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Department of Computer Science and Engineering


Henry Edwin Sever Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri



Detailed Information

Programs of Study


The Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, offers several graduate degree programs tailored for students’ specific interests and career goals.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhDCS) program and the Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering (PhDCoE) program are designed for students whose primary interest is a research career in academia or industry. Students must complete course work, conduct original research, and prepare and defend a high-quality doctoral dissertation on that research. Typically, four to six years are needed to complete the doctorate.

The Master of Science in Computer Science (M.S.C.S.) and the Master of Science in Computer Engineering (MSCoE) program are designed for students interested in launching an industry research career, or who wish to pursue an academic research career by eventually earning a Ph.D. The M.S.C.S. and MSCoE programs require 24 units of course work and an additional 6 units consisting of course work or a project or thesis under the supervision of a member of the CSE faculty. Both the M.S.C.S. and MSCoE are designed for completion within two years of full-time study, though both can be pursued part-time over a longer interval.

The Master of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering (MEngCSE) program is designed to launch or enhance careers in professional practice, within a focused one year full-time degree program, or part-time over a longer time period. Students in the MEngCSE program have more flexibility to customize their course selections according to their specific interests than in our other graduate degree programs. Students complete 24 units of course work, and a 6 unit capstone project mentored by a member of the CSE faculty, to leverage and demonstrate the skills and knowledge each student has gained through his or her course work.

Research Facilities


Faculty and graduate student offices are housed across three connected modern research buildings. Most graduate students are in 2-person offices with individual workstations and have full access to a wide range of computing and communication resources. The Department has high-speed networks that reach across the campus and has dedicated laboratory facilities in networking and communications; graphics, vision, and robotics; mobile computing; computer engineering; parallel distributed computing; artificial intelligence; and computational science. Strong systems staff support is provided for the computing and network infrastructure.

Financial Aid


All students accepted into the Ph.D. program in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering receive graduate assistantships covering full tuition (generally 9 units per semester) and the cost of health insurance, with an annual salary of $26,950. The financial aid package is continued until graduation (up to five years), as long as the student continues to make satisfactory progress toward the degree with respect to both course work and research.

Cost of Study


For full-time students in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, tuition is $18,900 per semester in 2009–10. For part-time students, tuition is $1335 per unit, and most courses are 3 units.

Living and Housing Costs


With a remarkably low cost of living for all of the comforts and attractions it affords, St. Louis has a small-town feel but offers all the amenities one would expect in a major metropolitan area. University-owned apartment buildings in neighborhoods adjacent to the campus offer affordable student housing. Many other options in attractive neighborhoods within walking or short driving distance of the campus are also available. The campus can also be reached by light rail, making it practical for students to live further away without having to drive to campus. Two-bedroom apartments range from $600 to $900 per month.

Student Group


Of approximately 200 graduate students in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, about 75 are pursuing doctorates.

Student Outcomes


Doctoral graduates of the Department may be found on the faculty of many top universities, and graduates at all levels are highly sought after by major computer firms and by companies that make extensive use of computing capabilities in their business and products. Among recent doctoral graduates, a number chose to start their research careers at some of the national laboratories.

Location


The most visible symbol of St. Louis is its noted Gateway Arch, the nation’s tallest monument, which represents its role as Gateway to the West. But St. Louis’s location near the center of the country could just as well make it the Gateway to the East, North, or South. It is easy to get to any part of the continental U.S., and the Washington University campus is only about 15 minutes from Lambert–St. Louis International Airport.

St. Louis’s metropolitan area has a population of more than 2.8 million people, and its many distinct neighborhoods mirror the city’s cosmopolitan diversity. Food, music, and all the attributes of a culture are intact in the city’s tightly knit communities. St. Louis is home to the world-renowned Missouri Botanical Garden, a first-rate zoo, art museum, history museum, and science center. Forest Park, one of the nation’s largest urban parks, is adjacent to the campus and offers opportunities for walking, jogging, Rollerblading, and biking—along with golf, tennis, and boating. The Grand Center area is home to an excellent symphony, the palatial Fox Theatre, and dance and repertory theaters. The city has professional baseball, football, and hockey franchises. St. Louis is home to numerous Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies.

The University and The Department


An independent institution founded in 1853, Washington University in St. Louis seeks excellence in everything that it does. With 13,500 students and more than 3,000 faculty members, the University is counted among the world’s leaders in teaching and research and draws students from all fifty states and approximately 125 nations. The 169-acre campus is bordered on the east by St. Louis’s famed Forest Park and on the north, west, and south by comfortable and attractive suburbs. Twenty-two Nobel Prize winners have been associated with the University.

The Department’s size and collegial atmosphere provide a supportive and friendly environment. On average, each faculty member supervises 3 doctoral students. The Department has a history of strong ties to biomedical computing, and faculty members collaborate extensively with those from other departments. About 30 outside speakers arrive each year, and visiting researchers come from around the world.

Applying


A strong computing background is recommended regardless of undergraduate major. Students who wish to enter the computing field from other areas of science and engineering may need to take preparatory classes before enrolling in graduate-level courses.

Electronic applications are available at http://www.cse.seas.wustl.edu/Academics/GraduateAdmissions.asp. Applications for Ph.D. assistantships must be received by January 15. Applicants whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL scores. Ph.D. applicants must submit GRE general test scores.

