UCDAVIS: ACADEMIC SENATE

GRADUATE COUNCIL COMMITTEE

August 4, 2022

Dipak Ghosal
Chair, Computer Science Graduate Group

RE: Computer Science Graduate Group Degree Requirements

Enclosed is a copy of the Computer Science Graduate Group degree requirements as approved by
Graduate Council on August 3, 2022 via electronic ballot. These degree requirements are now the
revised, official document for the Computer Science Graduate Group and will be posted to the Office of
Graduate Studies program webpage:

https://grad.ucdavis.edu/programs/gcsi

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of graduate education.

Sincerely,

Dean Tantillo
Chair, Graduate Council Committee

c: Alyssa Bates, Coordinator, Computer Science Graduate Group

Jessica Stoller, Coordinator, Computer Science Graduate Group
Jasmine Bonite, Director of Policy and Programs, Graduate Studies
Will Angel, Project Policy Analyst, Graduate Studies
Duncan Temple Lang, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, Graduate Studies
Felicia Murdoch, Policy Analyst, Davis Division of the Academic Senate

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
 The Graduate Group in Computer Science
MS AND PhD DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Previously Approved by Graduate Council: January 30, 1998;
May 1, 2001; May 18, 2012; May 28, 2021
Graduate Council Approval: August 3, 2022

Master in Science (MS) Degree Requirements

1) Admissions requirements: Consideration for program admission requires a bachelor’s

degree, three letters of recommendation, a completed application form including Statement
of Purpose, Personal History and Diversity Statement, official transcripts, TOEFL or
IELTS score (if applicable) and Graduate Studies online application with fee by the stated
admission deadline. GRE scores are not required.

a) Proficiency Requirements: In addition to the admission requirements stated above,

applicants are expected to demonstrate proficiency at the undergraduate level in five
fundamental areas of computer science and in mathematics. These are referred to as the
Undergraduate Proficiency Requirements. A student must satisfy the undergraduate
proficiency requirements by demonstrating proficiency at the undergraduate level in the
following areas equivalent to the following UC Davis courses listed below:

Area UC Davis Course

Computer Architecture ECS154A (Computer Architecture)
Operating Systems ECS150 (Operating Systems)
Programming Languages ECS140A (Programming Languages)
Theoretical Foundations ECS120 (Theory of Computations) or
ECS122A (Algorithm Design and Analysis)
Mathematical Foundations ECS132 (Probability & Statistical Modeling for
Computer Science) or
MAT135A (Probability) or
STA131A (Probability Theory) and
one additional mathematics course at the upper
division level

Courses taken outside the university are petitioned and reviewed to establish equivalency.

b) Deficiencies: It is expected that the student will complete the Undergraduate

Proficiency Requirements by the end of the first academic year of residence. This deadline
may be extended only by approval of the Graduate Advisors Committee.

2) MS Plan I and Plan II

The Graduate Group in Computer Science (GGCS) offers two plans for the MS Degree:
Plan I requires a thesis, and Plan II requires either a project or a comprehensive final
examination. Students, in consultation with a Graduate Advisor, should decide which plan
best suits their individual goals. Students decide on the Plan at the end of 3rd quarter. The
comprehensive exam is typically taken during the final quarter. Students can switch MS
plan before advancing to candidacy which typically occurs the quarter before they
graduate.

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 Plan I gives the student an opportunity to perform in-depth research and to write a thesis.
Plan II ensures a capstone experience either by testing the student on selected core/applied
CS subject areas or by allowing the student to obtain a hands-on project experience. The
project deliverable which can be a written report or a presentation, is determined by the
project advisor. Both plans require 36 units of upper division and graduate course work. At
most 4 units of UC Davis upper-division undergraduate course work, completed to satisfy
the Undergraduate Proficiency Requirements, may be counted toward the 36 units
requirement. Any course taken outside UC Davis and accepted for Undergraduate
Proficiency Requirements cannot be counted towards toward the 36 units requirement. The
following table summarizes specific requirements for the Thesis option (Plan I), Project
option (Plan II), and Exam option (Plan II).

Number of
Number of
Format and graduate
Option ECS 299 units Committee
requirements courses
allowed
required
Thesis (Plan I) A written thesis Thesis advisor plus 2
6 12
faculty members
Project (Plan II) Project Project advisor plus 2
7 8
deliverable faculty members
Exam (Plan II) Oral or written Three faculty members
9 0
exams

Two important notes regarding the above table:

1. Note that while the allowed ECS 299 units may be counted toward the 36 units
requirement, ECS 290, 293A, 298, and 299 cannot be counted toward the required
graduate courses. A grade of B or better must be obtained in all coursework used to
satisfy degree requirements.
2. With respect to the third column (Number of graduate courses required), note that one
course of at most 4 units can be a UC Davis upper-division undergraduate course that
was completed to satisfy the Undergraduate Proficiency Requirements.

3) Course Requirements

a) Core Area Requirements

At the graduate level the Computer Science curriculum is classified into four broad
areas - Theory, Systems, Architecture, and Applications. The Core Area Requirement
for MS Degree requires demonstrating proficiency in three of above four areas. A
student can satisfy the Core Area Requirements in one of the following ways:

• Completing a Core course in the area with a grade of B or better for Thesis
option (Plan I) or Project option (Plan II) and A- or better for Exam option
(Plan II) .
• By taking a similar graduate course at another institution and earned a grade
of B or better for Thesis option (Plan I) or Project option (Plan II) and A- or
better for Exam option (Plan II). The student must file a form with the
required information and attach the course syllabus and the official transcript

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 indicating the grade received. A Graduate Advisor must review and approve
this option.

The following table lists the current set of course offerings for each of the Core Areas. Note that
the offerings of the courses in the Application area in particular are not uniform.

Course
Core Area Title Units
Number
ECS 201A Advanced Computer Architecture 4
Architecture
ECS 201C Parallel Architectures 4

Systems ECS 240 Programming Languages 4

ECS 251 Programming Languages 4
ECS 260 Software Engineering 4

ECS 220 Theory of Computation 4

Theory
ECS 222A Design and Analysis of Algorithms 4

ECS 230 Applied Numerical Linear Algebra 4

ECS 231 Large-Scale Scientific Computation 4
ECS 234 Computational Functional Genomics 4
ECS 235A Computer and Information Security 4
Computer Security Intrusion
ECS 236 4
Detection Based Approach
ECS 252 Computer Networks 4
ECS 256 Performance Evaluation 4
Application ECS 265 Distributed Database Systems 4
ECS 270 Artificial Intelligence 4
ECS 271 Machine Learning and Discovery 4
ECS 272 Information Visualization 4
ECS 275A Advanced Computer Graphics 4
ECS 276 Advanced Volume Visualization 4
ECS 277 Advanced Visualization 4
ECS 278 Computer-Aided Geometric Design 4
ECS 279 Topics in Computer Animation 4

b) Course Requirements for the MS Degree

MS Plan I (Thesis Option) – Core and Electives (36 units)

i) Core Area Courses (12 units)

(1) 4 units each from three of the four Core Areas (courses listed above) and must
meet the requirements stated in Section 3 (a) above.
ii) Electives (24 units)
(1) These courses should be selected in consultation with Thesis Advisor. Up to 12
units may be from ECS 299.

