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Application Materials
Rationale for Application Materials
Keep in mind that the application materials are not a goal but a means
to a goal. That goal is finding if your interests and abilities match those
of the Department, and if you seem likely to benefit from an education
from the Department. If you think it is helpful you can supplement the
application materials with other data that helps shed a light on your
capabilities, but it is not required. Some materials (the transcript of
your bachelor's degree for example) are required by the University and
cannot be waived by the Department.
Items that are important in the evaluation process (for both domestic
and international students) include:
- Educational background. A Bachelor's degree in computer science is not
required, but a good background in mathematics and computer
science is. We require students to have courses in data structures,
machine organization and assembly language, and discrete structures.
Your application is strengthened if you also have some or all of the
other courses usually offered in undergraduate computer science curricula:
programming languages, operating systems, algorithms, compilers,
artificial intelligence, and automata and formal languages.
Indiana University's Computer Science Department has important
ties with interdisciplinary programs such as Cognitive Sciences,
Logic, Informatics, and Scientific Computing. If your research
interests are
within one of those programs and you do not have a background
in computer science, you should consider applying to one of the
relevant affiliated departments. IU does not let you apply to two different
departments simultaneously, however.
If you are transferring from another IU department, ideally we would
look for you to have taken at least two of the 500-level courses
in core computer science areas - see the CS graduate program director
for details.
- Letters of reference. Except in special cases, references
should be from
academic faculty and at least some should be from computer scientists.
We ask for three letters but you may submit more;
for example, if you have experience as a teaching assistant in a
mathematics department, an additional letter from your teaching
supervisor attesting to your teaching abilities could help
your application for aid. Keep in mind that the committee is
trying to evaluate your potential to successfully complete a
graduate degree at IU, and so provide us with references who can
illuminate your potential performance as a student. You should
also be aware that the University often performs some validation
on letters of reference, sending mail to your referees asking for
verification that they actually sent the letter we received.
So don't be surprised if one of your referees asks about this;
the validation is carried out randomly and does not imply targeting
of the student.
Try to get up-to-date letters. If you have spent the past
two years
at the University of Freedonia but none of your letters are
from faculty there, it might raise questions in the minds of
the Admissions Committee.
- GRE scores. We require GRE scores for all applicants,
and cannot process
your application until we receive them. Scores from the area
examination in computer science are also valuable, but scores
in a related area can be helpful. We do not have
cut-offs for GRE scores, preferring instead to use the full
information available in your dossier. High scores
help more than low ones, of course, but we do not have
a minimal GRE score requirement.
In general, re-taking the GRE because you think your scores are lower
than expected is not advised - as often as not, the scores on the
second test are lower than those on the first test.
The GRE and TOEFL codes are as follows:
| IU | CSCI |
| GRE | 1324 | 0402 |
| TOEFL | 1324 | 78 |
- Statement of purpose. This is your chance to explain to
us what your
plans are. Briefly convey your vision of the future of computer
science if you wish, but also try to give us an idea of your
personal plan of action for the future. We are aware that such
plans can and should change rapidly, particularly in a fast-moving
area like computer science. You should tell us in which research
areas you are most interested, and about any research experiences
you have had. Don't spend much time on past accomplishments; those
should be in your vita. You can use the statement of purpose to
explain any anomalies in your record but in general dwelling on the
past is backward-looking and what you want to be is forward-looking.
- Transcripts. You need a transcript from all previous undergraduate
institutions attended, and the University requires at least one that
certifies you have received a bachelor's degree (or "bachelor's equivalent"
for international students).
- Online application. Indiana University uses a commercial service
for its online application, and the format is confusing,
poorly set up, and often asks the wrong questions. Unfortunately the
Computer Science Department is stuck with that online application
process. We have supplemented the form with a local application
form that requests more computer science specific information such as
computer languages you know, research areas of interest, general areas
covered in your bachelor's degree. You must fill out both forms, the
University-wide one and the Computer Science Department specific one.
Supplemental admissions materials are not required but you are welcome
to submit any that help define you as a computer science student.
Send updates of any information that is
relevant to the admissions process, such as a paper being published or an
award being won. Do this even if it is past the application deadline; sometimes
your dossier will be under consideration for a lengthy period.
If you have work that has been refereed and published, send a
citation to that work (the difficulty of entering
citations for publications is one shortcoming of the University online
application process, so you may find it easier to send the citation
as part of your statement
of purpose or vita). Do not send the full paper itself - professors interested in your
application can look up the citations. If the paper is under review for
a journal or conference, you can send a copy of the paper, but it is not
required. Sending CD's with either software or
papers is not recommended - the Admissions Committee has limited time to
evaluate hundreds of applications, and it is likely the CD won't be viewed.
In many areas of computer science, software and hardware artifacts are as important
as published papers. Be sure to list those, give URLs, and
(if they are available)
give download statistics for your software or hardware systems.
Don't list course projects unless they have been submitted for publication.
Collaborative or team projects are important in CS, but be sure to
clearly describe your contribution to any joint research projects.
Such projects can help show your ability to collaborate with others,
but we also need to know precisely what your role was in such a team.
In all of the materials, keep in mind that we're looking for an understanding
of you and your abilities as a computer scientist - so choose the materials
accordingly.
Proceed to international applicant information,
or return to overview information page
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