Computer Science

Degrees Offered

• Master of Science (Computer Science)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science)
• Graduate Certificate in CyberSecurity for Cyber Physical Systems
• Post-Baccalaureate Professional Computer Science Certificate

Program Overview

The Computer Science Department offers two online Certificates, as well as the degrees Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science. These degree programs demand academic rigor and depth yet also address real-world problems.

The Department’s research falls into three core fields of Computer Science:

1. Systems (e.g., High Performance Computing, Programming Languages, Cybersecurity, and Networking);
2. Intelligence (e.g., Robotics and Machine Learning); and
3. Algorithms (e.g., Classical, Learning, and Game-Theoretic).
4. Human-Computer Interaction and Social Computing (e.g., Human-Centered Design/AI/Data Science, Social Media and Online Communities, Human-AI Interaction).

Some faculty also do research in CS Education, and, in many cases, individual research projects encompass more than one research area. See the CS@Mines Research website for updated details and current projects: https://cs.mines.edu/research/.

Research Areas:

APPLIED ALGORITHMS
Research in Applied Algorithms and Data Structures combines classical algorithms research (characterized by the development of elegant algorithms and data structures accompanied by theory that provides mathematical guarantees about performance) and applications research (consisting of the actual development of software accompanied by empirical evaluations on appropriate benchmarks). Applications include cheminformatics and material science, crowdsourcing, data analytics, mobile computing, networking, security and privacy, the smart grid and VLSI design automation.

AUGMENTED REALITY  
This area focuses on sensing information about the real world, augmenting visualization of reality by overlaying virtual information on the real world, and enabling user to interact with and digitally manipulate the information. 

COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION
This area encompasses research on STEM recruitment and diversity, K-12 computing education, and computing/engineering education at the university level. Current projects include an on-campus computing outreach program tailored for girls across a broad age range; professional development opportunities for CS high school teachers; and incorporating ethics into core and elective computing courses.

CYBERSECURITY
Research includes usable security and privacy in web/mobile/cloud/cyber-physical/IoT/AI systems, vulnerability measurement and analysis, and cybersecurity education. 

HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING
Our high-performance computing research focuses on using compiler and runtime techniques to optimize Big Data and machine learning applications on heterogeneous systems. 

HUMAN-COMPUTER and HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION (HCI/HRI)
An interdisciplinary, highly mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) research area exploring the intersection of emerging computing technologies with human psychology, sociology, health, ethics, and design. Research themes include online communities, social media, crowdsourcing, user interfaces/user experience (UI/UX), emerging interactive technologies (e.g., Augmented Reality, Robotics, and Mobile Sensing), and applications of AI/ML/NLP/Data Science to support positive outcomes for individuals, communities, and society. 

MACHINE LEARNING 
Includes research in developing mathematical foundations and algorithm design needed for computers to learn. Focus areas include fundamental research in machine learning and numerical methods, as well as developing novel algorithms for bioinformatics, data mining, computer vision, biomedical image analysis, parallel computing, natural language processing, and data privacy.

NETWORKED SYSTEMS
Research aims to enable emerging wireless applications via networks and systems support, ranging from hardware design to algorithms development and software integration, from credible simulations to actual system deployment and testing.

Primary Contact

CS Graduate Program Manager
csgrad@mines.edu

Professor and Department Head

Iris Bahar

Professors

Qi Han

Dinesh Mehta

Associate Professors

Hua Wang

Bo Wu

Thomas Williams

Dejun Yang

Chuan Yue

Assistant Professors

Mehmet Belviranli

Dong Chen

Neil Dantam

Gabriel Fierro

C. Estelle Smith

Teaching Professors

Tolga Can

Vibhuti Dave

Jeffrey Paone

Christopher Painter-Wakefield

Teaching Associate Professors

Wendy Fisher, Assistant Department Head

Kathleen Kelly

Teaching Assistant Professors

Amelia Read

Robert Thompson

Zibo Wang

Professors of Practice

Mark Baldwin

Phil Romig

Visiting Teaching Associate Professor

Keith Hellman

Emeriti Professors

Tracy Camp , Emeritus Professor

William Hoff, Emeritus Associate Professor

Cyndi Rader, Emeritus Teaching Professor

PROGRAM DETAILS

The Computer Science Department offers a variety of programs:

There are two Certificate programs; one is a Post-Baccalaureate Professional Computer Science Certificate and the second is a Graduate Certificate in CyberSecurity for Cyber Physical Systems.  Both are offered online.

