Programs of Study
Graduate programs in Computer Science provide opportunites for advanced coursework and research for highly qualified students. Graduate Certificates, recognizing completion of a cohesive set of advanced courses, are offered in several areas of Computer Science. The Master of Science degree is more comprehensive; with thesis and non-thesis (coursework-only) options, it is the degree of choice for many full-time students and working professionals. The Doctor of Philosophy degree emphasizes deeper study and discovery in preparation for a career in research or education.
Graduate programs may be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis. For all students, challenging courses and demanding research projects, with high expectations of accomplishment, are the standard.
Research Interests
The current departmental activities include, among other areas, analysis of algorithms, artificial intelligence, computer vision, computer graphics, database and information systems, distributed systems, graph theory and computational complexity, intelligent tutoring systems, network performance evaluation, programming languages, software engineering, visualization, virtual reality, and Web-based systems. Research groups meet weekly and focus on topics related to the above areas. Students are encouraged to participate in the meetings related to their area(s) of interest. Research and development projects and theses are available in these areas. Computer science students may also participate in computer applications research work being conducted in a number of other departments including electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical, and fire protection engineering. Students are also encouraged to undertake projects and theses in cooperation with neighboring computer manufacturers or commercial organizations.
Facilities
WPI boasts excellent computing resources and network connectivity provided by the university's Computing & Communications Center and the CS Department's own systems. A wide range of machines provide web, mail, file, high-performance computation, and security services. An extensive software library is available free of charge to all campus users. The network backbone has 30 gigabits of available bandwidth and offers high-speed connection to Internet2 via an OC-3 link to the Abilene network.Wired and wireless networking is available for academic and research purposes. Specialized resources include computing clusters, supercomputer access, an Access Grid Node, and extremely large displays.
Off-Campus Research Opportunities
Computer science graduate students have opportunities for research and development in cooperation with several neighboring organizations, both for their master's thesis and Ph.D. dissertation. These and other opportunities provide real-world problems and experiences consistent with WPI's policy of extending learning beyond the classroom.
Degree Requirements
Maintained by webmaster@cs.wpi.eduLast modified: May 14, 2007 20:53:45