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M.S. and M.A. Programs
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The Department offers courses, curriculum, and research leading to a Master of Science (M.S.) and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Computer Science. Additional information on our graduate program can be obtained by e-mailing questions to cs-gradinfo@cs.kent.edu.
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Prerequisites
Students entering the graduate program must have completed the core components of an undergraduate computer science
curriculum. Students are required to have successfully completed coursework equivalent to Computer Science I - Programming and
Problem Solving (CS 23021), Discrete Structures (CS 23022), Computer Science II - Data Structures and Abstraction (CS 33001),
Operating Systems (CS 35211), Computer Architecture (CS 35101), and Design and Analysis of Algorithms (CS 46101).
Students should also have successfully completed coursework equivalent to Calculus I (Math 12002), Calculus II (Math 12003),
and Linear Algebra (Math 21001).
Admission to the Department is done through the Admissions Office
at Kent State University.
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Program Requirements
The Master's programs require a total of 32 graduate-level credit hours in computer science
(courses outside CS must be approved by the advisor and Graduate Coordinator).
Master of Science
The Master of Science
degree program offers two options - a thesis option and a non-thesis option.
Candidates for the Master of Science with a non-thesis option must successfully complete 32 credit hours of graduate
courses in CS excluding Research (CS 69098) and including 2 credit hours of Master's Seminar (CS 69191) that incorporates
a project and a final examination on the project. Of the remaining 30 credit hours, at least 24 credit hours must be at
the 60000-level or above, and up to 6 credit hours can be at the 50000-level.
Candidates for the Master of Science with a thesis option must successfully complete 24 credit hours of graduate courses in
CS, of which at least 16 credit hours must be at the 60000-level, at most 6 credit hours can be at the 50000-level, and In
addition, 2 credit hours of Master's Seminar (CS 69191) are required. Only a total of 3 credit hours of Research (CS 69098)
may be counted toward the degree, however, students are permitted to take these courses multiple times. Students must
write and defend a Master's thesis for which 6 credit hours are earned in Thesis I (CS 69199) and Thesis II (CS 69299).
Candidates for the Master of Science degree with a thesis option must write and defend a suitable master's thesis for which 6 credit hours are
earned in CS 69199 Thesis I. A Master's thesis committee must be formed that includes the advisor and at least two other
graduate faculty members. The thesis topic and committee must be approved by the advisor and graduate coordinator.
The final version of the thesis must be approved by the advisor, committee and graduate coordinator.
The student must develop a Master’s Plan of Work that is approved by the advisor and Graduate Coordinator.
The Plan of Work must ensure that the student completes at least one course in three different areas/topics.
The Plan of Work must be filled out and submitted to the Graduate Coordinator within one year of entrance to the program,
but can later be modified with approval from the advisor and Graduate Coordinator.
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Thesis Topic
All students writing a thesis are required to file a
Notification of Approved Thesis Topic form, which is to be signed by members of the Thesis
Committee, the CS Graduate Coordinator, and the Department Chair, and then
submitted to the Division of Research and Graduate Studies.
Although a detailed thesis prospectus is not required, a paragraph should be
attached to the thesis topic form that includes a clear statement of the problem
to be undertaken and the procedure or methodology to be used in the research.
The CS Graduate Coordinator, in consultation with the CS Graduate Studies
Committee as necessary, will review the composition of the proposed committee for appropriate
balance, and the topic for strength and suitability as a Master's topic.
The Thesis Committee
This committee is composed of graduate faculty members and is appointed
by the CS Graduate Coordinator, in consultation with the CS Graduate Studies
Committee as necessary, when the candidate has developed an appropriate thesis topic and has an approved advisor. This committee will consist
of a minimum of:
The advisor, who will act as Chairman of the Committee. Two additional members from the candidate's department.
The advisor and at least two of the remaining three must be members of
the Graduate Faculty who have been approved to direct theses. If a co-advisor is desired, he or she should be
included in the above members. If, for warranted reasons, it is desirous to have a person
on the committee who does not meet the above qualifications, special
permission must be obtained from the Division of the Research and Graduate
Studies. When the Thesis Committee has been formed, a
Notification of Approved Thesis Topic form
should be filed in the Division, with a copy for the CS Graduate Coordinator.