We also offer the degrees Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science. The master's program is designed to prepare candidates for careers in industry or government or for further study at the PhD level; both thesis and non-thesis options are available. The PhD degree program is sufficiently flexible to prepare candidates for careers in industry, government, or academia. 

Combined Program: The CS Department also offers combined BS/MS degree programs. These programs offer an expedited graduate school application process and allow students to begin graduate coursework while still finishing their undergraduate degree requirements.

Admission PREREQUISITES

BS+MS Combined

Current Mines undergraduate students are encouraged to apply for the combined program once they have taken five or more Computer Science classes at Mines (classes transferred from other universities will not be considered). This requirement may be met by any 200-level or above course with a CSCI prefix (e.g., CSCI200, CSCI306, CSCI442, etc.), excluding CSCI274, CSCI370, CSCI499. 

Students should have an overall GPA of at least 2.5 and a GPA of 3.2 for courses in the major. The calculation of GPA in the major will be based on all 200-level or above CSCI courses except those excluded above (i.e., CSCI274, CSCI370 and CSCI499). If a course is taken multiple times, all of the grades will be included into the GPA calculation. Interested students with a lower GPA must include in their statement of goals/personal statement a section explaining why they should be admitted to the program.

POST-BACCALAUREATE PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER SCIENCE CERTIFICATE

The minimum requirements for admission to the Post-Baccalaureate Professional Computer Science Certificate are:

• Applicants must have a Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, from an accredited institution in an area of study that is not Computer Science.

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN CYBERSECURITY FOR CYBER PHYSICAL SYSTEMS

The minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate Certificate in CyberSecurity for Cyber Physical Systems are:

• Undergraduate-level knowledge on data structures, computer organization, algorithms, and operating systems.
• Undergraduate-level knowledge on statistics and discrete mathematics.
• Undergraduate-level skills on the Linux operating system and shell scripts.
• Undergraduate-level programming skills in languages such as C, C++, Python, Java, JavaScript, and HTML/CSS.

MASTERS AND PHD

The minimum requirements for admission to the MS and Ph.D degrees in Computer Science are:

• Applicants must have a Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, from an accredited institution with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale.
• Students are expected to have completed the following coursework at Mines or equivalent at another institution: (1) CSCI200 FOUNDATIONAL PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS & DESIGN: Foundational Programming Concepts and Design, (2) CSCI220: Data Structures and Algorithms, (3) CSCI306: Software Engineering, (4) CSCI341: Computer Organization, (5) CSCI358: Discrete Mathematics. The CS graduate admissions committee will require that students who do not meet this expectation demonstrate competency or take remedial coursework.  Such coursework will not count toward the graduate degree. The committee will decide whether to recommend regular or provisional admission.
• Competitive Graduate Record Examination scores (verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing), with a minimum quantitative reasoning score of 151 or higher (or 650 on the old scale). Applicants who have graduated with a Math, engineering, or science degree from Mines within the past five years are not required to submit GRE scores.
• TOEFL score of 79 or higher (or 550 for the paper-based test or 213 for the computer-based test) for applicants whose native language is not English. In lieu of a TOEFL score, and IELTS score of 6.5 or higher will be accepted.
• For the PhD program, prior research experience is desired but not required.  

Admitted Students: The CS Department Graduate Committee may require that an admitted student take undergraduate remedial coursework to overcome technical deficiencies. The committee will decide whether to recommend regular or provisional admission.

Transfer Courses: Graduate level courses taken at other universities for which a grade equivalent to a "B" or better was received will be considered for transfer credit with approval of the Advisor and/or Thesis Committee, and CS Department Head, as appropriate.  Transfer credits must not have been used as credit toward a Bachelor degree. For the MS degree, no more than nine credits may transfer. For the PhD degree, up to 24 credits may be transferred. In lieu of transfer credit for individual courses, students who enter the PhD program with a thesis-based master's degree from another institution may transfer up to 36 credits in recognition of the course work and research completed for that degree.

400-level Courses: As stipulated by the Mines Graduate School, students may apply toward graduate degree requirements a maximum of nine (9.0) credits of department-approved 400-level course work.

