
	Description

	Degrees Offered

	Admission

	Master of Science in Computer Science

	Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

	Contact Info

Description

The Computer Science program offers Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Computer Science. The program has a long and respected history, having conferred M.S. degrees since 1968 and Ph.D. degrees since 1980. In 2001 our Ph.D. program was ranked nationally in the top 10 by the National Association of Graduate and Professional Studies.

Students in the program receive a broad background in the areas of programming systems and languages, computer architecture, and computer science theory while specializing in a research area. Research interests of the computer science faculty include affective computing, applied perception, computational biology, computational geometry, computer and network security, computer architecture, computer forensics, computer graphics, computer networks, computer vision, cryptography, data compression, database management systems, data mining, design and analysis of algorithms, evolutionary computation, genetic algorithms, graph theory, hardware/software co-design, image processing, machine learning, mixed and virtual reality, mobile computing, modeling and simulation, multimedia systems, natural language processing, neural networks, parallel and distributed processing, performance evaluation, programming languages, quantum computing, semantic web, software agents, software engineering, and VLSI systems.

Students successfully completing this program will have exhibited breadth as well as depth of capability involving both theoretical aspects of computer science and practical considerations of computing.

The mission of the M.S. degree program is to provide students with an in-depth education geared toward meeting the needs of business and industry in Florida and throughout the United States. Our goal is to produce graduates with a high level of competency in understanding, applying, and enunciating the modern concepts, principles, methods, and theories necessary for the design and implementation of computing systems.

The Ph.D. program’s goal is to produce professionals trained at the highest possible academic level in the theory and practice of computer science in order to meet current and projected market demand for computer science experts. Our Ph.D. students graduate with proven abilities in research and instruction and have expertise suitable for positions in industry, academia, and government.

Degrees Offered

Master of Science in Computer Science

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

Admission

For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the the Admissions and Registration section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants are directed to visit the college's pre-application site as well as to apply online. Please be sure to submit all requested material by the established deadline(s).

The College of Engineering and Computer Science requires that you fill out a pre-application form (www.graduate.cecs.ucf.edu) before you complete the application for graduate admission. The deadlines for the pre-application form can be found on the Prospective Student Page on the College of Engineering and Computer Science website.

Master’s Degree Program

In addition to the general admission requirements, applicants to this program should note:

Official scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which must have been taken within the last five years, must be provided.
Admittance to the program normally requires a combined verbal and quantitative score of 1200 on the GRE and a GPA of 3.25 or greater.
For applicants from countries where English is not the official language, or for an applicant whose bachelor’s degree is not from an accredited U.S. institution, an official score of at least 220 (computer-based test; or equivalent score on the paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required.

An undergraduate degree in Computer Science is desirable but not required. Applicants without a strong undergraduate background in Computer Science must demonstrate an understanding of the material covered in the following upper-division undergraduate courses:

CDA 4150 Computer Architecture
COP 4020 Programming Languages I
COP 4600 Operating Systems
COT 4210 Discrete Computational Structures

The student may choose to demonstrate his/her knowledge of these courses by scoring well on the Subject (Advanced) GRE in Computer Science. It is estimated that more than 85 percent of this GRE deals directly with the material covered in these courses.

Doctoral Degree Program

Outstanding students with a bachelor’s degree are encouraged to apply directly into the doctoral program. Admission to the Ph.D. program is formalized by the university upon the recommendation of the Computer Science Graduate Committee.

In addition to the general admission requirements, applicants to this program must:

Submit a resume, goals statement, and three letters of recommendation.
Provide official scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which must have been taken within the last five years
Typically have a combined verbal and quantitative score of 1250 on the GRE and a GPA of 3.25 or greater
For applicants from countries where English is not the official language, or for an applicant whose bachelor’s degree is not from an accredited U.S. institution, an official score of at least 220 (computer-based test; or equivalent score on the paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required.

CDA 4150 Computer Architecture
COP 4020 Programming Languages I
COP 4600 Operating Systems
COT 4210 Discrete Computational Structures

Application Due Dates

All students applying for fellowships must apply by the Fall Priority deadline date.

