Graduation Requirementsand

Presentation of Project/Thesis/Dissertation

David A. Gaitros

Overview

• Project/Thesis/Dissertation descriptions

• Graduation requirements

• Project vs. Thesis

• Document guidelines

• Oral Defense

• Degree Requirements

What are they

• Project

• Thesis

• Dissertation

How do you sign up for them?

• Contact a member of the Research Faculty members with Masters Directive Status

• Have them agree to a subject• Write a proposal or prospectus• Fill out and have signed the Individual

Course Approval Form during the normal enrollment period.

• Register for your particular section

Graduation Requirements

• Project – 3 hours and CIS 8966

• Thesis – 6 hours and CIS 8976

• Dissertation – 24 hours and CIS 8985

• Intro to Research – 2 Hours

Project vs. Thesis• You can only take 6 hours of project, 9 hours of thesis, or 12 hours of

dissertation per term• There are no restrictions to the total number of hours that you may

accumulate.– Courses are only valid for 7 years. In general you have 7 years to complete the

masters degree. – You have 5 years to complete the dissertation once you have been admitted to

candidacy. Otherwise you have to go through the PhD preliminary exam again. • There is no specific format for project documents and therefore no guidelines.

Format is up to the faculty member. • Faculty provide more assistance on Thesis then projects because it contributes

to their publishing record and research. A project may or may not be publishable work.

• Admission to candidacy in the PhD program requires a thesis or significant research paper at least.

What is a project/Thesis?

• Consider a project and thesis like a bridge– A Project is building the bridge

– A Thesis answers the question whether the bridge should be built maybe even develop a prototype.

– A Dissertation – Creates the concept of a bridge• Develop an example of a bridge

• Prove that a bridge is useful in several situations

• Have others agree that a bridge is useful.

• Write esoteric papers on a bridge and have them published in conferences and journals.

Guidelines and Requirements for Thesis, Treatise, and Dissertation

Writers

Florida State University

Office of Graduate Studies

408 Westcott

Tallahassee, FL 32306 – 1410

(850) 644 3500

General Information

• Students who continue to use campus resources and receive faculty supervision must register for at least 2 hours of thesis/project/dissertation. – This means that if your major professor and committee

members have not read your final document and you have not defended…you must register for at least 2 hours of thesis/project/dissertation.

• Registration of thesis/dissertation hours is required in the final term for which the degree is awarded no matter what.

General Information

• You must register to graduate within the first two weeks of the term.

• The thesis/dissertation manuscript must be cleared by the office of Graduate Studies before the clearance deadline.

• The project/thesis/dissertation manuscript must be turned in at least two weeks prior to the defense.

General Information

• After the defense of the thesis you should submit to the office of Graduate Studies– Final Term Degree Clearance Form– Electronic Version of the document

• Go to http://etds.fsu.edu/\

– Deadline for submission is usually one month before the end of the term.

General Information

• For a Dissertation you must also must submit– Final Term Degree Clearance

• Go to http://etds.fsu.edu/ for more information

– A placement information card

Manuscript Preparation

• Style Guide• Paper Requirements• Tables and Figures• Supplementary Materials• Pagination• Margins• Spacing• Printer type

Page Formats• Title Page• Signature Page• Dedication Page ( Optional )• Acknowledgements Page (Optional)• Table of Contents• List of Tables and Figures• Abstracts• Text• Levels of Headings• Appendix Material• References• Biographical Sketch

Oral Presentation

• To clear a project, thesis, or dissertation you must make a formal presentation to your committee, faculty, students, and interested parties.

• The scheduling of the defense must be approved by your major professor, the committee members, and the Chair.

Oral Presentation

• The first slide of your presentation should look similar to your title page of your manuscript– Name– Title– Date– Location– Names of your major professor and committee

members– Acknowledgements are also proper if others

contributed to your work.

Oral Presentation

• The next slide should be an overview of list of subjects to be covered.

• Any demonstrations should be listed in the overview in the order they appear

• Your presentation should be logically ordered.

Oral Presentation

• The presentation should include as a minimum:– Introduction of the topic– Background information– Method of research– Motivation for the study– Findings– Conclusions and Recommendations

Oral Presentation

• It is polite to make copies of the slides for the major professor and committee members– Who really cares about anybody else

• The presentation itself should end with sufficient time to field any questions from the floor.

• Schedule about two hours minimum for the entire process. If you committee does not like you it may take more time.

• Remember that your outside committee representative “MUST” be present at the defense.

Oral Presentation

• Hints– Use a clear and concise voice– Slow your speech– Practice the presentation to others

• Obtain their feedback

– Time yourself – Practice any demonstrations on the day they are

to be given in the room and environment they are to be given

Oral Presentations

– Use cards to remind you of subject matter if needed

– DO NOT READ THE SLIDES TO THE AUDIENCE…IF THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN’T READ, EITHER DON’T INVITE THEM OR SHOW A VIDEO WITH SOUND.

Research Groups

• There are several research groups within the Department– Compiler– Security/Cryptography– [Data Grid/Database]– [Bioinformatics] – Random Numbers/Monte Carlo Methods– Networks/Architecture/Fault Tolerance– Real Time Systems– Learning Systems

Research Groups

• How does one become involved with a research group?– Listen to the faculty member at Intro to

Research– Take the Faculty members graduate course– Read the papers the faculty member has written– Approach the faculty member about his/her

research

Degree Programs and Academics

All of the Following Information can be found on Department and University Web Pages.