Advisor and Thesis Committee: Students must have an Advisor from the CS faculty to direct and monitor their academic plan, research, and independent studies. Advisors must be full-time permanent members of the faculty. In this context, full-time permanent members of the faculty are those that hold the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, research professor, associate research professor or assistant research professor. Upon approval by the Graduate Dean, adjunct faculty, teaching faculty, visiting professors, emeritus professors and off-campus representatives may be designated additional co-advisors. A list of CS faculty by rank is available in the faculty tab of the catalog.

Master of Science (thesis option) students in CS must have at least three members on their Thesis Committee; the Advisor and one other member must be permanent faculty in the CS Department. CS PhD Thesis Committees must have at least four members; the Advisor/co-advisor and two additional members must be permanent faculty in the CS Department, and one member must be outside the departmental faculty and serving as chair of the committee. Students who choose to have a minor program must select a representative from the minor area of study to serve on the Thesis Committee.

Degree Audit and Admission to Candidacy: Master students must complete the Degree Audit form by the posted deadline. PhD students need to submit the Degree Audit form by the posted deadline and need to submit the Admission to Candidacy form by the posted deadline of the semester in which they want to be considered eligible for reduced registration.

Time Limit: As stipulated by the Mines Graduate School, a candidate for a Masters degree must complete all requirements for the degree within five years of the date of admission into the degree program. A candidate for a doctoral degree must complete all requirements for the degree within nine years of the date of admission into the degree program.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Mines' Combined Undergraduate/Graduate Degree Program

Students enrolled in Mines’ combined undergraduate/graduate program may double count up to six credits of graduate coursework to fulfill requirements of both their undergraduate and graduate degree programs. These courses must have been passed with “B-” or better, not be substitutes for required coursework, and meet all other University, Department, and Program requirements for graduate credit.

Students are advised to consult with their undergraduate and graduate advisors for appropriate courses to double count upon admission to the combined program.

Current Mines undergraduate students are encouraged to apply for the combined program once they have taken five or more Computer Science classes at Mines (classes transferred from other universities will not be considered). This requirement may be met by any 200-level or above course with a CSCI prefix (e.g., CSCI200, CSCI306, CSCI442, etc.), excluding CSCI274, CSCI370, CSCI499.  Students should have an overall GPA of at least 2.5 and a GPA of 3.2 for courses in the major. The calculation of GPA in the major will be based on all 200-level or above CSCI courses except those excluded above (i.e., CSCI274, CSCI370 and CSCI499). If a course is taken multiple times, all of the grades will be included into the GPA calculation. Interested students with a lower GPA must include in their statement of goals/personal statement a section explaining why they should be admitted to the program.

Master of Science - Computer Science

The MS degree in Computer Science (Thesis or Non-Thesis option) requires 30 credits. Requirements for the thesis MS are 21 hours of coursework plus 9 hours of thesis credit leading to an acceptable Master's thesis; thesis students are encouraged to find a thesis advisor and form a Thesis Committee by the end of the first year. The non-thesis option consists of two tracks: a Project Track and a Coursework Track.  Requirements for the Project Track are 24 hours of coursework plus 6 hours of project credit; requirements for the Coursework Track are 30 hours of coursework.  All MS Non-Thesis students must take at least 12 credits of CSCI 500-level coursework, excluding Independent Study credits. The following four core courses are required of all students. Students may choose elective courses from any CSCI graduate course offered by the Department. In addition, up to six credits of elective courses may be taken outside of CSCI. Lastly, a maximum of six Independent Study course units can be used to fulfill degree requirements. 

CSCI406	ALGORITHMS (offered every semester)	3.0
CSCI442	OPERATING SYSTEMS (offered every semester)	3.0
CSCI561	THEORY OF COMPUTATION (offered every fall)	3.0
CSCI564	ADVANCED COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE (offered every spring)	3.0

MS Project Track

Students are required to take six credits of CSCI700 to fulfill the MS project requirement. (It is recommended that the six credits consist of two consecutive semesters of three credits each.) At most six credits of CSCI700 will be counted toward the Masters non-thesis degree. Deliverables include a report and a presentation to a committee of two CS faculty including the Advisor. Deliverables must be successfully completed in the last semester in which the student registers for CSCI700. A student must receive two "pass" votes (i.e., a unanimous vote) to satisfy the project option.

