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Department of Computer Science
The George Washington University 801 22nd Street NW, Suite 704 Washington DC 20052 Voice: (202) 994-7181 Fax: (202) 994-4875 E-mail: cs@gwu.edu 
AcademicsGraduate Student HandbookProfessional Degree ProgramThe Professional Degree program offers the degrees of Engineer or Applied Scientist. Both degrees are intended for students who wish to pursue course work beyond the master's degree program with emphasis on applied subject material rather than on basic research.To study toward the degree of Engineer, an applicant must possess a master's degree and a bachelor's degree in an area of engineering. To study toward the degree of Applied Scientist, an applicant must possess a bachelor's degree in engineering, mathematics, or natural science and a master's degree in engineering, natural science, mathematics, or administration. Section contents
Admission to the Professional Degree ProgramAn applicant for the Professional Degree Program in CS must have an appropriate master's degree (described above) from a recognized institution, evidence of capacity for productive work in the area of concentration selected as indicated by prior scholarship and professional experience, and at least two years of professional experience after receiving the master's degree. Normally the applicant must have a quality-point index of at least 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) and must be adequately prepared in the basic sciences (physics and either chemistry or biology) and in mathematics (calculus through differential equations).Upon applying for admission, the applicant must specify the area of focus within the department that he wishes to study. See the sections for the individual areas of focus (concentration) for details. Professional Degree: Academic AdvisorWhen applying for graduate study, you may request on your application a specific professor in CS to serve as your academic advisor; in general the department will honor such a request. If you do not specify an advisor, one will be assigned. Your letter of admission will indicate your academic advisor. You should depend upon your academic advisor to explain all questions relating to the preparation and administration of your degree program, and to assist you in resolving problems which may arise during the course of study. In registering for courses, your advisor's signature is required only for the first time you are enrolling. On the other hand, you should feel free to consult your advisor as appropriate during your stay at GW, as that professor has the experience in the field, and at this University, to give you very useful guidance. Do not expect your adsvisor to serve as a tutor in coursework, however.It is important that you develop a smooth working relationship with your advisor. If for any reason you wish to change to a different, filling in a simple form will accomplish this. Professional Degree: Program of StudyThe program of study for the Professional Degree Program in CS consists of at least 30 semester hours of courses. These hours normally consists of a minimum of 18 semester hours of graduate- level courses in the major area of concentration and a minimum of 9 additional semester hours of graduate-level courses outside the major. Soon after you begin your program in CS, you should visit the academic advisor to plan your course of study. You will need to select the courses you wish to take in consultation with your advisor (see below regarding course distribution) . Pay attention to the prerequisites of each course and to the offering semesters of the courses to see that they can be taken in proper sequence. Both the prerequisites and the semesters in which the course may be offered are given in the University Bulletin.The courses in each area of concentration are given on that area's page. An outside-the-area course may be in or outside the CS department. Check with your advisor regarding courses outside the department; these must be at the graduate level and in some sense appropriate to your field of study. The actual courses to satisfy the above requirements are made with the advice and consent of your academic advisor. In any event, all courses taken for credit toward the masters degree program must be designated for graduate credit, and no more than 3 courses at the 100 level can be taken for credit. Once you and your advisor agree on your plan of study, submit a Graduate Program of Studies (Form 1) document to your advisor and to the department for approval. This document becomes, upon approval, a plan whereby your progress toward graduation is judged, and it is kept in the SEAS Student Services office. Your Form 1 must show a complete masters program of at least ten courses. Your Form 1 is a plan, not a contract. If you need to change your program for any reason, just complete a new Form 1, and, once it is signed, the new Form 1 supercedes the old one. You cannot graduate until you have passed each course approved on the Form 1 with satisfactory grades. Professional degree: Scholarship RequirementsThe grades given for graduate credit in courses numbered 200 or greater is as follows:
A minimum grade-point average of 3.0 is required for award of a degree. A student who receives two grades of F or three grades below B is barred from further enrollment in graduate courses and ordinarily will not be readmitted as a degree candidate. A student may not repeat for credit a course in which he or she has received a grade of C- or above, unless required to do so by the department chair. A written statement requiring the student to repeat such a course for credit must be submitted to the registrar by the department chair. Withdrawals and IncompletesYou may withdraw from a course at any time, without academic penalty, before the last day of classes. Submit a properly signed drop/add form through the proper channels. If you withdraw after the official end of the drop/add period (normally after the fourth week of classes), the grade of W will appear on your transcript. This has no effect on your grade-point average. See the Bulletin regarding the amount of tuition to be refunded. Tuition refunds are the responsibility of the University administration; the Department has no control over these.At the option of the instructor, the grade of "I" may be recorded if a student, for reasons beyond his control, is unable to complete the work of the course and if the instructor is informed of and approves such reasons before the date when grades must be reported. The grade is used only if the student's prior performance and class attendance is satisfactory. Any failure to complete the work of a course that is not satisfactorily explained will be graded F. If acceptable reasons are later presented, the instructor might initiate an appropriate grade change. VERY IMPORTANT: A grade of Incomplete carries with it a non-negotiable obligation to complete the course. The grade of I cannot be removed by registering for the course a second time at GW, or by taking its equivalent elsewhere. The only way to remove the I is to complete the course. An incomplete that is not removed within one calendar year is automatically changed to an F. The department recommends that a student seek to remove an incomplete grade as soon as possible. The student must submit a formal request in writing to request receiving an incomplete grade (the form is available from the SEAS Student Services Office or the CS Department). The instructor will state the work to be completed and the date by which it is to be completed in order to remove the grade of I. Only the instructor who granted the grade of I may change the grade. The grade of Z is assigned when a student is registered for a course that he has not attended and for which he has done no substantial graded work. A grade of Z appears on the transcript but does not affect the grade-point average. If you unexpectedly receive a Z in a course, contact the instructor, as this may have been caused by a misunderstanding or paperwork error. Residence and Continuous EnrollmentAll work for the degree must be done in residence (that is, in the Washington area and registered at GW) unless a special exception is granted by the department chair.In addition, you are expected to be continuously enrolled in the School until the degree is conferred. In special circumstances such as:
If you are taking no courses for a semester (for example, because you have already taken two courses of thesis work but are still finishing your thesis), then he must enroll in the "Continuing Research" course (code number is available from the CS Department) for 1 credit hour. This credit hour does not count toward the degree requirements. If you have completed all degree requirements before a given semester, and are awaiting graduation at the end of that semester, you must register for "Continuous Enrollment." The course and code numbers are available from the CS Department or the SEAS Student Services office. VERY IMPORTANT: Do not, under any circumstances, simply "disappear" before you have completed graduation requirements. This will cause you much more paperwork than the alternatives, and is academically very risky, because a student who "breaks registration" (neither takes any courses, nor enrolls in an inactive status)is dropped from University rolls and must apply for readmission to the degree program under whatever conditions and regulations are in force at that time. Professional Degree: Time LimitA time limit is imposed upon the degree programs. A full-time student is allowed a maximum of three calendar years (excluding time spent taking only English as a Foreign Language) to complete all degree requirements. A part-time student is allowed a maximum of five calendar years. These time limits do not include any period of registration as an unclassified student before admission to degree candidate status or any period spent on approved leave of absence.Students who do not complete degree requirements within the allowed time will have their degree candidate status terminated. They may be readmitted to degree candidate status under conditions by the department chair and approved by the dean. Professional Degree: Changing Areas of ConcentrationTo change your area of concentration, complete the necessary form available in the CS office. The procedure for admission to a new area of concentration is similar to that for admission for the first time, because you could possibly fail to satisfy the specific admission requirements for the new area of concentration. In that case, you may still enroll in the new area but may be required to pass the specific deficiency courses without graduate credit.After switching to a new area of concentration, yu must, of course, complete a new Graduate Program of Studies (Form 1) for the new area. Professional Degree: Relationship with the Doctoral ProgramCandidates for the Doctor of Science degree or the Professional degree who are in good academic standing may, with the approval of the academic advisor, the research advisor (if appropriate), and the chairman, transfer from one degree program to another within CS if they meet the requirements for the new degree program. The change is accomplished by making application for the new degree program with the SEAS Admissions and Record Office, Tompkins 104, together with a written letter of recommendation from the advisors.Professional Degree: GraduationVERY IMPORTANT: You must apply to graduate.Application forms may be obtained from the SEAS Student Services Office (Tompkins 102), and are due October 1 for graduation at the end of the Fall semester, and February 1 for graduation at the end of the Spring semester. Before applying, contact SEAS Student Services to ascertain that all graduate courses have been completed satisfactorily. This is done by comparing the list of all graduate courses taken, with grades, to the list of courses appearing on the Graduate Program of Studies (Form 1) on file with the records office. Discrepancies will hinder the graduation process.
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