The department offers the Ph.D. and a professional M.S. degree. Study for the M.S. degree includes algorithms, programming languages, and hardware as well as important areas of application. The Ph.D. program includes courses in specialized areas and preparation for teaching and advanced research.
Students pursue particular areas of their choice and are actively involved in research.
The curricula emphasize the design and application of real computer systems and that portion of theory that guides and supports practice. Students holding an assistantship can typically expect to earn the M.S. degree in two academic years and the Ph.D. in four or five years. These systems are integrated by high-speed networks and by software that is consistent at the user level over the many architectural platforms. The department's research labs contain specialized equipment and facilities. Each student is assigned a computer.