MS Thesis Defense 

At the conclusion of the MS Thesis, the student will be required to make a formal presentation and defense of her/his thesis research.  A student must “pass” this defense to earn an MS degree.

CS Minor

A CS Minor at the Master's level requires a minimum of 9 credits of CSCI course work, of which, at least 6 credits of course work must be at the 500-level or above excluding independent studies and graduate seminars. Pursuant to Graduate School rules all minors must be approved by the student's advisor, home department head, and a faculty representative of the minor area of study. A minor may not be taken in the student's major area of study. 

CS@Mines Bridge Program

The Bridge Program is designed for those without a background in CS to have a direct pathway to a Computer Science (CS) Master’s (MS) degree. Students in the CS@Mines Bridge program will complete foundational undergraduate courses which will prepare them for master’s level coursework. Students will then continue to the MS Non-Thesis (NT) program as a full-time or part-time student.

All incoming Bridge students are required to have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited with a grade-point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Bridge students are required to take a set of pre-requisite “Bridge” courses to prepare for the MS degree. Required courses are CSCI195, CSCI200, CSCI220, CSCI306, CSCI341, and CSCI358. Incoming students with no completed coursework in calculus or programming from an accredited institution may need to take Calculus 1-3 and CSCI128 in addition to the Bridge courses stated above. Students must earn a “B” or higher in their Bridge coursework for it to count toward their progress in the program.

For more information regarding the program and application process, please contact our Graduate Program Manager, Kelsie Diaz, at kdiaz@mines.edu.

Doctor of Philosophy - Computer Science

The PhD degree in Computer Science requires 72 credits of course work and research credits. Required course work provides a strong background in computer science. A course of study leading to the PhD degree can be designed either for the student who has completed the master's degree or for the student who has completed the bachelor's degree. The following five courses are required of all students. Students who have taken equivalent courses at another institution may satisfy these requirements by transfer.

CSCI406	ALGORITHMS (offered every semester)	3.0
CSCI442	OPERATING SYSTEMS (offered every semester)	3.0
CSCI561	THEORY OF COMPUTATION (offered every fall)	3.0
CSCI564	ADVANCED COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE (offered every spring)	3.0
SYGN502	INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH ETHICS	1.0

PhD Qualifying Examination

Students desiring to take the PhD Qualifying Exam must have:

• (if required by your advisor) taken SYGN501: The Art of Science (previously or concurrently),
• Completed (previously or concurrently) all core courses,
• Complete (previously or concurrently) at least four CSCI 500-level courses at Mines (only one CSCI599 is allowed), and
• maintained a GPA of 3.5 or higher in all CSCI 500-level courses taken.

The PhD Qualifying Exam must be passed no later than the fourth semester of study. Exception must be formally requested via email to the Qualifying Exam Committee Chair and approved by the Graduate Committee. The PhD Qualifying Exam is offered once a semester. Each PhD Qualifying Exam comprises of two research areas, chosen by the student. The exam consists of the following steps:

Step 1. A student indicates intention to take the CS PhD Qualifying Exam by choosing two research interest areas.

• The primary test area should be the same as the research area of the student's (potential) advisor. This exam will be more open-ended research than the second test area. A formal written report and a formal presentation meeting are required for this exam. The outcome of this exam can be part of the student's dissertation research. In fact, the student is strongly encouraged to create results that can lead to a publication. It is acceptable and encouraged if the advisor is involved to provide suggestions. The student is required to clearly document in the written report how the advisor was involved in the exam.
• The second test area should be from another research area of interest to the student that is (1) supported by faculty within the CS department and (2) different from the student's primary advisor's research area. It is highly recommended that the student choose their secondary test area with an instructor the student has had in one or more courses. This exam will likely be less substantial than the primary exam, e.g., instructions will be more concrete. The purpose of having a second test area is to ensure students can demonstrate both the breadth of knowledge and the capability in doing independent research. Thus, no faculty member is allowed to assist the student in this second exam except for answering clarification questions.

Students must inform the CS Qualifying Committee Chair of their intention to take the exam by a specific date provided by the Chair in the prior semester.