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MS Plan II (Project Option) – Core and Electives (36 units)

i) Core Area Courses (12 units)

(1) 4 units each from three of four Core Areas (courses listed above) and must meet
the requirements stated in Section 3 (a) above.
ii) Electives (24 units)
(1) These courses should be selected in consultation with Project Advisor. Up to 8
units may be from ECS 299.

MS Plan II (Exam Option) – Core and Electives (36 units)

i) Core Area Courses (12 units)

(1) 4 units each from three of four Core Areas and must meet the requirements stated
in Section 3 (a) above.
ii) Electives (24 units)
(1) These courses should be selected in consultation with a Graduate Advisor. No
units of ECS 299 may be counted towards the 36 units requirement.

b) Summary:
A total of 36 units of upper division and graduate coursework course work are required.
Full-time students must enroll for 12 units per quarter including research, academic and
seminar units. Per UC regulations students cannot enroll in more than 12 units of graduate
level courses (200) or more than 16 units of combined undergraduate and graduate level
(100, 200, 300) courses per quarter. A student must have a GPA of 3.0 for the M.S. degree to
be awarded. Students who have not obtained a previous degree at an approved English-
medium institution or demonstrated English-language proficiency through an appropriate
exam (e.g. TOEFL) are required to complete appropriate English-language courses, as
described in the policy Graduate Student Course Requirements – English as Second
Language (GC2018-02). Courses taken in satisfaction of this requirement do not count
towards the units required for graduation.

4) Special requirements: To become a Teaching Assistant (TA) for any course offered by
the Department of Computer Science, a student is required to complete the course ECS 390
(Teaching of Computer Science). This course does not count towards the degree
requirements.

5) Committees:

a) Admission Committee:
Once the completed application, all supporting material, and the application fee have been
received, the application is submitted to the Admissions Committee. The Admissions
Committee consists of 10 – 15 faculty who are members of GGCS. Based on a review of
the entire application, a recommendation is made to accept or decline an applicant’s request
for admission. The recommendation is forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Studies for final
approval of admission. Notification of admissions decisions is sent by Graduate Studies.
Applications are due by the deadline listed on the Program website for admission to the
class starting the following Fall quarter.

b) Graduate Advisors Committee:

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 The Graduate Advisors Committee is composed of 7 – 10 faculty members appointed by
Graduate Studies. This committee is responsible for monitoring the progress of graduate
students, providing guidance on their academic program, and approving course selection
for MS student following the Exam Option (Plan II).

c) Thesis Committee:
For a student following Plan I (Thesis Option), the student’s Thesis Advisor nominates
two additional GGCS faculty members to serve on the Thesis Committee. These
nominations are submitted to Graduate Studies for formal appointment in accordance with
Graduate Council policy. The Thesis Advisor serves as Chair of the committee. At least
two members of this committee must be members of the Academic Senate of the
University of California. This follows the Policy on Membership defined in GC1998-01. At
least two members of this committee must be members of GGCS. The thesis must be
approved by all three members of the committee.

d) Project Committee:
For Plan II with Project Option, the student’s Project Advisor nominates additional two
faculty members to serve on the Project Committee. This nomination is submitted to the
Graduate Advisor Committee for approval. The responsibility of this committee is to
supervise and evaluate the student’s project. A project must be approved all members of the
Project Committee.

e) Comprehensive Exam Committee:

Each academic year, the Chair of GGCS nominates four faculty members to serve on the
Comprehensive Exam Committee. The committee members must be members of GGCS. It
is the responsibility of committee to administer the comprehensive exam to students
enrolled in MS Plan II (Exam Option). The format of the exam is described in Section 8(c).

6) Advising Structure and Mentoring:

The Thesis Advisor is the faculty member who supervises the student’s Thesis (MS Pan I
(Thesis Option)). This faculty serves as the Chair of the Thesis Committee. The Project
Advisor is the faculty member who supervises the student’s Project (MS Pan II (Project
Option)). Each Graduate Advisor, who is appointed by Graduate Studies, is a resource for
information on academic requirements, identifying potential Thesis/Project Advisor, and
policies and procedures until the student has a Thesis or a Project Advisor. For students
following MS Plan II (Exam Option), Graduate Advisors are resource for information on
academic requirements and policies and procedures for the entire duration of their program.
Irrespective of their MS plan, students can continue to seek advice and mentoring from the
Graduate Advisors for various reasons including potential conflicts and other issues. This
may be through guidance from the Graduate Program Coordinator. The Graduate Program
Coordinator also assists students with identifying a Thesis/Project Advisor, identifying
Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) and Teaching Assistant (TA) appointments, and
general university policies. The Mentoring Guidelines can be found in the graduate student
handbook on the web at: https://cs.ucdavis.edu/graduate/current-students/resources

7) Advancement to Candidacy:
Every student must file an official application for Advancement to Candidacy after they
have completed at least one-half of the course requirements for the degree. The Candidacy
for the Degree of Master form can be found online at:
http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/forms/. A completed form includes a list of courses
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 the student will take to complete degree requirements. For student following MS Plan II
(Exam Option) a Graduate Advisor must sign the form. For students following MS Plan II
(Project Option), the Project Advisor or a Graduate Advisor must sign the form. For
students following MS Plan I (Thesis Option), the Thesis Advisor or a Graduate Advisor
must sign the form.

If changes must be made to the student’s MS Degree plan after s/he has advanced to
candidacy, a Graduate Advisor must recommend these changes to Graduate Studies.

If the Advancement to Candidacy is approved, Graduate Studies the approval to the

Graduate Program Coordinator, the student, and if applicable to the Thesis/Project Advisor.
If Graduate Studies determines that a student is not eligible for Advancement to Candidacy,
the Graduate Program Coordinator, the student, and if applicable to the Thesis/Project
Advisor will be told the reasons for the deferral of Advancement to Candidacy. Some
reasons for deferring an application include a) grade point average below 3.0, b)
outstanding Incomplete (I) grades in required courses, or c) insufficient units. Note that the
determination of the Advancement to Candidacy must be done at least one full quarter
before completion of all degree requirements and before going on filing fee status.

8) Requirements for the Thesis, Project, and Comprehensive Examination:

a) MS Plan I Thesis:
The student and Thesis Advisor must meet at least once a quarter with the other two
members of the Thesis Committee to discuss progress and any changes in research
objectives.

