Grad Student Orientation

Chris Pollett

Aug 17, 2022

Welcome New Master's Students!

We're glad you you're here!
Have you registered for classes?
- Make sure to do this as soon as possible.
- If a course you like starts full, remember people often drop after a few days, so be persistent.
- Unlike previous semesters, this semester the add and drop days are the same: September 15.
Have you found your class meeting info?
- Because of the ongoing Covid-19 situation not all classes are in person - some are in person, some are online, and some are being delivered in a hybrid mode.
- Faculty either are listing how to join/attend class meetings on Canvas, by directly e-mailing you, on their syllabus, by giving the details to the CS Office, or a combination of these.
- If you are looking for a class you are not currently enrolled in, check if the faculty has left the meeting details generally visible on Canvas. If not, look at the online syllabus for the class. If not, use your phone/email-a-friend lifeline. If not, try directly emailing the faculty or CS office.
- Make sure to check your SJSU email and Canvas at least daily. You should probably keep a separate offline file with the meeting info for each of your classes.
- If you are in a different time zone, make sure to take account for the difference in time and double check for annoyances like daylight savings time.
- If you intend to access the campus, make sure you are following SJSU Health and Safety Protocols. You will also need to meet the SJSU Vaccination Requirements.

Keep track of what's happening in the department on the Department Web Page.
Master's program rules can be found at https://www.sjsu.edu/cs/programs/mscs/program-info.php
Meet your advisor.

There are four CS Graduate Advisors: Dr. Teng Moh, Dr Robert Chun, Dr. Mike Wu, and Dr. Mark Stamp.
Your advisor depends on the last two digits of your ID: Moh (00-24), Chun (25-49), Wu (50-74), and Stamp (75-99).
You need to meet with an advisor... now, and once every semester.
Typically, you can only register after your advisor removes the advising hold.
Things to talk about:
- What classes you plan to take this semester.
- How you are currently doing (GPA-wise).
- What's your plan for classes in future semesters.
- Any questions you have about the program.

Graduate Coordinator: Me, aka Chris Pollett
You can see me to talk about getting signatures on CS Master's Program Forms.
For many typical situations, you can just fill out the form, and send it to the office (info-compsci@sjsu.edu) to set up a docu-sign for me to sign.
Department Chair: Dr. Melody Moh.
Graduate Studies Office

To get a Master's in Computer Science at SJSU you need to meet the following course requirements:

Pass the Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement by either passing: CS200w, or Engr200W (with special permission).
At least one Graduate Option Course from each of the Subject Areas of Foundations, Architecture, and Systems Software. (9 units)
Three additional Graduate Option Courses. (9 units)
Two Approved Elective or Graduate Option Courses. (6 units).
Complete CS297 and CS298 (Writing Project) or CS297 and CS299 (Thesis).

The MSCS Program Info Web Page has the current list of approved Electives and Graduate Option Courses.
Some courses from other departments may be approved if they are CS-related, but not identical to a course from our department.

The typical way to pass the Graduate Writing Assessment requirement is to take either CS200w or Engr200w (with permission).

The Computer Science Department policy is that students should complete the GWAR requirement in their first year in the MS program and must complete it two semesters before graduation.
The writing requirement is required by the Cal State system.
The only substitutes are:
- Having taken the writing course at some other Cal State
- Getting special permission from Graduate Studies (e.g. if you wrote a thesis in another subject)
To obtain a waiver you would also need to fill out the GWAR Waiver Petition Form and get the relevant signature (not easy).
If you get a waiver, you still need to take 33 total units for our program, so you will need to choose an additional three unit CS graduate elective course to take in the place of CS200w, and get a course substitution form approved by me.

If your total GPA is less than 3.0, you will end up on academic probation.
You can score less than 3.0 (a B) on a course and not be on probation. However, you cannot use any course whose grade was less than or equal to a C- towards graduation.
Being on probation means you cannot graduate until you're off probation.
It also means you will be disqualified from the MSCS program if your GPA is not above 3.0 in the next semester.
More information on this can be found on the MSCS FAQ.
If you are disqualified from the program, it is very hard to get back in because our program has many more qualified applicants than slots for them. Being reinstated entails that you would still have made the admission cut despite the performance that resulted in you being on probation.

To finish your master's degree you need to complete one of two culminating experiences:

A writing project course sequence CS297/CS298 and successful defense.
A thesis course sequence CS297/CS299 and successful defense.
The latter of the two course sequences has stricter requirements and a faster timeline.
For a thesis the writing and formatting is checked by the Graduate Studies in addition to by your thesis advisor and committee.
For both a writing project and a thesis, you need to find a project advisor (to take 297 and 298 or 299 from) and two committee members (this should be done by CS298).
You should try (this is a suggestion not a requirement) to take a course from the person who you want as your advisor before starting work under that person.
You will probably have a better project experience if you choose an advisor that doesn't have too many students.
Usually, it is the advisor that comes up with project suggestion in consultation with what the student is interested in.