Program of Masters in Computer Science

This page describes the requirements and rules of the program of Masters in Computer Science. Information for prospective students is available here. For additional information, please contact Diti Anastasopoulos.

Overview

The first two semesters are typically spent taking courses, after which students have the option of pursuing the Thesis Option (involving doing research and writing a thesis) or the Project Option (involving taking three more courses, and doing a smaller research project). Students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. and who have demonstrated sufficient scholastic and research abilities have the possibility of being fast-tracked to the Ph.D. program, without having to fulfill the requirements of the Masters Program.

All newly accepted graduate students must register on a full-time basis. All full-time M.Sc. students should take at least 12 credits per term (graduate courses are weighted either 3 or 4 credits), although special accomodations can sometimes be obtained. A normal work load for first year students is six (6) courses in addition to the "Special Topics" course. All new students enroll in the thesis option. Transfer to the project option is possible after the second term in the program.

Students who have joined the program before Fall 2010 are required to take the two-semester reading course COMP-601 "Special Topics in Computer Science", which is typically taken in the Winter of the first year and the following Summer or Fall. This requirement is now waived and the course is not available for students starting Fall 2010 or after.

B.Sc. / M.Sc. (Thesis) Fast Track

Please see this page for more information about this option.

M.Sc. Thesis Option

Minimum requirements for the M.Sc. degree are:

• Three full-time terms of residence
• Reading course COMP-601 "Special Topics in Computer Science" (Only for students who joined the program before Fall 2010)
• Six courses (a course usually represents three lecture hours per week for one term)
• Thesis with significant scholarly content
• Courses and thesis must total 45 credits

A breakdown of the requirements is listed below:

• COMP-601 4 credits (Only for students who joined the program before Fall 2010)
• 21 credits of 500-, 600-, or 700-level COMP courses, including at least 12 credits of 4-credit courses.
• 24 credits from COMP-691, COMP-696, COMP-697, COMP-698, or COMP-699.

M.Sc. students may register for the Summer term, if they wish, in order to complete their residence requirements. It typically takes three to six months to complete the thesis. It is strongly recommended that students intending to proceed to a Ph.D. follow this program.

M.Sc. Thesis Computational Science and Engineering Option

Please see the course requirements for the M.Sc. Thesis CSE Option and visit the Computational Science & Engineering website.

M.Sc. Thesis Bioinformatics Option

Please see the the requirements for the bioinformatics graduate option and visit the McGill Centre for Bioinformatics website.

M.Sc. Project Option

After completion of their second term, students may request (from the M.Sc. Committee) to take the M.Sc. Project Option. This program requires additional courses and a project in lieu of a thesis. Minimum requirements for M.Sc. Project Option are as follows:

• Three full-time terms of residence
• Reading course COMP-601 "Special Topics in Computer Science" (Only for students who joined the program before Fall 2010)
• Nine courses
• Research project, using these guidelines for the project report and abstract
• Courses and project must total at least 45 credits

A breakdown of the requirements is listed below:

• COMP-601 4 credits (Only for students who joined the program before Fall 2010)
• 30 credits of 500-, 600-, or 700-level COMP courses, including at least 12 credits of 4-credit courses.
• 15 credits from COMP-693, COMP-694, COMP-695.

A project requires approximately the same amount of work as two courses. This program is recommended for students who plan to pursue a non-academic career in computing.

Annual Progress Report

Each student must meet annually with his/her supervisor or co-supervisors to assess the progress made during the previous year, and describe plans for the coming year. The progress form below must be filled by the student, discussed with the supervisor, and signed by both. A progress before must be filled each year (except the first year) before September 30th, and submitted to Diti Anastasopoulos.

Annual Progress Form (Word document)
Annual Progress Form (PDF document)
Annual Progress Form (Tex document)

Contact

For more information, please contact Diti Anastasopoulos