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NOTE to Fall Applicants:

All of the application materials are sent directly to the Enrollment Services Office for scanning. They are currently receiving an enormous amount of mail daily and are doing their very best to scan the materials in a timely manner. If the mail carrier can verify that we received your materials, then rest assured that we have them.

We are expecting to receive roughly 1000 applications for the Fall semester. Due to this high volume, updates to the applications will be taking place between now and mid January. Offers are expected to be made to the accepted applicants during the first week of March.

We understand your eagerness to receive updates regarding your application. However, it is best to keep checking your status online and to refrain from sending emails. The more time we take to respond to emails, the less time we have to update the applications.

Thank you for your understanding and your patience with the application process.

Link to the Online Application

Contents

1. Relevant Addresses and Dates
   
2. Location
   
3. Research Opportunities
   
4. Applying for Admission
   
5. Financial Information
   • Fellowships
   • RA Spots at the Fraunhofer Center
6. Degree Requirements Summary
   
7. Student Organizations
   
8. Faculty

1. Relevant Addresses and Important Dates

*NOTE: Dates for offers to be sent by the Department are extremely tentative and may vary. The Department will notify applicants as quickly as possible; your patience is appreciated.

2. Location

The Washington area is one of the most verdant metropolitan areas in the US, with large areas devoted to wildlife refuges and scenic parks. Surrounding the Washington area are nearby state and national parks and waterways in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, from the Shenandoah and Appalachian Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay and Assateague seashores.

The area enjoys a full four-season climate, yet the winters are mild relative to most places in the northern US. The average daytime temperature in winter usually above freezing, snow stays on the ground for at most a few weeks in the winter, and Spring starts early in March.

3. Research Opportunities

The Computer Science Department has close ties to various research units on campus, providing faculty and students opportunities for collaborative research projects and access to specialized research facilities. Among these units:

• The Center for Automation Research (CfAR) does research on advanced automation in business and industry.
• Computer Vision Laboratory (CVL) is considered one of the three best vision groups in the world.
• The University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) fosters interdisciplinary research in computing throughout the University of Maryland System.
• The Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCIL) is an international leader in research on the development and evaluation of advanced user interfaces technologies.
• The Institute for Systems Research (ISR) is a National Science Foundation Center of Excellence doing research in the areas of automation, communication, database management, and VLSI.
• The Engineering Research Center (ERC) fosters cooperative research projects between industry and the University.

Research support from these various organizations supplements the Computer Science Department's resources and helps to attract some of the brightest and best young computer scientists.

4. Applying for Admission

• CMSC 311: Computer Organization
• CMSC 330: Organization of Programming Languages
• CMSC 420: Data Structures
• CMSC 451: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms
• MATH 140: Calculus I
• MATH 141: Calculus II
• MATH 240: Linear Algebra

Applications are evaluated on the basis of educational and work experience, recommendation letters, and test scores. The General GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) is required for all applicants. The Subject (advanced) GRE is not essential but recommended, especially if your CS background is not very strong. The average score for the General GRE is: Verbal- 580, Quantitative- 780, and Analytical- 5.0. International students require TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and, if applying for aid, TSE and TWE (tests of spoken English and written English). Undergraduate grade point averages are generally 3.5 or above. However, each applicant is considered individually, and reasonable exceptions can be made in particular cases.

Only a small fraction of those who apply are admitted to the graduate program. Satisfying the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Both GPA and GRE scores of students admitted in recent years have been much higher than the average scores.

Getting Application Forms

• Apply online at the Web site http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.htm. Please do not submit a hardcopy to either the Department or the Graduate School. (NOTE: The four letter program code for Computer Science is CMSC.)
• If you are not able to complete the online application, you may download the application packet from the Web site http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/forms/2006_Application_Booklet.pdf and send to the Enrollment Services Office-Graduate Admissions (see address below).

Supporting material

The following materials should be sent to:

1. A completed application. Complete the electronic application located here. For other application options, please click here.
2. A non-refundable application fee of $60.00. If you did not process your fee payment online via the On-line Application you may send it to the Enrollment Services Office using the Credit Card/International Check form.
   