Step 2. The Qualifying Exam Committee Chair creates an exam committee of (at least) four appropriate faculty. The exam committee assigns the student specific tasks with corresponding deliverables for both research areas chosen. The tasks will be some combination from the following list:

• design and evaluate new algorithms or systems for an important research problem, and write a report that summarizes the design and the evaluation results;
• read a set of technical papers, write a summary of the papers read, make a presentation, and answer questions (presentations will be limited to 30-minutes with a hard stop not including Q&A);
• complete a hands-on activity (e.g., develop research software) and write a report that explains the difficulties with the activity and what was learned;
• complete a set of take-home problems;

• write a literature survey (i.e., track down references, separate relevant from irrelevant papers); and

Step 3. The student must complete all deliverables no later than the Monday of Review Week (11:59pm). Failure to meet the deadline is considered a failed attempt. The submitted report on the deadline is considered to be final, i.e., no update is allowed after the due date/time. The oral presentation will be scheduled during Finals Week. Before the oral presentation, the student is not allowed to practice the exam presentation with his/her advisor or research group to get feedback. The student will access exam problems, and submit deliverables through a specified system such as Canvas course/module. Additionally, the specified system will be used to deliver feedback from the committee to the student outlining strengths, weaknesses, recommendations and exam results.

Step 4. Each member of the exam committee makes a recommendation on the deliverables from the following list: strongly support, support, and do not support. To pass the PhD Qualifying Exam, the student must have at least two "strongly supports" and no more than one "do not support".  If a student receives two or more "do not support" votes by the committee members, the student fails the exam. All other cases other than Pass or Fail are considered as Conditional Pass.

Conditional Pass Requirements

If a student receives a Conditional Pass, the student is required to take (an) additional test(s). The exam committee will explicitly specify the deadline for the student to take the additional test in the feedback comments to the student. The deadline will likely be at the beginning weeks of the following semester. The additional test(s) may be the whole or part(s) of the original qualifying exam or may be an additional task, as determined by the exam committee. If the student passes the assigned additional test, the Conditional Pass will be converted into a Pass; otherwise, the outcome of the qualifying exam will be a Fail. 

The student is informed of the qualifying exam decision (Pass, Fail, or Conditional Pass) no later than the Monday after finals week. The student is informed of the outcome of a Conditional Pass test within two weeks after the test. A student can only fail the exam one time. If a second failure occurs, the student has unsatisfactory academic performance that results in an immediate, mandatory dismissal of the graduate student from the PhD program.

PhD Thesis Proposal: After passing the Qualifying Examination, the PhD student is allowed up to 18 months to prepare a written Thesis Proposal and present it formally to the student’s Thesis Committee and other interested faculty.

Admission to Candidacy:  In addition to the Graduate School requirements, full-time PhD students must complete the following requirements within two calendar years of enrolling in the PhD program.

• Have a Thesis Committee appointment form on file in the Graduate Office:
• Have passed the PhD Qualifying Exam demonstrating adequate preparation for, and  satisfactory ability to conduct doctoral research. 

PhD Thesis Defense: At the conclusion of the student’s PhD program, the student will be required to make a formal presentation and defense of her/his thesis research.  A student must “pass” this defense to earn a PhD degree.

CS Minor

A CS Minor at the PhD level requires a minimum of 12 credits of CSCI course work, of which, 9 credits of course work must be at the 500-level or above excluding independent studies and graduate seminars. Pursuant to Graduate School rules all minors must be approved by the student's advisor, home department head, and a faculty representative of the minor area of study. A minor may not be taken in the student's major area of study. 

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN CYBERSECURITY FOR CYBER PHYSICAL SYSTEMS

Program Requirements:

The program consists of four online graduate-level courses:

CSCI560	FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS	3.0
CSCI574	THEORY OF CRYPTOGRAPHY	3.0
CSCI585	INFORMATION SECURITY PRIVACY	3.0
CSCI587	CYBER PHYSICAL SYSTEMS SECURITY	3.0
Total Semester Hrs		12.0

Post-Baccalaureate Professional Computer Science Certificate

Program Requirements:

The program consists of four online undergraduate-level courses:

CSCI200	FOUNDATIONAL PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS & DESIGN	3.0
CSCI220	DATA STRUCTURES AND ALGORITHMS	3.0
CSCI303	INTRODUCTION TO DATA SCIENCE	3.0
CSCI306	SOFTWARE ENGINEERING	3.0
Total Semester Hrs		12.0

Courses