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CALENDARS (Undergraduate and Graduate) (2008-Current)
Fall 2020 Graduate Calendar
COMPUTER SCIENCE
PROGRAMS
Master of Applied Computing (MAC)
Master of Science in Computer Science (MSc)
(with and without Co-op)
Master of Science in Computer Science (MSc) (with and without Co-op) with Artificial Intelligence Stream
PhD in Computer Science (PhD)
COURSES
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Master of Applied Computing (MAC)
The Master of Applied Computing is a professional program that will provide students with a solid foundation and knowledge of industry-oriented practical aspects of Computer Science, which will enable them to take up positions in the growing software industry in Canada and around the world.
Admission Requirements
In order to be admitted to the program, a student must hold a 4-year bachelor degree in Computer Science or related discipline with a minimum major average of 70% or an average of 77% or better in the last 2 years of study. Applicants are required to include a 'statement of interest' (maximum 2 pages) with their application that includes a description of a major technology project they have undertaken in the past 3 years.
Students with a 4-year bachelor degree in other non-Computer Science disciplines will be eligible for admission if they are accepted into and complete the University of Windsor’s one-year Bachelor of Computer Science for University Graduates program with a 70% average or better.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to have a demonstrated background in computer science and mathematical foundations, advanced programming, hardware architecture and systems concepts. Admission is highly competitive and preference will be given to applicants who exceed the minimum requirements and who have demonstrated work experience in the field. Candidates who lack the recommended background may be considered for admission on a case by case basis.
Candidates must demonstrate English proficiency by meeting or exceeding an IELTS score of 6.5 (or equivalent). If an applicant receives an IELTS English language proficiency score of less than 6.5 (or equivalent) they may be offered a conditional letter of acceptance pending successful completion of an approved English Language Training program, such as the University of Windsor’s Centre for English Language Development’s English Language Improvement Program (ELIP).
International applicants to graduate programs in Computer Science must demonstrate English proficiency by meeting or exceeding an IELTS overall score of 6.5 (or equivalent), with no more than one band score
s
of 6.0, and no band score below 6.0 (or TOEFL of 92).
Applicants must pass a successful interview with a representative or agent acting on behalf of the University of Windsor and submit two letters of reference.
Degree Requirements
Total courses:
30 credit hours (10 courses - 3.0 credit hours each)
(a) Take the following 8 courses:
COMP-8117. Advanced Software Engineering Topics
COMP-8157. Advanced Database Topics
COMP-8347. Internet Applications and Distributed Systems
COMP-8547. Advanced Computing Concepts
COMP-8567. Advanced Systems Programming
COMP-8677. Networking and Data Security
COMP-8967. Internship/Project I
COMP-8977. Internship/Project II
NOTE:
The above courses, except COMP-8967 and COMP-8977, may be offered in an accelerated 4 or 6 week format.
(b) Two of the following:
BSMM-8120. Finance in a Global Perspective
BSMM-8140. Marketing
BSMM-8130. Managing Employees
COMP-8xxx. Any graduate level lecture course offered by the School of Computer Science, excluding COMP-8100 (Literature Review and Survey) and COMP-8900 (Directed Special Studies).
ESCI-8818. Special Topics
Stream
: students may specialize in Artificial Intelligence, if they successfully complete COMP-8700
,
COMP-8790 and the COMP-8977 internship/project course on an approved topic in Artificial Intelligence. For these students, a special annotation will be made on their transcripts, stating that they were in the Artificial Intelligence stream.
Suggested Program Sequencing
Term 1:
COMP-8117. Advanced Software Engineering Topics
COMP-8547. Advanced Computing Concepts
One of the following four:
BSMM-8120. Finance in a Global Perspective,
BSMM-8130. Managing Employees
BSMM-8140. Marketing,
ESCI-8818. Special Topics
COMP-8xxx. Any graduate level lecture course offered by the School of Computer Science, excluding COMP-8100 Literature Review and Survey, COMP-8900 Directed Special Studies.
Term 2:
COMP-8157. Advanced Database Topics
COMP-8567. Advanced Systems Programming
One of the following four:
BSMM-8130. Managing Employees
BSMM-8140. Marketing
BSMM-8120. Finance in a Global Perspective,
ESCI-8818. Special Topics
COMP-8xxx. Any graduate level lecture course offered by the School of Computer Science, excluding COMP-8100 Literature Review and Survey and COMP-8900 Directed Special Studies.
Term 3
COMP-8347. Internet Application and Distributed Systems
COMP-8677. Networking and Data Security
COMP-8967. Internship/Project I
Term 4
COMP-8977. Internship/Project II
NOTE: Course sequencing may change (except COMP-8967), particularly for Term 2 and Term 3.
Internship Requirements
Students will be required to complete an approved
work-placement internship
as part of their
COMP 8977
course.
Exceptionally, if a student is unable to secure a work-placement with an industry partner, he/she will be assigned an on-campus supervised project.
Students will receive credit for the course
COMP 8977
(worth
3
credit hours) upon successful completion of
their
internship.