Responsibilities of the Thesis Committee: This committee is
responsible for the progress of the candidate's thesis and will keep
in touch with his or her research. When the advisor believes the thesis
is ready for preliminary approval, it will be circulated in easily legible
form among the members of the Committee.
The Final Examination
The Thesis Advisor will act as the Moderator at the Oral Defense. His or her
duties are to preside and to moderate. He or she should see to it that all
participants act in a civilized, polite, and proper manner. He or she should
be familiar with the procedures of the Oral Defense, and he or she has the
authority to suspend the examination should a situation arise which would
not be conducive to a fair examination.
The Final Oral Defense
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The Advisor will designate the time and place of the
Final Oral Defense and notify all members of the Thesis
Committee. The Oral Defense is open to any member of the University
wishing to attend, and therefore, a facility adequate to meet this
requirement should be provided. The Oral Defense should be scheduled
to allow a minimum of ten
days for all of the Thesis
Committee to look over the thesis. In the absence of the Thesis Advisor, the Oral Defense may
not be held. If it is a matter of long-term absence or
enduring illness of the Advisor, the
Chairperson of the department, in consultation with the appropriate
administrator, should make appropriate arrangements for a substitute. |
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The Final Oral Defense will be open to the University community.
Notification of the time and place of the Oral Defense should be
provided to the CS Graduate Secretary so that it
may be announced
in a suitable venue. Copies of the abstract of the thesis should also be
provided to the CS Graduate Secretary, and be available in the candidate's department prior to the Oral
Defense to familiarize members of the Graduate Faculty with the
methodology and findings. |
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The candidate will open the Oral Defense with a brief presentation of
his or her findings, after which the members of the Thesis Committee
will question the candidate in an order to be determined by the Advisor. When, in the opinion of the
Advisor, members of the Thesis Committee have had an adequate opportunity to question the
candidate, the Advisor may open the examination to appropriate
questions from others present. |
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Questions dealing with the substance, meaning, and usefulness of
the research in the thesis are of greatest propriety. Questions
or comments dealing with punctuational or grammatical minutiae,
spelling, etc., are out of order; such comments should be written out and
privately submitted to the Advisor. |
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If, in the opinion of the Advisor or upon motion duly passed by
a majority of the Committee, it is deemed desirable to discontinue the
Oral Defense, the Advisor may recess the Oral Defense until a time
mutually agreeable to the Advisor, the candidate, and
the Thesis Committee. |
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When the questioning has run its course, the Advisor will
adjourn the Oral Defense and the room will be cleared of everyone except
the members of the Thesis Committee. Parliamentary procedure will be
observed to determine the success or failure of the candidate, with the
Advisor acting as chairman. |
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The candidate should be evaluated both
(a) upon the overall quality and significance of his or her thesis, and
(b) upon the oral defense of his or her findings.
A candidate passes the Oral Defense if he or she passes with no more
than one dissenting vote. |
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sign the Report of Final Examination form, recording their votes.
Committee members may vote "yes" or "no", but they may not
abstain.
The Advisor and Department Chairperson must sign the "Report of Final
Examination"
form, which is then forwarded
to the Division of Research and Graduate Studies with a copy given to
the CS Graduate Coordinator. |
Calendar for Graduation
See Calendar for Graduation
online or on the Graduate Bulletin Board.
Style Guidelines for Theses and Dissertations
Guidelines for the final writing of the dissertation are found in the "Style Guide And Instructions for Typing Theses
and Dissertations", which is available from the Division of Research and
Graduate Studies. In addition, the American Mathematical Society publishes a booklet titled,
"A Manual for Authors of Mathematical Papers". Copies are available
within the Department. The advisor is another source -- perhaps the
most important one -- of help for students in their first effort at
mathematical exposition.
