1. Overview of Graduate Program at CS SFSU Spring 2009 Prof. D. Petkovic

2. Welcome graduate students! MS degree becoming a key for advancement Ability to work with geographically dispersed teams and multidisciplinary teams is increasingly important Combination of general CS skills, domain depth and “soft” skills is critical. Business skills are a also a plus! Welcome foreign students

3. Outline SW trends driving markets, jobs and education Why MS degree About CS Department About the graduate program and new initiatives About the research, theses and culminating experiences Foreign student specifics QA For specific questions see advisors Profs. Levine, Murphy or ask in the CS Office

4. CS Department mission Goals: to be the best in CSU and world famous in selected areas of Computer Science Prepare students for careers in industry Prepare students for further graduate study CS WWW site www.cs.sfsu.eduwww.cs.sfsu.edu We offer BS and MS in CS About 400 undergrads, about 100 grads Most students have MS as terminal degree, and there are some going for Ph.D.

5. MS CS Learning Objectives – in addition to basic ones for BS CS Degree Students will demonstrate in-depth knowledge in one of the offered concentration areas Students will demonstrate a breadth of knowledge in computer science, as exemplified in the areas of systems, theory and software development Students will demonstrate ability to conduct a research or applied Computer Science project, requiring writing and presentation skills which exemplify scholarly style in computer science

6. Important WWW links and info CS WWW site www.cs.sfsu.eduwww.cs.sfsu.edu Here you will find all the info about the program and polices –http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/graduate.htmlhttp://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/graduate.html Page for new grads –http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_helpnotes.htmlhttp://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_helpnotes.html Read office e-mail and newsletters

7. Trends in Software Development Global development of computer software through international cooperation and outsourcing are the main characteristics of current and future software engineering development process Increased emphasis on building SW from components and services developed globally Everything is getting connected with WWW and wireless Critical need for making systems easy to use, on time and budget, and with adequate performance, with geographically dispersed teams Open source software community is another example of global collaborative approach to SW development. New areas: games, sensor networks, biotech, personal devices, medical informatics…

8. Jobs Jobs are plenty CS careers are great –http://computingcareers.acm.org/http://computingcareers.acm.org/ –http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_8_s ure_fire_hires.htmlhttp://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_8_s ure_fire_hires.html BUT –New skills are needed

9. Computing and Life Sciences Biotechnology, bioinformatics and related applications are considered next frontiers for computer science, both technically and in terms of business opportunities Bay Area is one of the world centers of bioinformatics and bio technology SFSU has outstanding programs related to biology and chemistry/biochemistry and skills and interests from Math Every major university is having or will have programs in this area Increased focus by funding agencies, government, politicians and university executives Strong interest among students and faculty  SFSU Center for Computing for Life Sciences http://cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.html

10. Key “tracks” or MS Concentrations at CS SFSU General SW Engineering Computing for Life Sciences Computing and Business (New, started Fall 08)

11. Graduate program description http://www.sfsu.edu/~bulletin/current/programs/co mputes.htm#grad-cshttp://www.sfsu.edu/~bulletin/current/programs/co mputes.htm#grad-cs General, SW. Eng and Computing for Life Sciences Concentrations –Breadth 9 units –Concentration core 9 units –Electives 6 units –Practicum option 3 units –Culminating Experience 6 units Total 30-33 units

12. NEW MS Concentration in Computing and Business – with SFSU BUS school – started Fall 08 3 core CS courses 3 required CS courses as designated in the General Concentration 1 CS elective course 1 Business elective course, approved by advisor. These are drawn from 700- or 800-level courses in Business, Management, Finance, Decision Sciences, or Marketing (3 units) 3 required business courses (8 units) –BUS 780- Accounting –BUS 788 Mng. Principles –BUS 784 Political, Social and legal Environment OR BUS 787 Marketing Equivalent of 2 courses for thesis/project; the thesis/project must have a business component. The student’s culminating experience committee will be composed of 2 CS faculty and one Business faculty. Total 38-41 units

