PROPOSAL
Department of Computer Science
Combined Bachelor’s Master’s Program
1. Overview
The Department of Computer Science proposes to establish a combined BS/MS Program.
This program will enable our very best students to earn both a BS and MS in five years. It
will provide an opportunity for students to begin the graduate experience at an earlier date,
and accelerate their progress towards research. The University will benefit by keeping the
very best students in our graduate programs. Moreover, this combined degree program will
attract the most talented of our freshman recruits: many of these students begin their
undergraduate studies with advanced placement credit, and the prospect of accelerated
opportunities into research and graduate work will appeal to them.
The proposed program keeps intact all course requirements for the BS and the MS degree.
Students who are admitted to the program will be allowed to use graduate credits taken as an
undergraduate towards the graduate degree. The essence of this proposal is to integrate the
two programs into one experience and streamline the administrative process of connecting
qualified students with advanced research and study opportunities. The savings in time
comes from recognizing that students may double count up to 9 credits of graduate course
work taken for their undergraduate degrees toward the MS degree.
The standards for provisional acceptance into this accelerated program – and hence gain
access to a broader array of graduate coursework at an earlier point – are high, in order to
ensure we place only mature students into these graduate courses. Because this decision
happens in the junior year, a certain amount of prognostication is involved on the part of the
program directors, gauging student readiness; we err on the side of caution with a high
threshold for acceptance.
Courses in this program that may count towards both degrees are graduate level courses. The
credits to be double-counted will be designated as applicable to the graduate program after
the student receives the bachelor's degree and matriculates into the Graduate School. This
designation will be canceled if the student withdraws from the graduate program before
completing the master's degree.
This program was patterned after the successful Mathematics BS-MA five year program.
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2. Proposed Application and Admission requirements for Combined BS/MS program in
Computer Science
A CS combined BS/MS Program is offered for students of exceptional ability and interest in
Computer Science. Qualified majors are offered the opportunity to participate in the program.
Details are available from the Advisor Consultant, the Associate Chair for Undergraduate
Studies or the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies.
Normally the minimum requirements for acceptance into this program are:
1. An overall GPA of at least 3.5.
2. No more than 15 credits remaining of required upper level computer science
credits for the BS degree in the semester of admission. (A student may apply in
advance of meeting this requirement, which would typically be at the end of his
sophomore year for admission starting in his junior year.)
3. Recommendations from two faculty members, at least one of whom is in the
Computer Science Department.
4. No more than 6 credits of CORE distributive studies requirements remaining for
the BS degree.
5. An essay or statement of purpose.
6. An interview with the Associate Chair for Undergraduate studies and the
associate chair for Graduate Studies.
7. A degree plan that satisfies all of the requirements for the BS and MS.
The GRE is not required for entrance into this degree program.
As indicated above, a student may apply to the combined program in advance of meeting
credit requirements (#2 above). This is to encourage students to work closely with the faculty
to develop an appropriate degree plan. However, any decision will be conditional upon the
student meeting all admission criteria.
Students will remain in the combined program provided that they maintain an overall GPA of
3.5 and maintain progress towards the degree plan submitted.
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3. Current Requirements for the BS Degree in CS
The course of study for a Computer Science major must include all of the following requirements:
•
A grade of C of better in each of the following courses:
o 1a. CMSC 131 (or an acceptable score on the Java Advanced Placement exam or on
the Department's CMSC 131 exemption exam, which is to be taken at the time of
entry into the program).
o 1b. CMSC 132 (or an acceptable score on the Department's CMSC 132 exemption
exam, which is to be taken at the time of entry into the program).
o 1c. CMSC 250 (or an acceptable score on the Department's CMSC 250 exemption
exam, which is to be taken at the time of entry into the program).
o 1d. CMSC 212 (or an acceptable score on the Department's CMSC 212 exemption
exam, which is to be taken at the time of entry into the program).
o 1e. At least 27 credit hours at the 300-400 levels, including CMSC 311, 330, 351 and
at least 15 credit hours of the following CMSC courses (which comprise the "CMSC
Upper Level Core"):
ƒ Computer Systems: Up to two of: 411, 412, 414, 417
ƒ Information Processing: 420; one of 421, 424, 426, or 427
ƒ Software Engineering / Programming Languages: Up to two of: 430, 433,
434, 435
ƒ Theory of Computation: 451; one of 452, 456
ƒ Numerical Analysis: one of 460, 466
•
Calculus I and II (MATH 140 and 141), a STAT course which has MATH 141 (or a more
advanced mathematics course) as a prerequisite, and one other MATH, STAT, or AMSC
course which has MATH 141 (or a more advanced mathematics course) as a prerequisite. A
grade of C of better must be earned in each of the courses. No course that is cross-listed as
CMSC may be counted in this requirement.