3. One complete set of transcripts reflecting all undergraduate and graduate work completed or in progress. Each transcript must bear the signature of the registrar and the seal of the granting institution and should include the years of attendance, courses taken, grades received, class standing and the degree, certificate or diploma received. If the applicant attended the University of Maryland, College Park, the Graduate School will obtain your records of courses completed on the College Park campus. To facilitate the processing and review of an application, unofficial copies of transcripts from institutions other than the University of Maryland, College Park may be used for review processes. Official copies of those transcripts, however, are required before full admission can be granted.
   
4. A Maryland In-State Status Form, if you wish to apply for Maryland resident status. Students who apply online do NOT have to submit this form in hardcopy as well.
   
5. Three letters of recommendation submitted by professors or others who can assess the quality of the applicant's academic performance and scholastic potential. Be certain that the applicant's full name is included on each recommendation. The University strongly encourages all applicants to submit recommendations online via the Apra/MEGS system. If this is not possible, hard-copy forms are available at http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/forms/recform/pdf.
   
6. Statement of Goals, Experiences, and Research Interests Many graduate programs require applicants to prepare a statement of their goals and objectives in pursuing graduate study. You may also submit this information using the online application.
   
7. Standardized Test Scores. Many graduate programs require applicants to submit scores of standardized examinations, such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). To determine if one of these examinations is required for admission to the program to which you are applying, please consult the program listing in the application brochure. If standardized test scores are required, you may write to the following addresses for further information:

   Graduate Record Examinations
   Educational Testing Services
   P.O. BOX 6000
   Princeton, NJ 08541-6000 USA
   (609) 771-7670

   Graduate Management Admissions Test
   Educational Testing Services
   P.O. Box 6103
   Princeton, NJ 08541-6103 USA
   (609) 921-9000

   Miller Analogy Test
   Psychological Corporation
   555 Academic Court
   San Antonio, TX 78204
   1-800-228-0752

   Examination scores should be sent to the University via the testing authority. The University of Maryland, College Park institutional code for the GRE and GMAT is 5814.

The Spring Semester application deadline is October 15. NOTE: Only those who are already students at the University of Maryland, College Park, are eligible to apply for the Spring Semester.

Applicants will be notified of their admission status approximately the first week of March (for fall admission).

Admission can rarely be deferred. Applicants must indicate the semester in which they wish to begin the program. If an applicant does not enroll in the semester admitted, and does not contact the Graduate Education office before the start of the semester, the offer of admission is voided. If an applicant decides to enter the program at a later time, a new application must be submitted.

5. Financial Information

Expenses

Tuition: For the 2006/2007 academic year, in-state tuition is $411.00 per credit and out-of-state tuition is $886.00 per credit. In addition, you must pay $306 in mandatory fees for up to eight credits, and $500 in mandatory fees for nine or more credits. If you receive Financial aid in the form of assistantships or fellowships, the department pays for up to ten credits of tuition, but you are responsible for the mandatory fees. You should also budget approximately $2000.00 per year for books and supplies.

The application form for admission to graduate study includes a place to specify whether or not you need financial aid. Most financial aid consists of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, or fellowships.

Assistantships

Approximately 120 students are supported by graduate research assistantships on research grants and contracts. Research assistants usually work on projects that lead to thesis or dissertation topics. For the 2006/2007 academic year, stipends for graduate research assistants range from $16,400 to $18,300.

In addition to the stipends, teaching and research assistantships cover tuition for up to 10 credits per semester and provide health insurance coverage under the same University benefits plan enjoyed by staff and faculty. Many students also receive summer support.

Fellowships

Within the University of Maryland, fellowships are available from the Department, the Graduate School, and ISR. To apply for Department and Graduate School fellowships, submit the Merit-based Award Form when you file your application. To apply for ISR fellowships, please contact them.

