The CIS graduate program provides a solid foundation in the fundamental areas of computer science and, in addition, provides numerous advanced courses and seminars to acquaint the student with current computer science research.  The main difference in objectives between the M.S. and Ph.D. programs is that the Ph.D. is designed to prepare students to conduct advanced research. 

The primary goal of the graduate program is to train people to think within the rapidly changing discipline of computer and information sciences. Of course, achieving this primary goal necessitates achieving the secondary goals of conveying skills and facts useful in the discipline. 

Graduate admission requirements originate at two levels: the University and the CIS Department. The University-level requirements may be found in the Admission section. 

Applicants must also satisfy the following general departmental requirements for admission to the CIS graduate program: 

1. The equivalent of a bachelor's degree at the University of Delaware. A minimum grade average of 3.0 in the major field of study and an overall cumulative index of 2.5 is required. 
2. Scholarly competence in mathematics and computer programming. Applicants are expected to know the material covered by at least one undergraduate course in each of the following topics: 
• structured high-level language programming, 
• assembly language programming, 
• data structures, 
• computer architecture. 
• operating systems. 
Additionally, applicants must have completed the equivalent of at least four undergraduate courses in the following list: 
• calculus, 
• discrete mathematics, 
• probability and statistics, 
• mathematical logic, 
• comparable formal subjects. 
3. Strong applicants lacking prerequisites may be admitted provisionally on the condition that they complete specified undergraduate courses with a B- or better in addition to the normal degree requirements. Students without formal course work covering the prerequisites who have gained equivalent knowledge through work or other experience should submit appropriate evidence. 
4. A minimum combined score of 1750 on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical parts of the Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test. 
5. If the applicant has completed graduate courses in computer science beyond the bachelor's degree, the grades earned in these courses will be reviewed and considered in the admission decision. A minimum grade of 3.0 (B) in each of these courses is required. 
6. For applicants whose first language is not English, and who have not received a degree at a U.S. college or university, a minimum TOEFL score of 550 for admission without financial aid is required by the University. For applicants who seek a teaching assistantship appointment, a TOEFL score of 600 is required. In addition, for applicants who have not graduated from an institution whose principle language of instruction is English, the Test of Spoken English is highly recommended.
7. Three letters of recommendation from professors (preferably), employers, or others who are able to assess your potential for success in graduate studies. 

Note:

Admission to the graduate program currently is competitive. Those who meet stated minimum requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet all of those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths. 

A number of fellowships, research assistantships and teaching assistantships are awarded each year to full-time graduate students in the department. Additionally, a few fellowships are awarded by the University to particularly outstanding students. Both entering and continuing graduate students are eligible to apply for financial aid. 

If awarded financial aid and if satisfactory academic progress is maintained along with satisfactory performance of assistantship duties (when applicable), students entering with a bachelor's degree are normally supported up to two years for the M.S. degree, or up to five years for the Ph.D. Students entering with a master's degree are normally supported up to three years. 

To maintain satisfactory academic progress beyond the second year, those students entering with a bachelor's degree are expected to take and pass the Ph.D. preliminary examination after no more than three semesters of study.  Students entering with an M.S. degree in Computer and Information Sciences (or a related area) are expected to take and pass the Ph.D. preliminary examination after one semester of study. 

Students who receive financial aid midway in their studies should speak to the CIS Graduate Committee Chair regarding their length of support. With regard to financial aid, Ph.D. students are those who have passed the Preliminary Exam. 

Admission to the graduate program does not automatically entitle an applicant to financial aid. Aid is awarded on a competitive basis from the pool of admitted applicants. Usually awards are made in March-May for the fall semester, and in December for the spring semester. 

In addition to satisfying the general requirements of the University, candidates for the Master of Science degree must satisfy both the departmental general requirements and the computer science course requirements. 

An Application for Advanced Degree for the Master of Science degree should be filed with the Departmental Graduate Committee no later than the beginning of the semester in which the degree is expected. Application forms are available from the Office of Graduate Studies. 

A. Departmental General Requirements 

The Departmental General Requirements include: 

1. At least 9 credits of the 30 credits used to satisfy the degree requirements must be 800-level CISC courses. Credits for independent study, research and master's thesis do not count towards this requirement. 
2. A minimum grade average of 3.0 is required in the graduate courses used to satisfy the degree requirements. The University also requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all graduate courses taken including any not used towards the required 30 credits. Students are encouraged to explore graduate courses (600 level or higher) in other areas such as electrical engineering, mathematics, linguistics, statistics, and business and economics. Graduate courses outside of Computer and Information Sciences to be used towards meeting degree requirements require written approval of the Graduate Committee. 
3. Students are encouraged to participate in the research activities of the Department by taking CISC 666, CISC 866--Special Problems and Independent Study or CISC 868--Research. This is especially true of potential Ph.D. students. No more than three credits of ClSC 666, CISC 866 or CISC 868 (combined) may be applied toward meeting the degree requirements or used in satisfying the required minimum grade average without prior written approval from the Graduate Committee. (Exception for master's thesis sudents--see later section.) 
4. Each semester all graduate students must explicitly register for CISC 890 - Colloquium and sign up and satisfactorily participate in one of the Department's special research interest groups. One faculty member for each group will be responsible for overseeing satisfactory participation for each student on an individual basis (e.g., simply attending, giving a presentation) and will assign a pass/fail grade accordingly. Each MS student needs 3 semesters of passed CISC 890 to graduate. Special arrangements for part-time students and those who finish in less than 3 semesters will be made. 

