Transcript CS Department Advising Day

Overview of Graduate Program
at CS SFSU
Spring 2009
Prof. D. Petkovic
Welcome graduate students!
• MS degree becoming a key for advancement
• Ability to work with geographically dispersed teams and
multidisciplinary teams is increasingly important
• Combination of general CS skills, domain depth and “soft”
skills is critical.
• Business skills are a also a plus!
Welcome foreign students
Outline
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SW trends driving markets, jobs and education
Why MS degree
About CS Department
About the graduate program and new initiatives
About the research, theses and culminating
experiences
• Foreign student specifics
• QA
• For specific questions see advisors Profs. Levine,
Murphy or ask in the CS Office
CS Department mission
Goals: to be the best in CSU and world famous in selected
areas of Computer Science
• Prepare students for careers in industry
• Prepare students for further graduate study
CS WWW site www.cs.sfsu.edu
• We offer BS and MS in CS
• About 400 undergrads, about 100 grads
• Most students have MS as terminal degree, and there are
some going for Ph.D.
MS CS Learning Objectives – in
addition to basic ones for BS CS
Degree
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Students will demonstrate in-depth knowledge in one of
the offered concentration areas
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Students will demonstrate a breadth of knowledge in
computer science, as exemplified in the areas of systems,
theory and software development
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Students will demonstrate ability to conduct a research
or applied Computer Science project, requiring writing
and presentation skills which exemplify scholarly style
in computer science
Important WWW links
and info
• CS WWW site www.cs.sfsu.edu
• Here you will find all the info about the program
and polices
– http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/graduate.html
• Page for new grads
– http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_helpnotes.html
• Read office e-mail and newsletters
Trends in Software Development
• Global development of computer software through international
cooperation and outsourcing are the main characteristics of current
and future software engineering development process
• Increased emphasis on building SW from components and
services developed globally
• Everything is getting connected with WWW and wireless
• Critical need for making systems easy to use, on time and budget,
and with adequate performance, with geographically dispersed
teams
• Open source software community is another example of global
collaborative approach to SW development.
• New areas: games, sensor networks, biotech, personal devices,
medical informatics…
Jobs
• Jobs are plenty
• CS careers are great
– http://computingcareers.acm.org/
– http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_8_s
ure_fire_hires.html
BUT
– New skills are needed
Computing and Life Sciences
• Biotechnology, bioinformatics and related applications are
considered next frontiers for computer science, both
technically and in terms of business opportunities
• Bay Area is one of the world centers of bioinformatics and
bio technology
• SFSU has outstanding programs related to biology and
chemistry/biochemistry and skills and interests from Math
• Every major university is having or will have programs in
this area
• Increased focus by funding agencies, government,
politicians and university executives
• Strong interest among students and faculty
SFSU Center for Computing for Life Sciences
http://cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.html
Key “tracks” or MS Concentrations
at CS SFSU
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General
SW Engineering
Computing for Life Sciences
Computing and Business (New, started Fall
08)
Graduate program description
• http://www.sfsu.edu/~bulletin/current/programs/co
mputes.htm#grad-cs
• General, SW. Eng and Computing for Life
Sciences Concentrations
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Breadth 9 units
Concentration core 9 units
Electives 6 units
Practicum option 3 units
Culminating Experience 6 units
• Total 30-33 units
NEW MS Concentration in Computing and
Business – with SFSU BUS school – started
Fall 08
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3 core CS courses
3 required CS courses as designated in the General Concentration
1 CS elective course
1 Business elective course, approved by advisor. These are
drawn from 700- or 800-level courses in Business, Management,
Finance, Decision Sciences, or Marketing (3 units)
3 required business courses (8 units)
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BUS 780- Accounting
BUS 788 Mng. Principles
BUS 784 Political, Social and legal Environment
OR BUS 787 Marketing
Equivalent of 2 courses for thesis/project; the thesis/project must
have a business component. The student’s culminating experience
committee will be composed of 2 CS faculty and one Business
faculty.