13. Benefits of new MS Concentration in Computing and Business Graduates with this concentration will have the skills to Perform R&D in the computing field Possess the skills and knowledge to manage software development teams or start their companies Assume management responsibilities in organizations that require managers who understand both the computing and business aspects of information technology. Assist with high-tech entrepreneurship ventures - assist in understanding and relating the technical feasibility of new ideas Speak to both high-tech groups, and communicate technical ideas and concepts to non-technical groups in the business organization Contribute to organizations that provide strategy consulting services to high technology companies (staff at these companies needs to have strong backgrounds in both technology and business)

14. Planning for BUS classes BUS classes get full Talk to our advisor Prof. Levine who will talk to BUS graduate advisor before you plan to take the cla1sees Try summer classes too

15. Center for Computing for Life Sciences (CCLS) CCLS is an official multidisciplinary SFSU Center for addressing problems in broad area of Computing for Life Sciences such as: bioinformatics, imaging, collaborative tools, UI, visualization, databases, computational biology and chemistry, applications in drug discovery, collaborative tools, algorithms etc. Goal is to develop CCLS into signature “marquee” program of SFSU CCLS is joint collaboration between Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Math, Physics and Astronomy –http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.htmlhttp://www.cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.html

16. CLS projects Bioinformatics DB for large bio data sets UI for biology and medicine Biomedical imaging Data Mining for bio data WWW for biologist and doctors Games for medical education Medical informatics ….. Many projects have funding. Can get space in CCLS Professors: Sing, Okada, Young, Murphy, Petkovic

17. Serious Games for Nursing Education NEW CCLS project between CS department, School of Nursing and Industry and design Combines CS, graphics, game concepts Faculty contact Prof. I. Yoon, M. Wong (CCLS) Money for research work and culminating experience projects available

18. Cluster Computing New 40 node DELL Cluster operational in CCLS –http://ccls.lab.sfsu.edu/bin/view/Cluster/DellPowerEdg eClusterhttp://ccls.lab.sfsu.edu/bin/view/Cluster/DellPowerEdg eCluster For projects in computational biology and life sciences For education (distributed and parallel computing, data mining…)

19. Graduate seminar (formerly Pernet) Brings outstanding speakers from academia an industry. Every Wednesdays 5:30 in TH 331. Exposes students to great topics and great speakers, helps give ideas for projects and jobs Each graduate student must collect 10 stickers (attendances) over several semesters First two seminars by Prof. D. Petkovic: about graduate program and about department research CS faculty will overview their projects – excellent place to get ideas for culminating experience Starts mid September – check CS WWW page http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/news/Fall-2004-Pernet-Requirments.html

20. Thesis and Culminating project Mandatory Why Culminating Project? –Forces students to do independent work and complete a substantial project or scientific work –Requires writing and presentation skills also –Sets you apart from those who have not done it –Enables you to publish papers and go to conferences Enables CS Department to do research and attract top notch faculty –important for you too Makes our school much more fun

21. Advising - NEW Must see advisor upon start of the program Must attend first Graduate Seminar during the first term (CS Chair will overview grad program) – Wednesdays 5:30 in TH 331 Should attend Chair’s welcome group meeting at the beginning of each semester Get timely advising as often as you need Those planning for Ph. D. program see CS Chair in the first semester Advising page http://cs.sfsu.edu/advising.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/advising.html

22. How to complete Culminating Experience and have fun doing it

23. Outline What is culminating experience Why is it good for you Formal requirements and paperwork How to find the project and advisor What is good research/project for culminating experience How to do it? How to write the Culminating Experience Report How to prepare oral presentation Overview of research in CS Department and CCLS

24. Culminating Experience Thesis (CSC 898) vs. Project (CSC 895) http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_culminating_req.html One or two semesters prep (897 or 899) and one semester thesis or project write-up and completion (898 or 895) Those going for Ph. D. talk to CS Chair asap. Advised to take two semester prep and more advanced culminating experience, with external publications

