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Detailed Information

Programs of Study

The Department of Computing Sciences supports education and research across the broad spectrum of computing. The Department offers the Master of Science (M.S.) in Computer Science Program, the Master of Science in Software Engineering Program, the Bachelor of Science/Master of Science Integrated Program, and graduate certificate programs.

The Master of Science in Computer Science Program provides expertise in applied and basic computing through its course offerings in computer systems, software engineering, languages, and algorithms. It is designed to prepare students for a career as a computing professional, although some students go on to pursue a Ph.D. degree at another university. Students entering the program are required to be proficient in computer programming and have a background in computer architecture and in mathematics. While an undergraduate degree in computing is ideal, students who have completed related courses or have work experience in these areas may be considered.

The M.S. degree in computer science requires the student to complete ten 3-credit courses, including core courses in algorithms and data structures, computer systems, design and analysis of algorithms, linguistics of programming languages, and theory of computability; electives; and an independent study project.

The M.S. degree in software engineering requires the student to complete ten 3-credit courses, including courses in algorithms and data structures, computer systems, software engineering, requirements engineering, software design and evolution, and database concepts; electives; and an independent study project.

In both the M.S. in Computer Science and the M.S. in Software Engineering Programs, the thesis-option elective helps students transition to a Ph.D. program. The independent study course enables the student to explore a computing topic under the guidance of a faculty adviser. Students may choose to participate in a graduate computing practicum that adds 1 credit to the requirements; this track requires work experience in a related field. In both programs, the distribution of requirements between core courses and electives depends on the student’s background. Both programs include entry points for students with a variety of backgrounds.

The Department also offers graduate certificates in knowledge-based systems, networks, systems programming, and Web technologies. Each certificate requires five courses, including an independent study in the topic area. Students enrolled in the Department’s B.S./M.S. Integrated Program are able to graduate with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years.

Research Facilities

The Falvey Memorial Library houses more than 107,000 books and 1 million microform items and subscribes to approximately 3,000 print journals and fifty newspapers. In addition, an extensive collection of nonprint media includes more than 6,000 videotapes, audiotapes, and CDs. The Special Collections area houses approximately 15,000 items; some of these items are rare or unique, and most require special handling and preservation.

The Office for University Information Technologies (UNIT) maintains all central and distributed computers throughout the University and manages two public student labs with more than 170 workstations. In addition, the Department maintains research laboratories in areas of artificial intelligence, software engineering, multimedia systems, and information retrieval/digital libraries. The University is an institutional member of the ACM Digital Library, providing full-text access to all publications of the ACM.

Financial Aid

Graduate assistantships provide tuition remission and stipends of $13,100 per academic year in exchange for working 20 hours per week in the Department as teaching or research assistants or as systems support or office support staff members. Tuition scholarships award full remission of tuition and academic fees in exchange for 7 hours of work per week. The Villanova Computing Scholars Program awards $3125 per year to undergraduate students who are accepted into the program. These students participate in enrichment seminars and work on research projects with faculty members.

Cost of Study

Graduate tuition is $675 per academic credit, plus an additional $60 in general fees. Students also pay $50 per year in parking fees.

Living and Housing Costs

No on-campus housing is available to graduate students, but there are many apartment complexes in the area where graduate students find housing. Off-campus housing generally costs $600 to $1400 per month, depending on the apartment’s size and location.

Student Group

There are approximately 60 full-time and 160 part-time students in the graduate program. The majority of students work in high-tech fields, but they come from a wide range of backgrounds. Most hold undergraduate degrees in computer science or computer engineering, but some enter the program with relevant work experience.

Student Outcomes

Some graduates of the program enter a Ph.D. in computer science program, while others go straight into the business world, working in a number of capacities, including software engineering, Web programming, network security, user interface design, data warehousing, corporate information management, database management, expert and knowledge systems, and search engine development.

Location

Villanova University provides a tranquil setting for study and reflection. Situated on the historic Main Line, a western suburb of Philadelphia, Villanova is located on Lancaster Avenue (Route 30), 2 minutes from the Blue Route (Route 476) and 5 minutes from the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Schuylkill Expressway, and Route 202. Philadelphia’s revitalized Center City is 25 minutes away by train, and historic Valley Forge and the Brandywine Valley are easily accessible by car. Villanova is within easy driving distance of several other premier institutions of higher learning, including Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges; Drexel and Temple Universities; and the University of Pennsylvania. With ample parking and mass transit stops right on University grounds, the campus allows for easy travel by car, bus, or train.

The University

Villanova University is an independent coeducational institution of higher learning founded by the Augustinian Order of the Roman Catholic Church. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest and largest Catholic university in Pennsylvania and one of only eighteen Catholic universities to have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. The University consists of five colleges that enroll more than 10,000 students and is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as having one of the top master’s degree programs in the northern region.

Applying

Prospective students are required to submit an application for admission, official transcripts of all previous college work, official GRE scores (if planning full-time study), three letters of recommendation, and a $50 nonrefundable application fee. The deadline to apply is August 1 for fall admission, December 1 for spring admission, and May 1 for summer admission. Those applying for assistantships should apply before April 15. Applications must be sent to the Graduate Studies Office, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085-1699. An online application is available at the University’s Web site at http://www.gradartsci.villanova.edu.