Total 38-41 units
Benefits of new MS Concentration
in Computing and Business
Graduates with this concentration will have the skills to
• Perform R&D in the computing field
• Possess the skills and knowledge to manage software development
teams or start their companies
• Assume management responsibilities in organizations that require
managers who understand both the computing and business aspects of
information technology.
• Assist with high-tech entrepreneurship ventures - assist in
understanding and relating the technical feasibility of new ideas
• Speak to both high-tech groups, and communicate technical ideas and
concepts to non-technical groups in the business organization
• Contribute to organizations that provide strategy consulting services to
high technology companies (staff at these companies needs to have
strong backgrounds in both technology and business)
Planning for BUS classes
• BUS classes get full
• Talk to our advisor Prof. Levine who will
talk to BUS graduate advisor before you
plan to take the cla1sees
• Try summer classes too
Center for Computing for Life
Sciences (CCLS)
• CCLS is an official multidisciplinary SFSU Center for
addressing problems in broad area of Computing for Life
Sciences such as: bioinformatics, imaging, collaborative
tools, UI, visualization, databases, computational biology
and chemistry, applications in drug discovery,
collaborative tools, algorithms etc.
• Goal is to develop CCLS into signature “marquee”
program of SFSU
• CCLS is joint collaboration between Computer Science,
Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Math, Physics and
Astronomy
– http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.html
CLS projects
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Bioinformatics
DB for large bio data sets
UI for biology and medicine
Biomedical imaging
Data Mining for bio data
WWW for biologist and doctors
Games for medical education
Medical informatics
…..
• Many projects have funding. Can get space in CCLS
• Professors: Sing, Okada, Young, Murphy, Petkovic
Serious Games for Nursing
Education
• NEW CCLS project between CS
department, School of Nursing and Industry
and design
• Combines CS, graphics, game concepts
• Faculty contact Prof. I. Yoon, M. Wong
(CCLS)
• Money for research work and culminating
experience projects available
Cluster Computing
• New 40 node DELL Cluster operational in CCLS
– http://ccls.lab.sfsu.edu/bin/view/Cluster/DellPowerEdg
eCluster
• For projects in computational biology and life
sciences
• For education (distributed and parallel computing,
data mining…)
Graduate seminar (formerly
Pernet)
• Brings outstanding speakers from academia an industry.
Every Wednesdays 5:30 in TH 331. Exposes students to
great topics and great speakers, helps give ideas for
projects and jobs
• Each graduate student must collect 10 stickers
(attendances) over several semesters
• First two seminars by Prof. D. Petkovic: about graduate
program and about department research
• CS faculty will overview their projects – excellent place to
get ideas for culminating experience Starts mid September
– check CS WWW page
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http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/news/Fall-2004-Pernet-Requirments.html
Thesis and Culminating project
• Mandatory
• Why Culminating Project?
– Forces students to do independent work and complete a
substantial project or scientific work
– Requires writing and presentation skills also
– Sets you apart from those who have not done it
– Enables you to publish papers and go to conferences
• Enables CS Department to do research and attract
top notch faculty –important for you too
• Makes our school much more fun
Advising - NEW
• Must see advisor upon start of the program
• Must attend first Graduate Seminar during the first
term (CS Chair will overview grad program) –
Wednesdays 5:30 in TH 331
• Should attend Chair’s welcome group meeting at
the beginning of each semester
• Get timely advising as often as you need
• Those planning for Ph. D. program see CS Chair
in the first semester
• Advising page http://cs.sfsu.edu/advising.html
How to complete Culminating
Experience and have fun doing it
Outline
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What is culminating experience
Why is it good for you
Formal requirements and paperwork
How to find the project and advisor
What is good research/project for culminating experience
How to do it?
