Students who have been officially admitted to the Graduate School should meet with the Graduate Program Officer of the CSSE Department prior to their first registration. He/she will arrange for a "temporary" major professor who will act as the student's advisor during the first one or two semesters.
All students should become totally familiar with the current Graduate School section of the Auburn University Bulletin. The students must adhere to all regulations stated therein, especially the section entitled "Summary of Procedures for Master's Degree Programs" and "Summary of Procedures for Doctoral Degree Programs." A checklist is provided for meeting the Graduate School requirements.
Collectively the Graduate School and the Computer Science and Software Engineering Department require that the following schedules be met in order to assure orderly progression toward a degree. Additional requirements may be given in the Auburn University Bulletin. Nonconformity with these guidelines can result in considerable delay in receiving the degree. (Note: The steps given are listed in normal sequence. A step marked with an asterisk (*) cannot be approved until all preceding steps have been completed).
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STEPS |
DEADLINE | |
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1. Complete prerequisite work and take GRE general exam. |
As soon as possible. GRE scores must be received by the end of the first semester. | |
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2. Arrange for permanent major professor. |
Before the end of the second semester. (third course for off-campus students). | |
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3. Have advisory committee appointed. |
Before the end of the second semester (third course for off- campus students). | |
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4. Outline tentative plan of study; secure approval of advisory committee. |
Before the end of the second semester (third course for off-campus students). | |
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5. *Submit formal plan of study to the Graduate School. |
Before the end of the second semester (third course for off-campus students). | |
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6. *Write thesis/project proposal and obtain advisory committee approval. |
Before the end of the second semester in residence (fifth course for off-campus students). | |
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7. *Go to the Graduate School for a credit check. |
One semester before graduation. | |
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8. *Deliver final draft of thesis/project to your advisor for approval. |
First day of semester (thesis) in which degree is expected OR before the semester in which the degree is expected. | |
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9. *Get a second credit check from the Graduate School. |
By the end of the semester before graduation. | |
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10. Arrange for major professor to schedule oral examination. Major professor must return Report of the Examining Committee (See the Graduate School Form 8 or 9) to the Graduate School. |
Final results must be reported to the Graduate School by mid-semester in which the degree is expected. (See the Graduate School Calendar for the exact date). | |
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11. *Deliver at least five copies of thesis (department, student, major professor, library (2)) to the Graduate School, or deliver two copies of the project final report to CSSE. Thesis/project report must be ready for binding. Prepare an electronic copy for a CSSE technical report. |
Same deadline as for the report of the thesis examining committee. | |
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12. *Pay thesis binding and graduation fee. |
At least 2 weeks before commencement. | |
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13. *Participate in commencement. |
Should you fail to meet any of the above deadlines, you will not graduate in the corresponding semester and must register in the following semester. If your research is not complete, you are to register for COMP 7990 or COMP 7980 (minimum of one credit). If your research is complete and only administrative matters remain, you are to register for GRAD 7000. A fee is required in either case.
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STEPS |
DEADLINE | |
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1. Complete prerequisite work and take GRE general and subject exams. |
As soon as possible. GRE scores must be received by the end of the first semester. | |
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2. *Submit residency-year form to Graduate School. |
Prior to the initiation of the residency year. | |
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3. Complete the departmental qualifying examination. |
Before the end of the first year. | |
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4. Arrange for a permanent major professor. |
Before the end of the first year. | |
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5. Have the advisory committee appointed. |
Before the end of the first year. | |
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6. Outline tentative plan of study and secure approval of advisory committee. |
Before the end of the first year. | |
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7. *Submit formal plan of study to the Graduate School. (Graduate School Form 15). |
Before the end of the first year. | |
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8. *Submit dissertation proposal and obtain committee approval. |
Prior to general doctoral examination. | |
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9. *Complete written portion of general doctoral examination. *Complete oral portion of general doctoral examination. |
After completion of most of course work. | |
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10. *Go to the Graduate School for a credit check. |
Two semesters before graduation. | |
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11. *Submit draft of dissertation to advisor. *Get a second credit check from the Graduate School. |
First day of semester in which the degree is expected. | |
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12. *Prepare typed draft of dissertation, secure advisory committee's general approval; take to the Graduate School. |
Thirteen weeks before the end of the semester in which degree is expected (see the Graduate School Calendar for the exact date). | |
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13. Arrange for the Graduate School to schedule final oral examination at least one week in advance of the desired examination date; pass final oral (Graduate School Form 21). |
After approval of the dissertation draft by the Graduate School and three weeks prior to the date of graduation exercises (see Graduate School calendar for exact date). | |
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14. *Deliver at least five copies of the dissertation (department, student, major professor, library (2)) to the Graduate School. |
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15. *Pay thesis binding, micro-filming, and graduation fees. |
At least two weeks before commencement. | |
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16. *Participate in commencement. |
Should you fail to meet any of the above deadlines, you will not graduate in the corresponding semester and must register in the following semester. If your research is not complete, you are to register for COMP 8990 (minimum of one credit). If your research is complete and only administrative matters remain, you are to register for GRAD 7000. A fee is required for either case.
