All Master's students must keep an eye on the end game. Be aware that there are some things to be done just before you graduate.  To learn more, go to our Timeline page.

The Comprehensive Examination for Courses-Only (including courses-only Masters-en-Route-to-PhD Students)

The Graduate School requires that all non-thesis track Master of Science (MS) students at MSU take a Comprehensive Examination just prior to graduation. In accordance with graduate school policy, the Computer Science Department has settled on the following examination structure.

  • The Comprehensive Examination will be administered once during the fall semester and once during the spring semester of each academic year if there is at least one student on the courses-only track graduating during the semester in question.
  • Courses-only Master’s students and Masters-en-Route-to-PhD students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 in their final semester (at the start of the final semester, not at the end) do not need to take the following comprehensive exam to earn their Master’s degree.
  • For the remaining M.S. students who plan to graduate during the current semester, an email is sent that requires them to inform their graduation committee members of their intent to take the comprehensive exam within the first few weeks of the semester.
  • After notifying his/her graduation committee, the student will be provided a list of published research papers chosen by his/her graduation committee. The student will consult with his/her graduation committee to select a research paper. The paper will then be reviewed by the student individually.
  • The student needs to study this paper, write a review, and submit the review to his/her graduation committee. The deadline for submitting the review is published during the first full month of the semester; it will be no later than two weeks prior to the final date allowed by the Graduate School for the master’s comprehensive exam.
  • The review must include the following sections: (1) an overview of the problem being solved and why it is significant (2) an overview of the solution, (3) the strengths of the paper, and (4) constructive criticisms. The review should not exceed 4 pages.
  • The student’s review is graded by the student’s graduation committee as either Pass or Fail. If the student receives a Fail, the graduation committee will provide the student a list of comments. The student needs to revise the review based on the provided comments. The graduation committee will grade the revised review, and the result is either Pass or Fail. If the student receives a Fail for the revised review, the student needs to retake the comprehensive exam in a subsequent semester. A failed second attempt results in an unsuccessful completion of the M.S. degree.

NOTE CAREFULLY: You know the semester in which you intend to graduate. You should begin reviewing your course material well before the comprehensive examination without any prompting from the faculty.

The Defense of Thesis and Comprehensive Examination for Thesis-Track Students

The Graduate School requires that all thesis track Master of Science (MS) students at MSU take two examinations: a Defense of Thesis, and a Comprehensive Examination just prior to graduation. In accordance with graduate school policy, the Computer Science Department has settled on the following examination structure for thesis-track students.

  • The Defense of Thesis component has two parts: public and private
  • To satisfy the public part the student must hold a seminar that is announced and open to the public, and in which the results of the thesis are presented.
  • Within one week of the public seminar, the student must take a private, oral examination that satisfies both the private component of the Defense of Thesis and the Comprehensive Examination.
  • The private oral examination will be attended minimally by all members of the student's MS committee and can be attended by other members of the faculty.
  • The oral examination will have two components: questions about the thesis (to satisfy the Defense of Thesis component) and questions about subject matter on the student's program of study (to satisfy the Comprehensive Examination component).
  • Carefully note, however, that students must be prepared to answer computer science specific questions that naturally arise during the examination of their thesis, providing them the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to synthesize knowledge of computer science and apply it to their thesis. Thus, it is strongly recommended that students review their coursework and knowledge of the computer science fundamentals underlying their thesis. For example, questions about the time complexity/computability issues involved in their work are likely to arise, as are questions about the content-specific nature of their work.

The examiners for the oral part of the exam will include all members of the student's graduate committee and any other faculty who desire to take part.

NOTE CAREFULLY: You know the semester in which you intend to graduate. You should begin reviewing your course material, preparing your talk, and getting ready for your defense of thesis in timely fashion without any prompting from the faculty.

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