AI Non-thesis Option

For the MS program without thesis, the program of study requires 31 graduate credit hours:

• 19 hours (6 courses + seminar) in the AI Core
• 12 hours (4 courses) of a AI/ML Electives

Any required courses previously completed by a student may be applied for completion and replaced with another free course of the student’s and committee’s choosing. Students must have at least 12 8xxx credit hours (4 8xxx level courses) on their final program of study; as such, two electives must be at the 8xxx level (this includes CSE 8080 Directed Project). The majority of credits must have course code CSE. See the Graduate Handbook for additional course policies.

Core

The AI core introduces students to fundamental areas in AI/ML.

• CSE 8011 Graduate Seminar
• CSE 6763 Ethical & Legal Issues in Computing
• CSE 8813 Theory of Computation
• CSE 8843 Complexity of Sequential and Parallel Algorithms
• CSE 8833 Algorithms
• CSE 6633 Artificial Intelligence
• CSE 6693 Introduction to Machine Learning
• CSE 6683 Machine Learning & Soft Computing
• CSE 8673 Machine Learning

AI Electives

The student’s Graduate Committee has final approval of all applicable courses.

• CSE 6653 Cognitive Science
• CSE 6643 AI Robotics
• CSE 6623 Computational Biology
• CSE 6293 AI for Cybersecurity
• CSE 7000 Directed Individual Study
• CSE 8080 Directed Individual Project
• ECE 8493 Introduction to Neural Networks
• ECE 8833 Computational Intelligence
• MA 6183 Mathematical Foundations of Machine Learning
• ST 6243 Data Analysis I
• ST 6253 Statistical Learning
• ST 8114 Statistical Methods
• ST 8253 Regression Analysis
• ST 8273 Advanced Regression Analysis
• IE 6683 Machine Learning with Industrial Engineering Applications

A non-thesis student may further develop their professional skills by taking a Directed Project (CSE 8080) under the direction of their major professor. This replaces three credit hours (1 course) from the elective portion of their study.

The first step in developing a project is to write a formal project contract. The contract should specify the goals of the project, a list of the deliverables, and must be signed by the student and committee before commencing CSE 8080. The student will then work on the project. While it may take more than one semester to complete the project, CSE 8080 can only be taken once.

At the end of the project (usually the end of CSE 8080), a final report with deliverables must be prepared. The report must follow the same format as theses and dissertations, as specified in the latest edition of the Standards for Preparing Dissertations and Theses available from the Library and departmental requirements, except that the approval page should include the signatures of the student's Graduate Committee only; a LaTeX template is provided by Dr. Ramkumar.  A copy of the original project contract should be included in an appendix. Deliverables of the project (user guides, design documents, etc.) can be included as appendices, but normally will be separate documents. The format of any deliverables (user guides, technical manuals, etc.) not included as appendices shall be as appropriate for the client of the project. Deliverables included as appendixes must follow the same form and format as the report.

The non-thesis option of the CYSO Masters degree program requires that the degree candidate successfully demonstrate mastery of graduate material. At the end of the program, the student will sit for a comprehensive exam covering their graduate coursework; students with a Directed Project will focus on defending their project and its relation to their coursework. The guidelines below supplement, but do not supersede, those provided by the Graduate School; see their guidelines for additional details such as the deadlines, exam process, and so on.

For students electing this option, the following steps must be followed:

1. If doing a Directed Project, the student develops a project contract at least one semester before graduating. A copy of this contract must be sent to CSE office at CSE-Grad-Paperwork@cse.msstate.edu
2. The semester before their anticipated graduation, students should review their Program of Study via CAPP on Banner to ensure all coursework will be completed.
3. Upon completion of their project and coursework (or within 6 hours of completing), the student must schedule their exam. Part of this process requires students to complete the Graduate Exit survey for the College. Contact the CSE office via email at CSE-Grad-Paperwork@cse.msstate.edu to reserve the room and any other preparation needed to schedule the exam.
4. The student will sit for the exam with their major professor and committee. The exam will go over their graduate studies, with focus on courses related to the project for those doing a Project. The student will be asked to give a presentation on their Directed Project or on some other major classwork for non-Project students.
5. The student graduates once the Comprehensive Exam has been successfully passed and coursework concluded.