Qing Zheng, I-Ling Yen
Associate Professors: Sergei Bereg, Lawrence Chung, Jorge A. Cobb, Ovidiu Daescu, Galigekere R. Dattatreya, Sanda Harabagiu, Vasileios Hatzivassiloglou, Jason Jue, Latifur Khan, Rym Mili, Ivor P. Page, B. Prabhakaran, Ravi Prakash, Haim Schweitzer, Subbarayan Venkatesan, Yuke Wang, W. Eric Wong
Assistant Professors: Joao Cangussu, Kendra M.L. Cooper, Jing Dong, Xiaohu Guo, Kevin Hamlen, Murat Kantarcioglu, Yang Liu, Ying Liu, Vincent Ng, Neeraj Mittal, Kamil Sarac, Weili Wu
Senior Lecturers: Tim Farage, Herman Harrison, Sam Karrah, Lawrence King, Greg Ozbirn, Cort Steinhorst, Anthony Sullivan, Laurie Thompson, Nancy Van Ness
Objectives
The Graduate Program in Computer Science provides intensive preparation in the design, programming, theory and applications of computers. The Department of Computer Science offers courses of study leading to an M.S. in computer science, an M.S. in computer science with a major in software engineering, a Ph.D. in computer science and a Ph.D. in software engineering. Training is provided for both academically oriented students and students with professional goals in business, industrial and governmental occupations requiring advanced knowledge of computer theory and technology. Courses and research are offered in a variety of subfields of computer science, including operating systems, computer architecture, computer graphics, pattern recognition, automata theory, combinatorics, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, database design, computer networks, programming languages, software systems, analysis of algorithms, computational complexity, software engineering, software testing, software reliability, scheduling, visualization, fault-tolerant computing, parallel processing, telecommunications networks, telecommunications software, performance of systems, VLSI, computational geometry and design automation.
A comprehensive program of evening courses is offered, enabling part-time students to earn a master’s degree or to take individual courses of interest.
Facilities
The Department of Computer Science has a large number of PCs and Sun workstations as well as several servers for research use. Laboratories are available for parallel processing, distributed systems, software engineering, high-performance computing, graphics, programming languages and systems, telecommunications, CAD and graph visualization, image understanding and processing, artificial intelligence, data mining, natural language processing, speech processing and Web technologies. The Department of Computer Science has an Internet2 connection, and all major computers on campus are linked by an Ethernet network.
In addition to the Computer Science faculty, there are individuals who are involved in computer-related work in many other areas of the university, including physical and social sciences and various areas of business and management. Students majoring in computer science with an interest in any of these important application areas have the opportunity to consult and work with talented faculty from a wide range of disciplines. The department actively participates in a number of interdisciplinary degree programs, including an M.S. and Ph.D. in computer engineering, an M.S. and Ph.D. in telecommunications engineering, and a Ph.D. in geospatial information sciences.
MASTER OF SCIENCE
The Department of Computer Science offers an M.S. in computer science and an M.S. in computer science with a major in software engineering.
Admission Requirements
The university’s general admission requirements are discussed here.
Students entering the computer science M.S. program should have an undergraduate preparation equivalent to a baccalaureate in a quantitative science, including calculus and linear algebra. Special arrangements, however, requiring more than the minimal number of hours, can be made for students with good undergraduate preparation in other fields. Minimum requirements are:
- A bachelor’s degree that includes two semesters of calculus and one semester of linear algebra.
- A GPA of at least 3.0 (last 60 hours). A GPA in quantitative courses of at least 3.3.
- A GRE score of at least 1200 (verbal + quantitative) or 1800 (verbal + quantitative + analytical) is advisable based on our experience with student success in the program.
Students lacking undergraduate preparation in computer science must complete the courses listed below. At the discretion of the graduate adviser, a diagnostic exam may be required. The required prerequisite courses common to all master’s students are:
CS 5301 Advanced Professional and Technical Communication
CS 5303 Computer Science I
CS 5330 Computer Science II
CS 5333 Discrete Structures
CS 5343 Algorithm Analysis and Data Structures
CS 5348 Operating Systems Concepts
Substitution of CS 5303, 5330 by professional experience will be considered. Additional prerequisite courses required for the various degree plans are:
For the traditional computer science and bioinformatics tracks:
CS 5349 Automata Theory
CS 5390 Computer Networks
For the networks and telecommunications track:
CS 3341 Probability and Statistics
CS 5390 Computer Networks
For the intelligent systems track:
CS 5349 Automata Theory
For the major in software engineering:
CS/SE 5354 Software Engineering
Degree Requirements
The university’s general degree requirements are discussed here.
Students may choose a thesis plan or a non-thesis plan. The thesis plan requires a minimum of 27 hours of courses, plus completion of an approved thesis (six thesis hours). This thesis is directed by a supervising professor and must be approved by the head of the Department of Computer Science. The non-thesis plan also requires a minimum of 33 hours of courses.
