IT&E offers eight master of science programs in its six
academic departments. Policies regarding admission and
degree requirements are provided in the sections associated
with the respective academic departments that follow.
|
M.S. Degree |
Department |
|
Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Information Systems
Operations Research and Management Science
Software Systems Engineering
Statistical Science
Systems Engineering
Urban Systems Engineering
|
Computer Science
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Information and Software Engineering
Systems Engineering and Operations Research
Information and Software Engineering
Applied and Engineering Statistics
Systems Engineering and Operations Research
Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering
|
Doctor of Philosphy
IT&E offers a Ph.D. in Information Technology, a
program that builds on a fundamental core and emphasizes
cross-disciplinary efforts between the eight master's programs
in IT&E, as well as with related units at George Mason
University. Specific entrance and degree requirements of
the doctoral program are found in the Information
Technology section.
Nondegree Graduate Program
Admission to graduate study in nondegree status is
available for those individuals who do not wish to pursue a
degree but are interested in taking graduate courses offered
by IT&E. To be admitted to nondegree status, a student
must meet the following requirements. For routine admission,
a student should have a 3.000 GPA or higher and a B.S.
degree (preferably in a discipline in the potential degree area
of interest), and must have met the course prerequisites as
listed in the various departments. Admission criteria for
students with a GPA below 3.000 or those with a
nonengineering background are varied, and applications are reviewed in
the department on an individual basis.
Nondegree students may take up to 12 credits and
are required to have an approved Course Request Form
before registering each semester. Approval of a specific course
does not imply that the course section will be open at the time
of registration.
Students who later choose to seek admission to one of
the IT&E graduate degree programs must reapply for
admission to a degree program and supply the additional
required materials with the new application. If admitted to the
degree program, the student may request that up to 12 credits
taken in nondegree status be approved for transfer for a
degree. Admission to nondegree status does not automatically
guarantee admission to the degree program at a later date.
Applicants may obtain more information by contacting the
IT&E Student Services Office, Room 160, Science and
Technology II, (703) 993-1512, or by contacting the
individual departments.
University Computing Capability
Academic computing capability is provided by
laboratories offering a large number of individual student computers,
as well as campuswide networked time-sharing facilities.
All laboratories are networked and include access to local
and remote servers as well as the Internet.
IT&E provides multiple labs equipped with Microsoft
NT workstations, Windows 95 PCs, Sun workstations,
Network Computing Device workstations, and SGI graphical
workstations, as well as other manufacturers. The IT&E central
system computers are clustered into UNIX and NT networks
that support the student labs and faculty departmental machines.
Software includes compilers for a variety of
programming languages and software tools supporting engineering
design, graphics, neural networks, and
high-performance/parallel computing. Specialized facilities are available for
artificial intelligence, software engineering, image processing
and computer vision, virtual reality, and parallel and
distributed computing research.
The general doctoral requirements of George Mason
University apply to this program.
When the term information technology (IT) and
engineering is used at George Mason University to describe
the school and its activities, it is intended to mean
information technology and the branches of engineering most
closely associated with information use and management.
These aspects of technology are emphasized in this
geographic region, and the relevance of the IT doctoral program
has grown with the increasing dependence of the nation's
commerce on the effective use of information. Our focus on
the science and technology of information processing
complements and enhances the more traditional approaches to
engineering that are more strongly based on the physical
and material sciences.
Course Work
The information technology doctoral program offers
courses designated INFT in the "Course Descriptions" chapter
of this catalog.
Admission Requirements
Doctoral students in information technology are selected
on the basis of scholarship and potential from among
applicants with appropriate degrees from institutions of
high standing. Generally, a master's degree in an information
technology-related area, such as engineering, computer
science, operations research, statistics, mathematics, physical
sciences, economics, and psychology, is required for
admission to the program. Students without an appropriate
master's degree who otherwise satisfy admission requirements
usually are encouraged to first seek such a degree in one of
the eight master's programs offered through this school.
