The student must select an advisory committee chair from the department’s graduate faculty. If a student wishes to have a chair who does not have an appointment with the department, then the committee must have two co-chairs, including one who is a member of the department’s graduate faculty (a committee has either one chair or two co-chairs).
The chair and the student work together to select the remainder of the advisory committee. The advisory committee for the MSCS degree consists of at least three members from the Texas A&M graduate faculty (the chair counts as a member). There must be at least one member from another department, and there must be a majority from the department. Note that all faculty members with full joint appointments in the department will be considered as departmental faculty when evaluating the composition of the committee. Faculty who hold courtesy appointments will count as outside members of the committee. The graduate advising office can provide information on which faculty hold joint appointments.
The advisory committee can have supplemental members who are not members of the Texas A&M graduate faculty (and hence do not count when evaluating the composition of the committee). Supplemental members are usually added because they have some special expertise that is relevant to the student’s research topic. Such members are added by “special appointment” requests. Check with the graduate advising office for more information.
After the student and chair agree on a tentative advisory committee, the student will then meet with each prospective committee member to determine whether this committee assignment is agreeable and then file a degree plan.
The degree plan should be completed by the student in consultation with the chair and the advisory committee. Requirements for the MSCS degree include:
When a graduate and undergraduate course is stacked, graduate students must take the graduate course in the stacked pair. If there are seats in the undergraduate section but not in the graduate section, you should contact the graduate advising office to request that a seat be reallocated. Reallocation can be requested but will have to be approved. Not all reallocations may be approved.
For additional information and clarification, please see the graduate catalog and the department’s graduate program webpage.
