Contents

• Graduate Student Commitment.
• Supervisor Commitment.
• What Next?
• Recommended Course List.

Graduate Student Commitment - Masters

By accepting to do your Master's degree under the supervision of DSRG faculty you are committing to the following.

Research and Thesis

• Get acceptance into the Masters of Applied Science, Software Engineering as a full time student.
• Choosing a thesis topic that is within the DSRG research areas, while at the same time being appealing to you.
• Writing two to three chapters of your thesis per term. Students tend to shy away from writing, but the sooner you start the better.
• Getting help (friends or paid help) to proof-read your work before submitting it to your supervisor(s) if you have difficulty writing in English.
• Aiming for at least one workshop or conference publication based on your thesis work.

Schedule and Milestones

• Choosing your research area (thesis topic) by the end of your first term under my supervision.
• Completing your degree within 5 terms (exceptionally 6), including summer terms. Note that there are three terms per year.
• Submitting regular progress reports (at least twice a term). This will happen naturally if you are writing a few chapters of your thesis per term.
• Participating in regular DSRG status meetings.
• Making regular presentations, to the DSRG, of your work. This will help you prepare for your master's thesis defense.
• You are to retain your full-time student status throughout your degree.

Courses

• Choosing your courses in consultation with your supervisor and in such a way as to support your thesis work.
  • As part of your Masters you are required to complete 16 credits worth of courses (which generally translates into 4 courses) in addition, possibly to having to take
  • SOEN 6011. For a list of recommended courses see below.
• Registering for the graduate course(s) taught by your supervisor(s) if they are relevant to your thesis research.

Funding, Research & Teach Assistantships

• Ensure that you are eligible for the ENCS Grad Student Support Program (GSSP). Further comments about this are made under the
• Agreeing to TA for courses approved by your supervisor(s).
• Applying for funding from the various sources (e.g. consult the ENCS, the scholarships and financial aid page of school of graduate studies, etc) should you require further funding.

Other

• Please note that this page may be updated. Your supervisors will keep you informed of any changes that might require a reassessment of your commitment.

Supervisor Commitment

Your DSRG supervisor(s) commit to offering you:

• A stimulating research topic that will give you an edge when you choose to (re-)enter the job market.
• A dynamic research team with international collaborators.
• A good work environment. Currently the DSRG is working out of the lab EV3.238. There is equipment there that you can share.

Funding:

• Unless agreed to otherwise, up to a maximum of two years of funding provided:
  • You are eligible and obtain funding under the ENCS Grad Student Support Program (GSSP). As required under the GSSP, supervisor(s) will provide matching funds, for a total level of funding as indicated on the GSSP site.
  • Note that financial support is conditional to satisfactory progress throughout your degree. Also, financial support will not be provided beyond 6 terms.
• Funds permitting, participation in an international conference or workshop (should your work be accepted for publication). This is a great way to network and expand your research horizons.

What Next?

If you accept to join the DSRG under the supervision of a DSRG faculty member and you agree to the statements in this Commitment page, then please send Dr. Chalin an e-mail to that effect. Explain to Dr. Chalin why you want to join the DSRG and give highlights of your greatest strengths and weaknesses -- i.e. help us answer the question as to why we should accept you rather than the many other students who are requesting admission to the DSRG.

We then set a meeting to discuss your candidacy. Some topics that may be covered:

• course registration,
• research preferences,
• linguistic support (what to do if you require help with your English writing),
• financial support.

Recommended Course List for 2010-2011

I recommend that you choose your courses from among the following lists (note that not all courses are offered) excerpt from the Graduate Calendar.

C04 - SOFTWARE SYSTEMS AND LANGUAGES

COMP 6411 Comparative Study of Programming Languages
COMP 6421 Compiler Design (*)
COMP 6461 Computer Networks and Protocols
COMP 6471 Software Design Methodologies
COMP 6491 Systems Software
COMP 7451 Semantics of Programming Languages

C09 - SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

SOEN 691 Topics in Software Engineering I
SOEN 791 Topics in Software Engineering II
SOEN 6011 Software Engineering Development Processes - if you don't have an engineering background, you will be required to take this course.
SOEN 6431 Software Comprehension and Maintenance
SOEN 6441 Advanced Programming Practices
SOEN 6471 Advanced Software Architectures
SOEN 6481 Software Systems Requirements Specification
SOEN 6611 Software Measurement: Theory and Practice
SOEN 6761 Multimedia Computing
SOEN 6771 User Interface Development Tools and Techniques
SOEN 6841 Software Project Management
SOEN 6951 Software Engineering Case Study
SOEN 7481 Software Verification and Testing
SOEN 7731 Usability Studies in Software Engineering

Last updated 2010.07.14