In exceptional circumstances and on a case-by-case basis, the internship could be extended for up to an additional 4-month term, with the permission of the School of Computer Science. In this case, an additional fee will be paid by students to cover the cost of the internship extension.
Standing Required for Continuation in the Program
Students must maintain an average of 70%. Students may be permitted to have at most two course grades between 60-69%, on a case by case basis, based on recommendation from the MAC program committee.
Standing Required for Graduation
In order to graduate, students must have an average of 70%. Students may be permitted to have at most two course grades between 60-69%, on a case by case basis, based on recommendation from the MAC program committee.
Master of Science in Computer Science (MSc) (with and without Co-op)
Admission Requirements
Graduates of the University of Windsor or of other recognized colleges or universities may be admitted to programs leading to the Master's degree. A student with an honours Bachelor's degree or equivalent with adequate specialization in Computer Science and with at least a 70% average in the major subject may be admitted to a minimum one-year Master's program (II Master's Candidate). A student with an honours Bachelor's degree in a related subject and with at least a 70% average in the major subject may be admitted to a minimum two-year Master's program (I Master's Qualifying followed by II Master's Candidate) or to a minimum two-year II Master's Candidate program depending upon prior qualifications.
Students with deficiencies in some areas of Computer Science may be required to make up those deficiencies by registering in undergraduate courses prior to or as part of their graduate program or by following a program of supervised reading.
Students eligible to participate in the proposed co-op education will have successfully completed at least one semester of full-time study at the Master’s level in the School of Computer Science at the University of Windsor, which includes fulfilling the requirement of attending regular departmental seminars.
International applicants to graduate programs in Computer Science must demonstrate English proficiency by meeting or exceeding an IELTS overall score of 6.5 (or equivalent), with no more than one band score
s
of 6.0, and no band score below 6.0 (or TOEFL of 92).
Degree Requirements
1) The requirements for the degree of Master of Science will be satisfied by pursuing a program of studies consisting of five approved courses and a thesis. (A thesis is a major research project which must involve substantial innovative work generally culminating in original results.)
2) In addition to the above course work, students are expected to attend regular departmental seminars throughout their MSc. studies, as a fulfilment of this requirement.
3) With prior approval of the graduate coordinator, candidates may be permitted to include graduate courses offered by other departments in their program.
4) No student will be allowed to include in his or her program a course which substantially overlaps a course previously taken.
5) All candidates' programs are subject to approval by the Computer Science program graduate committee.
6) Students must maintain a minimum overall average of 70%, and obtain a passing grade in all courses to remain in good standing in the program. A grade of less than 70% in a graduate course will be considered as a failure for that course.
7) A student who fails to maintain the minimum overall average of 70% will be automatically placed on probation in the following term.
8) A student who obtains a grade below 60% in any course will be automatically placed on probation in the following term.
9) A student who fails to achieve satisfactory performance in any aspect of the program (course work, thesis or major paper) may be required to withdraw.
The Master's thesis committee is chosen in the manner described under the section titled,
The Program Requirements for the Master's Degree
. The final examination will take the form of an open seminar in the presence of the Master's committee. The examination will be open to the public.
Each student must obtain approval of his or her program, in writing, from the graduate coordinator within three weeks of registration. Subsequent changes require written approval from the graduate coordinator.
Co-op Program Requirements
Recruitment and selection into the co-op element of this program will take place in each of the fall, winter and summer semesters. Admission and pre-employment readiness training will be held in one semester, students will compete for positions in the next semester and complete one eight-month placement (equivalent of two work terms) in the following two semesters.
In addition to the Program Requirements for the Master of Science Degree, students participating in the co-op option must satisfy the following conditions:
1) Have been a full-time student in the Master’s program in Computer Science;
2) Have successfully completed a minimum of one study term prior to applying for admission to the co-op stream;
3) Can not be on a leave of absence in the two terms immediately prior to the work terms;
4) Have at least one semester of study remaining upon completion of their work terms in a maximum of three years in the Master’s program;
5) Have obtained written permission from the academic supervisor/co-supervisors;
6) Have their placement(s) confirmed by the Centre for Career Education
7) Are not planning to take courses during the work terms.
All Co-op positions must be full-time, paid, related to the degree program and approved by the University. The process of securing a co-op position is competitive. Co-op students will apply for work opportunities as advertised by the Centre for Career Education using an Internet-based software program and employers will make interview and hiring decisions. Students are also encouraged to seek co-op employment outside of the advertised postings by completing a guided job search process facilitated by the Centre for Career Education.
Withdrawal from the co-op program will be granted on an exception basis only as it must be determined that the student has no outstanding commitments to employers. Students who wish to withdraw must meet with a Co-op Coordinator and complete a withdrawal form. However, the only time a student may withdraw from an undergraduate co-op program without further co-op fee payment implications is by the 1st Friday of classes after their first co-op work term. Students who withdraw from Co-operative Education at any other time will be liable for paying the co-op fee for the term in which they are dropping and one additional term. This will help offset the costs of developing another student for placement.