How to write the Culminating Experience Report
How to prepare oral presentation
Overview of research in CS Department and CCLS
Culminating Experience
• Thesis (CSC 898) vs. Project (CSC 895)
http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_culminating_req.html
• One or two semesters prep (897 or 899) and one
semester thesis or project write-up and completion
(898 or 895)
• Those going for Ph. D. talk to CS Chair asap.
Advised to take two semester prep and more
advanced culminating experience, with external
publications
Why is Culminating Experience
good for you
• It is Mandatory
• Why?
– Forces students to do independent work and complete a
substantial project or scientific work
– Requires writing and presentation skills also
– Sets you apart from those who have not done it
– Enables you to publish papers and go to conferences
– Prepares you for jobs and Ph.D. studies
• Enables CS Department to do research and attract
top notch faculty –important for you too
• Makes our school much more fun
Formal requirements and
paperwork
• Please follow the process and observe the
schedules
http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/forms/aboutculminatingproject.html
Follow the suggested course of study:
http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/grad_recom_sequence.html
How to find advisor and project
• Check CS WWW site for faculty pages and their work
http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/People/people.html
• Check CS accomplishments and published papers to get an idea what
work is going on and who is doing it, then talk to them
http://cs.sfsu.edu/RecentAccomplishments.htm
http://cs.sfsu.edu/externalpubs/2004pubs.htm
• Attend Graduate Seminar Series and other seminars at SFSU
• Check CCLS page for current projects
http://cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.html
• Do your own research for topics (WWW, friends, technical press)
• Take the course form the professors teaching your favorite topics
favorite professor
• Ask professors, meet with the Chair
• Check previous theses and projects
http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/techreports/ce_list.html
How to find an advisor
• Faculty will participate in Graduate Seminars
series and present their work
• Prof. Petkovic will meet once a semester with all
grads who do not have an advisor and should have
it (second semester or later).
• Main responsibility is on the student
• If nothing works see the Chair
• Let CS Chair know if you want to go for Ph. D.
What is good research for
culminating experience
• Novel algorithm solving something useful
• New user interface or visualization
• New application (use of complex machine vision, AI, visualization,
search…)
• Substantial SW project (complex WWW site, useful application etc.)
• Data management and analysis system for some application (e.g. drug
development)
• Performance study (networking, search, storage, cluster computing)
• Computing for life sciences: intersection of CS and biology and chemistry
• ……………..
In all cases one has to prove the usefulness: theoretically, experimentally, user
studies etc. – whichever applies
Culminating experience examples: http://cs.sfsu.edu/techreports/ce_list.html
How to do the research
Requires independence, focus and follow up
• Understanding of the problem
• Literature review (what did others do)
• Design, analysis, prototyping
• Experiments
• Implementation
• Writing
It requires much more independence then class work
It is student responsibility to follow up, not the instructor!
Project Proposal
• Submitted as part of your culminating experience package
 Needed for enrolling into 895
• http://www.sfsu.edu/%7Egradstdy/culminatingexperience.htm
• It is a “contract” between you and advisor on what you
want to do, scope, methods, tools used etc. Has to be
approved by the advisor.
• Suggested Content: Motivation, planned approach, benefits
of the approach, method/tools to be used, reverences PLUS
milestones and schedule (the best you can) – for exact
outline check with your advisor
• About 5-8 pages
How to write culminating
experience report
• There is some structure
http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/writing_cpr.html
• Usual length about 60-70 pages (no code)
• Code on a CD
• Requires time
• Expect multiple iterations with the instructor
• It becomes your “portfolio” for the rest of your life
• Make every attempt possible to write a scientific paper
form this (must for those going to Ph. D).
How to prepare oral presentation
• Being able to present well is critical for your career
• Culminating experience presentation: plan to talk 30 min.
Count 1 slide = 2 min.
• Test the presentation on the very same laptop you will use
• Get feedback from advisor
• Do early motivation and demo, then details
• Talk to the audience, not the screen
• Practice for time and delivery
• Resources:
http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/student%20forms/prep_oral_presentations.htm
Overview of research and CS
Department and CCLS
• CS Department: check papers, faculty pages
http://cs.sfsu.edu/externalpubs/2004pubs.htm
http://cs.sfsu.edu/People/people.html
• CCLS: Check projects
http://cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/projandgrants.htm
Some project ideas/people
• DB/UI/Applications in biology and bioinformatics and CLS area: Profs.
