Overview
For Working Professionals and Future Researchers: Specially Designed Master's and Ph.D. Programs in Computer Science
The University of California, Riverside (UCR) Department of Computer Science and Engineering offers graduate study leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Computer Science. The M.S. program is well suited to professionals seeking greater depth in specific areas, while the Ph.D. program is immersed in the University's research activities and is ideal for those individuals pursuing careers in academic or industrial research.
The M.S. degree requires approximately 48 quarter credits. With full-time study, it is usually completed in four to five academic quarters. M.S. students can choose either a thesis option combining 36 quarter credits of course work with 12 quarter credits of thesis research, or a non-thesis option requiring 44 quarter credits of course work plus a 4-credit capstone project.
A doctorate in computer science typically requires a minimum of five years of full-time study. In addition to fulfilling all the course work requirements of the M.S. thesis track, Ph.D. students must meet two other stringent requirements: they must pass a rigorous set of qualifying examinations and complete an original research project supervised by a faculty adviser familiar with the student's area of specialization. At the conclusion of a Ph.D. candidate's research, a faculty committee will consider the work on the basis of both the written dissertation and its final, oral defense.
UCR Also Offers a Special, Five-Year B.S. + M.S. Program in Computer Science for Exceptionally Qualified Applicants
University of California, Riverside offers a combined B.S. + M.S. program in computer science that leads to a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in five years. Applicants for this program must have a combined SAT Reasoning score over 1950 (or ACT plus Writing equivalent) and a high school GPA above 3.6. In addition, they must complete the Entry Level Writing Requirement before beginning the program, and have sufficient mathematics preparation to take calculus in their first freshman quarter.
State-of-the-Art Equipment and Facilities, and a World-Class Engineering Library, Keep Research Going Strong at UCR
The department has active research programs in many diverse areas, from algorithm design, artificial intelligence, computational biology, computer architecture, computer networks, distributed systems, and operating systems to databases, compilers, software engineering, multimedia systems, VLSI/CAD, embedded systems design, and the theory of computation.
The department is in Engineering Building Unit II, one of the newest buildings within the Bourns College of Engineering. In support of the general campus community, UCR's Computing and Communications Services Organization maintains a number of fully equipped, serviced, and networked computing facilities, as well as research access to the San Diego Supercomputer Center.
UCR opened a new, four-story, 106,000-square-foot Science Library in 1998, right next to Engineering Building Unit II, and the complete engineering collection is housed there. The library has 1,500 reader and computer stations, over 1 million volumes in science and engineering alone, and hundreds of database and online information sources. The library staff includes a dedicated Engineering Librarian.
The Computer Science and Engineering Department Is Quite Strong, and Keeps Getting Stronger
The currently has 4 lecturers and 24 tenure-track faculty members that include 2 ACM Fellows, 3 IEEE Fellows, 3 AAAS Fellows, 1 NSF Presidential Young Investigator, 1 AFOSR Young Investigator, and 7 NSF CAREER award holders. External research funding is some $3.5M annually. Although a relatively young department, it has rapidly become a well-established, recognized research center, with over 150 graduate students enrolled. The department graduates 20-22 Ph.D. students every year and places them in top universities and a range of industries.
Financial Aid, from Fee Grants and Internships to Fellowships, Is Varied Enough to Help Most Every Qualified Student
Various forms of financial assistance are available to graduate students at UCR. Some assistance ranges from fellowship and internship appointments as teaching assistants (TA) or graduate student researchers (GSR) to tuition and fee grants. The department nominates students for fellowships to the campus Graduate Division on a competitive basis, awarding TAs, GSRs, and tuition and fee grants in the same manner. Offers of financial aid may be multiyear, with fellowships and TA and/or GSR appointments combined, while other types of support are need-based and administered directly through the Office of Financial Aid.
The cost of study (tuition) differs for California residents and nonresidents. Fees are varied and subject to change, and are often covered as part of a fellowship or TA or GSR appointment. Living and housing costs vary, with UCR offering a number of options for both on- and off-campus living.
The Campus, the Community and All of Southern California Welcome Students to UCR to Study Hard, but Stay Balanced, Too
The UCR student body is some 16,000 strong, with about 10 percent being graduate students. As most classes are relatively small, close interaction with faculty members is a standard feature of the pedagogy. With modern classroom and office buildings, a capacious University Commons, and the 161-foot Carillon Tower, the campus is both attractive and pleasant.
The 1200-acre UCR campus is on the eastern edge of the city of Riverside, some 60 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It is accessed by several main highways. The Ontario International Airport is close by, with daily flights to the nation's major cities as well as numerous, widely scheduled commuter flights to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Over the years, L.A. has grown to rival New York City in such diverse fields as business, finance, technology, and media. Cultural activities such as art exhibitions, theater, opera, dance, classical music, jazz and rock concerts, put Southern California as a whole, with L.A. at its center, in the league of world-class locales. Riverside, part of what is called "the Inland Empire" of the West Coast, is roughly equidistant from the mountains, desert, and the Pacific Ocean, and all of these recreational destinations can be reached in approximately one hour's travel.
