Graduate Handbook 2024-25

The Graduate Advising Committee (GAC) advises students in the traditional MS/PhD program, approves course plans, and evaluates satisfactory progress toward the degree. Each fall and spring semester graduate students in the program who are not in dissertator status should plan to meet with a  faculty GAC member to discuss their course selection and progress toward degree goal. Students can meet with a GAC member later in the semester if they need to discuss changes to their course schedule for the semester. Posted drop in office hours are held throughout the fall and spring semester.  Students seeking deadline extensions or exceptions need to contact the GAC Chair, Professor Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau.

Spring 2025 Office Hours:

No appointment necessary during posted office hours. Spring office hours will be posted in January.

Angela Thorp, Graduate Program Manager, thorp@cs.wisc.edu, Room 4297 CS
Wednesdays, 2:00PM – 4:00PM
For all other times, email to request appointment

Mollie Stolbov, Graduate Program Manager, stolbov@wisc.edu, Room 4292 CS
Email or click here to schedule an appointment with Starfish.

Prof. Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau (GAC Chair), dusseau@cs.wisc.edu,  7375 Computer Sciences
Thursdays, 10:00AM – 11:00AM (In-person only)
Fridays, 11:00AM – 12:00PM (Zoom only – https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/97139982039)
Updates posted to https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~dusseau/

Eric Bach (CS PhD minor advisor for students from outside CS), bach@cs.wisc.edu, Room 4391 CS
Contact via email only

Ethan Cecchetti, cecchetti@wisc.edu, 7395 Computer Sciences
Tuesdays, 4:00PM – 5:00PM, in person only

Paris Koutris, paris@cs.wisc.edu, 4363 Computer Sciences
Mondays, 11:00AM – 12:00PM, in person only

Amos Ron, amos@cs.wisc.edu, 7381 Computer Sciences
Fridays, 4:00PM – 5:00PM, in person only
Wednesdays, 7:00PM – 8:00PM, Zoom only: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/91471654334 pwd=MltxmQteyskhIsduO99zv4WuxbjsCa.1

Colin Dewey, colin.dewey@wisc.edu, 5420 Genetics/Biotechnology (enter building from University Ave)
Tuesdays, 2:00PM – 3:00PM (Zoom only – https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/94126612524?pwd=TSbdgvMKFaHYxuaIkubRv1OiW8nLgA.1)

During the early part of the first term of a graduate student’s tenure in the Department, the student will attend a meeting with a faculty member of the Graduate Advising Committee (GAC) to discuss their plans for meeting their degree goals.

New students share their program plan in their initial meeting with a faculty member on GAC. The purpose of the program plan is to ensure that the student is pursuing a suitable course of study for the degree sought, and understands the requirements. 

In order to make a degree plan, students should use The Guide for their respective program to ensure courses will meet requirements. Click here for the Masters and here for the PhD program requirements. You can also find a list of all CS courses here.  

The student should discuss their plans with the GAC Advisor and refer to this plan for future semester planning. Students should meet with a member of GAC whenever they have changes to plan.

To maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, students must meet the following:

1. Adhering to the University’s Standards for Professional Conduct
2. Meeting the Graduate School’s Enrollment Requirements
3. Maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00

Check out the table at the end of the Graduate School’s Enrollment Requirements for the precise conditions and the corresponding number of credits required for full-time registration. 

Computer Sciences Department policy for TAs requires that they be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credits unless in dissertator status. This requirement supersedes the minimum required by the university but must be filled by students TAing in the CS department.

Making Satisfactory Academic Progress

A graduate student in Computer Sciences shall be considered to have made satisfactory academic progress in a given term if all of the following conditions below are satisfied. Questions regarding enrollment requirements can be directed to the Graduate Program Managers.

• During the given term the student has completed, with a satisfactory grade or a grade of I (incomplete) or P (progress), a minimum number of credits of approved courses determined by the enrollment requirements of the Grad School and Department.
• At the end of the given term, the student has removed all incomplete grades from any previous term.
• The student has observed all the deadlines imposed by the Department that occur before the start of the next regular term.
• Leave of absence or part load requests should be directed to the GAC Chair. 