Research for the MS thesis is to be carried out under the supervision of a Thesis Advisor
who must be a member of GGCS. A Master’s thesis is usually based on 6 to 12 ECS 299
research units. The thesis should demonstrate the student’s proficiency in research methods
and scientific analysis, and a thorough knowledge of the state of the art in the student’s
chosen area. A Master’s thesis is a description of an original technical or research
contribution of limited scope, or an advanced design study. The thesis research must be
conducted while the student is enrolled in the program. All committee members must
approve the thesis and sign the title page before the thesis is submitted to Graduate Studies
for final approval. Should the Thesis Committee determine that the thesis is unacceptable,
even with substantial revisions, the program may recommend the student for
disqualification from the program to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

The Thesis must be filed in a quarter in which the student is registered or on filing fee.
Instructions on preparation of the thesis and a schedule of dates for filing the thesis in final
form are available from Graduate Studies.

b) MS Plan II Project:
A project is carried out under the supervision Project Advisor who must be a member of
GGCS. The topic and extent of the project may be defined by a faculty member or
proposed by the student. A typical project involves the practical solution (implementation)
of a software system or an experimental study of a computer hardware/software design.
The deliverable for a successful completion of a project is defined by the Project Advisor.
It can be a written report and/or an oral presentation. All committee members must approve
the project. The Master’s Report Form is then signed by the Program Graduate Adviser
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 (Chair of GGCS) and forwarded to Graduate Studies for final approval. Should the Project
Committee determine that the project outcome is unacceptable, the program may
recommend the student for disqualification from the program to the Dean of Graduate
Studies.

c) MS Plan II Comprehensive Exam

The Comprehensive Examination may be oral, written or a combination of both, designated

by the Comprehensive Exam Committee, with the objective to strengthen the student’s
knowledge in core or applied CS areas that can best prepare the student for his/her
professional career. The exam is based on material determined by the Comprehensive
Exam Committee. The following are two examples of the Comprehensive Exam.
1) The Comprehensive Exam Committee chooses three important and highly established
published papers from three of the Core Areas. The exam consists of reading the
paper and answering a set of questions posed by the Comprehensive Exam
Committee. The questions require written answers and may involve programming
and/or computation.
2) The Comprehensive Exam Committee chooses a set of important topics covered in
the Core Areas. The exam consists of the students answering questions on the topics.
Whether it will be a written exam or an oral exam is determined by the
Comprehensive Exam Committee.

The examination may be taken once the student has completed required courses and
advanced to candidacy. Comprehensive Exam is held in Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters.
Student with discussion with the Graduate Coordinator will decide when to take the exam.
A student is allowed to repeat the Comprehensive Examination only once. After passing
the examination, a copy of the Master’s Report Form (found at
http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/forms/) is signed by the Graduate Advisor and then
forwarded to the Graduate Studies.

If a student does not pass the exam on the first attempt, the student must retake the Comprehensive
Exam and pass or take a remedial course and get a grade of A- or better. The remedial course is
determined by Comprehensive Exam Committee. A student who does not pass on the second
attempt or get a grade of A- or better in the remedial course will be recommended for
disqualification to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

For both MS Plan II (Project Option and Exam Option), a candidate must be a registered
student or in Filing Fee status at the time the program submits the form, with the exception
of the summer period between the end of the Spring Quarter and the beginning of Fall
Quarter. The program must file the Form with Graduate Studies within one week of the
end of the quarter in which the student’s degree will be conferred.

9) Normative Time to Degree:

MS Plan I Normative Time to Degree: It is expected that the student will complete the Core
Area Requirements within the first four (4) quarters of residence. It is expected that the
student will complete the MS Degree by the end of the sixth (6th) quarter of residence,
including all course requirements and the approval of the thesis.

MS Plan II Normative Time to Degree: It is expected that the student will complete the
Core Area Requirements within the first four (4) quarters of residence. It is expected that
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 the student will complete all course work and project/examinations by the end of the fifth
(5th) quarter of residence.

These deadlines may be extended only by an approval of a Graduate Advisors.

10) Typical Timeline and Sequences of Events

Thesis Year 1 Year 2

Fall ECS201A, ECS299, ECS 293, ECS 390 ECS299, ECS235A
Winter ECS222A, ECS240, ECS299 ECS299; advancement to candidacy
Spring ECS265, ECS270, ECS299 ECS299; thesis completed

Project Year 1 Year 2

Fall ECS201A, ECS275, ECS 293, ECS 390 ECS260; ECS299; advancement to
candidacy
Winter ECS222A, ECS272, ECS 299 ECS299; project completed
Spring ECS265, ECS277, ECS 299

Exam Year 1 Year 2

Fall ECS201A; ECS260 ECS235A; ECS252; advancement to
candidacy
Winter ECS222A; ECS240 ECS299; exam passed
Spring ECS265; ECS270

The following are important notes related to the above table.

1. ECS 299 units are assigned to meet the 12 units requirements for the quarter.
2. Course offerings change year to year. What is shown is just an example.
3. These samples do not take into account the student’s need of fulfilling certain
undergraduate proficiency requirements. Depending on the added workload, the student
may need additional quarters to complete the exam/project/thesis.

11) Sources of funding

Financial assistance for graduate study comes in the form of Fellowships, Teaching
Assistant (TA) and Graduate Student Research (GSR) positions.

12) PELP, In Absentia, and Filing Fee Status

Information about PELP (Planned Educational Leave), In Absentia (reduced fees when
researching out of state), and Filing Fee status can be found at the Graduate Studies
website: https://grad.ucdavis.edu/academics/registration/options-non-registered-students

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Ph.D. Degree Requirements

1.) Admissions Requirements: Consideration for program admission requires a bachelor’s

degree, three letters of recommendation, a completed application form including Statement
of Purpose, Personal History and Diversity Statement, official transcripts, TOEFL or
IELTS score (if applicable) and Office of Graduate Studies online application with fee by
the stated admission deadline. GRE scores are not required.

a.) Proficiency Requirements: In addition to the admission requirements stated above,

applicants are expected to demonstrate proficiency at the undergraduate level in five
fundamental areas of computer science and in mathematics. These are referred to as the
Undergraduate Proficiency Requirements. A student must satisfy the undergraduate
proficiency requirements by demonstrating proficiency at the undergraduate level in the
following areas equivalent to the following UC Davis courses listed below:

Area UC Davis Course

Computer Architecture ECS154A (Computer Architecture)
Operating Systems ECS150 (Operating Systems)
Programming Languages ECS140A (Programming Languages)
Theoretical Foundations ECS120 (Theory of Computations) or
ECS122A (Algorithm Design and Analysis)
Mathematical Foundations ECS132 (Probability & Statistical Modeling for
Computer Science) or
MAT135A (Probability) or
STA131A (Probability Theory) and
one additional mathematics course at the upper
division level

Courses taken outside the university are petitioned and reviewed to establish equivalency.

b) Deficiencies: It is expected that the student will complete the Undergraduate

Proficiency Requirements by the end of the first academic year of residence. This
deadline may be extended only by approval of the Graduate Advisors Committee of the
Graduate Group.

2) Dissertation Plan:
Plan B. Specifies a three-member (minimum) dissertation committee and a mandatory
exit seminar.
3) Course Requirements (45 units)

a) Core Area Requirements

At the graduate level the Computer Science curriculum is classified into four core areas - Theory,
Systems, Architecture, and Applications. The Core Area Requirements include demonstrated
proficiency in these four areas. The student can satisfy the Core Area Requirements in one of the
following two ways:

1) Completion of a Core Area course with a grade of “A-” or better.

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 2) Complete a similar graduate course taken at another institution with a grade of A- or
better. In this case the student must file a form and attach the syllabus of the course
and an official transcript showing the grade received for the course. A Graduate
Advisor must review and approve this option.

The following table gives a list of current Core courses in each Core Areas.

