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Computer Science

Computer Science

Graduate Policy Handbook - General Information

Admissions

Acceptance decisions for the Computer Science Department graduate programs are made by an admissions committee made up of faculty within the Computer Science Department. This committee usually meets within two weeks after the admissions deadline to review applicants. Applicants should receive notification of the committee's decision within a month after the application deadline. For more informaton on the admissions cycle you may contact the Graduate Program Assistant at gradinfo@cs.byu.edu or (801) 422-1472.

Admission Deadlines

The following admission deadlines are for all applicants: US, Canadian, International, and Permanent Residents.

 

 FallWinterSpringSummer
MS January 15 August 15 No Admittance No Admittance
PhD January 15 August 15 No Admittance No Admittance

 



 

Contact the Graduate Program Assistant regarding late applications. Late applications will sometimes be considered. The sooner your application materials are received the better; incomplete applications will not be considered, this includes not submitting a current ecclesiastical endorsement. All students should apply online. For aditional information we invite prospective applicants to review our Guide for Applying to Graduate Study (GS Form 1): http://www.byu.edu/gradstudies/images/forms/GS_Form_1.pdf  This guide outlines the admission process as well as the appropriate ecclesiastical form for graduate admission. For questions about this guide please contact the University Graduate Studies office.

Please note new this year, all applicants, including international, must receive an endorsement before they can be officially admitted to the university.  If you are having difficulties obtaining an endorsement in your home country, please contact Meg or Sarah at INTL@byu.edu to arrange an interview with the university chaplain.

BYU Office of Graduate Studies
105 FPH
Provo, UT 84602
(801) 422-4091   Fax: (801) 422-0270

Email: gradstudies@byu.edu

Website: http://gradstudies.byu.edu

MS Admission

Selection to the MS program is based upon consideration of:

  • preparation in Computer Science,
  • GPA (recommended average of 3.25 where A is a 4.0. GPA is calculated on the last 60 hours).
  • general GRE exam (Recommended scores: Verbal:530, Quantitative: 700, Analytical: 4.5. Scores must be received before the application deadline for the applied semester),
  • letters of recommendation: Where possible, one or more of the letters of recommendation should be from faculty members with whom you have worked in a research capacity, or who have personal knowledge of your research and writing potential.
  • content of the letter of intent,
  • if English is a second language, a TOEFL exam score (Recommended scores: 640 (paper score scale) or 260 (computer score scale) or IBT score (recommended score under review).

Please note, there is no guarantee that if a student meets or exceeds these expected scores that they will be admitted.  Similarly, exceptional scores in one area could help overcome deficiencies in others.

Provisional Acceptance: A student without an acceptable undergraduate degree in Computer Science may be admitted provisionally to the MS program. Upon successful completion of the set of prerequisite courses (a grade of B- or better in each course), to be completed in their first year of the program, the student will be considered fully admitted.

  • Provisionally admitted students must either take or have taken the equivalent of CS 124, 142, 235, 236, 240, 252, any three CS courses beyond the 200-level (except 404), any two math courses beyond Math 113, and either an additional CS course beyond the 200-level (except 404) or an additional math course beyond Math 113.
  • If, after reviewing the content of the above courses, a student feels he/she has already passed an equivalent course elsewhere, the student should come to the graduate coordinator to discuss whether or not the course can be waived. The student should bring syllabi or any other helpful documentation to demonstrate that the prior courses do indeed cover the courses to be waived.
  • Students should complete provisional courses as soon as possible and must complete them within the first year after entering the program.

PhD Admission

Selection to the PhD program is based upon the following:

  • GPA (recommended average of 3.5 where A is a 4.0. GPA is calculated on the last 60 hours)
  • general GRE exam (Recommended scores: Verbal:575, Quantitative: 750, Analytical: 5.0. Scores must be received before the application deadline for the applied semester),
  • letters of recommendation: Where possible, one or more of the letters of recommendation should be from faculty members with whom you have worked in a research capacity, or who have personal knowledge of your research and writing potential.
  • content of the letter of intent,
  • if English is a second language, a TOEFL exam score (Recommended scores: 645 (paper score scale) or 265 (computer score scale) or IBT score (recommended score under review)).
  • Applicants must have a BS or MS in Computer Science from an accredited institution (applicants with deficiencies to this must apply to the MS program).
  • Although not required, we recommend taking the Computer Science GRE subject test because a good score can increase the likelihood of being admitted.
  • Proper faculty supervision must be available in the proposed area of study.