•
Upper Level Concentration: A minimum of 12 additional credit hours of 300-400 level courses
in one discipline outside of computer science with an average grade of C or better. No course
that is cross-listed as CMSC may be counted in this requirement. Each course should be a
minimum of 3 credits. Only 1 special topics or independent study course may be used.
Students are encouraged to apply their upper level concentration towards a minor.
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4. Proposed Requirements for Combined BS-MS Program
All degree requirements for the existing BS in Computer Science (as identified above) will
apply in the Combined BS-MS program. In addition, the graduate level requirements listed
below will apply. These directly correspond to the requirements for the existing MS degree
in CS, for which there is both a thesis and non-thesis option.
The following requirements apply to all students in the proposed program:
1. Graduate credits: Students must complete at least 30 credit hours of approved course
work, with a B average. These courses must be at the 400-level or higher, with at least
18 credit hours at the 600-800 level. At least 21 credit hours must be in computer
science courses. Courses from other departments must be approved by an advisor;
students must submit a written approval to the Graduate Office prior to the start of the
semester in which the course is to be done.
2. Qualifying coursework: Students must complete at least four computer science
courses at the 600-800 level in four out of the seven areas. For these four courses, you
must have at least a B average.
3. Residency: Students must complete at least two full-time semesters, or the equivalent,
at this university (four semesters part-time are considered equivalent to two semesters
full-time).
4. Students must be registered for at least one credit in the semester in which they
expect to receive their degree.
5. Time limit: Students must complete all requirements for the degree no later than five
years after the date of admission to the combined program.
All students electing the thesis option must complete six hours of CMSC 799 (Master's
Thesis Research) and prepare a thesis. The thesis must present an independent
accomplishment in a research, development, or application area of computer science. The
student may count the 6 course credit hours of CMSC 799 toward the total of 30 credit hours
required for the degree as well as towards the 18 graduate credits.
All students electing the non-thesis option must pass a written comprehensive examination in
each of the four areas used to satisfy the qualifying coursework requirement. They must pass
all four examinations with at least B grades, and at least two of them with A grades. Students
in this option must also complete a scholarly paper acceptable to a professor (who need not
be your advisor) in an area approved by that professor. The paper must include an abstract
and references to the relevant literature.
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5. Summary of Benefits to the Students
The current requirements for an undergraduate degree do not allow students to use graduate
coursework towards a major requirement unless an exception is made by the undergraduate
chair. The proposed BS-MS program would have the effect of streamlining a student’s access
to graduate courses. The ‘double counting’ of up to nine credits gives a net savings of time to
the student; while course requirements for the existing BS and MS degrees are reflected in
this proposal, the savings come in terms of the overall credit requirements. In effect, students
in their senior year may take graduate courses which can both count towards the masters
component and serve as CS electives towards the undergraduate component.
One added benefit of the joint program to the students is that they are guaranteed admission
into a highly competitive graduate program without having to give up some of their activities
geared solely for undergraduates. For example, the combined program will allow students to
continue participation in QUEST, Hinman CEO’s and Gemstone.
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6. Sample Program
Due to the diversity of the academic needs and directions of our undergraduate majors and
graduate students, we can not provide all possible courses of study. We give two sample
scenarios for a hypothetical student entering the proposed program:
In the first scenario, a student enters the university with AP-BC Calculus and AP CS. The
AP:BC exam gives the student 8 credits for MATH140 and MATH141. The AP: CS A level
exam in Java gives exempts the student out of CMSC131 and gives them 4 elective credits.
The student will enter the university with a total of 12 AP credits. The student will complete
a master’s without a thesis.