Course
Core Area Title Units
Number
ECS 201A Advanced Computer Architecture 4
Architecture
ECS 201C Parallel Architectures 4

Systems ECS 240 Programming Languages 4

ECS 251 Programming Languages 4
ECS 260 Software Engineering 4

ECS 220 Theory of Computation 4

Theory
ECS 222A Design and Analysis of Algorithms 4

ECS 230 Applied Numerical Linear Algebra 4

ECS 231 Large-Scale Scientific Computation 4
ECS 234 Computational Functional Genomics 4
ECS 235A Computer and Information Security 4
Computer Security Intrusion
ECS 236 4
Detection Based Approach
ECS 252 Computer Networks 4
ECS 256 Performance Evaluation 4
Application ECS 265 Distributed Database Systems 4
ECS 270 Artificial Intelligence 4
ECS 271 Machine Learning and Discovery 4
ECS 272 Information Visualization 4
ECS 275A Advanced Computer Graphics 4
ECS 276 Advanced Volume Visualization 4
ECS 277 Advanced Visualization 4
ECS 278 Computer-Aided Geometric Design 4
ECS 279 Topics in Computer Animation 4

b) Course Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree (45 units)

i) Core Area Courses (16 units)

(1) 4 units each from each of the four Core Areas (courses listed above) and must
meet the requirements stated in Section 3 (a) above.
ii) Electives (29 units)
(1) These courses should be selected in consultation with the Major Professor. Up to
6 units may be from ECS 299.

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c) Summary: A total of 45 units of graduate coursework are required, including up to 6 units
of ECS 299. A maximum of 4 units of upper division course taken at UCDavis. Full-time
students must enroll for 12 units per quarter including research, academic and seminar
units. Per UC regulations students cannot enroll in more than 12 units of graduate level
courses (200) or more than 16 units of combined undergraduate and graduate level (100,
200, 300) courses per quarter. Students who have not obtained a previous degree at an
approved English-medium institution or demonstrated English-language proficiency
through an appropriate exam (e.g. TOEFL) are required to complete appropriate English-
language courses, as described in the policy Graduate Student Course Requirements –
English as Second Language (GC2018-02). Courses taken in satisfaction of this
requirement do not count towards the units required for graduation.

d) Special Requirements: To become a Teaching Assistant (TA) for any course offered by the
Department of Computer Science, a student is required to complete the course ECS 390
(Teaching of Computer Science). This course does not count towards the degree
requirements.

The Graduate Group requires all Ph.D. candidates demonstrate at least one quarter of
University/College–level teaching experience. Following are examples of how this can be
fulfilled
a) Being a Teaching Assistant (TA) in a course which includes lecturing or leading a
discussion section.
b) Teaching a course at a Community College or California State University.
c) Being an Associate Instructor for a course at UC Davis.

In addition, each student is required to participate in an exit seminar, in which the research
is presented to the UC Davis academic community. This seminar will be administered by
the dissertation committee and will take place after all committee members have approved
the dissertation, but before the dissertation has been filed with Graduate Studies.

5) Committees

a) Admissions Committee
Once the completed application, all supporting material, and the application fee have been
received, the application will be submitted to the Admissions Committee. The Admissions
Committee consists of 10-15 graduate program faculty. Based on a review of the entire
application, a recommendation is made to accept or decline an applicant’s request for
admission. The recommendation is forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Studies for final
approval of admission. Notification of admissions decisions is sent by Graduate Studies.

b) Course Guidance or Advising Committee

The student, in conjunction with the Major Professor 1, develops the program of study for a
PhD student. All programs of study must be approved by the Educational Policy
Committee of GGCS. No course with a grade less than a B will be accepted on the
program of study.

1
Major Professor is the same as the Research Advisor. The Major Professor is also the Chair of the Dissertation
Committee.
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 c) Qualifying Examination (QE) Committee
The student, in consultation with his/her Major Professor, must nominate five committee
members to serve on the Qualifying Examination Committee. The five-member committee
must include the Major Professor who must be selected before the Qualifying Examination
Committee is formed. One of the committee members is selected to be the Chair of
Qualifying Exam Committee. The membership of the Qualifying Exam Committee must
satisfy the following conditions: 1) The chair of the committee must be a member of the
Academic Senate of UC Davis, and a GGCS member; 2) The Major Professor must be on
the Qualifying Exam Committee but cannot be chair of the committee; 3) At least three
members of the committee must be faculty members of the Academic Senate of the
University of California and GGCS members; 4) As external (non-UC Davis) personnel
routinely play major roles in collaborating with and mentoring graduate students, at most
one can serve on the Qualifying Examination Committee, if approved. An external
committee member should avoid any real or perceived conflict of interest (COI) with the
student. If there appeared any perceived COI (e.g., the external member and the student are
employed by the same company), the student should provide statements explaining why the
COI does not exist. GGCS Educational Policy Committee will review the statements.

The five nominations (along with any COI statement from the student) are submitted to
Graduate Studies for formal approval in accordance with Graduate Council policy. The
Qualifying Exam Committee conducts the exam and submits results to Graduate Studies.

e) Dissertation Committee
The PhD Dissertation Committee consists of three members who will guide the student
towards their PhD Degree (GC1998-01). Guidelines for choosing the members of the
dissertation committee are the following: 1) the PhD dissertation committee will be
composed of at least three members; 2) At least two of these members must be members of
the Academic Senate of the University of California, 3) At least two of these members
must be members of GGCS; 4) The Chair of this committee is the Major Professor who
must be a member of GGCS . The composition of the dissertation committee is entered on
the Advancement to Candidacy Form and must be approved by Graduate Studies.

The role of the Dissertation Committee is to advise the doctoral student on the research
topic and methods, and then to review the final completed dissertation for acceptance. The
Chair of the Dissertation Committee should determine the scope and desire of each
individual committee member regarding their involvement and assistance with the research
and dissertation review at the time the dissertation committee is constituted. Students are
expected to meet with the Chair of the Dissertation Committee quarterly. Dissertation
Committee members are expected to read and comment on a dissertation within four weeks
from its submission. This time limit policy does not apply to summer periods for faculty
holding nine-month appointments. The student and the Chair of the Dissertation Committee
will coordinate a timeline for the student to present the thesis to the Dissertation
Committee. This timeline must allow all Dissertation Committee members enough time to
fulfill their responsibilities within the four-week deadline.

f) Graduate Advisors Committee:

The Graduate Advisors Committee is composed of 7 – 10 faculty members appointed by
Graduate Studies. For a PhD student the role of the Graduate Advisors Committee is to
provide support in case of conflicts and other academic issues that the student may need to
address without involving the Major Professor.
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6) Advising Structure and Mentoring: The Major Professor is the faculty member who
supervises the student’s research and dissertation. This person must be a member of the GGCS
and serves as the Chair of the Dissertation Committee. Graduate Advisors, who are appointed
by Graduate Studies, is a resource for information on academic requirements, policies and
procedures, and registration information. The Graduate Program Coordinator(s) assists students
with identifying a Major Professor, identifying TA and GSR appointments, and general
university policies. The Mentoring Guidelines can be found in the graduate student handbook
on the web at: https://cs.ucdavis.edu/graduate/current-students/resources.