Degree Programs

• PhD Degree requirements

• MS in Computer Science

• MS in Software Engineering*

• MS in Information Security*

* - Must have the permission of the respective committee to enter these programs.

PhD Degree Requirements• Finish Required Graduate Course work. Students must finish at least 2 of the

courses in each of the required areas during some period in their graduate career. – CIS 5935 (2) in the first Fall term of enrollment– With Masters ( At least 4 additional Courses past the masters)– Without Masters ( At Least 6 additional Courses)– Courses required by your PhD Committee

• Portfolio approval and Oral Exam– Oral exam covers material in PhD core courses you have taken

• Pass Oral Examination of Area/Survey Paper• Pass PhD Preliminary Exam• Write and Defend a Prospectus• 24 hours of Dissertation• 24 hours of Residency (24 credit hour with 12 months)

– This is after having earned 30 hours of graduate credit or a masters• Write and defend a Dissertation

PhD Core Course Requirements

• CIS 5935 Intro to Research ( 2 Hours)• Software (Select two)

– CEN 5035 S.E. – COP 5570 Advanced Unix Programming– COP 5621 Compiler Construction

• Systems (Select two)– CDA 5155 Computer Architecture– CEN 5515 Data and Computer Communications– COP 5611 Operating Systems

• Theory (Select two)– COT 5310 Theory of Automata– COT 5410 Complexity of Algorithms– COT 5540 Logic for CS

Masters Basic Degree Requirements

• 32 Hours of Graduate Course work – DIS, Supervised Teaching, Supervised Research, and

courses that start with CGS may not be counted as part of the 32 hours.

– At least a 3.0 GPA ( Not 2.9999999999)– All courses passed with at least a B-– Written and defended a Thesis/Project for those tracks

• Register for Thesis Defense or Comprehensive Exam

– Applied for GraduationThere is a seven year time limit from the time you start

the degree program until completion.

Masters Basic Degree Requirements

• CIS 5935 Intro to Research ( 2 Hours)• Software (Select one)

– CEN 5035 S.E. – COP 5570 Advanced Unix Programming– COP 5621 Compiler Construction

• Systems (Select one)– CDA 5155 Computer Architecture– CEN 5515 Data and Computer Communications– COP 5611 Operating Systems

• Theory (Select one)– COT 5310 Theory of Automata– COT 5410 Complexity of Algorithms– COT 5540 Logic for CS

Masters of Science (116610)

• Thesis Option– 15 Additional hours of Graduate Electives– CIS 5970r Thesis 6 Hours– CIS 8976 Thesis Defense 0 Hours

• Project Option– 18 Additional Hours of Graduate Electives– CIS 5915r Project 3 Hours– CIS 8974 Project Defense 0 Hours

• Course Only Option– 21 Additional Hours of Graduate electives– CIS 8966 Comp. Exam 0 Hours– Must have a B+ average in the three courses taken to satisfy the Theory,

Systems, and Software areas.

NOTE: This is the basic program for the 116610 major but each degree program has these options.

Masters of Science (SE - 116630)• SE Students are required to take the following courses which (*) satisfy the

general course requirements:– CEN 5035 Software Engineering *– Courses Developed as a plan of study from the following list:

• CEN 5000 Knowledge Management and Data Engineering (3) • CEN 5020 Applicative Foundations of Software Engineering (3) • CEN 5066 Software Engineering with Graphics (3) • CEN 5515 Data and Computer Communications* (3) • CEN 5720 Computer-Human Interactions (3) • COP 5570 Advanced Unix Programming* (3) • COP 5725 Database Systems (3) • COP 5621 Compiler Construction* (3)

• CIS 5930 Software Project Management (3) • CIS 5930 Software Design (3) • CIS 5930 Formal Methods in Software Engineering (3) • CIS 5930 Verification and Validation (3) • CIS 5930 Project Development (3)

Requires work/experience on large software project. Degree program offered at the Panama City Campus only.

Masters of Science(InfoSec – 116640)

• Information Security (InfoSec) Major • A student in the InfoSec major is required to take the following courses, some of which (*) also satisfy the

area requirements: • CIS 5357 Network Security, Active and Passive Defenses (3) • CEN 5515 Data and Computer Communications* (3) • CIS 5370 Computer Security (3) • CIS 5371 Cryptography (3) - required for students beginning program Fall 2005 or later • CIS 5930 Applied Security (3)

If enrolled prior to Fall 2005, the following course can be counted in place of Applied Security

• CIS 5406 Computer and Network Administration (3) • plus one of the following courses: • CDA 5140 Fault Tolerance and Reliability (3) • COP 5570 Advanced Unix Programming* (3) • COP 5611 Operating Systems* (3) • COT 5310 Theory of Automata and Formal Languages* (3) • COT 5405 Advanced Algorithms* (3) • COT 5410 Complexity of Algorithms* (3) (considered a core Theory course if enrolled prior to Summer

2004) • This major also includes the award of the Information Security Specialist Certificate. For details of admission

to the program see Admissions InfoSec.

Questions?