Getting Started
EECS Graduate Student Handbook
EECS New Graduate Student Orientation
- Fall 2023 Graduate Student Orientation (please login using your Passport York ID)
- Graduate Program Director Presentation – Fall 2023
- CUPE Union 3903 Presentation – Orientation Fall 2023
Program Requirements
• Complete five courses.
○ at least four courses must be non-integrated graduate courses (course number starts with a 6)
○ at most one may be an integrated graduate course (course number starts with a 5)
○ at least one course from the theory of computing and scientific computing group (group 1 – the second digit of the course number is a 1 or 2)
○ at least one course from the AI and interactive systems group (group 2 – the second digit of the course number is a 3)
○ at least one course from the software systems and hardware systems group (group 3 – the second digit of the course number is a 4 or 5)
• Defend a thesis.
○ at least four courses must be non-integrated graduate courses (course number starts with a 6)
○ at most one may be an integrated graduate course (course number starts with a 5)
○ at least one course from the theory of computing and scientific computing group (group 1 – the second digit of the course number is a 1 or 2)
○ at least one course from the AI and interactive systems group (group 2 – the second digit of the course number is a 3)
○ at least one course from the software systems and hardware systems group (group 3 – the second digit of the course number is a 4 or 5)
• Defend a thesis.
• Complete six courses.
− at most two may be integrated courses (EECS course number starts with a 5)
• Complete at least three courses from the following list:
EECS 5326, EECS 5327, EECS 6127, EECS 6327, EECS 6412
• Complete least two courses from the following list:
EECS 5323, EECS 5324, EECS 5326, EECS 5327, EECS 5326, EECS 6127,
EECS 6154, EECS 6320, EECS 6322, EECS 6323, EECS 6325, EECS 6327,
EECS 6328, EECS 6332, EECS 6333, EECS 6340, EECS 6390A, EECS
6412, EECS 6414
• Complete either:
PHIL 5340 (not integrated) OR EECS 6320
• Courses must also satisfy the group requirements for the MSc generally MScAI students must take either EECS 6127 or EECS 6154
• Identify a supervisor and a supervisory committee member by your third
term (12 months)
• Complete a research project in Artificial Intelligence in
collaboration with an external partner
− at most two may be integrated courses (EECS course number starts with a 5)
• Complete at least three courses from the following list:
EECS 5326, EECS 5327, EECS 6127, EECS 6327, EECS 6412
• Complete least two courses from the following list:
EECS 5323, EECS 5324, EECS 5326, EECS 5327, EECS 5326, EECS 6127,
EECS 6154, EECS 6320, EECS 6322, EECS 6323, EECS 6325, EECS 6327,
EECS 6328, EECS 6332, EECS 6333, EECS 6340, EECS 6390A, EECS
6412, EECS 6414
• Complete either:
PHIL 5340 (not integrated) OR EECS 6320
• Courses must also satisfy the group requirements for the MSc generally MScAI students must take either EECS 6127 or EECS 6154
• Identify a supervisor and a supervisory committee member by your third
term (12 months)
• Complete a research project in Artificial Intelligence in
collaboration with an external partner
• Complete four courses.
○ at least three of those four courses must be non-integrated graduate courses (course number starts with a 6)
○ at most one may be an integrated course (course number starts with a 5)
○ at least three of those four courses are normally EECS graduate courses (course starts with rubric EECS)
• Defend a thesis
○ at least three of those four courses must be non-integrated graduate courses (course number starts with a 6)
○ at most one may be an integrated course (course number starts with a 5)
○ at least three of those four courses are normally EECS graduate courses (course starts with rubric EECS)
• Defend a thesis
• Complete three courses
○ at least two of the courses must be non-integrated graduate courses (course number starts with a 6)
○ at most one may be an integrated course (course number starts with a 5)
• Attend departmental seminars.
• Attend at least one professional development workshop per year
• Pass a qualifying examination.
• Prepare a dissertation proposal.
• Complete an industrial internship (3 to 6 months) or a teaching practicum.
• Defend a dissertation.