In the interest of building solid partnerships with employers, students who have accepted a co-op employment offer (either by ranking a position in round 1 of the job competition or by accepting a position either verbally or in writing in later rounds) must honour that commitment. Therefore, once students have accepted an offer of employment for a work term, they will be considered registered in the appropriate work term course and must remain in the co-op program until they have completed their work term requirements. Failure to honour these commitments and/or to complete all work term requirements will lead to being required to withdraw from the co-op program and will result in a failing grade on his/her transcript for that work term.
Master of Science in Computer Science (MSc) Artificial Intelligence Stream Requirements
In addition to the Program Requirements for the Master of Science Degree programs above (ie, both the M.Sc-CS-AI and the MSc-CS-AI-Coop), students participating in the AI Stream must satisfy the following conditions:
Major Requirements
:
1. Five (5) courses:
(a) One of the Following:
COMP-8590 Statistical Learning
COMP-8610 Neural Network and Deep Learning
COMP-8740 Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition
(b) Two of the Following:
COMP-8590 Statistical Learning
COMP-8610 Neural Network and Deep Learning
COMP-8700 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
COMP-8720 Topics in Artificial Intelligence
COMP-8730 Natural Language Processing and Understanding
COMP-8740 Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition
COMP-8750 Knowledge Representation and Reasoning
COMP-8760 Advanced Search Methods
(c) Two of the Following: COMP-8XX0: Any graduate level course offered by the School of Computer Science, excluding COMP-8010 (Work Term), COMP-8970 (MSc. Thesis) and COMP-9980 (Doctoral Dissertation Research).
2.
Research Thesis:
COMP-8970: A research thesis in an approved Artificial Intelligence topic. A thesis is a major research project which must involve substantial innovative work in Artificial Intelligence, generally, culminating in original results.
Additional Requirements
:
3.
Students are expected to attend regular departmental seminars in Artificial Intelligence-related topics throughout their M.Sc. studies, as a fulfilment of this requirement.
4.
With prior approval of the graduate coordinator, candidates may be permitted to include graduate courses in Artificial Intelligence or Artificial Intelligence-related topics offered by other departments in their program.
Students who complete the Artificial Intelligence Stream will have a special annotation on their transcript, stating their Artificial Intelligence specialization.
Computer Science (PhD)
The general regulations for the Degree of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at the University of Windsor, as set out in the section titled,
The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
, will apply together with the more specific requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in Computer Science given in the following section. For admission, continuation in good standing, and graduation, students must satisfy both the general university regulations and the specific regulations for Computer Science.
Admission Requirements
In order to be considered for admission to the doctoral program in Computer Science, applicants must have completed a thesis-based Master's degree in Computer Science, or, have completed a course-based Master's degree in Computer Science, and have demonstrated to the Admissions Committee, the ability to conduct independent research through the completion of research-oriented project work or appropriate research experience in industry or academia
.
, or have completed an honours undergraduate degree in Computer Science, and a thesis-based Master’s in a closely related field.
International applicants to graduate programs in Computer Science must demonstrate English proficiency by meeting or exceeding an IELTS overall score of 6.5 (or equivalent), with no more than one band score
s
of 6.0, and no band score below 6.0 (or TOEFL of 92).
Outline of Degree Requirements
All Ph.D. students must fulfill the following graduate academic requirements:
(a)A qualifying examination within four months after entering the program.
(b)No less than two and usually no more than four graduate courses.
(c)A comprehensive examination within two years after entering the program.
(d)A research proposal within two years of entering the program.
(e)Submission of an annual progress report.
(f)Presentation of three seminars, including the research proposal.
(g)A final examination consisting of a Ph.D. dissertation defense (COMP-9980).
Qualifying Examination
The qualifying examination must be taken by all students entering the doctoral program.
The qualifying examination is intended to ensure that the student has a mastery of the fundamentals in Computer Science in order to undertake research. This is a breadth requirement in that it does not require the student to be able to undertake research in each of the fundamental areas. Rather, the student must demonstrate knowledge, in each of the fundamental areas, at a level that would be expected of a graduate from a four-year honours Computer Science university-degree program.
The student must obtain at least an overall grade of 70% in the tests and/or course works done for the qualifying examination.
Graduate Courses
Each student must complete no less than two and usually no more than four graduate Computer Science courses, not including those taken for credit in a Master's degree, and not including seminar or thesis courses. Graduate course selection will be determined by the student's Doctoral Committee. Graduate credit will be given for a grade of 70% or higher in a graduate course.
Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination is one in which the student is asked to demonstrate a reasonable mastery of the field of specialization; it is designed to test the student's command of knowledge and ability to integrate that knowledge, after completion of all or most of the graduate course work. Normally, this examination is completed during the second year of graduate study and is a prerequisite to admission to candidacy.
Admission to Candidacy
A student is admitted to candidacy when the student has passed the qualifying examination, has completed all of the required graduate courses, and has passed the comprehensive examination.