Application packets are available from the Office of
Admissions and from the Office of the Dean of IT&E.
An undergraduate grade point average of B (3.000 on a
4.000 scale) and a graduate grade point average of 3.500 on a
4.000 scale are basic requirements for applicants to the
program. The admission process includes submission of the
application for admission, undergraduate and graduate
transcripts from previous colleges and universities attended, GRE
test results when available, three letters of reference, a
resume and a short statement of career goals and aspirations, and
a self-assessment of past background. All of an
applicant's background is examined before an admission decision is made.
To ensure a common ground of fundamentals,
students should have a background in topics such as calculus,
differential equations, linear algebra, discrete structures,
probability, and statistics. In addition, students entering
the doctoral program in information technology must have
a sound working knowledge in computing as
demonstrated by examples of programs or applications developed
and tested in at least one high-level programming language
environment. Because much of the course work within this
program requires computational proficiency, experience
with a variety of languages and computer hardware is useful,
as is an understanding of computer architecture. Highly
qualified students who do not present evidence of
appropriate course work for the program may be admitted and
then required to take appropriate articulation courses.
Plan of Study
The Ph.D. in Information Technology program is made
up of a core curriculum and in-depth study and research in
the student's field of interest, followed by preparation of a
dissertation. Generally, a student will have obtained a
master's degree in a field appropriate to information technology,
and this master's program typically contains many of the
doctoral core courses.
Under the guidance of the doctoral supervisory
committee, the student prepares a plan of study. The plan lists the
intended courses and their expected timing in both the
breadth and advanced specialty parts of doctoral study. The plan
also should contain the intended date of the
comprehensive examinations and the tentative subject of the
dissertation research.
Core Curriculum
The core curriculum comprises six courses that are to
be completed from the several M.S. programs of IT&E and,
as such, forms a significant part of the coherent Ph.D. plan
of study that is required for each student. These courses
should be carefully planned and, with the exception of courses
necessary for the distribution requirement, are to be
selected from the prerequisite courses for INFT 800- and
900-level courses.
The minimum requirements for the core curriculum are
as follows:
- All students must take one course from OR 541
or OR 542 or STAT 544 or 554 or a course with a higher number from the offerings of the systems Engineering and Operations Research
Department or the Applied and Engineering Statistics
Department. This requirement may not be waived
except for extraordinary circumstances (e.g., the
student has all but a dissertation from another
institution in a highly technical field).
- A total of six courses are to be taken by all
students from the six IT&E departments. For the
core curriculum, no more than two courses may be
taken from one M.S. program. The M.S. programs are listed below:
- Computer Science
- Electrical Engineering
- Information Systems
- Operations Research and Management Science
- Software Systems Engineering
- Statistical Science
- Systems Engineering
- Urban Systems Engineering
- A GPA of 3.500 is required in core courses
taken at George Mason.
- Waivers must be approved by the
departmental doctoral coordinator and the Office of the
Dean based on a review of student-provided
supporting material to ensure that the course waived
was equivalent to the appropriate George Mason course.
- Waiver candidate courses must have been
taken within five years of acceptance to the Ph.D.
program or the student must attest to using the
material from the course during the most recent five-year period (Honor Code invoked). A GPA of 3.500 is required for waived courses. Final
examinations may be taken to obtain waivers for up
to four core courses.
Doctoral Supervisory Committee
Upon admission to the program, a student is assigned a
temporary advisor. The student is responsible for working
with the temporary advisor until the student selects a
dissertation director and an advisory committee as soon after
the student's admission as is feasible. This is especially
important for students who have completed a considerable
amount of graduate work elsewhere.