7) Advancement to Candidacy: Before advancing to candidacy for PhD, a student must have
satisfied all requirements set by the graduate program, must have maintained a minimum
GPA of 3.5 in all course work undertaken (except those courses graded S or U), and must
have passed the Qualifying Examination. It is a GGCS policy that students must pass their
QE by the end of the ninth quarter in order to remain eligible for Teaching Assistant (TA)
and Associate Instructor (AI) appointments. The student must file the appropriate
paperwork with Graduate Studies and pay the candidacy fee in order to be officially
promoted to be a candidate for PhD.

8) Qualifying Examination and Dissertation Requirements

a. Qualifying Examination

1. General Information

To be eligible for the Qualifying Examination, the student must have satisfied all course
requirements, have removed all deficiencies, and must have at least a 3.5 GPA in courses
taken in the program of study. The student in consultation with her Major Professor
determines a major and minor areas for her research. The major area reflects the main sub-
area of Computer Science that is closest to the research topic. The minor area corresponds
to a related field or another sub-area within Computer Science that is relevant to the
student’s research topic. For example, a student proposing to do research in Optical
Networks would list Computer Networks as the major area and Optimization as a minor
area. This is indicated in the program of study that is submitted to Graduate Studies 1
month prior to the Qualifying Examination.

The Qualifying Examination is administered by the Qualifying Exam Committee and

passing this exam makes the student eligible to advance to become a candidate for PhD.
The Qualifying Exam should be taken by the ninth quarter and no later than the end of the
fifteenth quarter after admission to the PhD program.

The primary purpose of the Qualifying Examination is to validate that the student is
academically qualified to conceptualize a research topic, to undertake scholarly research
and to successfully produce the dissertation required for a doctoral degree. The Qualifying
Examination is intended to evaluate the student’s command of the field, ensuring that the
student has both breadth and depth of knowledge, and must not focus solely on the
proposed dissertation research. In addition, the Qualifying Examination provides an
opportunity for the committee to provide important guidance to the student regarding his or
her chosen research topic.

Page 13
The Qualifying Examination is a formal examination to ascertain the student’s readiness to
conduct PhD level research. It consists of two parts – a written portion and an opal portion.
Prior to the oral portion of the Qualifying Examination, the student must prepare a
Dissertation Prospectus (more commonly referred to as the Research Proposal) containing a
thorough discussion of a proposed thesis topic. The Research Proposal is the written
portion of the Qualifying Examination.

2. Written Portion of the Qualifying Examination

The written portion of the exam consists of a Research Proposal (more formally referred to
as the Dissertation Prospectus). The Research Proposal should be provided to the members
of the Qualifying Examination Committee at least two weeks before the Qualifying Exam.
The Research Proposal is an independently prepared proposal describing the student's
dissertation-specific research aims, hypotheses, progress to date, and approach. Concepts
within the research proposal can be discussed with others (such as the student's Major
Professor and peers), but the writing of the proposal should be solely the student's work
(i.e., no editorial assistance is allowed) as the proposal will serve as evidence of the
student's proficiency in scientific writing. The length of the Research Proposal is
determined by the student in consultation with her Major Professor.

The Qualifying Examination committee will be responsible for assessing the quality and
the feasibility of the proposed research. They will be responsible for assessing that the
student's writing proficiency is satisfactory before advancement to candidacy.
Furthermore, the Research Proposal will provide information that may be discussed
during the oral portion of the Qualifying Examination.

3. Oral Portion of the Qualifying Examination

The oral portion of the Qualifying Examination will be up to 3 hours in length. While
the examinations may differ in structure, depending on the area of research and the
members of the examining committee, the common prescribed format consists of two
parts. In the first part of this examination the student will be asked to give a presentation
of the Research Proposal. The committee may question the student on the proposal to
assess her understanding of the research topic, the prior art, the validity of the
hypostasis, and the feasibility of the approach. Typically, the recommended time for this
presentation without any questions is 45 to 50 minutes. However, with questions, this
can be longer. In the second part of oral portion of the Qualifying Examination, the
committee member will question the student to determine the student’s competence in
both the major and minor areas of study. The goal is to assess if the student is proficient
in the background material that will be required to successfully complete the proposed
research.

The committee will evaluate the student's general qualifications for a respected position
as an educator or leader as well as the student's preparation in a special area of study
based upon relevant portions of the student's previous academic record, performance on
specific parts of the examination, and the student's potential for scholarly research as
indicated during the examination.

4. Outcome of the Qualifying Examination

Page 14
 The committee can issue the following grades for the examination:

Pass – In this case student can apply to Graduate Studies for Advancement to Candidacy
for the PhD degree. At this time a Dissertation Committee is officially selected to direct the
student in the research, and to guide the student in the preparation of the dissertation. The
committee must be approved by Graduate Studies.

Not Pass - In this case, the committee has two options:

1. It can decide that the student’s research proposal is not sufficient and ask that it be re-
thought/re-written to better reflect a PhD-level research project. In this case, the committee
will ask the student to remedy the deficiencies in the proposal and retake the Qualifying
Examination within a specified time frame.

2. It can decide that the student’s knowledge within the major and minor areas is not
sufficient for continued progress for the PhD. In this case, the committee can ask the
student to take some additional course work and retake the Qualifying Examination within
a specified time frame.

Fail—In this case, the student is not permitted to continue in the PhD program.
The committee can meet with the major advisor as part of its deliberations.

The student can only retake the Qualifying Examination once. If a passing grade is not
achieved by the second attempt, the student cannot continue in the PhD program.

If a unanimous decision takes the form of “Not Pass” or “Fail”, the Chair of the Qualifying
Examination committee must include in its report a specific statement, agreed to by all
members of the committee, explaining its decision and must inform the student of its
decision. Having received a “Not Pass” the student may attempt the Qualifying
Examination one additional time. The Qualifying Examination report must list the specific
conditions and timing for the second exam. After a second examination, a vote of “Not
Pass” is unacceptable; only “Pass” or “Fail” is recognized. Only one retake of the
Qualifying Examination is allowed. Should the student receive a “Fail” on the first or
second attempt at the exam, the student will be recommended for disqualification from the
program to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

b. The Dissertation

1. Exit Seminar
Each student is required to participate in an exit seminar, in which the candidate's research
is presented to the UC Davis academic community. This seminar will be administered by
the Dissertation Committee and will take place after all committee members have approved
the dissertation, but before the dissertation has been filed with Graduate Studies. The
seminar should have a duration of 1 hour consisting of a talk by the student of duration 50
minutes long with 10 minutes allowed for questions. The seminar is attended by the
Dissertation Committee and open to the general public. Adequate scheduling of the exit
seminar is the responsibility of the student.

2. General Requirements
Page 15
 Filing of a Ph.D. dissertation with Graduate Studies is normally the last requirement
satisfied by the candidate. The deadlines for completing this requirement are listed each
quarter in the campus General Catalog (available online at the website of the Office of the
Registrar or from the Bookstore). A candidate must be a registered student or in Filing Fee
status at the time of filing a dissertation, with the exception of the summer period between
the end of the Spring Quarter and the beginning of Fall Quarter. The PhD. Dissertation
will be prepared, submitted and filed according to regulations instituted by Graduate
Studies http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/students/filing.html. Satisfaction of this requirement
must be verified by the Chair of the Dissertation Committee Chair who is also the Major
Professor.