Again, there is no guarantee that if a student meets or exceeds the following information that they will be admitted.  Similarly, exceptional scores in one area could help overcome deficiencies in others.

International Applicants: Credential Evaluation

Starting Fall Semester 2008, international applicants whose degrees are awarded outside the United States must submit all official transcripts, diplomas, and marksheets to one of the following agencies for a credential evaluation, which must include a comprehensive course-by-course evaluation and calculation of a grade point average (GPA):

 

Applicants will be able to select in the online graduate program application which agency they plan on using for their evaluation. Applicants must then complete an evaluation application, which is available on the agency’s website or in hardcopy in the University’s Graduate Studies office (356-B ASB).

Transfer Credits

Transfer credit will be reviewed on an individual basis. To count toward graduate requirements, the credit must be clearly graduate level and a grade of B or better must have been received. MS applicants may transfer a maximum of:

  • 7 credit hours taken at other accredited universities or
  • 10 credit hours taken at BYU, but not used as credit for the BS or
  • 10 credit hours split between non-BS BYU hours and hours at other accredited universities so long as at most 7 credits come from other universities.

PhD applicants without an MS in Computer Science may transfer a maximum of 15 credit hours. PhD applicants with an MS in Computer Science, may transfer up to 30 hours of course credit. Please speak with the Graduate Coordinator to verify if you attended another school other than BYU for your MS in CS.

Notes about Transfer Credit: (1) Credit can never be transfered if it applied to another degree. (2) Transfer credit must be approved during a student's first semester of study at BYU. (3) Courses taken at another university after a student has begun graduate work at BYU must be preapproved by all members of the student's graduate committee and by the Graduate Coordinator; in addition, the student must notify the Office of Graduate Studies.

Admission Acceptance and Change of Admission Date

Admitted students must reply to their acceptance letter by the date indicated in the letter. If students have not replied by the stated deadline, their acceptance to their graduate program may be withdrawn by the department.

Students who have been admitted and have replied by their acceptance letter deadline, may come a semester early, if desired, (As an example, those admitted for Winter may come early and start in the Fall) Students MUST get permission from the department to change their admissions date from the original semester of admissions. In order to change this the student will send an e-mail to the Graduate Program Assistant at graduate@cs.byu.edu indicating their desire to come a semester early,  including what semester they were admitted for and what semester they would like to now enter. This request will be taken to the Graduate Coordinator for approval and then submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies as a request to officially change the student's start date on their record.

Students wanting to defer their enrollment must reapply to the program by creating a new online application and paying the application fee.

Financial Assistance

The Computer Science Department recognizes that most students require financial assistance to remain in school. The department has funds to supplement students' financial needs which are available within department and university guidelines. Assistance is available in the following forms.

Types of Assistance

  • Teaching Assistantships: Teaching assistantships are available. We recommend that you contact the faculty teaching the course in the semester you are interested in being a TA for that course and make arrangements with them directly to become a TA.
  • Research Assistantships: Many faculty members hire research assistants to work on funded research projects. It is expected that students working on these projects will use the work to further their own research goals. To obtain a research assistantship, arrangements must be made with the faculty members who have funded projects.

Admissions Advisor

Upon admission to graduate study, each student is assigned an admissions advisor. The admissions advisor will assist the student for the first registration and in the selection of an area of specialization until the student chooses a permanent MS/PhD advisor.

Choosing An MS/PhD Advisor

Graduate students should be knowledgeable about the department. Well informed students can more intelligently choose an area of specialization and an advisor. The following points should be kept in mind when choosing an advisor:

  1. The advisor must be a member of the Computer Science Department and have graduate faculty status.
  2. Talk to several graduate faculty members (preferably from at least two different areas) about their research.
  3. Take initial graduate courses in potential areas of interest to ascertain true interest and potential compatibility with the faculty member.
  4. Faculty members may be overloaded or have other acceptable reasons for not committing to be a graduate student's MS or PhD advisor.
  5. For PhD advisors, the student must have the Graduate Coordinator's approval before proceeding.