The doctoral supervisory committee includes the
dissertation director plus a faculty member from the
student's intended major, who is selected by the student to
become chair of the doctoral supervisory committee. The chair
of the committee need not be the dissertation director,
but should be selected from a list of approved chairs. Other
committee members are selected to form a committee of at
least four people from the regular (teaching) full-time
George Mason faculty. At least three of these faculty will be
from IT&E. At least two of the departments of IT&E must
be represented on this committee. In addition, industrial
representatives and faculty members from departments
outside of the school are highly desirable but are not required
on the committee. The doctoral supervisory committee
administers the comprehensive examination, the dissertation
proposal presentation, and the dissertation predefense
and defense. Permission to take each of these, except the
proposal presentation, is requested from the IT&E dean on
the basis of a written request and plan that has been
approved by the supervisory committee.
Advanced Area of Emphasis Requirement
Students must include in the plan of study a
well-defined advanced area of emphasis. Successful completion of
this requirement should enable the student to do basic or
applied research in a significant contemporary area in
information technology.
Comprehensive Course Requirements
- Six INFT 800- and/or 900-level courses that
represent a coherent plan of study that support
the student's research area (three approved
700-level courses may be used in place of INFT
courses). One directed reading course, INFT 796 or 797,
may be included as one of the two approved
700-level courses. (If the student's research area does not
have adequate course selection at the INFT level,
alternate proposals may be made.)
- A plan of study must be approved by the
Ph.D. advisory committee and the IT&E dean.
These approvals must occur before a student
completes the comprehensive courses. There is no
guarantee that the courses taken before this approval will
be accepted.
Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination is taken after the
student has satisfactorily completed all the course work
requirements in the approved plan of study filed by the student. To
initiate the exam process, the student meets with the
supervisory committee to prepare a memorandum to be
forwarded to the Office of the Dean requesting the
comprehensive examination and the appointment of an examination
committee. The requesting memorandum lists all courses
taken by the student that form the program of study for the
Ph.D. degree and proposes a suggested structure for the
comprehensive examination. The exam is generally structured
to include all comprehensive courses taken. The
memo describes an advanced area or areas of emphasis and
briefly comments on the courses that the student has taken in
the area(s) and on the independent study taken under the
direction of a faculty member. The objective of the
comprehensive examination is to allow the examining committee
to assess a student's readiness for and ability to
complete doctoral research in an area of emphasis.
After satisfactorily completing the written portions of
the comprehensive examinations, the student arranges the
oral portion. The entire examination committee meets with
the student and asks questions concerning basic and
advanced areas of study. The result of the comprehensive
examination is a grade of pass or fail with recommendations
for removing any deficiencies.
Dissertation Proposal Presentation
Near the end of the course work each doctoral student
prepares a written dissertation proposal, which is presented
to the doctoral supervisory committee. The student may
enroll in INFT 998 Doctoral Dissertation Proposal to complete
this effort. During the term the student expects to present
the dissertation proposal to the committee, the student
should enroll in INFT 990 Dissertation Topic Presentations.
After successfully completing this requirement, the student is
formally admitted as a candidate for the Ph.D. degree. The
application for candidacy is submitted to the Office of the
Dean on a standard form.
Dissertation and Final Defense
With concurrence of the advisory committee, the
student proceeds with the doctoral research, during which time
the student must continuously enroll in INFT 999 Doctoral
Dissertation. The student must complete a minimum of 24
credits from among INFT 990, 998, and 999, with a
minimum of 12 credits of INFT 999. When the central portions of
the research have been completed to the point that the
student is able to describe the original contributions of the
dissertation effort, a candidate submits the written dissertation
to the supervisory committee and schedules an oral
predefense to the committee. The predefense is to be held no
sooner than one month after the members of the committee
have copies of the dissertation. Once the committee believes
the student is ready, a final public oral defense may be
scheduled no sooner than one month after the conclusion of
the predefense in order to have an announcement posted for
at least two weeks.
Following a satisfactory evaluation of the oral defense
of dissertation by the supervisory committee, the student
must prepare, with supervision from the dissertation director,
a final publishable dissertation that represents a
definitive contribution to knowledge in information technology.