3. Dissertation
The PhD dissertation demonstrates the ability of the student to carry out an independent
original research project of high quality. It reflects a level of attainment in research and not
the fulfillment of a list of requirements. An acceptable Ph.D. dissertation is not only an
original contribution to the field, but it is generally characterized by a broad scope of
universal applicability. The dissertation must be submitted to each member of the
dissertation committee at least one month before the student expects to make requested
revisions; committee members are must respond within 4 weeks, not including summer
months for nine-month faculty. Informing committee members of progress as writing
proceeds helps the members to plan to read the dissertation and provide feedback within
this time frame. The dissertation must be approved and signed by the dissertation
committee before it is submitted to Graduate Studies for final approval.

9) Normative Time to Degree:

It is expected that the student will complete the breadth requirements within the first four
quarters of study, the advanced proficiency requirements within the first six quarters of
study, and the Qualifying Examination between the sixth and ninth quarters of
study. Completion of all requirements is normally accomplished in fifteen quarters of
study.

Students who fail to complete all the requirements within the normative time period are
referred to the Educational Policy Committee of the Graduate Group. The Committee
considers the student's entire record, including grades, SPA reports and solicited letters of
support, particularly from the student's Major Professor. The Committee exercises wide
discretion: it may decide that no action is necessary (i.e., when a student has one or more
quarters to complete the requirements); that the student should be allowed more time in
which to complete the requirement; that certain of the requirements should be waived; that
certain remedial actions should be taken; or that the student should be advised to leave the
program. The committee attaches great weight to the Major Professor’s letter of support. It
is therefore extremely important that students involve themselves in research under some
faculty member very early in the program - preferably by the end of their third quarter.

10) Typical Timeline and Sequence of Events

Year One Fall Winter Spring

ECS 201A ECS 222A ECS 252
ECS 235A ECS 240 ECS 251
ECS 299 ECS 299 ECS 299
Page 16
 Year Two ECS 260 ECS 272 ECS 299
o ECS 299 ECS 299 (Application for
(Program of Study (Advanced Qualifying Examination
submitted and Proficiency submitted)
approved) Requirement
completed)

Year ECS 299 ECS 299 ECS 299

Three Qualifying Exam
(Advancement to PhD
Candidacy)

Years ECS 299

Four – Six (Dissertation Research
Completion, Exit
Seminar Completion)

The following are important notes related to the above table.

1. ECS 299 units are assigned to meet the 12 units requirements for the quarter.
2. Course offerings change year to year. What is shown is just an example.
3. These samples do not take into account the student’s need of fulfilling certain
undergraduate proficiency requirements. Depending on the added workload, the student
may need additional quarters to complete the exam/project/thesis.

11) Sources of funding.

Financial assistance for graduate study comes in the form of fellowships, Teaching
Assistant (TA) and Graduate Student Research (GSR) positions. The standard form of PhD
student support is a 50% TA position for the first three quarters and either a 50% TA or
47% GSR position for the remainder of a student's academic career. The amount and type
of aid that the Graduate Group can offer varies from year to year depending on the number
of TA and GSR positions that are available, the fellowships that the Graduate Group is
authorized to award, and the number of students requesting financial assistance.

We strongly encourage all qualified applicants to apply for many external fellowships
offered by both government and private agencies. Recipients of fellowships such as NSF,
NPSC, and DOE fellowships are highly regarded as applicants.

12) PELP, In Absentia and Filing Fee status.

Information about PELP (Planned Educational Leave), In Absentia (reduced fees when
researching out of state), and Filing Fee status can be found at the Graduate Studies
website: https://grad.ucdavis.edu/current-students/forms-information

13) Leaving the Program Prior to Completion of the PhD Requirements.

Should a student leave the program prior to completing the requirements for the PhD, he or
she may still be eligible to receive the Masters if they have fulfilled all the requirements
Page 17
(see Masters section). Students can use the Change of Degree Objective form available
from the Registrar’s Office: https://local-
resources.ucdavis.edu/local_resources/forms/D065-graduate-major-degree-change.pdf

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Integrated BS/MS Plan Requirements

1) Admissions requirements: Applicants to the integrated BS/MS plan are required to

complete the standard application process for the M.S. program. Notification of admissions
decisions is sent by Graduate Studies. Applications are due by the deadline listed on the
Program website for admission to the class starting the following Fall quarter. Students in the
Computer Science or Computer Science and Engineering majors may apply during the
students’ Junior or Senior year. Consideration for admission to the BS/MS program requires
a UC GPA of 3.7 or higher, a bachelor’s degree (must be awarded before starting graduate-
level study), three letters of recommendation, a completed application form including
Statement of Purpose, Personal History and Diversity Statement, official transcripts, and
Graduate Studies online application with fee by the stated admission deadline. GRE scores
are not required. Applicants should indicate in their Statement of Purpose that they are
applying to the integrated BS/MS plan.

a) Prerequisites: In addition to the admission requirements stated above, applicant must be

current UC Davis undergraduate of Senior standing who will graduate under one of the
following majors: Computer Science, Computer Science and Engineering, or Computer
Engineering. Applicants are expected to be in good academic standing and must have
completed at least 90 units total at the time they apply.

2) BS/MS Plan I and Plan II

The Graduate Group in Computer Science (GGCS) offers two plans for the MS Degree:
Plan I requires a thesis, and Plan II requires either a project or a comprehensive final
examination. Students in consultation with a Graduate Advisor, should decide which plan
best suits their individual goals. Students decide on the Plan at the end of 3rd quarter of the
MS portion of their program. The comprehensive exam is typically taken during the final
quarter. Students can switch MS plan before advancing to candidacy which typically occurs
the quarter before they graduate.

Plan I gives the student an opportunity to perform in-depth research and thesis writing,
whereas Plan II allows the student to obtain an extensive hands-on project experience, or
ensures comprehensive capstone testing the student on selected core/applied CS subject
areas. BS/MS Plan I requires 32 units of upper division and graduate course work, and
BS/MS Plan II requires 36 units of upper division and graduate course work. At most 4
units of upper-division undergraduate course work, completed during graduate-level, may
be counted toward the 32 units or 36 units requirement for Plan I or Plan II, respectively.

The following table summarizes specific requirements for the thesis, project, and
comprehensive examination.

Number of
Number of
Format and graduate
Option ECS 299 units Committee
requirements courses
allowed
required
Thesis advisor plus 2
Thesis (Plan I) A written thesis 5 12
faculty members

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 Project Project advisor plus
Project (Plan II) 7 8
deliverable 2 faculty members
Comprehensive Comprehensive
Exam (Plan II) 9 0
Exam Exam Committee

Note that while the allowed ECS 299 units may be counted toward the 32 unit or 36 unit
requirement, ECS 293A, ECS 298, ECS 299, and ECS 390 cannot be counted toward the
required graduate courses. A grade of B or better must be obtained in all coursework used to
satisfy degree requirements. At most 4 units of upper-division undergraduate course work,
completed during graduate-level, may be counted toward the 32 units or 36 units requirement
for Plan I or Plan II, respectively.