Fellowships are also available from a number of sources outside the University of Maryland, for example, National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships, Fulbright Fellowships, etc. To apply for such fellowships, you should contact the agency which administers them, check with the financial aid office in your current university, or contact the Fellowship Office at the University of Maryland.

6. Degree Requirements Summary

Graduate students in CMPS doctoral programs are expected to develop a mastery of their field, and gain familiarity with their discipline from arrival to graduation. In particular, full-time doctoral students who arrive with a baccalaureate degree normally will:

1. Become engaged in research no later than during their second year and often in their first year.

2. Identify a thesis adviser by the end of their second year.

3. Identify a thesis topic by the end of their third year.

4. Secure admission to candidacy within 3-4 years.

5. Publish at least one paper prior to advancing to candidacy, and several prior to graduating.

6. Complete all requirements and graduate within 5-6 years.

Graduate students may expect:

a) A wide selection of courses.

b) Advice and mentoring by faculty in their program prior to the assignment of an adviser.

c) From their adviser:
  -- Regular access and advice during the research and thesis writing process.
  -- Training in the preparation of oral and written scholarly presentations; in particular the advice and support for the writing of at       least one paper for publication.
  -- Introduction, for example at conferences, to other members of the field.
  -- Assistance and advice with job searches

Degree requirements involve coursework, and for this purpose courses are categorized into seven areas: artificial intelligence, computer systems, database systems, scientific computing, software engineering and programming languages, theory of computing, and visual and geometric computing. In general, no more than six credit hours may be transferred from another university or another program at UMCP.

Master of Science

1. The student must complete 30 credit hours of qualifying courses covering four out of the seven areas.
2. All degree requirements must be completed within five years.
3. Written M.S. comprehensive examinations must be taken in four of the seven areas, and a scholarly paper must be prepared under an advisor's supervision.

Doctor of Philosophy

1. The student must complete a 7-(graduate) course qualifying sequence covering five out of the seven areas, in addition to taking two more graduate courses, as well as complete at least twelve hours of CMSC 899 (Dissertation Research).
2. The student must pass an oral Ph.D. Preliminary Examination on a research proposal and prepared readings. This must be completed within five years of entering the program.
3. The student must prepare a dissertation presenting an original contribution to the field of computer science and pass a final oral examination on the dissertation research. This must be done within four years after passing the Preliminary Examination.

7. Student Organizations

The Executive Council is an elected body of computer science graduate students, which plans activities and addresses issues of concern to the student body. The council also allocates funds from the graduate student activities budget. Sponsored activities typically include a departmental picnic, a weekly graduate student seminar, a very popular weekly coffee-hour, hikes, parties, newspaper subscriptions for the graduate student lounge, forums. etc.

The Department Council advises the Chair on issues affecting the department. It is composed primarily of faculty, but two graduate student representatives attend the meetings, as non-voting members, to provide graduate student input and to keep the graduate students informed of relevant issues.

The Educational Affairs Committee is responsible for the undergraduate and graduate academic programs of the department. Composed primarily of faculty, the committee has two voting graduate student representatives and two voting undergraduate student representatives.

The Graduate Student Government is a campus-wide organization of graduate students for the purpose of improving the quality of graduate student life. Some of the recent activities organized by this organization include protest rallies against taxation of scholarships and assistantships, a campus-wide research conference for Graduate Students, setting up a legal aid service for Graduate Students, distributing a newsletter with information for all Graduate Students, and organizing social events such as dances and weekly "happy hours."

ACM student chapter: The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the principal professional society for computer scientists. Membership is important for maintaining contact with current developments through journal publications, meetings and conferences. Our department has a student chapter of the ACM. Student members receive many of the benefits at a reduced rate: journals, conference registration, etc. Membership becomes extremely important as students move into the final stages of their study and begin submitting papers to conferences and ACM journals.

The Society of Women in Computer Science consists of women from the Department. Its purpose is to encourage women to major in Computer Science, through the establishment of a support system including mentoring, group tutoring, and study groups.

8. Faculty