M.S in Computing Science

Program Requirements

Two routes to the MSc degree are available, a thesis-based route and a course-based route.

Course-based Route:

Students are required to complete 30 units in graduate-level courses, including a 6-unit capstone course.

Coursework (24 units)

Courses are to be chosen in consultation with an advisor and approved by the Associate Chair (Graduate).

Seven 3 – unit graduate-level (500 or 600 level) courses
CMPUT 603 – Teaching and Research Methods

Capstone course (6 units)

CMPUT 701 – Essay in Computing Science I

Thesis-based Route:

Students are required to complete 15 units in coursework and a thesis.

Coursework (15 units)

Courses are to be chosen in consultation with an advisor/supervisor and approved by the Associate Chair (Graduate)

Four 3-unit graduate-level (500 or 600 level) computing science courses. This may include one 3-unit Special Topics course (CMPUT 605)
CMPUT 603 – Teaching and Research Methods

Thesis

Registration in 900-level THES. Students must complete and successfully defend a thesis. The thesis topic is to be approved by the supervisor.

Seminar

Thesis-based Master’s students are required to present a technical seminar based on their research, prior to their final defense.

Residence Requirement

The minimum period of residence for the thesis-based MSc is two four-month terms of full-time attendance at the University of Alberta. There is no full-time residence requirement for a course-based MSc.

Length of Program

Master’s students are expected to complete their program in less than two years.

The maximum time to complete the course-based MSc program as set by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies is six years.

The maximum time to complete the thesis-based MSc program as set by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies is four years.

Welcome to the U of A!

The University of Alberta in Edmonton is one of the top teaching and research universities in Canada, with an international reputation for excellence across the humanities, sciences, creative arts, business, engineering and health sciences.

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Financial Support

Basic financial support from the Department and from the students’ research supervisors include:

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (TA) from the Department, usually granted over 8 months each year, September to April
Graduate Research Assistantships (RA) from the research supervisor, usually granted over 4 months each year, May to August*

* First year M.Sc. students are expected to find a research area and supervisor to work with by April in order to have guaranteed funding through the Spring/Summer term.

The total annual financial support for students holding teaching and research assistantships varies in the Department of Computing Science. At this time, funding for the first year is approximately $25 197 for a full-time M.Sc. student and $26 673 for a full-time Ph.D. student.

Scholarships & Awards

There are a variety of scholarships and awards available to both Canadian and international students. Canadian students with outstanding academic records are encouraged to apply for federal and provincial government awards. Foreign students are encouraged to apply for awards from their home countries that may be used for foreign study. Be sure to read all application instructions carefully and submit your application by the appropriate deadline.

Major Scholarships & Awards

Scholarship	Department Deadline	Value	Eligibility†
Vanier	Sep 1: Request nomination letter from Department Chair	$50,000/year	Entering & continuing doctoral students
Killam and Andrew Stewart (General Awards)	Jan 25: Students must complete the Killam and Andrew Stewart (KAS) Awards application form and submit supporting documents to the Grad Program Admin	Killam: $35,000/year + differential fee for international students Andrew Stewart: $5000	Canadian & international
NSERC Doctoral Tri-Council Scholarships	Please follow this link to FGSR information on the CGS-D and PGS-D Scholarships. Our departmental deadline is September 15, 2019. (Departments to forward students’ transcripts and an alphabetical list of eligible applicants to FGSR directly)	CGS-D: $35,000/year PGS-D: $21,000/year	Canadian; entering & continuing doctoral students
NSERC Master’s Canada Graduate Scholarships	(No department deadline)	CGS-M: $17,500/year	Canadian; entering & continuing master’s students
Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship	September 26, 2018: Students submit the application form and two letters of reference to the Grad Program Admin. If FGSR already has your official transcripts on file, you do not need to submit them to the department. If you want to double check, you can contact Graduate Awards at 492-9460.	Master’s: $26,500/year Doctoral: $31,500/year	Canadian & international
Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship (top-up)	(No department deadline) Must apply to the full Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship Competition to receive top-up. Details below	$12,000/year	Canadian; CGS-M, PGS-D, CGS-D or Vanier holders
Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarships	Masters students do not need to submit an application. The department will choose nominees for this award. Jul 1: Doctoral students who applied for FGSR General Awards do not need to submit a new application. If they wish, they can update their General Awards application by submitting changes to the Grad Program Admin. Doctoral students who wish to submit a new application, must send the QEII Application form and two reference letters (in sealed envelopes) to the Grad Program Admin.	Maximum of: Master’s: $10,800/yearDoctoral: $15,000/year	Canadian; entering & continuing students
† For eligibility, “Canadian” refers to both Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

NSERC Top-ups

Any student who wins a Tri-Council scholarship at the U of A (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR) gets an automatic “top-up” from FGSR.

Master’s Tri-Council winners: Walter H. Johns Grad Fellowship (FGSR)

An amount equivalent to tuition and fees for one year (as determined by the date of admission to the student’s program) is paid directly to the student.
This top-up award is processed upon activation of the NSERC award and paid out in September. Thus, no action is required from the students other than the submission of their NSERC Payment Activation Form (to activate their NSERC award).

Doctoral Tri-Council winners: President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction (FGSR)

$10,000 in the first year that the student holds the NSERC award.
An amount equivalent to tuition and fees for the Fall and Winter terms in subsequent years that the student holds the NSERC award.
This top-up award is processed upon activation of the NSERC award and paid out in September. Thus, no action is required from the students other than submission of their NSERC Payment Activation Form (to activate their NSERC award).

Faculty of Science Graduate Scholarship

$2000 one-time award for students entering our program.

AITF Top-ups

NSERC, Vanier, China Scholarship Council and other external peer-reviewed award holders who win an AITF Graduate Student Scholarship will receive an automatic top-up for the duration of their eligibility ($12 000), and this top-up value may increase to the full scholarship value when the external funding ends, for the remainder of the AITF scholarship terms.

In order to receive an AITF top-up, students need to apply to the full AITF Scholarship Competition. If they do not apply, they will not receive the AITF top-up even if they get an NSERC.

Outstanding Students From China

The China Scholarship Council and the University of Alberta have signed a collaborative co-funding agreement for sponsoring up to 10 doctoral students to study at the University of Alberta. Please visit Funding Information for International Students on the FGSR webpage for more details.

Additional Awards, Scholarships and Fellowships

Alberta Citizenship Award
Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship
Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship
Google Ph.D. Fellowship Program
Rhodes Scholarships
Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada
W.L. MacKenzie King Memorial Scholarship

Professional Development Awards

FGSR Travel Awards
GSA Professional Development and Travel Grants

Financial Assistance and Emergency Funding

Other forms of financial assistance including bursaries and emergency funding as well as student loans are also available. For help with various forms of financial aid, visit the Student Service Centre.

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