Year
Fall Semester
Course
Number of
Credits
I
CMSC132
CMSC250
CORE-FE
CORE-SB
4
4
3
3
Spring
Semester
Courses
CMSC212
CMSC351
CORE-SH
CORE-HA
Number of
Credits
4
3
3
3
BS:14
II
CMSC330
CMSC311
STAT400
CORE-SB
CORE-HO
3
3
3
3
3
BS:13
CMSC420
CMSC451
MATH240
CORE-SB
CORE-HL
3
3
4
3
3
BS:15
III
CMSC435
CMSC424
CORE-JE
CORE-PL
ULC
IV
CMSC651(TH)
CMSC624(DB)
ULC
Elective
V
CMSC8XX
CMSC754(TH)
CMSC421
3
3
3
4
3
BS:16
CMSC412
CMSC390
CORE-LS/PS
ULC
ULC
BS:16
3 (DC)
3 (DC)
3
3
BS:12/MS: 6
3
3
3
MS:9
CMSC724(DB)
CMSC735(SE)
Elective
Elective
CMSC726(AI)
CMSC751(TH)
CMSC430
4
3
3
3
3
BS:16
3 (DC)
3 (Bank)
3
3
BS:9/MS:6
3
3
3
MS:9
** ULC refers to the upper level concentration required for undergraduates.
** (DC) denotes that the course will be double counted towards the
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undergraduate and graduate degree. Note that these courses are NOT
being used towards the CS major requirements.
** (Bank) denotes that the student will need the necessary permissions to designate the
course as “For Graduate Credit Only”. These credits are not counted in the 120 total
undergraduate credits needed for the BS.
** (TH), (DB), (AI), (SE) denote the area that the graduate course is counted towards.
Students must complete course work from at least four of the seven areas. (See master’s
requirements.)
In the second scenario, the student enters with the same AP credit. Instead of completing the
MS without a thesis, the student completes the MS with a thesis. Note that the student can
begin working on the thesis while conducting an undergraduate honors research project.
However, in such a case, the master’s thesis must be a significant extension of the
undergraduate research project.
V
CMSC8XX
CMSC799
CMSC421
3
3
3
CMSC726(AI)
CMSC799
CMSC430
MS:9
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3
3
3
MS:9
ASSESSMENT PLAN
Program Contact:
Jandelyn Plane___
Date submitted to Academic Unit Head:
Computer Science – Combined Bachelors/Masters of Science Degree
(Program of Study / Major / Degree Level, etc.)
Phone:
301-405-2754
E-mail:
jplane@cs.umd.edu
April 27, 2007
Program Goals: The Department of Computer Science seeks to train its graduates to be skilled problem solvers, programmers, debuggers and testers;
to have a deep understanding of fundamental concepts in computers and computation; and to have exposure to several specialized sub-areas of
computer science.
Relevance of goals to the mission statements and/or strategic plans of the University, College, or Program as applicable: These goals are aligned with
the CMPS Mission Statement to “advance modern science through its nationally competitive research and educational programs.”
Student Learning Outcomes
(list the three-to-five most important)
Assessment Measures and Criteria
(describe one or more measures for each outcome and criteria for
success)
Assessment Schedule
(initial year, and
subsequent cycle)
1. Bachelor/Master’s Graduates of this program
will develop mathematical and analytical
reasoning skills.
Since this program requires courses from the Math department and
CMSC 250, they will develop mathematical and analytic
reasoning skills. Their ability to perform mathematically rigorous
proofs is important and a good way to measure their level of
analytical reasoning. A small committee will review selected
answers from a single final exam question from CMSC 250 to
determine how well the students are able to rigorously prove a
mathematical concept. The sample will be selected randomly
from those students who took the final exam. At least 80% of the
student tests evaluated should receive a rating of very good or
excellent on this one exam question.
Coincident with the
reviews of our standalone Bachelor degree
program (which began
in 2006 and thereafter
occur every three
years), the committee
will review a sample of
materials, as described,
from students in the
combined program.
2. Bachelor/Master’s graduates will learn to
design and implement computer software.