Breadth requirement -- Core Areas: 

• Hardware Systems
 
• Computer Architecture (CISC 662) 
• Operating Systems (CISC 663) 
• Computer Networks (CISC 650) 
• Software Systems
 
• Programming Languages (CISC 670) 
• Theory of Translators (CISC 672) 
• Artificial Intelligence (CISC 681) 
• Theory
 
• Theory of Computation (CISC 601) 
• Logic (CISC 604) 
• Analysis of Algorithms (CISC 621) 

1. All students must take a graduate course in either algorithm design and analysis (e.g., CISC 621) or in theory of computation (e.g., CISC 601). 
2. All students must take four core courses, including at least one in each of the three areas. 
3. A grade of B- or better is required in any four of the core courses taken. 
4. Substitutions or satisfaction through courses taken at another university are permitted, but require written approval by the Graduate Committee. 

A master's thesis is optional; successful completion requires a combination of six credits of CISC 868 and CISC 869, which are included in the thirty credits needed for the M.S. degree. Students with a high GPA and/or motivation and ability to perform research are strongly encouraged to get involved in a research project. One way to do this is to write an M.S. thesis. 

Admission to the master's degree program does not guarantee that a student can pursue a thesis since more students may desire to do a thesis than there are faculty available to guide them. A thesis student may obtain three credits of CISC 666, CISC 866, CISC 868 in addition to the six credits of CISC 868 and/or CISC 869 applied toward the M.S. thesis only if the areas of study do not overlap, as approved by the CISC Graduate Committee. The M.S. thesis student must still satisfy all other Department requirements. 

In addition to satisfying the general requirements of the University, candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy degree must satisfy several departmental requirements. One objective of these requirements is to provide flexibility in designing an appropriate plan of study. The Ph.D. is an individualistic degree. As soon as possible in the program, each candidate should find a faculty member to act as adviser and be in charge of the candidate's research. 

The candidate and advisor design a plan of study that satisfies the University and department requirements. The department requirements as listed below specify a minimum amount of necessary work. It is expected that additional course work will normally be required by the adviser. A minimum set of requirements provides a large degree of flexibility for each individual candidate. 

A. Department General Requirements 

The department requires the following: 

1. Course Work. Each candidate must complete all requirements of a University of Delaware M.S. desgree in Computer and Information Sciences.  Candidates with a similar degree from another institution of higher education may be exempted from part or all of this requirement with the written approval of the Graduate Committee. 

A candidate with a master's degree in a related field (e.g., EE, Math) must put together a program that meets the CISC Graduate Committee's approval. Using courses taken for the related graduate degree plus courses taken at Delaware, the candidate must satisfy the Computer Science course requirements for the M.S. degree, and show the equivalent of the 30 credit M.S. degree offered by the CISC Department. 

Each candidate is required to complete a major and minor field of study based on a minimum of 12 additional credits beyond the master's degree. These 12 credits do not include the following courses: CISC 666, CISC 866, CISC 868, CISC 969. Normally, in meeting the University's requirement for a major and a minor area, a candidate will be required by the adviser to complete more than 12 credits. 

2. Research Ability. Ph.D. candidates are strongly encouraged to get involved in research as early as possible in their program. As part of the process of finding an adviser, and as early as possible, candidates must demonstrate the potential to perform research. Demonstration may be in the form of independent study (CISC 666, CISC 866), research (CISC 868), working as a research assistant, or writing an M.S. thesis. 
3. Preliminary Examination. Each candidate must pass a preliminary examination that tests a person's breadth of knowledge of computer science. This exam, normally offered annually in January, is based on subject matter normally included in a CISC undergraduate major and in one year of full-time graduate study including the core areas of the M.S. program. The detailed composition of the preliminary exam, within the constraint of testing breadth of CISC knowledge, is based upon a reading list of textbooks determined by the Graduate Committee with faculty approval. Candidates are encouraged to take the preliminary exam as early as possible. Students coming in with a Bachelor's degree should normally take it by the end of their third semester; and those with a Master's degree should normally take it by the end of their first semester. The preliminary exam may be taken at most three times. 
4. Advisory Committee. Each candidate needs to establish an advisory committee (usually following the successful completion of the preliminary exam). In accordance with the University requirements, the committee consists of 4-6 members of the faculty nominated and approved by the CISC Department faculty. The committee chair is the faculty member in charge of the candidate's research and dissertation. At least two members represent the major field of study and one the area of minor study. At least one member must be from outside the CISC Department. The proposed advisory committee must be submitted to the Graduate Committee for approval. It must then be approved by the CISC faculty. 
5. Qualifying Examination. Each candidate must pass a qualifying exam. The advisory committee prepares an examination (oral and/or written) testing a candidate's knowledge in the major area, minor area, and area of proposed research. Part of the examination includes an oral presentation of a candidate's proposed dissertation research. A student passes the qualifying exam as long as there is no more than one negative vote. 

Prior to taking the qualifying exam, candidates must submit a dissertation proposal and a written plan describing their background, research interests, and major and minor areas of study. The proposal and plan are submitted to the advisory committee and are considered as input to the qualifying examination. Copies of "Discussion on Ph.D. Thesis Proposals in Computing Science" are available in the CIS Department Office. 

The qualifying exam is normally taken one year after passing the preliminary exam. During this year a student should actively investigate research possibilities and select a dissertation topic. 

6. Dissertation. Each candidate must complete a dissertation demonstrating results of original and significant research written in a scholarly and competent manner worthy of publication. Upon completion of the dissertation, a final oral public examination must be passed, consisting of a defense of the dissertation and a test of the mastery of a candidate's research area. The final oral examination is directed and evaluated by the student's advisory committee. 
7. Facility of Expression in English. As part of satisfying the University's requirement that Ph.D. graduates demonstrate an ability to orally express themselves clearly and forcefully, each candidate must present his or her research results in a departmental colloquium, or one of the Department's special research interest groups within six months of the defense. 
8. Foreign Language. There is no foreign language requirement.