Computer Science

专业详情

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The master’s degree program at Princeton is a two-year, full-time program. All admitted students are initially enrolled in the Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.), thesis-required track. In the spring of year 1, as part of readmission, all students are given the option to switch to the Master of Engineering (M.Eng.), non-thesis track. Students opting to remain on the M.S.E. track must have a confirmed research adviser and should also have a preliminary thesis proposal. Switching tracks will be permitted through January of year 2.

Teaching experience is considered to be a significant part of graduate education.  Funding is normally awarded in the form of teaching assistantships. Teaching assistantships cover the four semesters of the program. Nonnative English speakers must have a TOEFL speak score of 27 or better to be considered for a teaching assistantship. Summer funding for M.S.E. candidates in the form of a research assistantship may be offered at the adviser’s discretion.

Students who wish to continue on for a Ph.D. must apply through the normal application process during the fall of their second year of study.

Princeton undergraduate students who wish to apply to the master’s program must do so through the regular admission process, and by the December 15 deadline. Admission is competitive. Princeton undergraduates interested in admission to the M.S.E. program may inquire in the spring of the third year. Interested students should submit a one-page (1-page) personal statement describing preparation to date and interest in the master’s program; an unofficial copy of the undergraduate transcript; and letters of recommendation from two COS professors. The letters of recommendation should be emailed directly to the graduate coordinator. Once these materials have been received, the director of graduate studies will perform an informal review and provide feedback about whether admission into the master’s program is “likely,” “unlikely,” or “possible.” This feedback is not binding and is intended to help with course planning in the student’s senior year.

COURSES:

Candidates choose a subarea of computer science on which to focus their coursework. Course requirements are fulfilled by taking six courses for a grade.  As least three of the six courses must be 500-level, and the additional courses may be chosen from 318, 320, 324, 326, 343, 352, 375, or any 400-level course or 500 level COS course. Students must take a minimum of 4 courses in year 1. If, due to scheduling conflicts, this is not possible, approval by the director of graduate studies is required. All courses must be completed by the end of the second year of enrollment.

A full course list is available on the department website. Relevant courses from outside the department may be taken with adviser’s consent. All coursework must be taken for a grade. Candidates must maintain a B average, and may receive no more than one C. In order to be readmitted for a second year, candidates must have a confirmed thesis adviser and preliminary thesis proposal by the end of the first year.

Please note: Candidates electing to switch to the M.Eng. degree track must complete a total of eight courses over two years, and are not required to submit a thesis. At least three of the eight must be 500-level, and the additional courses may be chosen from 318, 320, 324, 326, 343, 352, 375, or any 400-level course, or any 500 level COS course. Relevant courses from outside the department may be taken with DGS’s consent. A full list of approved courses can be found on the department website. All courses must be taken for a grade. Candidates must maintain a B average, with no more than one C allowed.

Princeton Option

Graduate students who received their undergraduate degrees from Princeton University may use credits towards the master’s degree from two Princeton courses taken when the students were undergraduates, provided that the two courses were in excess of the requirements of the computer science department for the bachelor’s degree. Those two courses must be upper-level COS courses that also fulfill requirements of the master’s degree. 

TEACHING:

The master’s program is fully funded by teaching assistantships. Master’s students are required to hold a full teaching assistantship each semester that they are enrolled.

THESIS:

Candidates for the M.S.E. must prepare and submit an original thesis as well as present a public seminar on the research. The thesis will be reviewed and graded by the student’s adviser plus one additional reader from the Princeton faculty. If the reader is from outside the Department of Computer Science, approval by the director of graduate studies is required. The public seminar is an ungraded 20-minute talk, followed by a 10-minute question session, given in the spring of year 2. This will allow the student’s adviser and reader to give preliminary feedback prior to submission of the final thesis.

The written thesis should be a research paper of scholarly quality, making a novel contribution to scholarship in the field. The thesis should motivate the chosen research problem, evaluate the proposed solution (e.g., via analysis, measurement, simulation, or prototype implementation), and compare the approach to the related work in the field. While there is no specific length requirement, a reasonable target is a typical conference paper (e.g., 10-15 pages in two-column format or 20-40 pages in single-column, double-spaced format). Due date will be Dean’s Date in the spring term of year 2. After being graded, four copies of the final version must be submitted to the department: two bound copies, following the formatting guidelines from Mudd Library, one unbound hard-copy, and the fourth as a .pdf file.