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

Graduate Program Requirements

Masters Degree Program of Study

1. Three core courses - CSci 210, 211, 212
2. No area of concentration is necessary.
3. Seven additional courses that can be taken for graduate credit.
4. At least 8 of the 10 courses (24 of 30 credits) must be taken at the 200 or above level
5. Normally no more than two courses may be taken outside of the department.
6. At least 3.0 GPA to meet graduation requirements.
7. Student who receives 2 (or more) grades of F will be dismissed from the program.
8. Student who receives three (or more) grades below B- will be dismissed from the program.
   

Doctoral Degree Program of Study

• Direct Doctorate
1. 54 credit hours of course work available for graduate credit.
2. 24 credit hours of dissertation research credits (CSci 399).
   
3. Specific Course requirements (for the 54 credit hours of course work):
   
1. The three core courses - Csci 210, 211, 212.
2. Seminar Course requirement: At least one Advanced Topics Course.
3. Breadth Requirement: At least one course from each of the following three areas: (1) Theory and algorithms, (2) Systems and Architecture, and (3) Applications. Current areas of focus are partitioned amongst these three areas.
• Theory and algorithms Current areas: (i) Algorithms and Theory.
• Systems and Architecture current areas: (i)Computer architecture, networks and parallel and distributed computing, (ii) Software engineering and systems.
• Applications current areas: (i) Database and information retrieval systems, (ii) Multimedia Animation, (iii) Graphics and User Interfaces, (iv) Computer Security and information assurance, (v) Machine intelligence and cognition.
4. A maximum of fifteen credits outside of the department.
5. At most four courses at the 100 level which can be taken for graduate credit.
   
4. Exam Requirements:
1. Pass the Preliminary examination within 4 semesters of starting the program.
• Students are allowed two attempts to pass the exam.
• Failure to pass the exam by the end of the 4th semester will lead to dismissal from the doctoral program.
2. Pass the Qualifying Exam (also known as Doctoral Qualifying Exam Part 1) by the end of the sixth semester of the doctoral program.
• Student is allowed two attempts to pass the exam.
• Failure to pass this exam by the end of their sixth semester will lead to dismissal from the doctoral program.
3. Pass the Thesis Proposal Exam (also known as Doctoral Qualifying exam Part 2) after passing Qualifying Exam.
4. Colloquium Attendance Requirement: Must attend at least 6 talks -- department colloquiums, seminars, and student thesis and proposal defenses -- and submit short report on each to the Thesis Proposal Committee, using specific forms for this purpose. At least three such reports must be submitted in order to pass the Thesis proposal exam.
   
5. Complete a Thesis Dissertation and successfully defend it to the Thesis Committee.
• The doctoral thesis advisor must be a regular full-time faculty in the Computer Science department.
• The Dissertation Committee must consist of at least four members in addition to their advisor(s) and co-advisors. The committee must have a presiding chair who must be a regular full-time faculty member in the Computer Science department. At least three members of the committee, not including advisor(s) and co-advisors, shall be regular full-time faculty of the Computer Science department. At least one member of the committee must be an external reviewer -- the external reviewer can be any person who holds a doctoral degree (or is a recognized expert in the field) and who is a not a regular full-time faculty in the Computer Science department. A co-advisor may not serve as the designated external member.
  
6. Must submit for publication at least one paper to a refereed venue at the time of their Thesis defense.
7. Scholarship requirements:
   
• At least 3.0 GPA to meet graduation requirements.
• Student who receives two (or more) grades of F will be dismissed from the program.
• Student who receives three (or more) grades below B- will be dismissed from the program.
  


• Post Masters Degree
1. 30 credit hours of course work available for graduate credit.
2. 24 credit hours of dissertation research credits (CSci 399).
3. Specific Course requirements (for the 54 credit hours of course work):
   
1. Seminar Course requirement: At least one Advanced Topics Course.
2. Breadth Requirement: At least one course from each of the following three areas: (1) Theory and algorithms, (2) Systems and Architecture, and (3) Applications. Current areas of focus are partitioned amongst these three areas.
• Theory and algorithms Current areas: (i) Algorithms and Theory.
• Systems and Architecture current areas: (i)Computer architecture, networks and parallel and distributed computing, (ii) Software engineering and systems.
• Applications current areas: (i) Database and information retrieval systems, (ii) Multimedia Animation, (iii) Graphics and User Interfaces, (iv) Computer Security and information assurance, (v) Machine intelligence and cognition.
3. A maximum of 9 credits outside of the department.
4. At most two courses at the 100 level which can be taken for graduate credit.
5. The three core courses (CSci 210,211,212) cannot count towards the course requirments.
   
4. Exam Requirements:
1. Pass the Preliminary examination within 4 semesters of starting the program.
• Students are allowed two attempts to pass the exam.
• Failure to pass the exam by the end of the 4th semester will lead to dismissal from the doctoral program.
2. Pass the Qualifying Exam (also known as Doctoral Qualifying Exam Part 1) by the end of the sixth semester of the doctoral program.
• Student is allowed two attempts to pass the exam.
• Failure to pass this exam by the end of their sixth semester will lead to dismissal from the doctoral program.
3. Pass the Thesis Proposal Exam (also known as Doctoral Qualifying exam Part 2) after passing Qualifying Exam.
4. Colloquium Attendance Requirement: Must attend at least 6 talks -- department colloquiums, seminars, and student thesis and proposal defenses -- and submit short report on each to the Thesis Proposal Committee, using specific forms for this purpose. At least three such reports must be submitted in order to pass the Thesis proposal exam.
   
5. Complete a Thesis Dissertation and successfully defend it to the Thesis Committee.
• The doctoral thesis advisor must be a regular full-time faculty in the Computer Science department.
• The Dissertation Committee must consist of at least four members in addition to their advisor(s) and co-advisors. The committee must have a presiding chair who must be a regular full-time faculty member in the Computer Science department. At least three members of the committee, not including advisor(s) and co-advisors, shall be regular full-time faculty of the Computer Science department. At least one member of the committee must be an external reviewer -- the external reviewer can be any person who holds a doctoral degree (or is a recognized expert in the field) and who is a not a regular full-time faculty in the Computer Science department. A co-advisor may not serve as the designated external member.
  
6. Must submit for publication at least one paper to a refereed venue at the time of their Thesis defense.
7. Scholarship requirements:
   
• <>At least 3.0 GPA to meet graduation requirements.
• <>Student who receives two (or more) grades of F will be dismissed from the program.
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• Student who receives three (or more) grades below B- will be dismissed from the program.