Graduate Admissions

Contents

Contact information

For information, please contact our admissions staff. You can also phone +1-859-257-4997. We try to respond to email within two business days.

Prerequisites

We expect graduate students entering our degree programs to demonstrate knowledge of computing, competency in scientific applications, and mathematical maturity. You can demonstrate computing knowledge by extensive experience in the use of high-level programming languages and acquaintance with assembly language. You should have studied data structures and possess knowledge of computing systems, numerical methods, and theoretical computer science. You can demonstrate competency in scientific applications in a variety of ways; experience in applied mathematics, engineering, or any of the sciences is usually sufficient.

We provide several remedial courses for graduate students who lack some of this background. Often students with a background in mathematics or engineering instead of computer science spend a portion of their first semester taking these courses.

Statistics

We received approximately 460 applications for graduate admission for the Fall 2007 semester; about 130 of these were for the PhD program, the others for the Masters program. About 440 of the applications were from international students, primarily India and China.

We offered admission to 140 applicants. Of these, 36 MS students and 6 PhD students enrolled.

The average GRE percentiles of admitted students are 60 verbal, 81 quantitative, and 50 analytic. The average total TOEFL score for admitted foreign students is about 450.

Application procedure

To apply, you must complete both the following steps.

  1. Submit an application to the Graduate School.

    The Graduate School forwards your application to the Computer Science Department when it is complete. The Graduate School requires official transcripts and a signed and documented financial certificate, so you must submit this application by post. Do not send these materials to the Computer Science Department. Pay careful attention to the requirements for each application type. If you don't send the Graduate School the information it needs, your application process will not proceed. For example, if you fail to provide official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions at which you have taken courses, whether you got a degree or not, the Graduate School will not process the application. International students must also provide a visa copy (if they are currently in the States) and proof of financial support.

    All applications must include GRE scores; international applicants must also include TOEFL scores. A photocopy of valid scores is acceptable for us to evaluate your application, but we do need an official copy to complete your application. You are responsible for having your test provider send these scores to the Graduate School. These are the codes you should use:

    GRE institution code

    1837

    TOEFL institution code

    1837

    Department code

    0402

    If you have questions that you wish to direct to the Graduate School, please mail Kathy Ice-Wedding. Her postal address is

    Kathy Ice-Wedding

    Graduate School

    202C Ezra Gillis Building

    University of Kentucky

    Lexington KY 40506-0033

    You can also send her a fax with your question to +1-859-323-1928.

  2. Submit the following items directly to the Department:
    • A set of transcripts from your undergraduate program (and any graduate programs you have attended). This set is in addition to the set you submit to the Graduate School, but photocopies of the originals are sufficient.
    • At least three letters of recommendation. No special form is necessary. The authors of these letters may send them directly to the Department.
    • Statement of purpose: A brief essay explaining why you wish to pursue graduate studies in Computer Science.
    • If you want financial support, an Assistance Application form.
    • Optional documents: your resume, certificates, awards, or other supporting material.

    You may submit these materials in any of these ways:

    • Mail to

      Graduate Admission

      Department of Computer Science

      773 Anderson Hall

      University of Kentucky

      Lexington KY 40506-0046

      Please do not direct your mail to any specific person.
    • Please do not send us fax copies; such copies are often insufficiently legible.
    • Email to csgradpro@cs.uky.edu. Your email can contain material in any of these formats: plain text, PostScript, PDF, Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, JPG, GIF, and PNG. We automatically screen out junk mail, so if you don't get an acknowledgement, please send a simple follow-up message (with no attachments) to make sure we got your mail.

Deadlines

If you are an international student or wish to be considered for a Teaching Assistantship or a fellowship, we should have both parts of your application (both to the Graduate School and the Department) by the following dates:

If you are a domestic student not looking for financial support, we should have both parts of your application at least one month before your first semester starts.

Deferring admission

If you have been admitted to the Department of Computer Science but need to defer that admission to a later semester, inform the Graduate School by updating your application. If the Graduate School granted you a Kentucky Graduate Scholarship, it does not automatically renew that grant after you have deferred your admission. If you have been granted financial assistance by the Department of Computer Science, send email to csgradpro.cs.uky.edu; we do not guarantee that the grant will still be in force when you arrive.

Transfers among departments and programs

If you are already admitted to the Graduate School in some other department and you wish to transfer to Computer Science, you must update your application with the Graduate School. You must also submit to the Computer Science the materials listed above. We will evaluate your application the same way we evaluate new applications.

If you are currently a Masters student in Computer Science and wish to join the PhD program in Computer Science (or the reverse), you must update your application with the Graduate School. You should also speak to the DGS of Computer Science, who will decide whether or not to approve your request.