Computer Sciences Enrollment Information

The University has disciplinary procedures in place for academic, non-academic, and research misconduct.

A student may be placed on probation or suspended from the Graduate School for low grades or for failing to resolve incompletes in a timely fashion.

A student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress during one regular term loses the financial support guarantee of the Department (if any), and is not eligible for financial support from resources controlled by the Department during the next regular term. 

A student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress during two consecutive regular terms (fall and spring semester, or spring and fall semester) will be dismissed from the Department right before the start of the next regular term.

Any graduate student may appeal any aspect of the satisfactory academic progress rules and this appeal must be initiated no later than the end of the fourth week of the following regular term.

To appeal, the student should send an email to the Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC) Chair stating the reason for the appeal. This letter should explain the reasons for the appeal, and it should be accompanied by appropriate documents such as a medical certificate if the appeal is on the grounds of ill health or a supporting letter from a CS faculty member if the appeal concerns an unusual combination of courses. It will be useful for the student to discuss the problem with their advisor or a member of the Graduate Advising Committee before submitting the appeal.

The GAC Chair will review the appeal and notify the student of their decision, normally within 20 business days.  A student who is not satisfied with the decision by the GAC Chair may submit a further appeal in writing to the Department Chair.

The Department Chair will place the appeal on the agenda of a regular faculty meeting, will circulate the letter of appeal and documentation, and will give the student written notification of the meeting. The meeting will be scheduled within four working weeks after receipt of the letter to the Department Chair. The student and their advisor(s) may attend the meeting to present the appeal, provided that the Department Chair is advised in writing before the start of the meeting. In accordance with Wisconsin law, the meeting will begin in open session, but the Department Chair will move that the meeting convene in closed session before the appeal is considered.

You can learn more about the Graduate School L&S Policy and Procedures for Graduate Academic Appeals.

In order to obtain the degree of Master of Science in Computer Sciences, a student must:

• be admitted to the traditional MS track or PhD track of the Department
• meet the minimum credit requirement for the MS degree
• not be dismissed, suspended or on probation due to lack of satisfactory performance
• have no incompletes (I) or unreported (NR) grades 

Each semester, the Graduate Program Manager will send an email that provides the link to MS warrant request form and graduation information to all students in the MS/PhD program.

• Students who are admitted to the CS PhD program and want to get their Masters as part of their PhD must add the MS program in GradPortal. 
• If the PhD student intends to leave with an MS, please make sure to change your degree level to MS in the Grad Portal. The MS warrant can’t be processed until you add or change (if leaving) the program. 
• Here are instructions to do add/change programs.

Credits from other institutions cannot be used to satisfy MS requirements. Credits from prior graduate course work at UW–Madison may be counted toward an MS degree provided the credits were earned within 10 years of current enrollment in the program.

The following restrictions apply:

• Credits earned as an undergraduate student cannot be counted.
• Credits earned towards a certificate cannot be counted.
• At most 15 credits taken as a special student may be counted. (Note that the Graduate School requires that at least 16 credits be taken after enrollment in the MS program.)
• If a student is obtaining MS degrees in two or more majors,  no more than a 25% credit overlap with other UW-Madison MS degrees is allowed, based on the lower credit requirements of the two programs.

Students who wish to transfer credits from allowable prior graduate coursework at UW–Madison must have credit transfer approved by a GAC advisor.

• 30 credits for courses numbered 300 or above
• Receive a satisfactory grade for all credits
• Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

24 credits must be Computer Sciences courses numbered 400 or above. The following courses are not allowed to count toward these 24 credits:

• COMP SCI 400 Programming III
• seminar course (COMP SCI/​B M E/​B M I/​BIOCHEM/​CBE/​GENETICS  915)
• individual instruction courses ( COMP SCI 799 and COMP SCI 899), and
• COMP SCI 702.

