MS | Distinction in Research

Master of Science with Distinction in Research

The Distinction in Research is an optional pursuit within the MSCS program. A student who wishes to pursue an MS in CS with distinction in research must first identify a faculty advisor who agrees to supervise and support the research work. The research advisor must be a member of the Academic Council and must hold an appointment in Computer Science. The student and principal advisor must also identify another faculty member who need not be in the Department of Computer Science to serve as a secondary advisor and reader for the research report. In addition, the student must complete the following requirements beyond those for the regular MS in CS degree:

1. Research Experience: The program must include significant research experience at the level of a half-time commitment over three academic quarters. In any given quarter, the half-time research commitment may be satisfied by a 50 percent appointment to a departmentally supported research assistantship, six units of independent study (CS399) or a prorated combination of the two (such as a 25 percent research assistantship supplemented by three units of independent study). This research must be carried out under the direction of the primary or secondary advisor.
2. Supervised Writing and Research: In addition to the research experience outlined in the previous requirement, students must enroll in at least three units of independent research (CS399) under the direction of their primary or secondary advisor. These units should be closely related to the research described in the first requirement but focused more on preparing the research report described in the next section. The writing and research units described in parts (1) and (2) may be counted toward the 45 units required for the degree.
3. All independent study units (CS399) must be taken for letter grades, and a GPA of 3.0 (B) or better must be maintained.
4. Research Report: Students must complete a significant report describing their research and its conclusions. The research report represents work publishable in a journal or at a high-quality conference, although it is presumably longer and more expansive in scope than a typical conference paper. A copy of the research report must be submitted to the MS student services officer in the department three weeks before the beginning of the examination period in the student’s final quarter. The primary and secondary advisors must approve the research report before the distinction-in-research designation can be conferred.