The School of Computer Engineering offers graduate programmes leading to the award of the degree of Master of Science (MSc) and each has a prescribed programme of study and involves a project dissertation. The MSc programmes are available on full-time and part-time basis. (*)

* For full-time students, the minimum period of candidature is one academic year and the maximum period is two academic years. For part-time students, the minimum period of candidature is two academic years and the maximum period is four academic years.

1.   Introduction

1.1  The MSc Programmes are under the charge of Associate Chair (Research) - Computer Engineering.

1.2  The School of Computer Engineering currently offers three Master of Science Programmes. Administrative support for the MSc programmes are as follows:

•  Master of Science in Bioinformatics
   - Programme Director: A/P Kwoh Chee Keong
     email: pd-msc-bi{at}ntu.edu.sg

•  Master of Science in Embedded Systems
   - Programme Director: A/P Douglas Maskell
     email: pd-msc-es{at}ntu.edu.sg

•  Master of Science in Digital Media Technology
   - Programme Director: A/P Lin Feng
     email: pd-mscdmt{at}ntu.edu.sg

For personal help, please contact:

Ms Molly Yap
Assistant Manager (Research)
Tel: 6316 8774

or

Mr Alan Chng Hee Siah
Higher Executive Officer (Research)
Tel: 6790 6168

2.   NTU Email Account  

Email accounts for students are administered by NTU's Computer Centre (HelpDesk Tel No is 67905228).  All Students are required to access their NTU email accounts regularly, as information from the School and Graduate Studies Office are mainly disseminated via email. 

3.  GSLink

Students are granted access to the following information issued by the Graduate Studies Office (GSO).

•  Admin Procedures & Services
•  Examination
•  Convocation
•  Course Registration
•  Dissertation 

To access GSLink, click https://sso.wis.ntu.edu.sg/gslink. Students who have enquiries regarding such information should contact the Graduate Studies office directly (General Office Tel No is 67904704). 

Important Note:
With effect from the first semester of AY 05/06, an annual Amenities Fee of $12 each (subject to GST) will be collected from full-time undergraduates and full-time postgraduate students.

4.   Edventure - OnLine Learning                       

Students are given access to Edventure for the courses they are taking. To access Edventure, please click http://edventure.ntu.edu.sg/          

5.   MSc Time-Table 

The Final MSc time-table will be available on Graduate Student Link (GSLink) one month before the term starts. Time-tables are also available from:

• BioInformatics:
  http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sce/msc-bioinformatics-desc.asp#timetable
• Embedded Systems:
  http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sce/msc-embeddedsystems-desc.asp#timetable
• Digital Media Technology:
  http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sce/msc-digitalmedia-desc.asp#rtimetable

All electives will be opened for students to select, but only those electives selected by five or more students will be offered. In the case where an elective is cancelled due to insufficient students, those students who have selected the cancelled elective will be informed of the cancellation, and they will have to select an alternative elective if necessary.

6.  Course Registration

6.1   All Master of Science students are required to sit for an examination at the end of the semester for each course registered in that particular semester. It is mandatory that they pass all the core and optional courses, as stipulated in the programme syllabus before they can be eligible for the award of the Master of Science degree.

6.2   Students are required to register for all courses that they are taking in each semester (except year 1 semester 1) through the on-line Course Registration System. The Course Registration System is a centrally administered by Graduate Studies Office. The school will register the core courses for the students in their first term of study.

7.  Calculators

All calculators to be used in the examination hall must be registered and bear the School's seal. A list of approved calculators and the registration dates can be found at the webpage:

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sce/calculator/list.asp

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sce/calculator/reg_dates.asp

Please note that programmable calculators are strictly prohibited in the examination hall.

8.  Examination

8.1   The examination in any course may include written, oral and practical tests, and such other forms of assessment as the Academic Board may determine from time to time.

8.2   Unless otherwise determined by the school concerned, the duration for each written examination in any courses shall be three hours.

8.3   A student is said to have completed a course once he or she has passed the examination at the end of each semester.

9.   Option to Complete MSc Degree

9.1   MSc Degree (Full-time)
The full-time programme has only the single study option available:

-      Coursework & Dissertation: Students are required to take eight (8) courses (24 AUs) consisting of core courses, elective courses and a substantial project (6 AUs).

9.2   MSc Degree (Part-time)
The following options are available to complete the part-time programme:

(a) Coursework & Dissertation: Students are required to take eight (8) courses (24 AUs) consisting of core courses and elective courses and a dissertation project (6 AUs).