• CS 900

At least 15 of the 24 credits must be Core Credits, which are Computer Sciences courses numbered 700-889 graded on A-F scale, with the following exclusions/qualifications:

• COMP SCI 790 Master’s Thesis normally counts towards core credit. In rare instances, the thesis supervisor or committee may (at the time of evaluation of the thesis work) designate credit awarded for COMP SCI 790 as ineligible for core credit; credit awarded under this scenario may still count towards the 24 qualifying Computer Sciences credits. If you have questions, contact the MS grad program manager.
• Among the topics courses COMP SCI 758,  COMP SCI 839 and COMP SCI 880, a maximum of one such course can be used as core credit.
• COMP SCI 838 is not allowed to count towards Core Credits.

• Courses cross-listed with CS are acceptable for the purposes of this requirement. 

The remaining 6 credits can be from any subject:

• Research credits for 799 or 899 
• Internship credits for CS 702 
• Seminar credit for CS 915; can be taken multiple times for credit
• CS900 section 2. CS 900 section 1 is restricted to students in the professional program 
• Graded courses from other departments that are numbered 300 or above.

Topics Courses

Topics courses have syllabi that may change significantly from one offering to another. They can be taken multiple times for credit. However, students are restricted to using only one topics course toward the core requirement.

CS 758, CS 839 and CS 880 are considered topics courses.. Note: prior to the creation of CS 839 in Fall 2017 certain 838s were approved for core. If you have questions about earlier 838s for core, please consult with a member of the Graduate Advising Committee.

Seminar Courses

The seminar courses offered by the CS Department are CS 900 and CS 915. Seminar courses can be taken multiple times for credit. CS 900 Section 2 can be used toward traditional MS requirements to fulfill the 6 additional credits requirement. The content of CS 900 section 2 is similar each semester and should not be taken more than once. 

Note: CS900 section 1 is restricted to students in the Professional Master’s program and can not be used toward CS MS in the traditional MS program.

Masters Research Course CS 799

CS 799 Master’s research. Students doing independent research and seeking to earn MS at UW-Madison, even if PhD is their end goal and they entered as a PhD student, should enroll in CS 799. CS 799 can be counted toward the six additional credit requirement. However, MS students are allowed to take more than 6 cumulative credits of CS 799.

Thesis/ Project Course CS 790

Students may choose to write a master’s thesis (6 credits) or project report (3 credits). Up to 6 credits of CS 790 may be used towards Core Credit requirements in the Master’s program. 

Co-Op/Internship Course CS 702

Students may get credit for an internship that relates to their degree program. CS 702 is taken for 1 credit or 2 credits. Click here for instructions on how to enroll in CS 702. 

To enroll in 1 credit of 702 the internship must have a total hours of 150-359 within the term course is taken

To enroll in 2 credits of 702 the internship must have a total of 360 hours or more within the term course is taken.

International students on an F-1 visa, will need to apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT).

Students may choose to write a master’s thesis (6 credits) or project report (3 credits). The responsibility for finding a thesis or project advisor lies solely with the student. The advisor must be a full-time or affiliate faculty member of the Department. 

Master’s Thesis

A master’s thesis (6 credits) is expected to be a substantial piece of work, e.g., a comprehensive survey of a particular area. In contrast to a doctoral thesis, a master’s thesis need not contain original research work, but might well serve as a basis and major first step toward subsequent doctoral work. There are no rules regarding the format of a master’s thesis.   The student should consult with their  thesis advisor and can also review the Graduate School’s Guide to Preparing Your Master’s Thesis. 

The student should send a copy of the thesis including the title page signed by the thesis committee to the Graduate Program Manager. In addition the thesis needs to be published as a departmental technical report. Depositing a copy of the thesis in the Memorial Library is optional.  

The thesis committee consists of the advisor and a minimum of two additional members; at least one of the additional members must be a full time faculty member of the Department. 

Project Report

A project report (3 credits) is carried out under the supervision of a faculty member. The report should be submitted in electronic form, along with a title page signed by project advisor, to the Graduate Program Manager. The report is kept on file in the department but is not made public.

In order to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Sciences a student must:

• be admitted to the CS PhD track
• complete all milestone requirements,
• meet the minimum credit requirement for the degree,
• not be dismissed, suspended or on probation due to lack of satisfactory performance, and
• pay all fees and file the required paperwork.

