All students, including coursework-only MS degree, thesis MS degree and PhD degree students, will be initially assigned with an advisor on admission. MS thesis and PhD students can subsequently change their advisor after identifying a CS faculty member to be the thesis advisor for supervising thesis/dissertation research.

A student working toward an MS Thesis Option or M.I.S. Thesis Option must select a thesis advisor by the end of his or her first year. A Ph.D. student must select a thesis advisor within 3 months of passing the PhD qualifying process. In practice, choosing an advisor and beginning active work under their guidance within your first two semesters in the department can make a big difference in how quickly you proceed through the program toward graduation.

The advisor will help students determine the Plan of Study (POS). Plans of study are due by the end of the second academic semester for all Master's students, and are due by the end of the third academic semester for doctoral students.

Each student will have a committee. For course-only MS students, the committee is the advisory committee consisting of three faculty members normally assigned by the department, with the advisor being the advisory committee chair. For thesis option MS and PhD students, the committee is the thesis committee with the thesis advisor being the thesis committee chair. Students should consult with their advisor to form a committee.

Plan of Study

The student and the advisor work together to compose a Plan of Study and (for PhD students) a schedule of post-PhD Qualifier milestones. These documents serve as both a plan of the coursework/schedule of work remaining, and also a contract between the student and the Department. The courses which are detailed on the Plan of Study are designed to meet both the educational goals of the student and the requirements of the Department and Graduate School. Programs of study for MS coursework-only students need the approval of the student's advisor, the chair of GPC, and the Department Head. Programs of study for MS thesis, M.I.S. thesis and Ph.D. students additionally need the approval of all members of the committee.

Since the Plan of Study is a plan of the student's graduate work, it should be drafted as early as possible but certainly no later than the deadlines for maintaining good standing. The initial Plan of Study can be modified, with the approval of the student's advisor and committee, to accommodate changes in the student's interests or educational goals. The student's committee members may also be changed to adjust for changes in the goals of the thesis or dissertation as the research work progresses. To change a Plan of Study, fill out a copy of the Request for Plan of Study Changes form. Get your advisor's signature, and when appropriate, signatures from your committee members. Give this form to the Graduate Program secretary along with a copy of the Plan of Study.

The CS department maintains a web-based academic advising system (WBAAS) that allows you to create your POS. Obtain an account by sending an email to posAccount@nvc.cs.vt.edu indicating your degree program and the year of admission into the department. An account then will be created for you for you to access the WBAAS system to create your POS online. Consult with your advisor regarding courses that you plan to take while creating your POS online. Your advisor will be able to view your POS to see if your POS satisfies the degree program.Learn more about the online academic advising tool: WBAAS

The University requires that the average GPA for those courses listed on the Plan of Study be at least 3.0, and that each individual course on the Plan of Study receive a grade of C- or better. All courses that can be taken for a grade must be taken for a grade rather than pass/fail. CS 5994 and CS 7994 are offered EQ only. CS 5974 is offered pass/fail only.

For students pursuing an MS Thesis Option , M.I.S. Thesis Option or a Ph.D. degree, the major advisor supervises the graduate student's research work. Since the student and the advisor interact closely and continuously, it is important that a good working relationship be established between the student and the major advisor. A student may elect to change his or her major advisor at any time. Selecting a major advisor for a research degree is an important decision that is likely to have a significant impact on the eventual success of the student's educational efforts. Select your advisor wisely, and change advisors only after careful consideration!

In conjunction with their major advisor, each Ph.D. student and MS or M.I.S. Thesis Option student forms a committee, the chair of which is the major advisor. This committee is composed of other faculty, some of whom may be outside of the Department of Computer Science, who are knowledgeable in the topic area of the student's thesis or dissertation. The members of the committee also provide technical guidance on the thesis or dissertation and, ultimately, the thesis or dissertation must meet with the approval of this committee. A Master's committee must consist of at least three members. At least two of these committee members must hold faculty appointments in the Department of Computer Science. The composition of the Ph.D. committee is described under Ph.D. requirements.

The coursework-only Option requires that students complete coursework satisfying the requirements defined by the Credit Distribution Table, the breadth requirements, and successfully pass an M.S. Degree Final Examination. See CSA MS and MIS degree programs for more details of the coursework MS degree requirements.

Students taking the coursework-only option will satisfy the the M.S. Degree Final Examination requirement by taking and passing a CS 5974 Independent Study course for three credit hours. The instructor for CS 5974 must meet the Departmental requirements for a research advisor.