3) Course Requirements (32 units)

a) Core Area Requirements

At the graduate level the Computer Science curriculum is classified into four broad areas -
Theory, Systems, Architecture, and Applications. The Core Area Requirement for MS
Degree requires demonstrating proficiency in three of above four areas. The student can
satisfy the Core Area requirements in one of the following ways:
• Completing a Core course in the area with a grade of B or better.
• Demonstrating that one has taken a similar graduate course at another institution and
earned a grade of B or better. A Graduate Advisor must approve this option.

Course
Core Area Title Units
Number
ECS 201A Advanced Computer Architecture 4
Architecture
ECS 201C Parallel Architectures 4

Systems ECS 240 Programming Languages 4

ECS 251 Programming Languages 4
ECS 260 Software Engineering 4

ECS 220 Theory of Computation 4

Theory
ECS 222A Design and Analysis of Algorithms 4

ECS 230 Applied Numerical Linear Algebra 4

ECS 231 Large-Scale Scientific Computation 4
ECS 234 Computational Functional Genomics 4
ECS 235A Computer and Information Security 4
Application Computer Security Intrusion
ECS 236 4
Detection Based Approach
ECS 252 Computer Networks 4
ECS 256 Performance Evaluation 4
ECS 265 Distributed Database Systems 4

Page 20
 ECS 270 Artificial Intelligence 4
ECS 271 Machine Learning and Discovery 4
ECS 272 Information Visualization 4
ECS 275A Advanced Computer Graphics 4
ECS 276 Advanced Volume Visualization 4
ECS 277 Advanced Visualization 4
ECS 278 Computer-Aided Geometric Design 4
ECS 279 Topics in Computer Animation 4

b) Course Requirements for the MS Degree

MS Plan I (Thesis option) – Core and Electives (32 units)

iii) Core Area Courses (12 units)

(1) 4 units each from three of four Core Areas (courses listed above) and must meet
the requirements stated in Section 3 (a) above.
iv) Electives (18 units)
(1) These courses should be selected in consultation with committee members. Up to
12 units may be from ECS 299.

MS Plan II (Project Option) – Core and Electives (36 units)

i) Core Area Courses (12 units)

(1) 4 units each from three of four Core Areas (courses listed above) and must meet
the requirements stated in Section 3 (a) above.
ii) Electives (24 units)
(1) These courses should be selected in consultation with committee members. Up to
8 units may be from ECS 299.

MS Plan II (Exam Option) – Core and Electives (36 units)

iii) Core Area Courses (12 units)

(1) 4 units each from three of four Core Areas (courses listed above). Exam option
students must pass the Core Area courses with a grade of A- or higher.
iv) Electives (24 units)
(1) These courses should be selected in consultation with committee members. Up to
4 units of ECS 299 may be counted towards the 36 unit requirement.

c) Course Transfer and Credits:

i) Up to 4 units of upper-division undergraduate course work (i.e., one course) with a

grade of A- or better and that are not used to satisfy the BS degree requirement may
be applied towards the Master’s degree requirements of the integrated BS/MS
program as an elective course.
ii) Up to 8 units of graduate-level course work (i.e., two (2) courses) taken during the BS
portion of the program with a grade of A- or better and that are not used to satisfy the

Page 21
 BS degree requirements may be transferred and counted towards the Master’s degree
requirements of the integrated BS/MS program as either a Core Area course or an
elective course.

d) Summary:

BS/MS Plan I requires a total of 32 units of upper-division and graduate-level course

work, and BS/MS Plan II requires a total of 36 units of upper-division and graduate-level
course work. Full-time students must enroll for 12 units per quarter including research,
academic and seminar units. Per UC regulations, students cannot enroll in more than 12
units of graduate-level courses (200) or more than 16 units of combined undergraduate
and graduate level (100, 200, 300) courses per quarter. A student must have a GPA of 3.0
for the MS degree to be awarded.

4) Special requirements: To become a Teaching Assistant (TA) for any course offered by the
Department of Computer Science, a student is required to complete the course ECS 390
(Teaching of Computer Science). This course does not count towards the degree requirements.

5) Committees:

a) Admission Committee:
Once the completed application, all supporting material, and the application fee have been
received, the application is submitted to the Admissions Committee. The Admissions
Committee consists of 10 – 15 faculty who are members of GGCS. Based on a review of
the entire application, a recommendation is made to accept or decline an applicant’s request
for admission. The recommendation is forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Studies for final
approval of admission. Notification of admissions decisions is sent by Graduate Studies.
Applications are due by the deadline listed on the Program website for admission to the
class starting the following Fall quarter.

b) Graduate Advisors Committee:

The Graduate Advisors Committee is composed of 7 – 10 faculty members appointed by
Graduate Studies. This committee is responsible for monitoring the progress of graduate
students, providing guidance on their academic program, and approving course selection
for MS student following the Exam Option (Plan II).

c) Thesis Committee:
For a student following Plan I (Thesis Option), the student’s Thesis Advisor nominates
two additional GGCS faculty members to serve on the Thesis Committee. These
nominations are submitted to Graduate Studies for formal appointment in accordance with
Graduate Council policy. The Thesis Advisor serves as Chair of the committee. At least
two members of this committee must be members of the Academic Senate of the
University of California. This follows Policy on Membership defined in GC1998-01. At
least two members of this committee must be members of GGCS. The thesis must be
approved by all three members of the committee.

d) Project Committee:

Page 22
 For Plan II with Project Option, the student’s Project Advisor nominates additional two
faculty members to serve on the Project Committee. This nomination is submitted to the
Graduate Advisor Committee for approval. The responsibility of this committee is to
supervise and evaluate the student’s project. A project must be approved all members of the
committee.

e) Comprehensive Exam Committee:

Each academic year, the Chair of GGCS nominates four faculty members to serve on the
Comprehensive Exam Committee. The committee members must be members of GGCS. It is
the responsibility of committee to administer the comprehensive exam to students enrolled in
MS Plan II (Exam Option). The format of the exam is described in Section 8(c).

6) Advising Structure and Mentoring: Thesis Advisor is the faculty member who supervises
the student’s Thesis (MS Pan I (Thesis Option)). This faculty serves as the Chair of the
Thesis Committee. The Project Advisor is the faculty member who supervises the student’s
Project (MS Pan II (Project Option)). Each Graduate Advisor, who is appointed by Graduate
Studies, is a resource for information on academic requirements, identifying potential
Thesis/Project Advisor, and policies and procedures until the student has a Thesis or a
Project Advisor. For students following MS Plan II (Exam Option), Graduate Advisors are
resource for information on academic requirements and policies and procedures for the entire
duration of their program. Irrespective of their MS plan, students can continue to seek advice
and mentoring from the Graduate Advisors for various reasons including potential conflicts
and other issues. This may be through guidance from the Graduate Program Coordinator.
The Graduate Program Coordinator also assists students with identifying a Thesis/Project
Advisor, identifying Graduate Student Research (GSR) and Teaching Assistant (TA)
appointments, and general university policies. The Mentoring Guidelines can be found in the
graduate student handbook on the web at: https://cs.ucdavis.edu/graduate/current-
students/resources.

