The Master’s thesis option consists of 8 semester hours of research, culminating into an M.S. thesis. This can be accomplished through one of the following two options:
- Option 1: Two 4 credit M.S. Thesis courses: CS7990 taken consecutively
- Option 2: Either a Readings Course CS8982 or a Project Course CS8674, followed by M.S. Thesis CS7990
Both of these options may only be undertaken with the agreement of a thesis advisor and one other official reader.
Thesis Proposal
A student wishing to select the Master’s thesis option must submit a short proposal to the Graduate Committee, signed by the advisor, which describes the project and lists the official reader. The reader may be chosen from the faculty of the college, from another NU department, or from another institution or the industrial community when appropriate. The proposal should be submitted at least one month before the thesis project is to begin. The Graduate Committee may accept or reject the proposal, ask for revisions, or ask that additional readers be added to the proposal. Both the merits of the proposal and the academic performance of the student will be considered in deciding whether to accept a proposal for the M.S. Thesis.
Thesis
The thesis advisor guides the research topic. The result of the research is to be an original contribution to the field of Computer Science. The thesis should be developed in terms of the current literature and will include a thorough literature search and review. Emphasis is to be placed upon clear writing, logical development, and significance of the issues. Acceptance of the thesis requires the agreement of the thesis advisor and the reader(s).
Thesis defense
The student will defend the thesis at a public presentation. The defense will be directed by the thesis advisor and the reader(s) will be in attendance. The thesis defense is open to anyone who wishes to attend. The candidate will give a lecture on the subject of the thesis and this will be followed by questions from those in attendance concerning the results of the thesis as well as related matters.
Publication
Upon acceptance, the M.S. thesis will be issued as a College of Computer and Information Science technical report and a copy will be archived at the university library.
