CSCI Graduate Course Planning: Fall 2004

Last updated May 27, 2004

This is a summary of how to plan for and enroll in courses for graduate study in Computer Science at Indiana University. The file is located at http://www.cs.indiana.edu/Academics/graduate/orientation/advising.aug04.html. It includes registration guidelines, where to find useful resources for course planning, highlights of academic policies, and a table of Fall 2004 graduate courses.

The table is primarily based on the departmental page "Fall '04 Computer Science Courses", which may have more recent schedule changes.

To facilitate long-term planning, the course list includes some information about courses likely to be offered in Spring 2005, but that information is not official and is subject to change. The course planning guide for Spring 2004 is still available as a reference.

For any questions, please contact David Leake, Director of Graduate Studies, or Sherry Kay, Graduate Administrator.

The Registrar's web site for Fall 2004 registration is http://registrar.indiana.edu/onestart-registration.html. This site includes a link to the on-line schedule of classes.

Continuing students should register during early registration, April 5-30. A late registration fee will be assessed beginning on August 27.

Registration guidelines: What to register for:

• Three CS Courses. You should choose three courses (typically 3 hours each) that count towards your intended degree. Note that:
  • "Satisfactory progress" for CS students depends on taking and successfully completing at least 9 credits of CS courses contributing towards their degree requirements each Fall and Spring semester. This is a condition for financial aid for students with CS department teaching assistantships. See the CS support page for all policies concerning aid.
  • Students with research assistantships must secure their RA supervisors' advance permission to take any outside courses in addition to the required 9 credits of CS courses contributing towards their degrees.
  • Students must enroll in three courses even if they are making up incompletes from a previous semester. Students are expected to maintain a normal load as they make up incompletes.
  • MS students are required to complete all "P" courses required for their degrees by the time they reach 10 courses.
• English Course(s). Any International Student who received a form requiring English courses (Ling T101) must enroll in all the courses checked. These are required for graduation.

Extremely Important Notes to International Students:

• Course loads: International students should note that SEVIS regulations are stringent about having a full course load, and that it's essential to check with International Services well in advance of any event might affect visa status, to avoid the risk of deportation for being out of status. Check International Services' immigration regulations page now and be sure that you are aware of the current policies.
• Completion dates for visa purposes:International students are considered to have completed their degrees as soon as they have completed the degree requirements, regardless of whether they have filed for the degree. Consequently, it is essential to make sure that post-graduation visa arrangements are in place before completing the requirements. International Services is expert on these rules.
• Completion dates used for OPT applications: For Optional Practical training, your date of graduation is normally the end of the semester in which you take the last courses needed for the degree, regardless of whether you will receive an incomplete in one of these courses. Even if you have an incomplete that prevents receiving your degree, you should expect the OPT to be processed using the normal completion date for your last courses (the last day of finals).

Procedures for independent study courses:

• What to sign up for: Y790's are taken before applying for candidacy; Y890's are allowed after candidacy, for dissertation research. G901 is only allowed after the required 90 credits have been completed for the PhD.
• How to sign up: The independent study or research courses, the Independent Research Permission Form, (PDF), ( Postscript). must be signed by the research supervisor and turned in to the Graduate Administrator to obtain permission to register. This applies to any Y790, Y890, or G901 section. All Y790's in a given semester have the same section number, and likewise for Y890 and G901. For the current section numbers, please see the table below. Please be sure to allow enough time to get the instructor's signature before the deadline at the top of this page, to avoid late registration fees.
• Approvals for Y790's for R,T,or S options for the MS: If you wish to take a Y790 to count towards the R, T, or S option for the MS degree, you must discuss your plans with the research supervisor and secure the supervisor's approval before signing up for the course.
• Y790's with supervision outside CS: If your supervisor is outside of the CS Faculty, you will need to find a CS faculty member to co-supervise the project and co-sign the form.
• Time limits on G901: Students are only allowed 6 semesters of G901. If you are out of G901's you must register for Y890. Please make sure you are eligible for the G901 registration before submitting your form to the Graduate Administrator.

Useful Resources for Choosing Courses:

A Master's work sheet is available in either Postscript or PDF format to help Master's students plan their courses.
A corresponding PhD work sheet is available in Postscript or PDF format to help PhD students plan their course requirements. (Students who entered before Spring, 2001, should use the pre-2001 PhD course work sheet ( pdf ).)

See Fall 2004 Course Information for details about times, section numbers, and discussion sections for all courses in Computer Science. See also the CS Schedule of Classes page for historical information about previous semesters.

A good way to find out about courses in detail is to consult the course home pages. Links to course descriptions and available home pages are provided on the IU Computer Science Department Courses page.

Academic Policies:

Time Limits for Courses Counted Towards Graduate Degrees: The Graduate Bulletin states: "Normally, a course may not be counted toward degree requirements if it has been completed more than (a) five years prior to the awarding of the degree for master's students or, (b) seven years prior to the passing of the qualifying examination for Ph.D. students."

Timing of Written Qualifying Exams: Students entering the PhD program with preparation in the qualifier areas are expected to use their "free try" at the qualifying exams on entry. Those who do not complete the requirement at that time must take both qualifiers in the August preceeding their second year, and must pass both by the August preceeding their third year. Students transferring from the IU Computer Science MS program must take both qualifiers in August preceding their first year as PhD students, and must pass both in August preceding their second year as PhD students. Information on exam dates and contents is available from the Qualifying Examination Implementation page.

Graduate Course Grades: Students should be aware that page 7 of the University Graduate School Bulletin stipulates that courses completed with grades below C (2.0) do not count towards degree requirements; however, these grades (e.g., C-, D+, D, D-, F) are counted in calculating the grade point average, which must be a B (3.0) or above to continue in graduate study.

Deficiencies: If you have not completed an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, you must at least take or know the material covered in C241, A592(C212), and A594(C343). It is desirable to have taken or be familiar with the material in the basic five core undergraduate courses: C241 (Discrete Structures for CSCI), A591 (C211: Intro to Computer Science), A592 (C212: Intro to Software Systems), A593 (C335: Computer Structures), and A594 (C343: Data Structures); the sixth core course, A596 (C311: Programming Languages), is also highly recommended if you do not plan to take the graduate course, B521 (Programming Language Principles), instead.

Transferring courses: As described in the Bulletin of the University Graduate School, PhD candidates may transfer up to 30 hours of courses from another graduate institution, and MS candidates may transfer up to 8 hours, subject to approval of course content (transfer is not automatic) and to various conditions (e.g., courses transferred for a degree may not have been counted towards a previous degree at the same level, the course must have been completed (1) under a graduate course number, (2) while enrolled at the graduate level, (3) within given time limits, and (4) with a grade of B or better). For details, see the Academic Regulations section of the Graduate School Bulletin.

Curricular Practical Training: International Students planning summer employment under the CPT program must enroll in Y798 and complete the arrangements with International Services and the Computer Science Department outlined in the Curricular Practical Training Y798 Authorization Form, (PDF), (Postscript). All related forms (including those requiring an advisor signature) should be submitted to the Graduate Administrator, Sherry Kay. Y798 is not allowed with an RAship or AIship, due to the departmental policy that AIs and RAs are not allowed to take additional employment.

Fall 2004 Course Offerings:

The table below summarizes Fall 2004 graduate course offerings in CSCI, as well as courses from other departments that can be applied to the MS degree. In the table, PhD Qualifying Exam preparation courses are B501 or B503, and P536. These are marked below by "Qual IA", "Qual IB", and "Qual II", respectively. Details on the qualifiers are available from the qualifiers implementation page.

CSCI Graduate Courses Fall 2004