○ at least two of the courses must be non-integrated graduate courses (course number starts with a 6)
○ at most one may be an integrated course (course number starts with a 5)
• Attend departmental seminars.
• Attend at least one professional development workshop per year
• Pass a qualifying examination.
• Prepare a dissertation proposal.
• Complete an industrial internship (3 to 6 months) or a teaching practicum.
• Defend a dissertation.
Degree Milestones
• Complete program in five terms (20 months).
• Complete course requirements in the first two terms. Maintain an average of at least B+ in the courses and satisfy the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) grades regulations.
• Complete progress report #1 by December 31.
• Complete progress report #2 by April 30.
• Get the thesis proposal (thesis option) or project proposal (project option) approved at least three months before the thesis oral examination or project evaluation.
• Complete the thesis four weeks before the thesis oral examination.
• Maintain satisfactory progress:
–Selection of a supervisory committee: Students are expected to have found a thesis supervisor by April 15 of the winter term of their first year (W1). The selection of a supervisor is primarily the responsibility of the student. As well, a second member of the supervisory committee must be identified. These two people will form the thesis or project supervisory committee. A two-member supervisory committee is also applicable for the project option, where the members will evaluate the project report.
–Research: Students are expected to work on research leading to a thesis or project by their first summer term (S1) and to submit a preliminary version of their theses proposal (thesis option) or a written agreement between the student and supervisor on project scope (project option) by the end of that term. The thesis proposal should include a clear statement of the project they are undertaking, a summary of the work performed on it during the summer term, and a timetable with milestones to be achieved during terms F2 and W2, leading to successful completion of the thesis by the end of term W2.
• Complete course requirements in the first two terms. Maintain an average of at least B+ in the courses and satisfy the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) grades regulations.
• Complete progress report #1 by December 31.
• Complete progress report #2 by April 30.
• Get the thesis proposal (thesis option) or project proposal (project option) approved at least three months before the thesis oral examination or project evaluation.
• Complete the thesis four weeks before the thesis oral examination.
• Maintain satisfactory progress:
–Selection of a supervisory committee: Students are expected to have found a thesis supervisor by April 15 of the winter term of their first year (W1). The selection of a supervisor is primarily the responsibility of the student. As well, a second member of the supervisory committee must be identified. These two people will form the thesis or project supervisory committee. A two-member supervisory committee is also applicable for the project option, where the members will evaluate the project report.
–Research: Students are expected to work on research leading to a thesis or project by their first summer term (S1) and to submit a preliminary version of their theses proposal (thesis option) or a written agreement between the student and supervisor on project scope (project option) by the end of that term. The thesis proposal should include a clear statement of the project they are undertaking, a summary of the work performed on it during the summer term, and a timetable with milestones to be achieved during terms F2 and W2, leading to successful completion of the thesis by the end of term W2.
• Pass a qualifying examination within five terms (20 months).
Maintain an average of at least B+ in the courses and satisfy the FGS grades regulations.
• Submit progress reports every term by April 30, August 31, December 31.
• Get the dissertation proposal approved at least six months before the dissertation oral examination.
• Complete the dissertation four weeks before the dissertation oral examination.
• Maintain satisfactory progress:
Year 1:
• Take graduate courses.
• Select dissertation supervisor.
• Select dissertation supervisory committee (3 people) and inform FGS.
Year 2:
• Finish graduate courses.
• Do qualifying examination.
• Work on dissertation proposal.
Year 3:
• Present dissertation proposal.
• Send accepted dissertation proposal to FGS.
• Do industrial internship/teaching practicum.
Year 4:
• Complete dissertation.
Maintain an average of at least B+ in the courses and satisfy the FGS grades regulations.
• Submit progress reports every term by April 30, August 31, December 31.
• Get the dissertation proposal approved at least six months before the dissertation oral examination.
• Complete the dissertation four weeks before the dissertation oral examination.
• Maintain satisfactory progress:
Year 1:
• Take graduate courses.
• Select dissertation supervisor.
• Select dissertation supervisory committee (3 people) and inform FGS.
Year 2:
• Finish graduate courses.
• Do qualifying examination.