Student taking 600-800 level project based courses will have
developed projects at the appropriate level for assessment. A
Coincident with the
review of our stand-
3. In addition to the reasoning skills mentioned
above needed by all computer science graduates,
the students must also gain skills and knowledge
in one or more of the following areas of
computer science.
a) Graduates will be exposed to working
closely with other people. This human
interaction is manifested in several
ways: design of software/hardware
based on user input and feedback,
working as a member of a
programming team, and making
presentations to groups about what has
been designed and/or implemented.
committee of three faculty members will review project
descriptions and sample student implementations of a project for a
course that is identified as being heavily based on the project.
This committee will determine if the level of the project is
appropriate and whether the students are able to complete the
project with appropriate programming characteristics. At least
75% of the sample of students who have passed this graduate level
course will have the project implementation rated as a very good
or excellent for a variety of programming characteristics.
alone Masters degree
program (which began
in 2006 and thereafter
occur every three
years), the committee
will review projects of
students in the
combined BS-MS
program, for a course
that was offered in the
previous semester.
All students will have one or more of these areas of specific skill
development. The statistics about the courses chosen by the
graduates should be reviewed after each graduation to determine
that students are developing skills for application to graduate
school or the real world in more than one of these areas. All
students are required to have one based on the graduation
requirements, there should be at least 90% that have gained the
skills described in more than one of these areas.
These graduation
statistics should be
collected and reviewed
for each graduating
class to be sure the
correct courses are
being offered so that
this goal can be met.
Several 400 level courses deal with developing these skills. Each
semester several different courses could elect to have a group
work/human interaction component. Some examples that do this
now include: CMSC 434 teaches students details on how to design
for the specific needs of the user in human-computer-interface
while CMSC 424 and CMSC 435 have group projects and student
demonstrations/presentations. Courses that have an emphasis in
this skill set will be identified and their attention to this skill set
reviewed. In order to evaluate the student learning related to this
skill set, a single course will be identified during the review
semester that has group projects with a presentation component.
A subset of the group presentations will be evaluated by a small
committee of faculty who are not connected with the course. At
Coincident with the
corresponding review
of our stand-alone
Bachelor’s program
(which started in spring
of 2007 and occurs
every three years
thereafter), courses that
emphasize these skills
will be identified and
their attention to this
skill set reviewed.
least 75% of the group presentations reviewed by the committee
should receive a rating of excellent in their group
work/presentation skills.
b)
Graduates will obtain a high level of
skill in mathematical reasoning about algorithms,
data structures, protocols and other objects in
computer science.
Theses skills are taught in the required courses CMSC 250 and
351, and also in the optional courses CMSC 451, 452 and 456
among others that could be identified in a given year. The level of
student understanding can best be evaluated by comparing the
testable content of these courses in sequence. The theory
committee will review this sequence of courses by looking at
sample exam questions and answers to see the progression of
reasoning through the sequence. At least 80% of the students
answers to the selected question on each exam should be evaluated
as very good or excellent by this external review committee.
Starting in the spring of
2008 and every three
years thereafter, the
theory subject area
committee will review
a sample of exams and
student answers to
determine if progress
through the sequence is
appropriate.
4. Bachelor/Master’s graduates will learn to
design and implement computer software.
Student taking 600-800 level project based courses will have
developed projects at the appropriate level for assessment. A
committee of three faculty members will review project
descriptions and sample student implementations of a project for a
course that is identified as being heavily based on the project.
This committee will determine if the level of the project is
appropriate and whether the students are able to complete the
project with appropriate programming characteristics. At least
75% of the sample of students who have passed this graduate level
course will have the project implementation rated as a very good
or excellent for a variety of programming characteristics.
Coincident with the
corresponding review
of our stand-alone
Master’s program
(which started spring of
2006 and occurs every
three years), the
committee will review
projects of students in
the combined BS-MS
program, for a course
that was offered in the
previous semester.
5. Bachelor/Master’s graduates will develop
their skills in writing to a level acceptable for
publication in refereed journals.
The writing skills of the maters students will be evaluated by
sampling the electronic copies of the scholarly papers submitted.
This review will be done by a small committee of 3 people not
associated with that student’s research. At least 75% of the papers
accepted will be evaluated as very good or excellent by this
external review committee.
Starting in fall 2006
and then every two
years, scholarly papers
will be reviewed and
results presented to the
department chair.