By a judicious planning of courses chosen from the computer science curriculum, supervised and approved by the graduate adviser, students may pursue an M.S. degree in computer science while emphasizing specific areas of the discipline. Students may also choose to receive an M.S. degree in computer science with a major in software engineering. Because of the rapidly changing nature of the computer science discipline, the specific courses required may change by the time of a student’s admission. A listing of the required courses will be specified by the student’s adviser. Specific degree requirements follow.
Core Requirements (15 hours)
Students are required to complete one of the following:
Traditional Computer Science TrackCS 6363 Design & Analysis of Computer Algorithms
CS 6378 Advanced Operating Systems
CS 6390 Advanced Computer Networks
Two of the following three courses:
CS 6353 Compiler Construction
CS/SE 6360 Database Design
CS 6371 Structure & Design of Programming Languages
CS 6352 Performance of Computer Systems & Networks
CS 6363 Design & Analysis of Computer Algorithms
CS 6378 Advanced Operating Systems
CS 6385 Algorithmic Aspects of Telecommunication Networks
CS 6390 Advanced Computer Networks
CS/SE 6360 Database Design
CS 6363 Design & Analysis of Computer Algorithms
CS 6364 Artificial Intelligence
CS 6375 Machine Learning
CS 6378 Advanced Operating Systems
CS 6325 Introduction to Bioinformatics
CS 6363 Design & Analysis of Computer Algorithms
CS 6360 Database Design
Two of the following four courses:
CS 6333 Algorithms in Computational Biology
CS 6365 Data and Text Mining for Computational Biology
CS 6372 Computational Systems Biology
CS 6393 Advanced Algorithms in Biology
CS/SE 6354 Advanced Software Engineering
CS/SE 6361 Requirements Engineering
CS/SE 6362 Software Architecture & Design
CS/SE 6367 Software Testing, Validation & Verification
CS/SE 6388 Software Project Planning & Management
Students must satisfy the core requirements by either earning a 3.2 minimum grade point average OR earning a 3.0 minimum grade point average in the five core courses and taking an extra approved elective (beyond the minimum degree requirements of 33 hours) and earning a grade of B or better in this additional elective.
Electives (minimum of 18 hours)Five 6000/7000/8000-level elective CS courses (15 credit hours), or six hours of thesis or project courses plus three elective courses (also totaling 15 credit hours), with approval of a graduate adviser, and a minimum grade point average of 3.0 is required. Courses that are prerequisites for the student’s core requirements are especially recommended. Approved electives must be taken to make a minimum of 33 hours.
The Department of Computer Science offers both the master of science in computer science and the master of science in computer science with a major in software engineering, but students are not permitted to pursue both degrees.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSPHY
The Department of Computer Science offers Ph.D. degrees in computer science and in software engineering.
Each degree program is tailored to the student. The student must arrange a course program with the guidance and approval of a faculty member chosen as his or her graduate adviser. Adjustments can be made as the student’s interests develop and a specific dissertation topic is chosen.
Admission Requirements
The university’s general admission requirements are discussed here.
A student may be admitted under two possible options. The student must have:
- A master’s degree in computer science or its equivalent, and
- A GPA of at least 3.5 and GRE of at least 1200 (verbal and quantitative) or 1800 (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) is advisable based on our experience with student success in the program.
Or:
- A B.S. in a related area that includes two semesters of calculus and linear algebra with
- A GPA of at least 3.5 in the last 60 hours and
- A GRE of at least 1300 (verbal and quantitative) is advisable based on our experience with student success in the program.
Degree Requirements
The university’s general degree requirements are discussed here.
Core Requirements
The core requirements for a Ph.D. in computer science are the same as those for an M.S. in computer science or an M.S. in computer science with a major in software engineering. The core requirements for a Ph.D. in software engineering are the same as those for an M.S. in computer science with major in software engineering.
- Pass a qualifying examination.
- Pass with a grade of B or better courses chosen as follows:
- CS 6382 Theory of Computation; in addition, students pursuing a Ph.D. in software engineering should take CS/SE 6389 Formal Methods and Programming Methodology.
- Two CS/SE 7000 and above level courses
- Sufficient CS electives for a total of at least 90 hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. At least nine hours of organized advanced computer science electives must be taken at UT Dallas. Students are encouraged to consult with an adviser in choosing electives.
Dissertation
A dissertation is required and must be approved by the graduate program. Students must arrange for a dissertation adviser willing to guide their dissertation. Students must have a dissertation supervising committee that consists of no less than four members, and at least three committee members must be from the Department of Computer Science faculty. The dissertation may be in computer science exclusively or it may involve considerable work in an area of application.