Only graduate faculty can be members of thesis or examining committees of MS students, and may sit as chairs of MS thesis, proposal, or examining committees.

All graduate faculty members can be members of thesis or examining committees of PhD students. Due to the tremendous investment of time and effort by a PhD candidate, advisors for PhD students are selected carefully, in order to supply qualified advisement which will lead to original and quality research. While any graduate faculty member can be an advisor to MS students, only those showing stronger fulfillment of graduate faculty requirements (specifically the requirement of active publication of refereed articles) should be advisors for PhD students.

The purpose of the Graduate Coordinator's approval is to provide some measure of protection against faculty overload, of too many students per professor, and to assure the potential for competent supervision within the student's chosen area.

MS/PhD Advisory Committee

Procedures for forming MS and PhD committees:

  • MS:
    1. The student chooses an advisor.
    2. The student and advisor choose a second member.
    3. The Graduate Coordinator appoints the third member.
  • PhD:
    1. The student chooses an advisor.
    2. The student and advisor choose a second and third member.
    3. The Graduate Coordinator appoints the fourth and fifth member.

The purpose of appointments is twofold: (1) to provide a measure of checks and balances, and (2) to balance the committee workload among the faculty.

These committees are permanent and serve for approving study lists, as resources for the student, on thesis and dissertation proposals, and on final examinations.

As soon as the student has chosen the research advisor and the second committee (second & third for PhD), the student should have each of them sign a Study List or a Study List Change form (the course portion can be left blank if a study list has already been filed) and take it to the Graduate Coordinator. The Graduate Coordinator will then assign the final committee member(s). After getting these final signatures, including the final signature of the Graduate Coordinator, the student turns the list in to the Graduate Program Assistant to enter into the BYU AIM System . At this point the committee is officially established.

Students can also change their committee at any time by having the new committee sign a Study List Change form and checking the box to indicate a change in committee. If the requested change is inappropriate, the Graduate Coordinator may deny the request. Normally, however, any request to change the student-chosen members would be granted, and any request to change the appointed members would be granted for a good reason. Advisor changes made after proposals have been completed may invalidate proposals. This will be worked out by the student, the new advisor, and the Graduate Coordinator at the time of the change.

Roles of Committee Members:

  • All committee members: Be responsive to student inquiries, be a resource for guiding students in their research, and encourage students to complete their work successfully.
  • First committee member (advisor): The advisor has primary responsibility for guiding the student in course work and especially in thesis/dissertation work. The advisor should ensure that proposals and theses/dissertations are ready in a form the advisor and student consider to be final before passing them along to other committee members. The advisor also conducts all proposals and defenses.

    Sometimes advisors are not doing their job -- second, third, fourth, and fifth committee members should only be dealing with "finished" products. These committee members are much like external reviewers on papers we submit.

  • Second committee member for MS students and second and third committee members for PhD students: These committee members provide a first check of proposals and theses/dissertations. Any required revisions should be made and approved and documents should be considered satisfactory by the student, advisor, and these committee members before they are passed on to additional committee members.
  • Third committee member for MS students and fourth and fifth committee members for PhD students: Proposals should be scheduled before these committee members see the written proposal. These committee members should be given at least one week to read the proposal. Exceptions to this one-week rule should be rare and must be approved by the entire committee and the graduate coordinator. Thesis and dissertation defenses should also be scheduled before these committee members see the written thesis/dissertation. For final examinations, a university rule requires at least two weeks between scheduling and holding defenses.

Study List

A study list is a carefully considered course program that helps students fulfill all degree requirements by outlining their course of study. It is essential for well-organized graduate work. The study list should be completed and approved under the direction of the MS/PhD advisor. For courses, the study list need only be signed by the chair advisor.

In making a study list a student should consider such things as

  • Taking courses immediately that will aid in deciding on a research topic,
  • A set of courses that can be scheduled without conflict within the student's planned time frame,
  • If the student might pursue a PhD, courses that would prepare for the qualifying process,
  • Courses leading toward depth in the thesis research area.