25. Why is Culminating Experience good for you It is Mandatory Why? –Forces students to do independent work and complete a substantial project or scientific work –Requires writing and presentation skills also –Sets you apart from those who have not done it –Enables you to publish papers and go to conferences –Prepares you for jobs and Ph.D. studies Enables CS Department to do research and attract top notch faculty –important for you too Makes our school much more fun

26. Formal requirements and paperwork Please follow the process and observe the schedules http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/forms/aboutculminatingproject.html Follow the suggested course of study: http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/grad_recom_sequence.html

27. How to find advisor and project Check CS WWW site for faculty pages and their work http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/People/people.html http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/People/people.html Check CS accomplishments and published papers to get an idea what work is going on and who is doing it, then talk to them http://cs.sfsu.edu/RecentAccomplishments.htm http://cs.sfsu.edu/externalpubs/2004pubs.htm Attend Graduate Seminar Series and other seminars at SFSU Check CCLS page for current projects http://cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/index.html Do your own research for topics (WWW, friends, technical press) Take the course form the professors teaching your favorite topics favorite professor Ask professors, meet with the Chair Check previous theses and projects http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/techreports/ce_list.html http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/techreports/ce_list.html

28. How to find an advisor Faculty will participate in Graduate Seminars series and present their work Prof. Petkovic will meet once a semester with all grads who do not have an advisor and should have it (second semester or later). Main responsibility is on the student If nothing works see the Chair Let CS Chair know if you want to go for Ph. D.

29. What is good research for culminating experience Novel algorithm solving something useful New user interface or visualization New application (use of complex machine vision, AI, visualization, search…) Substantial SW project (complex WWW site, useful application etc.) Data management and analysis system for some application (e.g. drug development) Performance study (networking, search, storage, cluster computing) Computing for life sciences : intersection of CS and biology and chemistry …………….. In all cases one has to prove the usefulness: theoretically, experimentally, user studies etc. – whichever applies Culminating experience examples: http://cs.sfsu.edu/techreports/ce_list.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/techreports/ce_list.html

30. How to do the research Requires independence, focus and follow up Understanding of the problem Literature review (what did others do) Design, analysis, prototyping Experiments Implementation Writing It requires much more independence then class work It is student responsibility to follow up, not the instructor!

31. Project Proposal Submitted as part of your culminating experience package  Needed for enrolling into 895 http://www.sfsu.edu/%7Egradstdy/culminating- experience.htmhttp://www.sfsu.edu/%7Egradstdy/culminating- experience.htm It is a “contract” between you and advisor on what you want to do, scope, methods, tools used etc. Has to be approved by the advisor. Suggested Content: Motivation, planned approach, benefits of the approach, method/tools to be used, reverences PLUS milestones and schedule (the best you can) – for exact outline check with your advisor About 5-8 pages

32. How to write culminating experience report There is some structure http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/writing_cpr.html Usual length about 60-70 pages (no code) Code on a CD Requires time Expect multiple iterations with the instructor It becomes your “portfolio” for the rest of your life Make every attempt possible to write a scientific paper form this (must for those going to Ph. D).

33. How to prepare oral presentation Being able to present well is critical for your career Culminating experience presentation: plan to talk 30 min. Count 1 slide = 2 min. Test the presentation on the very same laptop you will use Get feedback from advisor Do early motivation and demo, then details Talk to the audience, not the screen Practice for time and delivery Resources: http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/student%20forms/prep_oral_presentations.htm

34. Overview of research and CS Department and CCLS CS Department: check papers, faculty pages http://cs.sfsu.edu/externalpubs/2004pubs.htm http://cs.sfsu.edu/People/people.html CCLS: Check projects http://cs.sfsu.edu/ccls/projandgrants.htm

