The University of Texas at Austin

• Forms
• Calendars
• News
• Videos
• Site Map

• Undergraduate
  • Prospective Students
  • Current Students
  • Advising Office
  • Degrees & Courses
  • Forms Bank
  • Honors Programs
  • Scholarships
  • Weekly News
• Graduate
  • Apply Now
  • Admissions FAQ
  • Course Information
  • New Students
  • Current Students
  • Masters Program
  • PhD Program
  • Fellowships
  • Financial Information
  • Forms Bank
  • Grad Talk Calendar
  • TA Application
  • TA Assignments
  • TA Stations
  • Weekly News
  • Contact
• Non-Majors Courses
  • Computer Fluency
  • Elements Program
  • Other Courses
• Code of Conduct
• UT Catalogs

Academics

• New Students
• Before you Arrive
-->
• Upon Arrival
• Important Dates
• MCD Recipients
• TA/RA Information

New Students

Things you need to do after you arrive:

1. Obtain an upgraded UTEID and student ID card at the ID Center in FAC 102.

2. Check-in at the CS Graduate Office located in TAY 2.114 at least thirty minutes before your advising time to complete the following:

   • A Security Sensitive Form
   • New Student Information Sheet
   • Turn in syllabus of background courses

   If you are an international student who was awarded a TA or RA position and you do not have a social security number, you also will need to fill out a form to apply for one.

   Katherine Utz is the CS Graduate Coordinator who will be your contact when you arrive. Her email address is Klu@cs.utexas.edu, her phone number is 512-471-9503 and her office is located in TAY 2.114.

3. New Ph.D. students are assigned an office. Katherine will tell you your office location when you check-in. Most offices are located in ACES or Taylor Hall. A list of the Grad Office Assignments is posted on our department web site under "Facilities": http://www.cs.utexas.edu/facilities/office_assignments/

   Move-in date is August 25th. At that time, you may see Brandon Shapiro in TAY 145.

4. Create a CS UNIX computer account at: https://udb.cs.utexas.edu/amut/acut/

   (Click "CONTINUE"). You may need to do this on your own laptop computer or at the Electronic Information Center located on the entry level of the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) on Speedway. You need to do this quickly, especially if you will be a TA or RA as email is the main means of communication regarding deadlines, announcements, etc.

5. Advising: All new graduate students have an advising bar on their registration. Due to a change in Dr. Alvisi's schedule, we will not be holding the advising session. The advising bar will be lifted prior to registration.
   • Incoming masters students are advised to register for 3 graduate level courses.
   • Incoming Ph.D. students should send email to Dr. Alvisi <lorenzo@cs.utexas.edu) with their planned schedule. Remember that all new Ph.D. students must register for CS 398T.

   Please contact the CS Graduate Office if you have questions.

6. Online Registration is August 20-21 for new graduate students. You must pay your tuition bill by 5 pm, August 31or your registration will be cancelled. Those with a fellowship who may have a zero balance must confirm their registration by 5pm, August 31 or the registration will be cancelled. If your registration is cancelled, you will have to late register, pay a late fee and possibly not obtain the classes you originally wanted, so be sure to pay or confirm your registration by the payment deadline!
7. The date for our Department Orientation is August 25th at 9:30 a.m. in ACES 2.302 (Avaya Auditorium).
8. Classes begin August 26.

Additional information for new International Students:

1. You must check in with the International Office located at Wooldridge Hall (WOH). We strongly urge you to attend their orientation on August 14 at 9:30am - 2:30pm. Information for new international students is at: http://www.utexas.edu/international/isss/students/new/ including a Welcome Guide [.pdf file] if you did not receive one in the mail. If you have any questions, please call their office at: (512) 471-1211.
2. International students often do summer internships known as CPT – Curricular Practical Training. Information on the procedures and downloadable form are at: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/academics/graduate/cpt/ The student is required to register for CS 195T – Practicum in Computer Sciences Application the following semester to satisfy the CPT requirement.

