Welcome to the Computer Science Masters Program

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Welcome to the Computer Science Masters Program
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Classified Status

• Undergraduate prerequisite courses complete
• For international students, classified status is
  necessary to receive CPT and OPT

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Conditionally Classified Status

• Need to complete one or more of the following
  undergraduate prerequisite courses
• MA-120 Calculus I
• MA-121 Calculus II
• MA-314 Probability and Statistics
• MA-317 Discrete Math
• CSCI-311 Data Structures
• CSCI-320 Computer Architecture
• CSCI-330 Software Engineering
• CSCI-340 Operating Systems

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Program Plan

• Lists the 30 units that you think you will be
  taking while here at Chico
• Should be submitted early in your program
• Although there is a place for your committee to
  sign the Program Plan, the committees signature
  is not necessary
• It will be signed by the Graduate Advisor and the
  Graduate School and is intended to alleviate any
  questions you have about taking the right courses
• You can get a blank Program Plan at the Computer
  Science Department Office just inside the door

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Graduate Clearance Form

• Lists 30 units that you have completed or are
  about to complete
• Should be turned in the semester you plan to
  graduate
• You get the Graduate Clearance Form from the
  Graduate School in a packet when you apply for
  graduation
• It contains basically the same information as the
  Program Plan, except since it is normally filled
  out near the end of your stay at Chico, it lists
  the courses that you have taken
• It must be signed by your committee
• There is a place on the Graduate Clearance form
  for the Graduate Advisor to sign and another
  place to sign off your literacy requirement

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Literacy Requirement

• Pass exam which is given at the beginning of each
  semester
• Complete CSCI-305/EECE-335 with a passing grade

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Candidacy Status

• Pass literacy requirement
• Form committee or pass Comprehensive Core Exam
• You are advanced to candidacy when you submit
  Graduation Clearance Form

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Capstone Options

• Pass Comprehensive Core Exam given during 5th
  week of each semester
• Complete 3 unit project
• Complete 6 unit thesis

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400 and 500-Level Coursework

• 400 and 500-level coursework can be applied to
  either an undergraduate or graduate level program
• Be careful that you do not take 400 or 500-level
  courses here at Chico that have the same
  title/course description as courses already
  completed in your undergraduate degree

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600-Level Coursework

• 600 level courses are graduate only

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Units Required

• A total of 30 units are required for the Masters
  degree.
• 18 of the 30 must be at the 600 level. The
  remaining units may be at the 400, 500 or 600
  level.
• Project and Thesis units count at the 600 level.
• Projects are normally 3 units
• Theses are normally 6 units

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Grade Point Average

• Two different GPAs must be greater than 3.0 for
  you to graduate.
• GPA after being accepted into the Masters program
  includes grades from your Masters coursework as
  well as grades from any other coursework you were
  required to take or which you chose to take.
  Many graduate students have difficulty with this
  GPA
• GPA for the courses that are listed on your
  Program Plan/Graduate Clearance Form

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Program Plan Changes

• The Program Plan Change form is used if you
  change
• Your committee members
• Courses listed on your Program Plan/Graduate
  Clearance Form

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Project/Thesis

• See Dr. Challingers Web Site
  http//www.ecst.csuchico.edu/judyc/grads.html/
• Submit a proposal to the faculty you would like
  on your committee well in advance of the last day
  to enroll in a CSCI-699
• Get your committee and the Graduate Advisor to
  sign the CSCI-699p or CSCI-699t form
• Submit chapters to your committee one chapter at
  a time
• When your committee has approved all chapters,
  schedule an oral defense through the Department
  Secretary providing
• The date and time your committee has agreed to
• Title of your project/thesis
• Whether you will need an overhead projector
• Department Secretary will reserve a room for a
  one-hour time slot

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Project/Thesis Contents

• Avoid repetition
• Be consistent
• Use the present tense wherever possible
• Avoid the first person
• Call Chapter I Introduction and make it actually
  introduce topics that will be covered in
  subsequent chapters
• Describe what is in subsequent chapters at the
  end of Chapter I
• Include a literature search chapter
• Call the final chapter Summary and Conclusions
  and have it actually summarize what you said and
  offer some conclusions

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CSCI-699 Enrollment

• You do not enroll in for CSCI-699p/699t online
• Instead, enroll in the Computer Science Office
• You will pick up an enrollment form, have it
  signed by your committee, and return it to the
  Computer Science Office
• Turn in an approved Project Proposal with your
  enrollment form

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Continuous Enrollment

• Once you sign up for your CSCI-699, you never
  have to enroll in another CSCI-699, but you do
  have to do one of the following each semester
  until you graduate
• Enroll in least one course
• Pay continuous enrollment fees over in Continuing
  Education

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Excess Units Form

• Undergraduate students can
• Take up to 9 units of graduate coursework
• Only in the final semester of their undergraduate
  senior year
• Only if a request for excess units is made in
  writing

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Transfer Units

• A total of 9 Computer Science graduate-level
  units can be transferred in to your program from
  another school
• A total of 6 non-Computer Science graduate-level
  units can be transferred in to your program from
  another school
• The catalog for the school that you transfer
  units from must clearly state that these units
  apply in their program to their graduate program

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Time Limits

• Courses older than 7 years must be revalidated
• Courses older than 9 years are lost for good

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Program Extensions

• If it becomes necessary for you to revalidate
  coursework, you must request an extension from
  the Graduate School in writing
• The extension request
• lists the date you intend to graduate and the
  reasons why the extension is necessary
• Lists the courses you will need to revalidate
• It is signed by you, your Committee Chair, and
  the Graduate Advisor
• Attached to the extension request is a separate
  piece of paper for each course you must
  revalidate listing
• The procedures for revalidation
• These papers are signed by you, the validating
  instructor and the Graduate Advisor and they are
  submitted to the Graduate School along with the
  extension request

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Good Luck!