The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science offers a Master of Science (Thesis or Non‐thesis option) in Applied Computer Science. This program provides advanced understanding, knowledge and research opportunities related to computer science that prepare students for applying their skills in business, industry, academia, government agencies, consultancy, etc. The primary emphasis is reflective of current theoretical and applied computing in multi‐disciplinary applications.
The graduate program in Applied Computer Science (APCS) culminates in a Master of Science (M.S.) degree. It is designed to meet the needs of students such as:
- Those who are already in the workforce and wish to update or improve their knowledge of current computer science (many of these students will have completed their undergraduate or graduate work in fields other than computer science); and
- Those who have recently completed an undergraduate degree program and wish to enhance their interests, understanding and research opportunities in Computer Science and its application in multiple disciplines or with specific focus.
Admission Criteria
Admission to this program adheres to the general criteria for admission to the UMES Graduate School. The general GRE is also required but, in view of the wide variety of fields from which students come, the Computer Science subject‐matter GRE is not employed in admission consideration for Applied Computer Science. Students with undergraduate GPA’s of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale and those students with weaker preparation in Computer Science may be offered Provisional Admission. This status is usually changed to Regular Admission as soon as the student completes prerequisite requirements and/or achieves a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA. Students whose computing background is weak may be directed to take undergraduate computer science or mathematics courses as a condition for entering the graduate program. Courses required for Regular Admission must be completed as early as possible, generally within the first year.
In addition to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s general admission requirements, applicants must have:
- A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Information Sciences or a bachelor’s degree and specified background course determined by the Department Graduate Committee.
- An undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale for provisional Admission, which may also be conditional on some course requirements (in computer science or mathematics) to be met, determined by the Departmental Graduate Committee.
Admission to the program is determined by the Departmental Graduate Committee.
Course Requirements for Graduation
Student must earn a minimum of thirty (30) credit hours with Thesis option or thirty two (32) with Non‐thesis option to graduate from the program, not including any Provisional Admission course requirements. All courses that are to count towards graduation must be passed with a minimum grade of “B,” and students must also pass at least five of these courses with a grade of “A.”
The time limit for completing the M.S. degree is five years from the first enrollment in the graduate program. This includes any provisional admission course or other requirements to be met. This requirement is closely monitored by the Department and any exception to the time limit must be approved by the UMES Graduate School.
In the Thesis option, the student is required to take a minimum of eight graduate level courses (24 credits) and six credits for thesis (CSDP 699 ). The thesis must be supervised by a member of the graduate faculty and the initial thesis proposal must be defended with an oral presentation (see below) and approved by the student’s thesis committee (three members including advisor). The thesis must be submitted to the department in a bound form after its defense orally which will take place after the thesis research is completed. A student is required to submit at least one journal/conference paper based upon his/her thesis work before its defense.
In the Non‐thesis option, the student is required to take a minimum of eight graduate level courses (24 credits) and two 4‐credit hour research project courses, CSDP 698 (Master’s Project 1) and CSDP 798 (Master’s Project 2). CSDP 698 can be taken at most once and must be taken for 4 credits. CSDP 798 may be taken multiple times, the first time for 4 credits, and subsequent times for at least one credit. The project must be approved by the project advisor. A copy of the resulting scholarly paper must be submitted to the department
Cooperative Education Program Internship
Students seeking internship in industry are required to take CSDP 698 (Master’s project) or the first three credits of CSDP 699 (Master’s thesis), and all required lecture courses before beginning the internship. Students must register for the appropriate cooperative education credit to undertake the internship. The internship should provide a learning experience in computer applications useful to strengthen the Master’s project or Master’s thesis.
Transfer Credit
- Students desiring to transfer graduate credit need to apply for this privilege during their first semester at UMES.
- Students need to remember that an absolute limit of six credits of transfer (two courses) is allowed;
- In general, transfer requires an exact match with the contents of local courses as offered at UMES as determined by the Department’s Graduate Committee.
Application Deadlines
The application deadlines for admissions are as follows:
Fall Semester ‐ April 15 (March 1 for international applicants)
Spring Semester ‐ October 15 (August 1 for international applicants)
Summer Sessions ‐ April 15 (December 1 for international applicants)
Only under extenuating circumstances will applications be accepted after a deadline date has passed. This is particularly true for international applicants who are overseas and need a longer time period in which to be reviewed for admission, receive the I‐20 form if admitted and to obtain the visa for study in the U.S.
Computing Resources
The Department has two computer laboratories equipped with over 40 64 bit i7 PCs. These computer facilities and several other campus wide computer facilities are available for all students.
Students in both undergraduate and graduate Computer Science courses benefit from the wide variety of computing resources made available at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as a member of the University System of Maryland. Both Unix‐based and Windows‐based systems provide a rich computing environment both for majors and for students in service courses.
Library facilities are extensive and are supplemented each year. Opportunities exist for student participation in faculty research projects. While computer laboratory facilities are open and available all day and evening, most graduate courses are scheduled in the early evening so that those working during the day can participate.
Computer Science Thesis/Project
The thesis/project must contain original theoretical/experimental results/ simulation findings that are suitable for publication in a refereed journal/conference/workshop.
