COMPUTER SCIENCE MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAM Answers To Some Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where do I get the various forms?
2. How do I register for Comp 696C and 698C?  or   What is an R-Form?
3. What are the deadlines for submitting my thesis or project?
4. How do I change my committee or my project/thesis topic?
5. How do I arrange to visit a Master's student's defense?  or   What is a V-Form?
6. When and how do I hear about the outcome of my application?
7. What are the differences among PBU, conditionally classified, and fully classified statuses?
8. Can I take graduate level classes before I am fully classified?   or   What is "The 12 Unit Rule"?
9. Can I repeat courses to improve my GPA.
10. Can I transfer graduate courses?
11. How long can I take to complete the graduate work?
12. Do I have to take a class every semester?
13. How can I remove a probation?
14. What do I do if I am disqualified?
15. Can I change my degree objective from MS to a 2nd BS?

1.  Where do I get the various forms?

Most forms are available from the Computer Science Department office located in the Engineering Building, room JD 4503, or from the graduate coordinator, JD 4403.  In fact, the The Program of Study can only be found in these two places.  

Graduate Petition forms, Thesis/Graduate Project Planning Form, the Request for Course Substitution on Master's Formal Program form, and the Course Repeat Form for Graduate Students are also available from Graduate Studies, located in University Hall, room 265.

The Change of Objective Form is only available from Admissions and Records (A & R) office -- located in the Student Services Building, just west of the library -- where you can also find the Master's Degree and Diploma Application and the Master's Graduation and Diploma Date Change form.  These last two forms, as well as a few others, can be filed on-line by going here.

Applications for the GRE can be obtained from the Testing Office, located in the Student Services Building, SB 225, or directly from Educational Testing Services.

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2.  How do I register for Comp 696C and 698C?   or   What is a R-Form?

An R-Form is a form you can only get from the department office (JD 4503) and it is the form that you must fill out in advance of registering for a "restricted class" such as Comp 696C or Comp 698C.  The R-Form is designed to assure us that you are indeed in a position to take one of these classes, that is, you have been admitted to the Computer Science Master of Science program, you have formed a committee, and you have a Program of Study and a Project Planning Form on file.  Click here to find out more about these matters.   Also, university policy does not allow students to take Comp 696C and Comp 698C in the same semester since it is virtually impossible to complete a project in a single semester.  Click here to learn more.  After you have filled out an R-Form, including getting the signature of your thesis advisor and the graduate coordinator, you will be given the ticket number for the restricted course and only then can you register for the class.  This means that in most cases you will not be able to register for a restricted class during TTR.

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3.  What are the deadlines for submitting my thesis or project?

March 26 is the last day to submit a draft to your committee chair.

Your committee chair must have a copy of your thesis by this date. If for some reason you discover you might not be able to make this deadline, you must see your advisor as early as possible before March 26 to see if an extension can be arranged.

April 14 is the last day to submit a draft to your committee members.

Every member of your committee must have a copy of your thesis by the end of the twelfth week of classes. This is the final review draft, that is, it should be the final draft as far as you are concerned. It should incorporate all changes suggested by your chair who should have already seen a number of previous versions. This deadline is firm. It cannot be extended.

May 7 is the last day to submit your thesis to the graduate school.

The final form of your thesis must be submitted to either Tiffany Bonner or Tanya Bermudez, no later than May 7, 2010. You can find them in University Hall, room 265. The date on your title page should read "May, 2010." It is imperative that you make an appointment with one of them well before this deadline so that they can review your thesis and you can make necessary corrections in time. The number to call to make an appointment is 677–4800. They will begin accepting appoints on March 1 and appointments can be scheduled between March 8 and April 23.

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4.  How do I change my committee or my project/thesis topic?

You must file another Thesis/Graduate Project Planning Form.  At the bottom of this form are sections for changing your committee and/or changing your project or thesis topic.

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5.  How do I arrange to visit a Master's student's defense?  or  What is a V-Form?

Every graduate student must visit at least two project or thesis defenses before presenting their own defense.  Before attending the defense you should pick up a V-Form from the department office (JD 4503), from the graduate coordinator (JD 4403), or download it from here so that you may fill it out and get the proper signatures at the time of the defense.  After attending at least two defenses and before presenting your own defense you should bring your V-Forms to your thesis or project advisor to show that you have satisfied this requirement.  I will make every effort to keep the Master's defense schedule up to date, but you can also check the bulletin board on the fourth floor of the Engineering Building (just across from the elevator), or you may call the department office (818 677-3398) to see if there are some defenses scheduled that are not on the schedule page.

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6.  When and how do I hear about the outcome of my application?

All forms filed with me are logged and forwarded to the appropriate administrative departments (A&R or the Graduate Studies office). A&R will mail the outcome of the application to your address. If you do not receive a response in about four weeks, contact A&R directly. Neither I nor the Computer Science Department office will have any information on the status of your application once it has been forwarded.

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7.  What are the differences among PBU, conditionally classified, and fully classified statuses?