U.S. Applicants

Program(s) Fall Priority Fall Spring Summer

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science Jan 15 Jul 15 Dec 1 Apr 15

Master of Science in Computer Science Jan 15 Jul 15 Dec 1 Apr 15

International Applicants

Program(s) Fall Priority Fall Spring Summer

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science Jan 15 Jan 15 Jul 1 Nov 1

Master of Science in Computer Science Jan 15 Jan 15 Jul 1 Nov 1

International Transfer Applicants

Program(s) Fall Priority Fall Spring Summer

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science Jan 15 Mar 1 Sep 1 Dec 15

Master of Science in Computer Science Jan 15 Mar 1 Sep 1 Dec 15

Master of Science in Computer Science

General College Requirements

Minimum Hours Required for M.S.—30-36 Credit Hours

Required Courses—9 Credit Hours

(Students must receive a 3.0 or above grade in each of these courses.)

CDA 5106 Advanced Computer Architecture I (3 credit hours)
COT 5405 Design and Analysis of Algorithms (3 credit hours)

And one of these courses:

COP 5611 Operating Systems Design Principles (3 credit hours)
COP 5021 Program Analysis (3 credit hours)
COT 5310 Formal Languages and Automata Theory (3 credit hours)

Restricted Electives—21-27 Credit Hours

Restricted electives must include two 6000-level Computer Science courses taught by Computer Science faculty, exclusive of independent study, and may not include any courses for which the grade received is below a 3.0. Additional credits will normally be taken from 5000- and 6000-level Computer Science courses. Approval may be granted for at most 6 semester hours to be taken from graduate courses outside Computer Science. Such approval needs to occur prior to taking these outside courses.

Two options are available. The nonthesis option is a 36-credit-hour program with at most 6 hours of independent study. The thesis option is a 30-credit-hour program and allows no independent study. Six credits of thesis (CAP, CDA, CEN, COP or COT 6971) are intended to span two semesters. Beyond these two semesters, students are required to be enrolled in at least one credit hour of thesis until the thesis requirement is satisfied. Students are required to prepare and defend a formal thesis in accordance with university requirements.

The plan of study for each student should be filed no later than in the first two weeks of the student’s second semester in the program. This plan must satisfy the following:

30-36 credit hours depending on the option selected.
The grade in each course must be a "C" (2.0) or better with at most 6 credit hours having grades below "B" (3.0) and an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better. (Note that there is no grade forgiveness in graduate school, so all grades attained on each course are used to compute a student’s grade point average.)
No courses below the 5000-level, and no 5000-level CGS prefix course work.
No more than 6 credit hours of independent study in the nonthesis option and none in the thesis option.
Three required courses with grades of "B" (3.0) or above attained in each.
No more than 6 credits taken outside computer science, with these courses having been approved by his or her adviser prior to the student enrolling in them.
Two 6000-level courses, with grades of "B" (3.0) or better, taught by Computer Science faculty.
6 credits of thesis (CAP, CDA, CEN, COP or COT 6971) for those in the thesis option.

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

The Ph.D. plan of study will consist of a minimum of 15 credit hours of Ph.D. dissertation (CAP, CDA, CEN, COP, or COT 7980) credits and at least 57 additional credit hours of graduate (5000-level or above) credits. The latter must include CDA 5106, COT 5310, COT 5405, at least 15 credit hours of advanced (6000- or 7000-level) computer science courses, at least 6 additional graduate computer science credits (exclusive of dissertation and independent study), and 6 graduate credit hours from approved courses taken outside computer science. No more than 12 credits of Independent Study can be used.

The plan of study for each student should be filed no later than in the first two weeks of the student’s second semester in the program. This plan must satisfy the following:

A minimum of 72 credit hours.
The grade earned in each course must be a "C" (2.0) or better with at most 6 credit hours having grades below "B" (3.0) and an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better (Note that there is no grade forgiveness in graduate school, so all grades attained on each course are used to compute a student’s grade point average.)
No courses below the 5000-level, and no 5000-level CGS prefix course work.
No more than 12 credit hours of independent study.
Five 6000- or 7000-level courses (15 credits), with grades of "B" (3.0) or better, taught by Computer Science faculty. None of these may be independent study or dissertation, and at most two of these courses may be directed research courses for which letter grades (not S/U) are assigned.
The three required courses with grades of "B" (3.0) or above attained in each.
Two courses (6 credits) taken outside computer science, with these courses having been approved by his or her adviser prior to the student’s enrolling for them.
Six additional computer science graduate credits to make the total of all non-independent study/non-dissertation/non-directed research courses total at least 36 credits.
15 credits of Ph.D. dissertation (CAP, CDA, CEN, COP or COT 7980).