General Guidelines for Master’s Thesis/Project Proposal:
A student in consultation with his/her thesis advisor should decide the thesis topic and submit a thesis/project proposal to the thesis committee (comprising of thesis advisor and two graduate faculty members from within or outside the department who are familiar with the related work). It is required that the student should do the above at least one full semester before the thesis is defended and it should be completed before other work on the thesis or project is started. The department will not approve the defense of the thesis/project if the student fails to submit and have his/her proposal approved by the thesis committee using the above guidelines. If a thesis is to be submitted, the draft will be reviewed by the Graduate School for general thesis format applicable to all graduate programs.
Proposal Document Format of Thesis/Project:
The thesis/project proposal is a written document and must follow the outline below.
Title Page:
High level abstract description of work undertaken.
Introduction:
A detailed discussion on the work undertaken that can be reasonably understood by faculty members not working in this research area.
Thesis/project statement:
Precise and concise statement of the thesis/project, e.g. proposed hypothesis to be tested, the thesis to be defended, the project to be defended, questions to be answered, etc.
Methods:
Describe the methods and framework to be used to accomplish the thesis/project statement e.g. proposed algorithms, procedures, controls, sample size, experiments, simulation, expected results, its significance, and future extension that might give new technological development, etc.
Schedule:
A complete schedule for the completion of thesis/project.
Interpretation of findings/results:
A detailed discussion on the interpretation and analysis of the results/findings that have been presented via charts/graphs and its comparison with existing results reported by other researchers.
Conclusion and future work:
Statement of your work, difficulties encountered and presentable results. Discussion on this proposed work can be extended with appropriate justification.
Bibliography:
A fairly complete annotated bibliography of the area of proposed work in the thesis/project.
Artifacts:
A description of any artifacts besides the write‐up of the thesis or project (as appendix) i.e. code, user’s manuals, etc.
Signatures:
A standard acceptance page including the date, all the members of thesis/project committee and the Graduate Coordinator.
Requirements for Thesis Option:
The following are the general questions (not limited to) that need to be addressed.
Introduction:
Necessary background
Statement of the problem
Why is this problem interesting?
Significance and application of the problem
Thesis statement:
What is the proposed solution?
What does the solution do?
Why does the proposed solution solve the problem?
How is your proposed solution different than others?
Method:
How to address the problem and its solution?
Combination of proof, implementation and experimentation
Presentation of results or simulation for the solution
Interpretation of the solution
How does this solution different than the existing ones?
Proof of real contribution
Annotated bibliography
Complete and appropriate
A thorough literature survey in the pertinent area
Artifacts
Code, user’s manual, any other relevant chart or basic conceptual information
Requirements for Non‐thesis Option:
Proposal for Project:
Necessary background for the proposed work with convincing argument that the project will offer a significant contribution that can generate a scholarly work. The project statement should precisely and concisely describe the work. The methods section should describe the requirements and expectations for the finished product and explain what will be done to assure the quality of the work. The annotated bibliography should convince the committee and readers that the student is well acquainted with techniques/methodologies needed to do the work and these techniques/methodologies have been used to solve similar problems. The contributions should reflect the importance of the work. It is important to discuss how the work will be disseminated to others.
General comments:
If the proposal document does not satisfy the above mentioned standards or similar standards for traditional theses, the department will not approve it. Feedback and correction is an integral part of student’s education and must be done in consultation with the advisor.
Project Presentation:
Oral presentation audience: CS faculty members who may not be acquainted with the topic. A 15 to 20 minute oral presentation of the proposed thesis/project must be carefully organized and given to the members of thesis/project committee and the invited public. During the proposal presentation, a student must answer committee members’ questions on topics such as methodology used, organization and literature surveys. After the presentation, the student and the public leave the room while the committee makes a decision on the proposal acceptance. The result will range from unqualified acceptance to unqualified rejection. Students will adhere closely to the proposal for their MS project. A simple restatement of the proposal document will not be acceptable for the proposal presentation. The central ideas of the project document should be presented, but should be augmented by examples and explanations. The presentation will offer the opportunity to students to practice and improve upon their presentation skills.
The above guidelines will be followed for the thesis/project proposal and after the student has completed thesis/project work.
Thesis/Project Defense Instructions
Please also check the Graduate School’s Established Procedures for Conduct of the Master’s Thesis Examination listed in the Graduate School catalog:
Before scheduling:
Create and write up the thesis/project under the supervision of your thesis/proposal advisor.
Have a verbal agreement with your advisor and the members of the committee that the thesis/project is in final form and has their approval.
7‐9 days before the presentation:
Provide copies of your final thesis/project for each of the three members of the thesis/proposal committee.
Arrange for a date, time and place for the defense of your project/thesis. Make sure that all three committee members can attend your defense. Other faculty are welcome to attend. The Department secretary will be of assistance in scheduling a room and posting the announcement of your defense.
Reserve at least 45 minutes for your defense. Your presentation should not exceed 15‐20 minutes. Remaining time will be reserved for questions from the audience and committee members
Defense day or after:
Obtain signatures of all the committee members and the Graduate Coordinator on the acceptance page in your thesis/project. A copy of the published paper/scholarly work and a signed copy of your thesis/project must be delivered to the Department Chair.
For more information on this program, please contact:
Dr. Albert E. Casavant
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Kiah Hall
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, MD 21853
Phone: 410 651 8598 Fax: 410 651 7673
e‐mail: acasavant@umes.edu
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