COMPUTER SCIENCE

Head of the Department: Daniel Reed

Correspondence and Admission Information: Academic Office, 2270 Digital Computer Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, 1304 West Springfield Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 333-4428; E-mail: academic@cs.uiuc.edu

URL: www.cs.uiuc.edu

GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

The Department of Computer Science offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Ph.D., M.S., and M.C.S. (a nonthesis option). The M.S. requires eight units of coursework, including a one-unit thesis (one unit equals four semester hours). The Ph.D. requires 24 units, including 12 units of coursework, which usually includes an M.S., and a thesis describing orig inal research. The M.C.S., a terminal degree, requires nine units of coursework. There are also programs that enable students to combine an M.C.S. with an M.Arch. or an M.B.A. For an application and departmental materials that provide greater detail on programs, offerings, admission, degree requirements, and financial aid, contact the department at the above addresses or telephone number.

ADMISSION

Those seeking admission to any of the department's graduate programs should visit the department's Web site and download the necessary forms and information. If this is not possible, then they may write, telephone, or send e-mail for an application package. Applicants should state whether they are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or international students. All materials, credentials, and test scores must be received by the following deadlines: for summer or fall term-December 20; for spring term-September 1. Applicants must hold (or be about to receive, for admission-only applicants) a bachelor's degree equivalent to that granted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The minimum grade point average (GPA) for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate study (or for all graduate study if applicant holds a master's degree) must correspond to a B or higher. In addition to a completed application form, applicants must send the designated fee payable to the University, official copies of transcripts of all completed university coursework, and three letters of reference. All applicants must also submit scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general aptitude tests (verbal, quantitative, and analytical portions). A score for the computer science subject test is recommended for applicants to the Ph.D. program. International applicants whose native language is not English and who have attended a university in an English-speaking country for less than two years must submit a score of at least 570 on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (230 on the computer-based version). In addition, all applicants, regardless of U.S. citizenship, whose native language is not English and who wish to be considered for teaching assistantships (the most common form of financial aid for new graduate students in the department) must submit a score of 50 or more for the Test of Spoken English (TSE). This is a law of the state of Illinois which the department has no authority to waive. The recommended background for entering students is a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or computer engineering. Stu
cultural studies and interpretive research
dents with degrees from other disciplines who have had mathematics through calculus and linear algebra are also admitted, but may not be qualified initially to be awarded assistantships in computer science. The GPAs of applicants admitted for the past few years have averaged 3.6 (A = 4.0); the total GRE (general) scores averaged 2,000 (2 ,400 maximum).

Graduate Teaching Experience

Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate experience in this program.