7) Advancement to Candidacy: Every student must file an official application for

Advancement to Candidacy after they have completed at least one-half of the course
requirements for the degree. The Candidacy for the Degree of Master form can be found
online at: http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/forms/. A completed form includes a list of
courses the student will take to complete degree requirements. For student following MS
Plan II (Exam Option) a Graduate Advisor must sign the form. For students following MS
Plan II (Project Option), the Project Advisor or a Graduate Advisor must sign the form. For
students following MS Plan I (Thesis Option), the Thesis Advisor or a Graduate Advisor
must sign the form.

If changes must be made to the student’s MS Degree plan after s/he has advanced to
candidacy, a Graduate Advisor must recommend these changes to Graduate Studies.

If the Advancement to Candidacy is approved, Graduate Studies the approval to the Graduate
Program Coordinator, the student, and if applicable to the Thesis/Project Advisor. If
Graduate Studies determines that a student is not eligible for Advancement to Candidacy, the
Graduate Program Coordinator, the student, and if applicable to the Thesis/Project Advisor
will be told the reasons for the deferral of Advancement to Candidacy. Some reasons for
deferring an application include a) grade point average below 3.0, b) outstanding Incomplete
(I) grades in required courses, or c) insufficient units. Note that the determination of the
Page 23
 Advancement to Candidacy must be done at least one full quarter before completion of all
degree requirements and before going on filing fee status.

8) Requirements for the Thesis:

a) MS Plan I Thesis
The student and Thesis Advisor must meet at least once a quarter with the other two
members of the Thesis Committee to discuss progress and any changes in research
objectives.

Research for the MS thesis is to be carried out under the supervision of a Thesis Advisor
who must be a member of GGCS. A Master’s thesis is usually based on 6 to 12 ECS 299
research units. The thesis should demonstrate the student’s proficiency in research
methods and scientific analysis, and a thorough knowledge of the state of the art in the
student’s chosen area. A Master’s thesis is a description of an original technical or
research contribution of limited scope, or an advanced design study. The thesis research
must be conducted while the student is enrolled in the program. All committee members
must approve the thesis and sign the title page before the thesis is submitted to Graduate
Studies for final approval. Should the Thesis Committee determine that the thesis is
unacceptable, even with substantial revisions, the program may recommend the student
for disqualification from the program to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

The Thesis must be filed in a quarter in which the student is registered or on filing fee.
Instructions on preparation of the thesis and a schedule of dates for filing the thesis in
final form are available from Graduate Studies.

b) MS Plan II Project
A project is carried out under the supervision Project Advisor who must be a member of
GGCS. The topic and extent of the project may be defined by a faculty member or
proposed by the student. A typical project involves the practical solution
(implementation) of a software system or an experimental study of a computer
hardware/software design. The deliverable for a successful completion of a project is
defined by the Project Advisor. It can be a written report and/or an oral presentation. All
committee members must approve the project. The Master’s Report Form is then signed
by the Program Graduate Adviser (Chair of GGCS) and forwarded to Graduate Studies
for final approval. Should the Project Committee determine that the project outcome is
unacceptable, the program may recommend the student for disqualification from the
program to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

c) MS Plan II Comprehensive Exam

The Comprehensive Examination may be oral, written or a combination of both,

designated by the Comprehensive Exam Committee, with the objective to strengthen the
student’s knowledge in core or applied CS areas that can best prepare the student for
his/her professional career. The exam is based on material determined by the
Comprehensive Exam Committee. The following are two examples of the
Comprehensive Exam.
1) The Comprehensive Exam Committee chooses three important and highly
established published papers from three of the Core Areas. The exam consists of reading
the paper and answering a set of questions posed by the Comprehensive Exam
Page 24
 Committee. The questions require written answers and may involve programming and/or
computation.
2) The Comprehensive Exam Committee chooses a set of important topics covered
in the Core Areas. The exam consists of the students answering questions on the topics.
Whether it will be a written exam or an oral exam is determined by the Comprehensive
Exam Committee.

The examination may be taken once the student has completed required courses and
advanced to candidacy. Comprehensive Exam is held in Fall, Winter, and Spring
quarters. Student with discussion with the Graduate Coordinator will decide when to take
the exam. A student is allowed to repeat the Comprehensive Examination only once.
After passing the examination, a copy of the Master’s Report Form (found at
http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/forms/) is signed by the Graduate Advisor and then
forwarded to the Graduate Studies.

If a student does not pass the exam on the first attempt, the student must be retake the
Comprehensive Exam and pass or take a remedial course and get a grade of A- or better.
The remedial course is determined by Comprehensive Exam Committee. A student who
does not pass on the second attempt or get a grade of A- or better in the remedial course
will be recommended for disqualification to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

For both MS Plan II (Project Option and Exam Option), a candidate must be a registered
student or in Filing Fee status at the time the program submits the form, with the
exception of the summer period between the end of the Spring Quarter and the beginning
of Fall Quarter. The program must file the Form with Graduate Studies within one week
of the end of the quarter in which the student’s degree will be conferred.

9) Normative Time to Degree for the MS Portion:

Plan I Normative Time to Degree: It is expected that the student will complete the M.S.
degree by the end of the sixth (6th) quarter of graduate status at the University, including all
course requirements and the approval of the thesis.

Plan II Normative Time to Degree: It is expected that the student will complete the breadth
requirements within the first four (4) quarters of residence. It is expected that the student
will complete all course work and project/examinations by the end of the fifth (5th) quarter
of residence.

These deadlines may be extended only by approval of the Graduate Advisors Committee of
the Graduate Group.

10) Typical Time Line and Sequences of Events during the MS Portion:

Thesis Year 1 Year 2

Fall ECS201A, ECS299 ECS299, ECS235A
Winter ECS222A, ECS240, ECS299; advancement to candidacy
ECS299
Spring ECS265, ECS270, ECS299 ECS299; thesis completed

Page 25
 Project Year 1 Year 2
Fall ECS201A, ECS275 ECS260; ECS299; advancement to candidacy
Winter ECS222A, ECS272 ECS299; project completed
Spring ECS265, ECS277

Exam Year 1 Year 2

Fall ECS201A; ECS260 ECS235A; ECS252; advancement to candidacy;
Winter ECS222A; ECS240 ECS299; exam passed
Spring ECS265; ECS270

The following are important notes related to the above table.

1. ECS 299 units are assigned to meet the 12 units requirements for the quarter.
2. Course offerings change year to year. What is shown is just an example.
3. These samples do not take into account the student’s need of fulfilling certain
undergraduate proficiency requirements. Depending on the added workload, the student
may need additional quarters to complete the exam/project/thesis.

11) Sources of funding

Financial assistance for graduate study comes in the form of fellowships, Teaching Assistant
(TA) and Graduate Student Research (GSR) positions. The rapid increase in Ph.D.
enrollments in the past has significantly decreased the likelihood of TA or GSR funding for
M.S. students.

12) PELP, In Absentia and Filing Fee status:

Information about PELP (Planned Educational Leave), In Absentia (reduced fees when
researching out of state), and Filing Fee status can be found at the Graduate Studies website:
https://grad.ucdavis.edu/current-students/forms-information

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