The Faculty And Their Research


  • Kunal Agrawal, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 2009. Parallel computing, adaptive scheduling, transactional memory.
  • Michael R. Brent, Henry Edwin Sever Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1991. Computational genomics, mathematical modeling of biological sequences, algorithms for computational biology, integration of computational and experimental methods, bioinformatics.
  • Jeremy Buhler, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle), 2001. Computational biology, genomics, algorithms for comparing and annotating large biosequences.
  • Roger D. Chamberlain, Associate Professor; D.Sc., Washington (St. Louis), 1989. Computer engineering, parallel computation, computer architecture, multiprocessor systems.
  • Yixin Chen, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005. Mathematical optimization, artificial intelligence, planning and scheduling, data mining, learning data warehousing, operations research, data security.
  • Patrick Crowley, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle), 2003. Computer and network systems architecture.
  • Ron K. Cytron, Professor and Associate Chair; Ph.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1984. Programming languages, middleware, real-time systems.
  • Mark A. Franklin, Hugo F. and Ina Champ Urbauer Professor; Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon, 1970. Computer architecture, systems analysis and parallel processing, storage systems design.
  • Christopher D. Gill, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Washington (St. Louis), 2001. Distributed real-time embedded systems, middleware, formal models and analysis of concurrency and timing.
  • Kenneth J. Goldman, Associate Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1990. Programming environments, distributed systems.
  • Sally A. Goldman, Edwin H. Murty Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1990. Content-based image retrieval, algorithms, machine learning, computational learning theory.
  • Viktor Gruev, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins, 2004. Low power integrated sensory systems, integrated polarization imaging.
  • Cindy M. Grimm, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Brown, 1996. Surface modeling, art-based rendering, user interfaces, texture generation.
  • Raj Jain, Professor; Ph.D., Harvard, 1978. Wireless networks, network security, next-generation Internet, sensor networks, telecommunications networks, performance analysis, traffic management, quality of service.
  • Tao Ju, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Rice, 2005. Computer graphics, visualization, mesh processing, medical imaging and modeling.
  • Caitlin Kelleher, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon, 2006. Human-computer interaction, programming environments, learning environments.
  • Chenyang Lu, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Virginia, 2001. Real-time and embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, mobile computing.
  • Robert Pless, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Maryland, 2000. Computer vision, medical imaging, sensor network algorithms.
  • William D. Richard, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Missouri–Rolla, 1988. Ultrasonic imaging, medical instrumentation, computer engineering.
  • Gruia-Catalin Roman, Harold B. and Adelaide G. Welge Professor and Chair; Ph.D., Pennsylvania, 1976. Software engineering, mobile computing, sensor networks, distributed and concurrent systems, formal methods.
  • William D. Smart, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Brown, 2001. Machine learning, mobile robotics, human-robot interaction, brain-computer interfaces.
  • Jonathan S. Turner, Barbara J. and Jerome R. Cox Jr. Professor; Ph.D., Northwestern, 1982. Design and analysis of Internet routers and switching systems, networking and communications, algorithms.
  • Weixiong Zhang, Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1994. Computational biology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, heuristic search, combinatorial optimization, algorithms.
  • Senior Faculty
  • Jerome R. Cox Jr., Senior Professor; Sc.D., MIT, 1954. Computer system design, computer networking, biomedical computing.
  • RESEARCH AREAS
  • Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) research at Washington University, consists of a number of related research projects with both basic and applied research objectives. The research methodology covers a broad spectrum of theoretical work, prototype system building, and experimentation.
  • Computational Science. Computational science is the application of ideas and methods from computer science to the natural sciences. The current focus of the computational science group is on computational genomics and biological sequence analysis. Washington University’s strength in the biomedical sciences provides an extraordinary intellectual environment for this work. The University houses one of four major genome sequencing centers in the United States. It is also home to world-class Departments of Genetics, Biochemistry, and other biological sciences, with special strengths in computational methods.
  • Computer Engineering and Systems Architecture. Research topics in this area cover a broad spectrum, from processor and multiprocessor architecture design to communications, Internet design, and storage hierarchies. Research places special emphasis on the characteristics and design of underlying hardware, on interactions with software and operating systems, and on overall system-level performance. Several key efforts exemplify this focus: optical interconnection network design in multiprocessors and communications switches; embedded and real-time computer systems (particularly on designs oriented toward multimedia and streaming data processing); and distributed data and mass storage systems, where system-level reliability and performance are critical.
  • Graphics, Vision, and Robotics. The multimedia industry is perhaps the most visible and dynamic part of the computing industry. Research in this area focuses on interactions between computers, humans, and the real world. This group focuses on developing and integrating advanced research in imaging and computer graphics, machine vision, robotics, and multimedia systems. The projects include developing teams that work together to explore new environments, robot systems that learn and interact with crowds of people, and video surveillance algorithms that detect patterns of motion. There is also extensive work with the Washington University medical school, working on real time 3-D analysis of MRI and PET data and developing models of heart dynamics and bone surface structure.
  • Networking and Communications. The networking and communications group at Washington University engages in fundamental research directed toward the development of flexible, high-performance networks. The work spans a wide range of activities, including the design of high-performance routers and switching systems, efficient IP packet processing, dynamically programmable networks, advanced multicast services, host-network interfacing, and optical networking. The group has a long track record of accomplishments in networking, including work that formed the basis for a successful startup company, Growth Networks, acquired by Cisco Systems.
  • Software Systems. Software systems research at Washington University is concerned with core issues in modern computing, including large-scale distribution, real-time embedded systems, sensor networks, and mobility. Formal studies set the stage for the development of new kinds of modeling and analysis tools. Many software research projects share a strong focus on middleware as an effective vehicle for rapid technology transfer. This focus underscores a pragmatic approach, and it has been an effective tool for building strong industrial collaborations. Software developed at Washington University is widely used by companies and research institutions.

Correspondence and Information


Washington University in St. Louis
Admissions
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Campus Box 1045
St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4899
Telephone: 314-935-6132
Fax: 314-935-7302
Email: admissions@cse.wustl.edu