Theses and Dissertation Templates
Books on Technical Writing
A good book on good composition, style, and content organization for
technical writing is The Elements of Style by W. Strunk Jr.
and E. White published by Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc. of London.
You can check out a copy to read (it is very short) from the Graduate
Office (room 341 in our Department).
We have also arranged for the University Bookstore
to stock the following books on technical writing in computer science:
Writing for Computer Science: The Art of Effective Communication, Justin Zobel, Springer Verlag, 175 pages. Bugs in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose, Lyn Dupre, Addison Wesley, 645 pages.
The two books have complementary strengths. The book by Zobel is a short
guide to writing technical papers or documents in computer science and is
easy to read. The one by Dupre is also easy to read (and considered
delightful by some reviewers) and gives multiple examples of many DOs and
DON'Ts in technical prose in CS. Depre's book focuses more on "good English
writing style" than on appropriate organization of material in CS technical
writing, and it provides multiple examples of good and bad techniques
that are not obvious to someone reading a short guide to CS Technical
Writing. In contrast, the Zobel book is a better short guide and focuses
more on the job of organizing and presenting material when writing a
CS thesis / dissertation / research paper. Both books have been recently
updated and republished and sell for about $20 each.
Additional information on technical writing can be found at the
following sites:
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Master of Arts
Candidates for the Master of Arts degree are required to enroll for three credit hours in CS 69098 Research under
the direction of a graduate faculty member and to develop a Master’s Project.
A Master’s Project committee must be formed that includes the advisor and at least two other graduate faculty members.
The committee and project topic must be approved by the Graduate Coordinator.
The student must present and defend the project to the committee.
Summary: Completion of 32 credit hours of CS graduate courses of which; at least 21 credit hours must be at the
60000-level or above, at most 6 credit hours can be at the 50000-level, and 2 credit hours of Master's Seminar (CS 69191),
Master's Plan of Work, and 3 credits of CS 69098 Research and project defense.
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Combined B.S. / Masters Program
Kent State undergraduate students in computer science who have met the following requirements are eligible for the combined B.S. / Master's program:
Achieving a grade point average of 3.5 after 60 semester hours, or
Achieving a grade point average of 3.4 after 75 semester hours, or
Achieving a grade point average of 3.3 after 90 semester hours, or
Achieving a grade point average of 3.2 after 105 semester hours.
To enter this program, a student must:
Apply to the graduate program in the normal manner
Fill out the Combined Baccalaureate / Master's Program form (available from the CS Graduate Secretary). On this form, the student must:
List the hours completed to date and current undergraduate GPA List the undergraduate courses remaining for the B.S. degree and the projected date each will be taken Indicate the projected date for first graduate enrollment (when the first graduate course, including the double counted courses, will be taken) List the graduate courses to be double-counted -- used to satisfy the requirements of the B.S. degree as well as the Master's degree
The completed form should then be given to the CS Graduate Secretary for signature by the CS Graduate Coordinator, Department Chair, and Undergraduate and Graduate Deans.
With regard to the double-counted courses, students may count up to 12 credit hours of graduate courses toward both their B.S. and Master's degree. These courses are typically at the 50000- or 60000-level, and may not include courses required by the B.S. degree, or required for admission into the Master's program. Instead, they are either:
50000-level courses that would normally be taken as 40000-level electives for the B.S. degree, or 60000-level courses required for the Master's degree.
Note that only 6 credits of 50000-level courses may count towards a Masters degree. Students considering this program should apply early enough to take the double-counted courses at the 50000-level as part of their B.S. degree. Courses taken earlier at the 40000-level can not be retroactively upgraded to 50000-level courses, and thus will not count toward the Master's degree.
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Time Limits
All students admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences are subject to time limits for completion of their degree. Time limits are described in more detail in the Graduate Schools Catalog, but in general a Master's degree must be completed within six years
Students may request, in writing, an extension of one year over the listed time limits. Such requests should be sent to the CS Graduate Coordinator. Departments must notify the College of Arts and Sciences if such an extension is granted. Requests of more than one year over the time limit must be approved by the College.
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