Department of Computer and Information Science

The Computer Science Master’s program gives graduates a broad and deep knowledge of computer science by offering a strong core program with a wide selection of elective courses. The program maintains a balance between theory, systems, and applications, with emphasis on software development.

Our students gain the ability and courage to use their knowledge by working on realistic scale projects in the graduate courses. Their experience includes work as a member of a team as well as situations where an individual is responsible for the whole project from problem specification to the completion of the solution. Students learn to conduct independent research and present their results in oral and written forms. They graduate with the knowledge and skills required to develop and design high-quality computer systems and application software. They have the ability to follow the rapid changes in the field of Computer Science. As highly qualified professionals, our students are ready to compete for responsible positions in the computer industry, research institutions, government, or to pursue their education in PhD programs.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must submit the required application materials to the Graduate Office. In addition, they must submit GRE general scores except for those who have a baccalaureate degree from UMass Dartmouth’s Computer Science or Data Science undergraduate programs, or who are recipients of a Computer Science Graduate Certificate. The personal statement should explain the candidate’s goals and objectives concerning his/her professional career.

Applicants should have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution (Applicants who do not meet this criterion may also be considered for admission if they can demonstrate convincingly that they have the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree.) In addition, they should demonstrate:

Ability to write program in a high-level programming language (such as C, C++, Java)
Knowledge of computer architecture, and operating systems
Knowledge of software engineering
Knowledge of mathematical analysis and elements of theoretical foundations of computer science and analysis of algorithms

The department has established a fast-track BS-MS program permitting UMass Dartmouth Computer Science undergraduates to progress to the Master’s level smoothly and at a savings of some overall credits. See the General Catalogue for information and special admissions procedures.

Financial Assistance

A number of assistantships are available on a competitive basis. Other assistance, such as loans or work study, may be available to you. Please consult the chapter on “Expenses and Financial Assistance.”

Graduate Certificates

A certificate offers the working professional recognition of a coherent program of advanced study at the graduate level. Each of our certificate programs is compatible with our MS degree requirements, enabling certificate recipients to transition to a degree program without loss of credits.

Acceptance to a Certificate Program

Applicants must have an earned BS in an appropriate field. One applies for acceptance to a graduate certificate program through the Graduate Studies Office. Applicants follow the procedures for graduate degree acceptance into the MS in Computer Science, but in a curtailed form. Thus, they submit a shortened application form and supply an essay and official transcripts of all post-secondary work, as instructed herein. However, they are not required to submit GRE scores or recommendation letters.

A joint faculty committee will review applications for acceptance to this certificate program. One element in the review will be to assess whether a student has met the stated prerequisites and in general has the appropriate combination of background and experience to succeed in the program. It is possible for acceptance to be offered with a contingency that the student must also take one or more undergraduate prerequisite courses.

Other Certificate Policies

Prospective students can take up to two courses (with permission of the instructor) for the certificate before completing their official acceptance to the certificate program. Certificate students may use no more than one CIS Technical Elective 400-level course toward their certificate program, and a 400-level course may be used only when the related graduate course is not offered during the student’s certificate program enrollment. Other graduate policies, such as those for longevity of credit, acceptable grades, and repeatability of courses, apply to certificate students as to degree students.

See Computer Science Graduate Certificate for description and requirements.

BS/MS Undergraduate/Graduate Integrated Program Option in Computer Science

The department offers an integrated program that allows qualified UMass Dartmouth undergraduate majors in Computer Science to proceed directly to the Master’s degree program and complete both degrees with a reduction in overall credits required. See the current General Catalogue for information on this option.

Faculty and Fields of Interest

El-Nasan, Adnan Lecturer (2016), BS1998 Jordan University of Science Technology, MS 1995 Rochester Institute of Technology, PhD 2003 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Specializations: Operating system optimization and security; cybersecurity, privacy, forensics and reverse engineering, innovation and commercialization in emerging Economies.

Balasubramanian, Ramprasad Professor & Associate Provost for Decision Support & Strategic Initiatives (2000), BS 1989 University of Madras, India, MS 1991 University of Toledo, MSOperRes 1993 University of Kentucky, PhD 1999 University of South Florida. Specializations: Autonomous mobile robotics, computer vision, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence.

Bergstein, Paul L Associate Professor (1998), BS 1978 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Syracuse University, MS 1981 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD 1994 Northeastern University. Specializations: Object-oriented programming, databases.

Chang, Yuchou Assistant Professor (2020), BE 2003 Northwestern Polytechnical University, ME 2006 Shanghai Jiao Tong University, PhD 2012 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Specializations: Biomedical imaging, intelligent robotics, distributed data analytics, brain-computer interface.

Fang, Hua Julia Associate Professor (2016), BA Sichuan International Studies University, MA Ohio University, PhD 2006 Ohio University. Specializations: Machine learning, pattern recognition, computational statistics and wireless health.

Khatib, Firas Associate Professor (2013), BA 2001 University of California, Berkeley, PhD 2008 University of California, Santa Cruz. Specializations: Bioinformatics/computational biology, protein structure prediction, citizen science.

Liu, Yi Associate Professor (2019) , MEng Nanjing University, PhD 2005 University of Mississippi. Specializations: Software engineering with specific interests in software architecture, software frameworks, software design patterns and secure software engineering, geospatial data science.

Shao, Ming Daniel Assistant Professor (2016), BS 2006 Beihang University, MS 2010 Beihang University, PhD 2016 Northeastern University. Specializations: Transfer learning, social media analytics, graph approximation and clustering.

Valova, Iren T Professor (2000), MS 1991 Technical University, Sofia, Bulgaria, PhD 1997 Tokyo Institute of Technology. Specializations: Artificial intelligence, neural networks, pattern recognition.

Xu, Haiping (Chairperson) Professor (2003), BS 1989, MS 1992 Zhejiang University, MS 1998 Wright State University, PhD 2003 University of Illinois Chicago. Specializations: Software engineering, distributed computing, mobile cloud computing, cybersecurity, multi-agent systems, software reliability, formal methods.

Zhang, Xiaoqin Shelley (Graduate Program Director) Professor (2002), BS 1995 University of Science and Technology of China, MS 1998 University of Massachusetts Amherst, PhD 2002 University of Massachusetts Amherst. Specializations: Multi-agent systems, intelligent agents, e-commerce.

Yuan, Jiawei Assistant Professor (2020), BA 2011 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, PhD 2015 University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Specializations: Cybersecurity, UAV security, network security, Internet of Things.

Contact

Dr. Shelley Zhang
Graduate Program Director
Computer and Information Science
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300
508-999-8294
shelley.zhang@umassd.edu