A PBU student (Post-Baccalaureate Unclassified) has been accepted by the University as a graduate student, but has not been accepted by the Computer Science Department, or any other department for that matter.  Since the CSMS program requires GRE scores for admission a likely reason for being PBU rather than classified (conditionally or fully) is that we have not received your GRE scores.  Other reasons for being PBU include being rejected by the CSMS program because of a low GPA or because of low GRE scores.  The Computer Science Department maintains no files for PBU students and they are not considered members of the CSMS program.  Hence, advisement for such students is done purely on an informal basis and so are strongly advised to become classified as quickly as possible.  It is important to recognize that a PBU student taking classes in the Computer Science department is not necessarily making progress towards a degree.  One must be admitted to the department to earn a degree and, in fact, the 12-unit rule prohibits PBU students from taking more than four classes before they are accepted to the department.  Also, the University is making it much more difficult to obtain PBU status, so applicants need to make every effort to be admitted to the Computer Science Department if they want to start taking classes.

A conditionally classified student has been accepted by the Computer Science Department, but still must satisfy some prerequisites before becoming fully classified.

A fully classified student is eligible to do graduate level work and is presumably on course to obtaining a Master's Degree.

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8.  Can I take graduate level classes before I am fully classified?  or
      What is "The 12 Unit Rule"?

In general it is best to complete all of your prerequisite requirements before you begin any of your graduate level work.  However, in practice this is often impractical because of scheduling constraints.  University regulations allow you to take up to 12 units of graduate level work before you are fully classified, but 12 units is the limit.  If you take more than 12 units of graduate level work before you are fully classified, only the first 12 units will count towards your Master's Degree.  The rest of the units will be lost.  Hence, it is important that you plan your schedule accordingly.  This includes being sure you have passed the Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam (a requirement most students have to becoming fully classified) before you have taken too many graduate level courses.

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9.  Can I repeat courses to improve my GPA?

With prior permission of the Graduate Coordinator you may, for the purpose of improving your grade, repeat up to 6 units of credit in a program of study in which a grade of B- or below, or a grade of U, was achieved. (Graduate Studies has also been allowing undergraduate prerequisites to be repeated, but repeating a prerequisite class counts towards the 6 unit limit.)  In such cases only the most recent grade will count. A specific course can be repeated only once.  You must submit the Course Repeat Form for Graduate Students before you repeat the course.

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10.  Can I transfer graduate courses?

You can transfer up to 9 units of graduate work subject to the CSUN regulations described in the catalog. This includes classes taken through "open university."  The major criterion is that the course you wish to transfer is available for graduate credit at the university where the course was taken. The graduate coordinator must approve the transfers. If approved, you must arrange for the transcripts to be sent to the A&R office. The transferred courses can then be listed in your program of study.  Please read this announcement concerning transferring classes from local universities.

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11.  How long can I take to complete the graduate work?

The basic limitation is that any units earned more than 7 years before the date you plan to graduate will not count. The 7 year period starts at the time of receiving the grade and continues until the filing for graduation. It also applies to transferred graduate level courses but not for any of the CSMS prerequisite classes (CSUN or transferred). When working on your thesis or project you will typically get SP grades for your thesis classes until your thesis is completed at which time your thesis advisor will replace all SP grades with the appropriate grade. You have at most two years to remove any SP grades, which effectively gives you a maximum of two and a half years to complete your thesis or project.

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12.  Do I have to take a class every semester?

No. You can be on academic leave for two semesters without any formality. However, if you do not register for a class for three consecutive semesters you will be dropped from the University mailing list and the CSMS program. You will then have to reapply for admission to the University and the CSMS program through A&R. Your admission to the University will be determined by the rules and regulations that are in force at the time of this reapplication. The department will generally readmit you provided you are in good standing (3.0 GPA minimum) and the academic leave did not exceed two years. Note that you will have to retake all expired graduate classes over the seven year limitation.

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13.  How can I remove a probation?

If you are classified, by bringing your GPA to 3.0 or above.

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14.  What do I do if I am disqualified?

You must see the graduate coordinator for advisement. Generally, you can take classes through the extension program to improve your GPA and be readmitted to the program when your GPA improves to 3.0 or better.

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15.  Can I change my degree objective from MS to a 2nd BS?

Currently the University is not admitting anyone into the 2nd BS program, but this could change at any time.  In any case, you will normally not save any time by becoming a 2nd BS student. The 2nd BS program includes all the CSMS prerequisites, plus another 27 units of technical subjects PLUS ANY GENERAL EDUCATION UNITS you do not already have. Unless, you graduated from a California State University very recently, you can expect to have to do about 12 units of GE (the number may be much higher). So, there is no saving in the total units. The only consideration is that you need only maintain a GPA of 2.5 verses a 3.0 in the MS program, and all classes are at the undergraduate level.

If you wish to do so, and if the University removes its restriction on admitting 2nd BS students, then file a "Change of Objective" form with A&R.

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