The Faculty and Their Research

• The full-time faculty members in the Department of Computing Sciences are deeply committed to the mission of excellence in pedagogy and research. Their diversity and experience provide a rich environment for growth and learning. Most of the adjunct faculty members are computing professionals from the high-tech corridor surrounding Villanova. Their contributions in teaching and their collaboration with full-time faculty members on various projects bring additional insight from the commercial world into the classrooms.
• Full-Time Faculty
• Robert Beck, Professor and Chair; Ph.D. (mathematics), Pennsylvania. Evaluation techniques and metrics for user interfaces; models for computational biology; symbolic computation, especially for linear algebra and Lie algebras; algorithms for operations research.
• Lillian Cassel, Professor; Ph.D. (computer science), Delaware. Digital libraries and information retrieval on the Web.
• Mirela Damian, Assistant Professor; Ph.D. (computer science), Iowa. Computational geometry, graph theory, mobile computing.
• William Fleischman, Professor; Ph.D. (mathematics), Lehigh. Parallel computing, biological systems monitoring.
• Vijay Gehlot, Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director; Ph.D. (computer and information science), Pennsylvania. Systems modeling and analysis, petri nets, formal methods and specification/verification, programming languages, compilation techniques.
• Don Goelman, Associate Professor; Ph.D. (mathematics), Pennsylvania. Database systems, data modeling, algorithms.
• Catherine Helwig, Instructor; M.S. (computer science), Villanova. Object-oriented software, algorithms, data structures.
• Giorgi Japaridze, Associate Professor; Ph.D. (computer science), Pennsylvania. Modal-logical means of studying provability, logic of resources and tasks.
• Dan Joyce, Associate Professor and Graduate Independent Study Coordinator; Ph.D. (computer science), Temple. Software engineering, software requirements identification, software engineering education within a computer science department.
• Frank Klassner, Associate Professor; Ph.D. (computer science), Massachusetts. Artificial intelligence, Web-based software systems, signal processing.
• Anany Levitin, Professor; Ph.D. (mathematics), Hebrew (Jerusalem). Algorithm design techniques, data and information.
• Mary-Angela Papalaskari, Assistant Professor; Ph.D. (artificial intelligence), Edinburgh (Scotland). Artificial intelligence, computational theory.
• Tom Way, Assistant Professor; Ph.D. (computer science), Delaware. Distributed and parallel computing, human-computer interaction, nanotechnology and nanocomputers, convergence of technology and entertainment industries.
• Barbara Zimmerman, Instructor; M.S. (computer science), Maryland. Object-oriented software, algorithms, database systems.
• Adjunct Faculty
• Robert Arakelian, Adjunct Instructor. Information security.
• Tim Ay, Adjunct Instructor; M.S. (computer science), Villanova. Artificial intelligence, software project management.
• Nancy Bercich, Adjunct Instructor. Object-oriented software, database management.
• Chris Connolly, Adjunct Instructor; M.S. (computer engineering), Villanova. Java/J2EE, enterprise computing, LDAP.
• James Dullea, Adjunct Instructor; Ph.D. (information science and technology), Drexel. Information management, data modeling, information metrics, data warehousing.
• Brian Ellis, Adjunct Instructor.
• Nancy Hagelgans, Adjunct Instructor.
• Arthur Mansky, Adjunct Instructor; M.S. (computer science), Delaware. Software project management, systems programming.
• Paula Matuszek, Adjunct Instructor; Ph.D. (school psychology), Texas at Austin. Software engineering, text mining, knowledge-based systems.
• David McGrath, Adjunct Instructor. Object-oriented software.
• Marc Meketon, Adjunct Instructor; Ph.D. (operations research), Cornell. Object-oriented software, software engineering, algorithms.
• Sue Metzger, Adjunct Instructor; M.S.E., M.O.T., Pennsylvania. Information systems, enterprise computing.
• Najib Nadi, Adjunct Instructor and Systems Administrator; M.S. (computer science), Villanova. Systems programming, systems administration.
• Robin Qiu, Adjunct Instructor; Ph.D. (industrial engineering and computer science), Penn State. Information system modeling, control of manufacturing systems, XML-oriented technologies and applications, distributed computing systems, component-based software design and development, enterprise integration, networking and connectivity.
• Paul Schragger, Adjunct Instructor; Ph.D. (electrical engineering), Delaware. Networks, distributed computing, software engineering.
• Jill Tilney, Adjunct Instructor.
• Sydney Weinstein, Adjunct Instructor; M.S. (electrical and computer engineering), Massachusetts Amherst. Networks, computer security, data warehousing, e-commerce.
• Bruce Weir, Adjunct Instructor; M.S. (computer science), Villanova. Software project management, software process improvement, software engineering.

Correspondence and Information

Villanova University
Department of Computing Sciences
161 Mendel Science Center
800 Lancaster Avenue
Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085-1699
Telephone: 610-519-7310
Fax: 610-519-7889
Email: gradcomputing@villanova.edu