The following information is provided to assist you in writing your thesis, project, or dissertation proposal. These guidelines are in addition to those published by the Graduate School. Although a thesis, project, or dissertation proposal is not required by Auburn University, it is a formal requirement for each graduate student in the CSSE Department.
The purpose of the proposal is to provide a contractual understanding between the student and his/her committee as to the scope, objectives, anticipated benefits, and timetable for the student's research. Selecting a research topic of proper scope is a major milestone for most graduate students, and reaching it can be a very time-consuming experience. Developing a proposal is an effective way of minimizing the potential for confusion and misunderstanding during the entire research effort. As such, it is imperative that the proposal be done prior to the actual research. At the conclusion of the research, the proposal will be the major factor in determining if the student's thesis, project, or dissertation indicates a satisfactory performance of the research.
The thesis or dissertation proposal should follow the general outline described below:
The project proposal should follow the same outline except for Item 2. In a project proposal the literature review will be shorter and should include some background material relating to the project's origin and other work done on similar problems.
Title Page. Use a format similar to that of the thesis.
Introduction. Include a brief description of the work to be done as well as enough background information to establish: (1) the general area of the research, (2) the need for the research, and (3) the basic approach to be used.
Literature Review. The purpose of the literature review is to acquaint you with past and current work that directly and/or indirectly impacts the research you are proposing. Furthermore, it demonstrates to your committee that you are sufficiently knowledgeable with the area and topic to pursue your research. This section should conclude with a summary of how your research is different from that described in the literature. The literature review will form the basis of a chapter in your thesis in which you elaborate these differences. This section may be brief for design projects.
Statement of the Problem. The research problem, which was briefly described in the introduction, should be elaborated. Specific goals and objectives of the research should be enumerated and then discussed. This section should provide a basis for understanding on the part of each committee member. In a sense, you must convince the committee of the originality, merit, and technical quality of the proposal.
Procedure and/or Tasks To Be Completed. The procedure to be used and/or the specific tasks required to accomplish your research objectives should be described here. Although the format of this section is problem dependent, it should conclude with a timetable for the procedure and/or tasks that you have outlined.
Anticipated Benefits. Whereas in the previous sections you have gone into considerable detail describing your problem and your approach for attacking it, here, you bring it all back together as a convincing justification for your research.
Thesis Outline. Although the final format of the thesis may vary somewhat from what you specify here, by including the draft outline in your proposal you are forced to give some thought as to how the pieces of your research will come together in the thesis. A typical outline is included below to get you started.
References. References should be in the format that will be used for the thesis. These should expand to incorporate a comprehensive review of the literature for the thesis.
Plan on several iterations of the proposal. Begin by drafting the introduction (you may end up writing "introductions" for several research ideas before you hit on your final topic). This provides a starting point for discussion with your advisor. After the major thrust of the research is established, you should proceed with the literature review. During this phase you should be solidifying your topic and the approach you plan to take. These decisions should be recorded in the sections of the proposal entitled "Statement of the Problem" and "Procedure or Tasks." As stated above, the section on "Anticipated Benefits" should be used to summarize the justification for the research.
Plan on a minimum of two weeks for the review of the final draft of the proposal by other committee members. Throughout the research effort you should provide regular progress reports to your advisor. These may be communicated orally during scheduled meetings or more formally in writing.
The technical quality and merit of your proposal and the research can be measured to a large extent by the potential for publication; i.e., if the work is not publishable in a recognized journal then its suitability for graduate level research is questionable. You are expected to coauthor with your advisor a minimum of one paper that can be submitted to a refereed publication. In most cases, the paper represents a condensation of the thesis/dissertation targeted for a specific audience. This does not apply for a design project (M.Sw.E).
Finally, keep in mind that while writing the proposal requires a great deal of time and energy, it is work that must be done at some point during the research effort. More importantly, a major part of the solution lies in defining the problem.
