Most spaces are filled in March for entry the following September, and in October for entry the following January. Prospective students should check the SOCS website http://www.socs.uoguelph.ca/ for admission procedures and deadlines.

General Requirements

To be considered for admission, applicants must have a four-year honours degree in computer science, or a four-year honours degree in another discipline with a minor in computer science. Applicants must meet the minimum admission requirements of both the university and the SOCS, including at least a 75% average during the previous two years of full-time university study for a degree.

Course Requirement

Entrants who have a four-year honours degree in another discipline and a minor (or equivalent) in computer science must have taken at least 12 computer science courses as described below. University of Guelph equivalents are given for comparison.

(A) Seven prescribed courses:

• An introductory programming course (CIS*1500).

• An intermediate programming course (CIS*2500).

• An object-oriented programming course (CIS*2430).

• A software systems development course (CIS*2750).

• A course on data structures (CIS*2520).

• A course on discrete structures (CIS*1910 or CIS*2910).

• A mathematics course (MATH*1000 or MATH*1200).

(B) Three core courses at the second-year or higher level selected from the following:

• A course on hardware and/or assembly language (CIS*2030).

• A course on digital systems (CIS*3120).

• A course on simulation and/or modelling (CIS*2460).

• A database course (CIS*3530).

• An operating systems course (CIS*3110).

• A computer algorithms course (CIS*3490).

• A course on automata theory (CIS*3620).

• A statistics course (STAT*2040).

(C) Two elective courses at the third-year or higher level:

• These courses should be related to the applicant's proposed research area. They can be from a discipline other than computer science if deemed relevant by the proposed supervisor.

Applicants who meet requirements (A) and (C) but who do not meet requirement (B) may be granted provisional admission, i.e., they may be granted admission with the provision that they take specified courses within a specified time and achieve grades above a specified threshold.

English Proficiency

A test of English proficiency is required of all applicants whose first language is not English. Required scores are shown below:

• Paper-based TOEFL- 600.

• Internet-based TOEFL- 100, 26 speaking and writing.

• IELTS- 7.5.

• MELAB- 90, speaking 3, no score lower than 80.

• CAEL- 70 overall, 70 writing and speaking, no score lower than 60.

• University of Guelph English Language Certificate at the Advanced Level.

The proof of English proficiency requirement may be waived in exceptional circumstances (e.g., applicants who have studied full-time for two years in a country where English is the native language AND in a university where English is the language of instruction). Graduate Committee approval required.

Once a student has been admitted to the MSc program, the following components are required for the successful completion of the MSc degree:

• Completion of the Technical Communication and Research Methodology course (CIS*6890) and at least four other graduate courses

• Completion of the seminar requirement.

• An accepted thesis.

There is no qualifying exam or second-language requirement. Supplementary program information is available to students via the SOCS website http://www.socs.uoguelph.ca/

Duration of the Program

Heavy emphasis is placed on the thesis, which usually requires at least two semesters. Students should plan on spending at least four full-time semesters in the program assuming adequate preparation for graduate work. Normally, students are expected to fulfill all the requirements in six semesters.

Advisory Committee

Each MSc candidate conducts thesis research by working closely with a thesis advisor. The advisor is a member of the SOCS regular graduate faculty who provides academic guidance and interacts regularly with the student. Moreover, the student is required to have an Advisory Committee consisting of at least two graduate faculty members (in the selection of whom the student normally participates). The student's advisor chairs the committee. Graduate faculty members from other academic units can sit on the committee. Student advisory committees must contain at least one SOCS regular graduate faculty member who is neither advisor nor co-advisor and at least as many SOCS regular graduate faculty as other graduate faculty.

Course Requirement

An MSc student is required to take the Technical Communication and Research Methodology course CIS*6890 and at least four other graduate courses. Of these four courses, at least two should be outside of the student's thesis topic area. This area and the courses which fall outside of this area are identified by the student's advisor and Advisory Committee. In exceptional cases, one graduate course requirement may be met by an approved 0.5-credit graduate course from another department or by two approved 400-level 0.5-credit courses which have not already been taken for credit. At most one reading course (CIS*6660) can count towards the course requirement.

Seminar Requirement

An MSc student must give one publicly announced research seminar on his/her MSc thesis research. The student will be allocated times and dates for the seminar. It must be attended by the student's advisor and at least one other member of the student's Advisory Committee. The quality of the presentation is graded on a pass/fail basis. The MSc seminar requirement is intended for students to practice presentation and communication skills and to participate in the process of knowledge dissemination as part of the academic life.

Thesis Defence

Arrangements for the MSc thesis defence should be made at least 4 weeks prior to the anticipated date of the defence, and the student must submit his/her MSc thesis to the Examination Committee at least 2 weeks prior to the defence. The examination consists of an oral presentation by the student followed by questions from the Examination Committee.