Singh, Yoon, Okada, Yang, Petkovic
• DB Tools, Multimedia databases: Profs. Murphy, Singh, Petkovic
• Bioinformatics: Prof. Singh
• Visualization/Graphics: Profs. Yoon, Okada
• WWW Applications, Community applications: Prof. Levine
• Performance: Prof. Dujmovic
• WWW info retrieval, WWW 2.0: Profs. Singh, Wong
• Algorithms, compilers, WWW search: Profs. Wong, Dujmovic
• Distributed Systems, Open Source: Prof. Puder
• Multimedia, sound, music: Profs. Hsu, Singh
• Games: Profs. Yoon, Okada
• AI, Computer Vision: Prof. Okada, J. Dujmovic
• Data Mining: Prof. Yang
• Decision Systems: J. Dujmovic
• SW Engineering, Business aspects of SW Eng., SW Metrics: Profs.
Petkovic, Levine, Dujmovic
Foreign students
Welcome foreign students!
• Learn about USA: customs, culture, geography
• Bay Area is one of the bets areas in USA: geographically,
culturally, for education and technology
• Get internships with local industry
• Visit places, talk to people from different cultures
• Learn English (reading, writing)
• Have fun!
Welcome foreign students!
• Keep GPA and class load above the minimum - Overall
GPA 3.0, class load 9 units
• New “practicum” option for summer internships: Max 3
one unit 893 can be taken that do not count toward
electives and allow you permit to work outside of SFSU.
Mostly for Summer work. Total units in MS program are
then are 33. Need to be at SFSU two semesters prior to
this.
• Internships during the Fall and Spring only rarely
approved, must be part time, GPA > 3.4 and OK of the
advisor
• Post completion training allowed only when thesis is more
than 90% complete, need confirmation by the advisor
AND letter signed by student about the rules (NEW).
http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/student%20forms/opt_cpt_letter_instructions.html
Update on Written English proficiency Level I Requirement:
• Computer science students admitted to the M.S. program
are required to satisfy English Level One prior to the end
of their first year of study at SFSU. As a departmental
policy, no waivers are given. Level One is satisfied by
obtaining either a) a score of 4 or better on the GRE
Analytical Writing Exam or b) a score of PASS on the
Graduate Essay Test (GET, administered by the SFSU
Testing Center) or c) a passing grade in SCI 614 or CHS
514 (international graduate students are strongly
encouraged to enroll in Eng 670, if it is offered). Students
may enroll in CHS 514 if all sections of SCI 614 are full.
SCI 614 is strongly recommended for all students who
wish to develop their skills in professional writing.
Students are allowed to take the GET only once, preferably
prior to their first semester of enrollment.
Background
Important stuff
• Visit WWW site and read e-mail
• Program description
http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/grad_program.html
• Graduate page http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/graduate.html
• New grads page
http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_helpnotes.html
• Importance of early advising. New students MUST see
advisor http://cs.sfsu.edu/advising.html
• Recommended sequence of study, selection of
concentration – second semester; finding the advisor
http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/grad_recom_sequence.html
• Graduate seminar series requirement
http://cs.sfsu.edu/news/Fall-2004-Pernet-Requirments.html
• Internships – new polices on 893 (practicum) – important
for foreign students http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/student%20forms/893694%20Course%20Requirments.pdf
More…
• All steps in preparing culminating project forms
http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/aboutculminatingproject.html
• Culminating experience
http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_culminating_req.html
• How to write culminating project report
http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/writing_cpr.html
• Cheating and plagiarism
http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/plagarism.html
• International program – Fulda, Germany
http://cs.sfsu.edu/news/SFSUFulda.htm