Admissions Information Computer Science Dept  •   Brigham Young University  •  Provo, UT, 84602  •  801-422-3027

	Table of Contents
Admissions Admissions Deadlines MS Admission Provisional Acceptance PhD Admission APPLY ONLINE Informal Comments on Admissions MS Admissions Information PhD Admissions Information General Information Transfer Credits Admissions Acceptance and Change of Admission Date Financial Assistance Admissions Advisor

Last Updated: July 2006 gradinfo@cs.byu.edu

Admissions

Acceptance decisions for the Computer Science Department graduate programs are made by an admissions committee made up of faculty within the Computer Science Department. This committee usually meets within two weeks after the admissions deadline to review applicants. Applicants should receive notification of the committee's decision within a month after the application deadline. For more informaton on the admissions cycle you may contact the Graduate Program Assistant at gradinfo@cs.byu.edu or (801) 422-1472.

Admission Deadlines

The following admission deadlines are for all applicants: US, Canadian, International, and Permanent Residents.

Contact the Graduate Program Assistant regarding late applications. Late applications will sometimes be considered. The sooner your application materials are received the better; incomplete applications will not be considered, this includes not submitting a current ecclesiastical endorsement. It is preferred for students to apply online, but paper applications are available from the Office of Graduate Studies.

BYU Office of Graduate Studies
B-356 ASB
Provo, UT 84602
(801) 422-4091

MS Admission

Selection to the MS program is based upon consideration of:

• preparation in Computer Science,
• GPA (average of at least 3.0, where A is a 4.0),
• general GRE exam (scores must be received before the application deadline) ,
• letters of recommendation,
• content of the letter of intent,
• if English is a second language, a TOEFL exam score (600+ (paper score scale) or 250+ (computer score scale)).

Provisional Acceptance

• Provisionally admitted students must either take or have taken the equivalent of CS 124, 142, 235, 236, 240, 252, any three CS courses beyond the 200-level (except 404), any two math courses beyond Math 113, and either an additional CS course beyond the 200-level (except 404) or an additional math course beyond Math 113.
• After reviewing the content of the above courses, if a student feels he/she has already passed an equivalent course elsewhere, then the student should come to the graduate coordinator for a decision to be made on whether the course can be waived. The student should bring syllabi or any other helpful documentation to demonstrate that the prior courses do indeed cover the courses to be waived.
• Students should complete provisional courses as soon as possible and must complete them within the first year after admittance.

PhD Admission

Selection to the PhD program is based upon the same criteria as the MS program. In addition, the following also apply:

• Applicants must have a BS or MS in Computer Science from an accredited institution (applicants with deficiencies must apply to the MS program).
• Although not required, we recommend taking the Computer Science GRE subject test because a good score can increase the likelihood of being admitted.
• Proper faculty supervision must be available in the proposed area of study.

Informal Comments on Admission

Because so many ask, we state here some ideas about what we are looking for in candidates for graduate school. In doing so, we point out (1) that these informal statments are not to be understood as requirements, or even guidelines, and (2) there are no guarantees -- being in harmony with these statements does NOT guarantee admission.

If we could find a way to judge with absolute certainty which applicants would produce good research, would write scientific papers well, would be conscientious in moving forward toward graduation with expedience, would not have received or would not be receiving other graduate degrees at BYU, and would typically get A's in their graduate classes, we would know who qualifies for admittance. If we could rank the N who qualify with an absolute certainty in order of most deserving, we would then admit the smaller of all N or the top M, where M is the number of slots available. Since we can't do this with absolute certainty, we consider all the factors we have at our disposal, and do the best we can. The final decision rests with the faculty evaulating the information and making their best decision as to who has the most potential of success and of raising the level of the graduate program.

With this understanding, we offer some quantifying information.

MS Admissions Information

Recognizing the required minimums as listed above, experience has shown that more realistic minimums are:

• GPA of at least 3.3 (last 60 hours)
• Above the 50th percentile on all three sections of the GRE
• At least a score of 4.0 on the new Writing section of the GRE
• For Non-Native Speakers (at least one of the following):
  • Above the 50th percentile on the Verbal section of the GRE
  • TOEFL scores above 620 (paper score scale) or 260 (computer score scale)
  • A degree from an acceptable English-speaking college/university
• For students seeking Provisional Acceptance:
  • Fewer than six prerequisite courses remaining to be taken

Actual averages of students admitted to the MS program for the Fall 2006 Semester:

• 37 Applicants: 24 Admitted, 0 Provisionally Admitted and 13 Denied
• GRE percentiles: 69% (V), 78% (Q), 51% (A)
• GPA: 3.58
• TOEFL: 640 (paper score scale) IELTS: 8

PhD Admissions Information

Recognizing the required minimums as listed above, experience has shown that more realistic minimums are:

• GPA of at least 3.6 (last 60 hours)
• Above the 80th percentile on all three sections of the GRE
• At least a score of 4.5 on the new Writing section of the GRE
• Above the 50th percentile on the Advanced CS GRE (if taken)
• For Non-Native Speakers:
  • Above the 70th percentile on the Verbal section of the GRE
  • TOEFL scores above 630 (paper score scale) or 267 (computer score scale)
  • A degree from an acceptable English-speaking college/university

Actual averages of students admitted to the PhD program for the Fall 2006 Semester:

• 16 Applicants: 9 Admitted and 7 Denied
• GRE percentiles: 78% (V), 82% (Q), 61% (A)
• GPA: 3.82
• TOEFL: 643 (paper score scale), IELTS: 8.5

General Information

The following sections apply to applicants for both the MS and PhD programs.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credit will be reviewed on an individual basis. To count toward graduate requirements, the credit must be clearly graduate level and a grade of B or better must have been received.

MS applicants may transfer a maximum of:

• 7 credit hours taken at other accredited universities or
• 10 credit hours taken at BYU, but not used as credit for the BS or
• 10 credit hours split between non-BS BYU hours and hours at other accredited universities so long as at most 7 come from other universities.

PhD applicants without an MS in Computer Science may transfer a maximum of 15 credit hours. PhD applicants with an MS in Computer Science, may transfer up to 30 hours of course credit.

Notes about Transfer Credit: (1) Credit can never be transfered if it applied to another degree. (2) Transfer credit must be approved during a student's first semester of study at BYU. (3) Courses taken at another university after a student has begun graduate work at BYU must be preapproved by all members of the student's graduate committee and by the Graduate Coordinator; in addition, the student must notify the Office of Graduate Studies.

Financial Assistance

The Computer Science Department recognizes that most students require financial assistance to remain in school. The department has funds to supplement students' financial needs which are available within department and university guidelines. Assistance is available in the following forms.

Types of Assistance

• Teaching Assistantships: Teaching assistantships are available to all students. Students should contact the faculty member teaching the course they would like to assist to seek the position and apply online through the CS website.The top 1/3 of admitted MS students will be offered placement in a course as a TA. PhD students will also receive placement in a TA position for their first two semesters.
• Research Assistantships: Many faculty members hire research assistants to work on funded research projects. It is expected that students working on these projects will use the work to further their own research goals. To obtain a research assistantship, arrangements must be made with the faculty members who have funded projects.

Admissions Advisor

Upon admission to graduate study, each student is assigned an admissions advisor. The admissions advisor will assist the student for the first registration and in the selection of an area of specialization until the student chooses a permanent MS/PhD advisor.