Degree Information For All Students:

Adequate background (as defined over undergraduate classes) is required for all students. Undergraduate Background: Architecture (CS 352), Operating Systems (CS 372), Programming Languages (CS 345) or Compilers (CS 375), Theory of Computation (CS 353) or Algorithms (CS 357). A student can satisfy the background requirement for an area using 1 of the following options: 1) by CS Subject GRE ≥ 90%, 2) equivalent courses taken previously at another university, 3) courses taken at UT with GPA ≥ 3.5, unless only 1 course is taken, in which case the requirement is for a 3.0 in that single class, 4) final exam taken of the UTCS course with at least a B. Graduate level courses may not be used to satisfy background requirements. Descriptions of these courses: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/academics/undergraduate/degrees_courses/descriptions/

The Ph.D. Program:

• Research Immersion:
  • Each student must take CS 398T the first semester, then a CS 395 research course each semester until Ph.D.
• Candidacy:
• CS 398T has lectures on teaching, and talks by most CS faculty on their research; then students select a professor to do a conference course.
• The CS 395 requirement is intended to get students started on research as soon as possible. A CS 395 course is a "date", not a "marriage"; you can change supervisors for CS 395 the next semester.
• Course load:
  • A full-time load is 9 hours (3 courses) per semester. Ph.D. students must receive (rare) permission from the Graduate Advisor to take 12 or more hours. Additional courses such as P.E. are okay.
• Diversity Program:
  • 5 Diversity courses, from 5 different threads, with no more than two courses from each area (Theory, Systems, Applications), each with ≥ B and Diversity GPA ≥ 3.5 .
• Diversity Course Waiver:
  • Students may request a waiver for one course in each of the three diversity areas.
• Depth requirement:
  • 3 courses related to research area, not CS 395 or CS 398T, GPA ≥ 3.6. These provide specialization in the research area.

   

Most Ph.D. students get a Masters degree (MSCS) along the way; this typically requires only two more Minor courses.

• Before the end of the 3rd year, each student must pass a Research Preparation Exam, for which the student conducts research on a topic, prepares a document, and presents a talk.
• When you have taken enough courses and passed the RP Exam, submit a Research Qualification (RQ) Document. This lists your Diversity and Depth courses. The faculty member who signs your RQ is agreeing to supervise you in a dissertation proposal.

At an appropriate point, you must complete a dissertation proposal and Application for Candidacy. The proposal may vary from being an idea for research, to being a half-finished dissertation. The dissertation proposal is presented to the proposed dissertation committee, which must answer two questions:

• If substantially completed, would the proposed work constitute a dissertation (an original contribution to knowledge)?
• Does the committee believe that the student can substantially complete the work in a reasonable amount of time?
• Passing the proposal gives the student a contract that the committee will accept the work if substantially completed.
• After the dissertation is finished, the student defends it in a public presentation.

The Masters Program:

There is a proposed change to the requirements for the Masters degrees that should take effect Fall 2009. Incoming students for Fall 2009 would be able to graduate under the new program requirements. The proposed plan would be to offer two degree options: Master of Science in Computer Science without thesis, or with thesis. The Master of Arts degree would no longer be available. The MSCS without thesis would be reduced from 36 to 30 hours total.

Two minor courses would be required, as described in the current Masters degree program information. Also, the Diversity requirement will not change.

Masters students entering Fall 2009 must follow the 2009-2011 degree requirements: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/academics/graduate/masters_program/degree_requirements/09_11/

There are two options for the Master of Science in Computer Science degree -- the coursework option or the thesis option. You don't have to choose which option until you are approaching your semester to graduate.

Two Minor courses are required. The Graduate Advisor prior to your registering for the course must approve minor courses. Send email to Dr. Alvisi < lorenzo@cs.utexas.edu > to obtain his approval in advance.

• Courses that may be approved: upper-division or graduate courses in ECE, Math, and other sciences. CS courses that are cross-listed with other departments may count as minor courses if taken under the other department's course number.
• Courses that usually are not approved: lower-division courses (those with numbers below 320); M 325; courses you have already taken somewhere else; trivial courses ("how to make a web page"); French, Theatre and Dance, Literary Criticism, etc.

Diversity requirement: at least one course from each Diversity area (Systems, Theory, Applications).

Transfer courses: maximum of 6 hours of graduate work from another institution; no transferred course may have been counted toward another degree. If the courses were taken at a foreign institution, it also will be necessary to seek further approval from the foreign degree evaluators to assess whether the courses are comparable to graduate courses here at UT.

If your ultimate goal is to get a Ph.D. from UT, you have responsibilities and we expect you to hold that standard. You can take courses that satisfy both the Ph.D. requirements and the Masters requirements. Make good grades on Diversity courses. Try to get involved in research.