General College Requirements

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination

Phase I of the qualifying examination, normally taken within the first two semesters of graduate work, determines whether a student will be allowed to continue in the Ph.D.

Phase I consists of a written examination in which students must successfully pass questions covering four areas from a list of areas supplied by the Computer Science Graduate Committee. Students must clearly convey a strong undergraduate knowledge of each area. Phase I examinations will be offered in the Fall and Spring terms. Students are allowed two attempts to pass the Phase I examination.

Phase II of the qualifying examination consists of the acceptance of a professional paper, normally under the supervision of the student’s adviser, by a peer-reviewed conference or journal. It is expected that the Phase II goal will be satisfied within the first eighteen months of graduate work.

Dissertation Committee

The Dean, through the Chairs and Directors, is responsible for committee formation, additions, and deletions. The doctoral committee must consist of a minimum of four members: three must be faculty members from within Computer Science, and one must be at large from outside the Computer Science faculty. Committee chairs must be members of the school graduate faculty. Joint faculty members may serve as school-faculty committee members. A member of the adjunct faculty or an off-campus expert may serve as the outside-the-college member. The Computer Science Graduate Committee may specify additional membership. The Division of Graduate Studies reserves the right to review appointments to advisory committees, place a representative on any advisory committee, or appoint a co-adviser.
In unusual cases, with approval from the School Director, two professors may co-chair the committee. Joint faculty members may serve as committee chairs, but off-campus experts and adjunct faculty may not, although they may serve as co-chairs.
All members vote on acceptance or rejection of the dissertation proposal and the final dissertation. The dissertation proposal and final dissertation must be approved by a majority of the advisory committee.

Candidacy Examination

The candidacy examination consists of a written doctoral research prospectus followed by an oral presentation of the proposal. Students cannot register for dissertation credit (XXX 7980) until the term following successful passing of the candidacy examination.

Residency Requirement

Students in the Ph.D. program (postcandidacy) are normally expected to be registered for a minimum of 9 credit hours for at least two consecutive semesters.

Time Limitation

Students have seven years from the beginning of regular graduate status in the Ph.D. program to complete all requirements for the degree.

Dissertation and Oral Defense

Students must write a dissertation on their research that describes a significant original contribution to the field of computer science. The oral defense of the dissertation is administered by the research committee, which makes a critical inquiry into the work reported in the dissertation and into the areas of knowledge that are immediately relevant to the research. All members vote on acceptance or rejection of the dissertation. The dissertation must be approved by the dissertation adviser and committee, the school director or designee, and the dean of the college or designee. Format approval from the Thesis and Dissertation Editor, and final approval of satisfaction of degree requirements by UCF Graduate Studies is required.

Financial Support

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see Financing Grad School, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Key points about financial support:

If you are interested in financial assistance, you are strongly encouraged to apply for admission early. A complete application for admission, including all supporting documents, must be received by the priority date listed for your program under "Admissions."
You must be admitted to a graduate program before the university can consider awarding financial assistance to you.
If you want to be considered for loans and other need-based financial assistance, review the UCF Student Financial Assistance website at http://finaid.ucf.edu and complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, which is available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Apply early and allow up to six weeks for the FAFSA form to be processed.
UCF Graduate Studies awards university graduate fellowships, with most decisions based on nominations from the colleges and programs. To be eligible for a fellowship, students must be accepted as a graduate student in a degree program and be enrolled full-time. University graduate fellowships are awarded based on academic merit and therefore are not affected by FAFSA determination of need.
Please note that select fellowships do require students to fill out a fellowship application (either a university fellowship application, an external fellowship application, or a college or school fellowship application). For university fellowship applications, see Financing Grad School.
For information on assistantships (including teaching, research, and general graduate assistantships) or tuition support, contact the graduate program director of your major.

Contact Info

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

Charles Hughes, Ph.D., Professor
Phone Number: 407-823-2779
gradprog@cs.ucf.edu

Master of Science in Computer Science

Charles Hughes, Ph.D., Professor
Phone Number: 407-823-2779
gradprog@cs.ucf.edu