The milestone requirements for a PhD in CS are: the qualifying process, the preliminary process, and the final defense process. The deadlines are based on the semester in which the student was initially admitted to the CS MS/PhD program regardless whether they entered as an MS or PhD student. Milestones must be met within the allotted time frame as follows:

Qualifying Process: Students must complete breadth requirements and pass the qualifying examination within 3 years (6 semesters) after admission to the program.

Preliminary: Students complete minor and pass preliminary examination within 4 years (8 semesters) after admission to the program; up to one additional year extension is possible with GAC chair and advisor approval.

Dissertation: Students must pass final defense examination and deposit dissertation within 5 years (10 semesters) from date of preliminary examination. Extensions to this deadline are granted by the Graduate School PhD coordinator with the approval of the student’s PhD advisor.  Extensions to this deadline are rarely needed.

Minimum credit requirement

The student must receive 51 credits in courses numbered 300 or above and at least 50% of the credits counted are for courses numbered 700 and above.

All graded courses numbered 300 or above taken as a graduate student in CS at UW-Madison count towards this requirement, including those counted towards an MS in CS, the breadth requirement, and the minor requirement. Research credits for 799,899,990 count toward this requirement. CS 790 counts for students who did a thesis or project masters.  Non-CS courses also count toward the 51 credit requirement. 

The requirement that 32 credits must be taken as a graduate student at UW-Madison is referred to as the minimum graduate residence credit requirement, and must be completed prior to achieving dissertator status. The CS department does not allow traditional MS/PhD students to transfer credit from other institutions. All 51 credits must be earned at UW-Madison post baccalaureate.

Transfer of credits

Credits from other institutions cannot be used to satisfy requirements, with one exception.  One course taken elsewhere may be used to satisfy a breadth course requirement. This course does not count towards any other requirement and no credit is given for the course.

Credits from prior graduate coursework at UW-Madison may be counted towards the PhD in CS provided they were earned less than 10 years before the current enrollment in the PhD in CS program, with the following restrictions:

• Credits earned as an undergraduate student cannot be counted.
• Credits earned towards a certificate cannot be counted.
• At most 15 credits taken as a special student may be counted.
• There is no more than a 25% credit overlap with any other PhD degree, based on the lower credit requirements of the two programs.

Preliminary Warrant

After the student finishes the preliminary process (prelim), the preliminary warrant needs to be electronically signed by every member of the prelim committee and the doctoral minor advisor. The Graduate Program Manager will submit the signed preliminary warrant to the Graduate School for review and approval.

After completion of the prelim and doctoral minor, the student will become a dissertator in the following semester. Students will receive notification from the Graduate School of dissertator status and subsequent enrollment requirements until defense and deposit of dissertation.

PhD Defense Warrant

A warrant is required for the final oral defense. The student is required to submit the fully e-signed warrant at the time they deposit their dissertation. The warrant needs to be signed by every member of the final defense committee, indicating that the student passed the final examination. 

Whenever a warrant is needed, the student should submit the applicable google warrant request form to the Graduate Program Manager at least three weeks ahead of time.  

It is the responsibility of a PhD student to find a dissertation advisor and the Department does not guarantee that one will be provided. The dissertation advisor must be a full-time or affiliate faculty member of the Department, or have retired or resigned from such a position no more than one year prior to the student’s defense.

The dissertation advisor’s expertise and research interests should match closely with those that the student intends to acquire. It is recommended that students reach out to faculty early in their career and suggest that students take courses with professors they have an interest in working with. 

Students who intend to get a PhD should find a dissertation advisor no later than the end of second year in the MS/PhD program. The dissertation advisor chairs the qualifying process, the preliminary exam committee and the final oral exam committee. 

A student who later decides that a different dissertation advisor would be preferable should discuss this with the current dissertation advisor and consult with a member of the GAC committee to seek a change in advisor. Selection of a dissertation advisor, or change of dissertation advisors, should be based on the faculty member’s ability to guide the student expertly into the chosen area of research. In each case the student needs to inform the Graduate Program Manager about the current dissertation advisor.