The study list should be prepared using a Program of Study Form. When the study list has been prepared and signed, it should be given to the Graduate Coordinator to sign, and then taken to the Graduate Program Assistant to enter the information into BYU's AIM system. Subsequent changes in a student's study list can be made if authorized by the committee and Graduate Coordinator using the Request for Study List Change form. All changes to the study list must be done before applying for graduation.

Graduate Student Progress Checklist

These are approximate guidelines on major milestones and when they should be accomplished by an organized and self-motivated graduate student (assuming a full time student who enters in the Fall semester). In general, the sooner a milestone is completed, the better. Please note, however, that these are not the required deadlines that all students must meet. Please see the MS section of the Graduate Handbook for specific deadlines. MS students must complete all requirements within three years from when they started the program.

Masters Degree

  • Study List Filed - 1st Semester
  • Thesis Chair Chosen - End of 1st Semester
  • MS Proposal Passed* - During Spring Term
  • Course work completed (8 courses) - By End of Summer Term
  • Research accomplished and thesis written - During Sp/Su and half of 2nd Fall Semester
  • Thesis Defense - End of Second Fall semester

PhD Degree (With an MS in CS)

  • Study List Filed - 1st Semester
  • Dissertation Chair Chosen - Either before admission or during first year
  • Qualifying Process Passed - Fall/Winter of Second Year
  • Coursework completed (8 more courses) - End of Fall Semester in their second year (some courses can be taken later during the research)
  • Research Area Exam and Dissertation Proposal Passed* - 2nd Winter Semester
  • Research Accomplished and Dissertation Written - during 2nd Winter Semester, 2nd Sp/Su, 3rd Fall Semester
  • Dissertation Defense - During 3rd Year

PhD Degree (Without an MS in CS)

  • Study List Filed - 1st Semester
  • Dissertation Chair Chosen - Either before admission or during first year
  • Qualifying Process Passed - Fall/Winter of Second Year
  • Course work completed (16 more courses) - End of third fall semester (some courses can be taken later during the research)
  • Research Area Exam and Dissertation Proposal Passed* - 3rd Sp/Su
  • Research accomplished and dissertation written - during 3rd Sp/Su, 4th F/W Semester
  • Dissertation Defense - End of 4th year (4th Sp/Su)

* One should begin considering and working on the proposal before coursework is finished. (This seems to be the hang-up for both MS and PhD students). Otherwise, expect at least another semester before graduation.

Graduate Student Association

All graduate students at BYU are automatically members of the BYU Graduate Student Association (BYUGSA). Currently, the association serves about 3,000 graduates in over 50 departments. BYUGSA provides a range of workshops, symposiums, and financing for travel grants, and represents graduate student interests to the Office of Graduate Studies. BYUGSA is presided over by a president, and two vice presidents. Graduate students from each department serve on a council that helps make decisions, and plans for graduate student needs. To find out more about BYUGSA and who the current representative from the Computer Science Department is, contact the Graduate Program Assistant.

Ownership Of Research

In order to fulfill the mission of Brigham Young University, students may be required to engage in scholarly research for which the student may or may not be paid as a Research Assistant or by some other method such as scholarship, internship, fellowship, tuition waiver, etc. Such research is a requirement for thesis and dissertation work, which are part of degree expectations. Students may elect to participate in the research programs of various entities within the University to enhance their educational experience. In the education process, the University strives to preserve an environment of open inquiry for the pursuit of truth. The student needs to understand that the University and its sponsors, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, provide approximately two-thirds of the cost of the student's education without charge to the student. Therefore, all rights (including rights to income from sale or licensing), ownership, and title will reside with Brigham Young University for the following:

  • thesis or dissertation work used to complete degree requirements;
  • projects, computer programs, reports, or research papers developed to satisfy course requirements; or
  • any data, formulae, computer software specifications, processes, patents, copyrights, and other technical information as well as data and product information developed by the student for meeting degree requirements.

University ownership of the foregoing allows the University to carry out its academic mission, fulfill external obligations, and ensure access to such scholarship in the future.