This document must meet format guidelines specified by
the Guide for Preparing Graduate Theses, Dissertations,
and Projects.
If the candidate successfully defends the dissertation,
the dissertation defense committee recommends that the
final form of the dissertation be completed, and that the
faculty of IT&E and the graduate faculty of George Mason
University accept the candidate for the Ph.D. degree.
Residence Requirement and Research in Industrial Laboratories
The term "residence" indicates that the student is "at
home" intellectually with the faculty community. The student
is expected to associate with the George Mason faculty for
at least two full academic years. The advisory committee
determines the equivalent of two academic years of effort
at George Mason. The basis for residency is an effort to
complete the basic or core study area requirements of the
comprehensive examinations, to complete the advanced
areas of study and the associated advanced emphasis portions
of the comprehensive examinations, and to prepare a
dissertation proposal that defines a definitive research contribution.
Student research in industrial and government
laboratories is encouraged to the extent that these facilities support
quality independent research by the doctoral student. The
greater Washington area is home for the largest group of
information technology professionals in the world, many of
whom have made definitive contributions to research. Area
professionals with outstanding credentials and interests in
information technology are solicited as visiting
industrial professors. They may serve on doctoral advisory
committees and, where permitted by available time and
interests, direct doctoral dissertations.
Graduate programs in engineering and information
technology are offered under the auspices of a commonwealth
network in Northern Virginia. This network includes
George Mason University (GMU), Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University (VPI & SU), Old Dominion
University (ODU), the University of Virginia (UVA), and Virginia
Commonwealth University (VCU), and employs a mix of
direct classroom laboratory instruction from GMU and live
interactive televised lectures from other universities.
Afternoon and evening instruction is provided at the GMU
Fairfax Campus, and the UVA/VPI & SU Northern Virginia Center.
Master's degree programs are offered by UVA,
VPI&SU, ODU, and GMU. Discipline areas of the degree
programs from UVA include the Master of Materials
Engineering, Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering,
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (Manufacturing
Systems Engineering), Electrical Engineering, Systems
Engineering, or Civil Engineering (Structural Focus). From VPI&SU,
the following degree programs are offered: Master of
Engineering Administration; Master of Science or Master of
Engineering in Electrical Engineering, Civil
Engineering (Environmental), and Systems Engineering; and Master
in Mechanical Engineering. ODU offers the Master of
Engineering Management. GMU offers the Master of Science
in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Information
Systems, Operations Research and Management Science,
Software Systems Engineering, Statistical Science,
Systems Engineering and Urban Systems Engineering (described
in this chapter). Also offered by GMU is the Ph.D. in
Information Technology, and a variety of certificate programs.
Students apply to a degree program at one of these four
institutions on the basis of course offerings and programs
sponsored by an institution and the direction a student wishes
to follow. Program requirements are the responsibility of
the degree-granting institution and, subject to these
requirements, courses may be taken from any of the five
universities. Within the framework of departmental and
graduate school approval, the majority of courses must be
taken through the student's home institution; and additional
courses approved by the home institution may be transferred
between the four cooperating institutions (VCU offers one
course per year to support the other universities' degree
programs). UVA, ODU, and VPI & SU degree programs are
composed primarily of televised courses and are supported by
additional courses from GMU. These degree programs do
not generally have a thesis or research component.
Course registration is contingent upon admission to a
degree program or acceptance for nondegree studies. Students
are responsible for learning about program requirements
and obtaining course approval. Students may register while
application materials are being processed as space permits
and with permission from their program advisors and
instructors. In addition, courses may be transferred between
institutions with written approval of the home institution
before registering.
For program information, contact the Commonwealth
Graduate Engineering Program at (703) 993-1512.
George Mason University:1999-2000 University Catalog: Catalog Index: School of Information Technology & Engineering
