General Information
The Computing Science Department offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in major areas of study, including Advanced Man-Machine Interfaces, Algorithmics, Artificial Intelligence, Bioinformatics, Communication Networks, Computer Games, Computer Graphics, Computer Vision and Multimedia Communications, Database Systems, Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Robotics, Software Engineering, Software Systems and Statistical Machine Learning.
The offered MSc programs are: a standard MSc in Computing Science, an MSc in Computing Science with specialization in Statistical Machine Learning and an MSc in Computing Science with specialization in Multimedia. The standard MSc in Computing Science is offered as a thesis-based program, as well as course-based program; the MSc in Computing Science with specialization in Statistical Machine Learning is offered as a thesis-based program, as well as a course-based program; the MSc in Computing Science with specialization in Multimedia is only offered as a course-based program.
The offered PhD programs are: a standard PhD in Computing Science and a program leading to a PhD in Computing Science with specialization in Statistical Machine Learning.
The Department owns and operates a network of computers, including several CPU servers and a large number of workstations. All graduate student offices are wired with high speed and/or wireless network. In addition the research laboratories contain specialized equipment. Access to campus-wide and regional computing facilities is provided by computer networks.
Further information may be obtained from the Graduate Program Administrator, Department of Computing Science.
Entrance Requirements
The Department’s minimum admission requirements are a University of Alberta undergraduate degree with an average of 3.0 in the last two years of study, or an equivalent qualification from a recognized institution, and a TOEFL score of 600 (paper-based) or a total score of 100 with a score of at least 20 on each section (Internet-based), where applicable (see English Language Requirement ). Students entering the graduate program are expected to have adequate background in computing science, similar to a four-year undergraduate degree.
A departmental admission requirement for non-Canadians, as well as Canadians with a degree from a non-Canadian university, is that they write the Graduate Record Examinations (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing components) administered by the Educational Testing Service (Princeton, NJ) and have the results sent directly to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. The GRE is also recommended for students with backgrounds unrelated to Computing Science. The examinations should be written early enough so that scores will be available by the application deadline.
MSc and PhD students will be expected to satisfy the requirements currently in force with respect to attendance at departmental colloquia and seminars, and the public presentation of students’ research results.
Financial Assistance
Financial assistance is available throughout the calendar year in the form of graduate teaching assistantships and research assistantships and is limited to students in the PhD program and the thesis-based MSc program. In order to be considered for assistance, students must maintain satisfactory academic performance.