MS/PhD Core Requirements

To demonstrate your breadth of knowledge in computer science, you are required to satisfy a set of core requirements. Students need to satisfy one core course in each of the three areas. In the theory  area, students must select one of two courses to meet the core requirement. In the artificial intelligence area, students must select one of three courses to meet the core requirement. You may select any course from the list of systems cores to satisfy the systems core requirement. The remaining 3 cores may be any combination of core courses. A grade of B+ is required in each core to achieve PhD candidacy and a grade of B is required for any remaining courses used toward the master's degreee.

• At least one of 601 or 611.
• At least one of 682, 683 or 689.
• At least one from a systems short list
• Three other courses at the 600+ level not including 701, 701Y, 879 or courses in the range 691-699, 791-799, 891-899. 

Theory Core Requirement

The Theory core requirement requires that you take or have waived COMPSCI 601 Computation Theory or COMPSCI 611 Advanced Algorithms; it is not possible to pass the Theory core without satisfying this part of the core. The following Theory core courses may be used to fulfill additional core requirements:

Systems Core Requirement

Any one of the following classes may be used to complete the systems core requirement:

Artificial Intelligence Requirement

The AI core requirement requires that you take or have waived COMPSCI 683 Artificial Intelligence, COMPSCI 682 Neural Networks, or COMPSCI 689 Machine Learning; it is not possible to pass the AI core without satisfying this part of the core. The following Artificial Intelligence core courses may be used to fulfill additional core requirements:

Semi-Required Core Requirement 

In addition to the three area requirements above, you must take or have waived three additional courses at the 600 level or above. These courses must not be 701, 701Y, 879 or courses in the range 691-699, 791-799, 891-899 unless they are specifically designated by the faculty as meeting this requirement. The faculty may also designate individual courses in acceptable ranges as not meeting the requirement.

Scheduling Core Course Towards the Portfolio

The faculty encourages PhD students to get involved in research as soon as possible and do not want coursework to delay the start of research; for that reason, it is suggested that you take at most one core course per semester. The portfolio requirements are designed to reflect this recommendation.

At the time of your portfolio submission, you must have completed four core requirements, at least one in each area, and be enrolled in your fifth core.

Some students may prefer to take more than one core course at a time and should feel free to do so if their advisor agrees it makes sense. However, do not neglect the research aspect of your portfolio in doing so. Consult with other students to find out which core courses can easily be combined with others.

(Please do not lose track of other classes that you need to take to satisfy your course credit requirements. The faculty recommendation is meant to diffuse the generally more difficult core coursework, not to have you delay all coursework.)

Waiving a Core Requirement

In some circumstances, it may be possible to waive a core requirement on the basis of equivalent coursework at another institution, more advanced or comprehensive work in the same general area, etc.  Our intention is that you not spend time studying material that you have already mastered. At the same time, we generally want our students to take at least one course in each area in our program, even if it is not on the area-specific lists above.

If you believe it makes sense for you to have a core requirement waived, please download the form and contact the appropriate professor. The instructor will notify the DPD of his or her recommendation. If you are requesting a waiver of more than 1 core course, each professor must be aware of this and sign off on both waiver requests. 
The DPD will then determine whether or not to accept that recommendation. (Such recommendations are rarely declined, though sometimes they are modified.)

Note that waiving a core requirement addresses the core requirement only—it does not absolve you from taking the corresponding credit hours. If you needed to take 18 credits and you waived one 3-credit core course, you still need to take 18 credits.