Computer Science and Applications

Study mode:On campus Study type:Full-time Languages: English
Local:$ 7.27 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 13.9 k / Year(s) Deadline: Dec 15, 2024
201–250 place StudyQA ranking:3281 Duration:2 years

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The graduate program at the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech is poised to become one of the top programs in the country.  Currently ranked at #40 in the US News and World Report 2014 scores for graduate CS programs, additional accolades include being an NSF-identified top-30 program in the US (by number of Ph.D. degrees awarded) and as the #5 CS program in the country preferred by IT recruiters, according to a Wall Street Journal survey in 2010.

The Master of Science degree provides a solid foundation in computer science while still offering flexibility to meet the needs and interests of individual students.
The M.S degree is completed through either the thesis or the coursework option. The thesis option requires 30 credits of course work of which typically 21-24 credits must derive from courses and 6-9 credits from research work. The coursework option requires 33 credits derived from courses and a project (completed as Independent Study). Students in good standing typically complete either degree option in at most two years. The thesis option is strongly encouraged since it provides students with an in-depth research experience, and requires fewer courses. To encourage Masters graduates to exhibit sufficient breadth of computer science areas, M.S. thesis students must take CS courses spanning four (4) different areas and M.S. coursework students must take CS courses spanning five (5) different areas. At least one advanced graduate course must be included on the plan of study.
The Computer Science department offers the accelerated BS/MS degree programs in accordance to graduate school polices and the following criteria. Students must be accepted into the program prior to the beginning of the semester in which they would enroll in courses to be used on the accelerated program.  Students qualifying for the program must be in the last 12 months of their undergraduate degree and must have a minimum GPA of 3.5. Once completion of the undergraduate degree has been verified, students accepted into this accelerated program will be classified as regular graduate students. A maximum of 12 credits of graded coursework may be used in the program. No more than 6 of the double-counted credits may be at the 4000 level; all others must be offered for graduate credit. A grade of B or higher must be earned in each course to be double counted. Courses must not be taken pass-fail if a graded option is available.

Concentrations

Bioinformatics Option

An M.S. or Ph.D. degree may include an option in Bioinformatics. Students receiving the option will have that fact noted on their transcript upon successful graduation. To receive the option, students will take a minimum of seven (7) additional credits beyond those necessary for the degree without the option. These and other requirements as noted next: 

  • Students receiving the Bioinformatics option must take PPWS 5314 Biological Paradigms for Bioinformatics (3 credits), BCHM 5024 Computational Biochemistry for Bioinformatics (3 credits), and GBCB 5004 Seminar (1 credit). PPWS 5314, BCHM 5024, and GBCB 5004 may not be used both to complete the option and to satisfy CSA degree course requirements. Students who already have background equivalent to PPWS 5314 and/or BCHM 5024 may be permitted to substitute more advanced courses to satisfy this requirement.
  • Students receiving the Bioinformatics option must take ONE of STAT 5615 (Statistics in Research), STAT 5616 (Statistics in Research), MATH 5515 (Modeling and Simulation of Biological Systems), or MATH 5516 (Modeling and Simulation of Biological Systems). These courses may also be used to fulfill CSA coursework requirements.
  • Students must complete the final exam requirement for their respective CSA degree using a topic suitable for the Bioinformatics option. MS coursework-only students must take GBCB 5874 Problem Solving in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, and use the final report from this course to satisfy their final exam requirement.
  • Transcripts. Include a scanned copy of your college transcripts with your online application, then arrange for an official copy to be sent to us after you receive an offer of admission.
  • Letters of Recommendation. Check to see whether your department requires letters of recommendation from references. If so, you can include their email addresses in your online application, or have them send paper copies directly to your program’s department.
  • Application Fees. Degree-seeking students must include a $75 fee with their application, though check to see if you qualify for a waiver or reduced fee.
  • TOEFL Paper 550.0, Computer 213.0, iBT 80.0
  • GRE General Test 
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0
  • Institution code: 5859

Scholarships

There are several possible sources of funding with or near the University for qualified graduate students. Well over half of CS graduate students are typically funded through departmental fellowships, teaching, or research assistantships. Others were supported elsewhere within the University, or at the nearby Corporate Research Center. The vast majority of students seeking support will find it in one of the following ways:

  • Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA): The number of GTAs awarded in a given year is difficult to predict and is driven by undergraduate (not graduate) enrollments. A fraction of the GTAs (approximately one-third) are offered to new students. Students on assistantships are exempt from tuition and a significant fraction of the costs for a University sponsored healthcare plan are covered.
  • Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA): Many faculty have active research programs that include funds for research assistants. Note that GRAs are most commonly awarded to students who have been in the Department for at least one semester. GRAs receive the same stipends, tuition exemption, and healthcare benefits as GTAs.
  • Computer Science Scholars and Pratt Fellowships: a limited number of exceptional applicants are admitted as CS Scholars or Pratt Fellows, which guarantees them multiple years of support. These positions may include summer support for research as well.
  • University/College-level Fellowships: Our applicants are eligible to compete for University- and College-level fellowships including the Cunningham Fellowship, Dean's Fellowship, and PhD 2010 Fellowships. These fellowships typically include multiple-year support guarantees, summer research support, and possibly travel or discretionary funds. Some are only available to US citizens and permanent residents.
  • Minority Scholarships: Virginia Tech provides a number of scholarships for minority students who are US citizens. Contact the CS Department at gradprog@cs.vt.edu for further information about applying to these programs.

MS Thesis and PhD Students who received Departmental support in their first year can normally expect to receive continued support during the remainder of their course of study (typically 2 years for MS, 4 or 5 years for PhD), so long as their job performance and degree progress is good. PhD students whose job performance is good are normally guaranteed three years of funding once they have passed their PhD Qualifier process. MS Coursework-only students will normally be given assistantships only if funding is available after all qualified MS Thesis and PhD students have been funded.

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