• Work on dissertation proposal.
Year 3:
• Present dissertation proposal.
• Send accepted dissertation proposal to FGS.
• Do industrial internship/teaching practicum.
Year 4:
• Complete dissertation.
Important Dates
Thesis, Dissertation, Graduation
Useful and up-to-date information on thesis and dissertation can be found here:
Please pay particular attention to the timing, requirements and forms regarding supervisory committee selection, thesis/dissertation proposals and thesis/dissertation scheduling requests.
If you are in the last term of your program and expect to graduate, you must apply to graduate. Please visit York Convocation – Apply to Graduate for more information.
Academic Honesty
Familiarize yourself with York’s Academic Honesty Policy and Academic Integrity guidelines. Behave academically honest, not doing so may have serious consequences.
Research Ethics
All University-based research involving human participants, including thesis and dissertation research, is subject to the ethics review process. Research ethics approval must be granted BEFORE commencing the research. Consult your supervisor and the Graduate Program Director for information on the process. Information sessions about research ethics will be held in the Fall and Winter terms at the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Health & Safety
Health & Safety training is mandatory for all members of the University. Depending on your activities, there may be more advanced training modules that will be required BEFORE commencing your work (i.e. working with hazardous materials). This is relevant for both research and teaching assistantship activities. Training sessions need to be repeated once their validity lapses. The following is a list of common training modules, but your individual case will vary according to the activities that you plan to do.
Mandatory training
- Complete the first module (Health & Safety Orientation for Faculty & Staff, online).
- Complete WHMIS I (Login online)
Additional training (according to activity)
- Complete WHMIS II (in class). This is mandatory to work with chemicals or biological agents. Students needing to take WHMIS II can skip WHMIS I training, as WHMIS I information will be included in the WHMIS II training.
- Complete Biosafety training (in class) if you plan to work with biological materials and/or supervise workers with biological materials (e.g., viruses, bacteria, cell culture, etc.) in a certified containment level laboratory.
- Complete Chemical Handling & Volatile Rooms training (in class) if you will be working in Chemistry and Biology labs.
- Complete Laser Safety training (in class) if you will be working with any laser.
- See this link for additional training modules.
Guidelines, Policies & Forms
- Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) academic regulations
- FGS Registration Procedures: Important Information
MSc / MASc
- Course Selection Proposal Form (.pdf)
- Progress Report Form (.pdf)
- Link to Thesis Proposal Form – To be submitted at least 3 months before the thesis defence date.
- Project Proposal Form (.pdf)
MSc in Computer Science, Specialization in AI
- Industry Internship Request Form (.pdf) – To be submitted before initiating an internship.
- Industry Internship Report Form (.pdf) – To be submitted immediately after completion of an internship.
PhD
- Annual Progress Report Form (.pdf) – see instructions in the form.
- Term Progress Report Form (.pdf) – Progress Report #1 is due December 31. Progress Report #2 is due August 31.
- Qualifying Exam Policy (.pdf)
- Qualifying Exam Request Form (.pdf) – To be submitted with a PDF copy of the student’s qualifying report at least 15 business days prior to the scheduled exam date.
- Link to Dissertation Proposal Form – To be submitted at least 6 months before the dissertation defence date.
- Industry Internship Request Form (.pdf) – To be submitted before initiating an internship.
- Industry Internship Report Form (.pdf) – To be submitted immediately after completion of an internship.
- Teaching Practicum Request Form (.pdf) – To be submitted before initiating a teaching practicum.
- Teaching Practicum Report Form (.pdf) – To be submitted immediately after completion of a teaching practicum.
EECS Graduate Student Association
We represent the students of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the graduate program at York University.
EECS-GSA Executive Committee for 2023-24
President – Justin So
VP Finance – Rezaul Karim
VP External – Ahmed Abdelaziz
VP Internal – TBA
VP Organization – Shivangi Raj
CUPE 3903 Steward in EECS – Yinghang Ma
Survival Guide
- How to Succeed in Graduate School Part 1 | Part 2
- Advice on Research and Writing
- Hints on Writing a Thesis