Download Proposal for Background Requirements Changes

Proposal for Background Requirements Changes
• For the current MS/PhD programs, background requirements are expressed in
the "Background Preparation Worksheet" (form CS-01).
• We propose to replace the current background requirements with these:
A student will demonstrate mastery of the material in the following courses
- COMP 401, 410, 411 (programming, data structures, computer architecture)
- COMP 455, 550
(computation theory, algorithms)
- MATH 233
(calculus sequence)
- COMP 283 (MATH 381) (discrete mathematics)
- MATH 547
(linear algebra)
- STOR 435
(probability and statistics)
Mastery may be demonstrated in the same ways as currently allowed (pass
the UNC course, pass an equivalent course from another institution,
by self-study and/or by examination, as approved by a faculty member).
Summary of Changes
 The largest change comes in no longer requiring that our graduate
students show mastery in specific upper level undergrad classes,
including
 COMP 541 (digital design lab),
 MATH 661 (numerical methods),
 "pick 2" of compilers, programming languages, and operating systems
Rationale
• We are addressing problems that the directors of both the graduate
program and the undergraduate program have told us are significant
hurdles for a large number of our graduate students. The sense of
the committee is that these hurdles are a burden for the students and
the faculty, with limited value or payoff for the students.
• We are operating under the assumption that it is adequate to require
our MS and PhD students to have the same background when
entering the graduate program as our undergraduate majors obtain
when they leave our program with a BS degree.
Rationale
• To this end the stated requirements are essentially the
COMP/MATH/STOR classes required for our BS degree. We have not
included the science classes required of the BS students (and they are
not in the current requirements for the MS/PhD).
• Breadth in undergraduate topics will come from graduate students
being required to have the undergrad prerequisites needed for the
graduate courses they must take for breadth.