(b) Coursework only: Students are required to take a total of ten (10) courses (30 AUs) consisting the core courses and elective courses, one of which must be the Directed Reading (3 AUs). 

9.2.1    Selection of Option

The Graduate Studies Office (GSO) has an On-Line System for all students to select their option of study. Please do NOT select this option before your second year of study, and under NO circumstances should you select the Project+Dissertation option. The reason being that this is the default option and selecting it will limit your future options unnecessarily. In addition, please read the GSO instructions carefully before making any selection.

10.  Dissertation

       For students who opted for Coursework & Dissertation option.

10.1  Projects

10.1.1   A Master of Science student will need to complete a dissertation/project within 2 years (for full-time students) or 4 years (for part-time students) from the commencement of candidature before they are eligible for the award of the Master of Science degree. The project can be carried out concurrently with the course work. 

10.1.2   The nature of the project must be directly related to the programme of study. The School must approve the project topic before the project can commence.

10.1.3   A supervisor, appointed by the School, will be assigned to the student.

10.1.4   The supervisor will monitor the progress of the students and provide the necessary academic guidance.

10.2  Projects Allocation

10.2.1  Registration of Dissertation Topic Proposed by Student 

A student can propose & register his/her own project using the "MSc Dissertation Topic Proposal (by candidate)" form. Prior discussion with the possible supervisor by the student is preferred before he/she makes the proposal. The student must seek endorsement by the Programme Director and the Associate Chair (Research) - Computer Engineering to ensure relevancy and legitimacy of the project.

10.2.2  Registration of Dissertation Topic Proposed by Staff 

Every academic year, the Program Director will solicit new dissertation topics from staff, if applicable. The proposed dissertation topic, endorsed by the Programme Director will be made available for students' selection.

When a student selects a dissertation topic from the List of Dissertation Topics provided by the School, the academic staff member who proposed the project would generally be the supervisor for the student.

10.3  Examination of Dissertation

10.3.1   The Programme Director will appoint two examiners for each dissertation, of which the supervisor may be one of them. The examiners should be appointed when the draft copy of the dissertation is submitted, or earlier. 

10.3.2   Once the dissertation is ready for examination, two ring-bounded copies are to be submitted with Form SCE/MSC/01/06/Submission.

10.3.3  The student will submit his dissertation to his supervisor and the supervisor will arrange for the examination of the dissertation with the examiner (assigned by the school). The supervisor may arrange with the examiner for a demonstration or presentation.

10.3.4  The examiners would assess the dissertation and return it to the supervisor with a report for amendment or recommend to PASS the thesis when the examiner is satisfied with the quality of the report.

10.3.5  Upon meeting the standard of MSc thesis, the student will submit the final thesis in PDF form to the supervisor.

10.3.6  The students will be conferred the Masters of Science degree if they have completed the coursework and passed the examinations for all required courses.

10.4. Forms Related to Dissertation

Refer to GSlink

All Dissertation Forms (Registration, Change of Title & Submission) can be obtained from Edventure or here:

	Name of Form	Word
1.	Proposal of MSc Dissertation Topic (SCE/MSC/01/06/Topic)
2.	6-monthly Progress Report Form (SCE-MSC/01/06/Progress Report)
3.	Request to Change Title of Dissertation (SCE/MSC/01/06/Change Title)
4.	Request to Change Supervisor (SCE/MSC/01/06/Supervisor)
5.	MSc Submission of Dissertation (SCE/MSC/01/07/Submission)

11  Directed Reading

The course aims to impart detailed knowledge of a highly specialised topic within the field of study of the MSc. The directed reading and independent research will involve an in-depth study of an advanced technology/methodology/technique and its application to the area of study, under the guidance of a faculty member.

11.1 Registration

The directed reading course will be chosen in consultation with a supervisor. Admission into the course requires agreement by a proposed supervisor and submission of a proposal to the School (via the programme director) during the first 2 weeks of the semester in which the course will be taken.

Students are required to register for directed reading through the on-line Course Registration System.

11.2 Submission Guidelines for Directed Reading Report

The report should be 7,000 to 10,000 words in length using the IEEE two column format. A Microsoft Word style file can be obtained here.

The report should commence with an abstract and finish with a list of references, and contain any headings and subheadings as deemed necessary. Pages must be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals.

A PDF version of the completed report must be submitted to the supervisor by the given deadline. A standard naming convention should be used. Upon clearance from the supervisor, students are required to submit an Adobe PDF version of the final report online, using the “Digital Drop Box” in Edventure.