35. Some project ideas/people DB/UI/Applications in biology and bioinformatics and CLS area: Profs. Singh, Yoon, Okada, Yang, Petkovic DB Tools, Multimedia databases: Profs. Murphy, Singh, Petkovic Bioinformatics: Prof. Singh Visualization/Graphics: Profs. Yoon, Okada WWW Applications, Community applications: Prof. Levine Performance: Prof. Dujmovic WWW info retrieval, WWW 2.0: Profs. Singh, Wong Algorithms, compilers, WWW search: Profs. Wong, Dujmovic Distributed Systems, Open Source: Prof. Puder Multimedia, sound, music: Profs. Hsu, Singh Games: Profs. Yoon, Okada AI, Computer Vision: Prof. Okada, J. Dujmovic Data Mining: Prof. Yang Decision Systems: J. Dujmovic SW Engineering, Business aspects of SW Eng., SW Metrics: Profs. Petkovic, Levine, Dujmovic

36. Foreign students

37. Welcome foreign students! Learn about USA: customs, culture, geography Bay Area is one of the bets areas in USA: geographically, culturally, for education and technology Get internships with local industry Visit places, talk to people from different cultures Learn English (reading, writing) Have fun!

38. Welcome foreign students! Keep GPA and class load above the minimum - Overall GPA 3.0, class load 9 units New “practicum” option for summer internships: Max 3 one unit 893 can be taken that do not count toward electives and allow you permit to work outside of SFSU. Mostly for Summer work. Total units in MS program are then are 33. Need to be at SFSU two semesters prior to this. Internships during the Fall and Spring only rarely approved, must be part time, GPA > 3.4 and OK of the advisor Post completion training allowed only when thesis is more than 90% complete, need confirmation by the advisor AND letter signed by student about the rules (NEW). http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/student%20forms/opt_cpt_letter_instructions.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/student%20forms/opt_cpt_letter_instructions.html

39. Update on Written English proficiency - Level I Requirement: Computer science students admitted to the M.S. program are required to satisfy English Level One prior to the end of their first year of study at SFSU. As a departmental policy, no waivers are given. Level One is satisfied by obtaining either a) a score of 4 or better on the GRE Analytical Writing Exam or b) a score of PASS on the Graduate Essay Test (GET, administered by the SFSU Testing Center) or c) a passing grade in SCI 614 or CHS 514 (international graduate students are strongly encouraged to enroll in Eng 670, if it is offered). Students may enroll in CHS 514 if all sections of SCI 614 are full. SCI 614 is strongly recommended for all students who wish to develop their skills in professional writing. Students are allowed to take the GET only once, preferably prior to their first semester of enrollment.

40. Background

41. Important stuff Visit WWW site and read e-mail Program description http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/grad_program.html http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/grad_program.html Graduate page http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/graduate.htmlhttp://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/graduate.html New grads page http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_helpnotes.html http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_helpnotes.html Importance of early advising. New students MUST see advisor http://cs.sfsu.edu/advising.htmlhttp://cs.sfsu.edu/advising.html Recommended sequence of study, selection of concentration – second semester; finding the advisor http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/grad_recom_sequence.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/grad_recom_sequence.html Graduate seminar series requirement http://cs.sfsu.edu/news/Fall-2004-Pernet-Requirments.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/news/Fall-2004-Pernet-Requirments.html Internships – new polices on 893 (practicum) – important for foreign students http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/student%20forms/893- 694%20Course%20Requirments.pdf http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/student%20forms/893- 694%20Course%20Requirments.pdf

42. More… All steps in preparing culminating project forms http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/aboutculminatingproject.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/forms/aboutculminatingproject.html Culminating experience http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_culminating_req.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/new_grad_culminating_req.html How to write culminating project report http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/writing_cpr.html http://cs.sfsu.edu/grad/writing_cpr.html Cheating and plagiarism http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/plagarism.html http://www.cs.sfsu.edu/plagarism.html International program – Fulda, Germany http://cs.sfsu.edu/news/SFSUFulda.htm http://cs.sfsu.edu/news/SFSUFulda.htm