Columbia Video Network : The Computer Science Degree
I want to present some information that I find useful regarding the actual set of courses that you must complete to earn a graduate degree at Columbia. Since I’m primarily interested in the Computer Science major, some of what I will be presenting will be specific to that program but most of the requirements are the same across a number of the engineering degrees.
To begin with, the CS degree requires the completion of 30 credits (or points). Each class is 3 points. Therefore, you must complete a minimum of 10 classes to earn your degree.
The recommendation from the CVN staff is to take only one class per semester if you are working full-time. Since they offer three semesters per year (spring, summer, and fall), that means about 3 years to get the degree if you somehow manage to take 2 courses in one of the 9 semesters.
For the Computer Science Program, there are required courses for the degree and then a set of courses that correspond to the track that you are following. The following tracks are offered:
Computer Security
Foundations of Computer Science
Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Network Systems
Software Systems
Vision and Graphics
M.S. Personalized
For any of these tracks, you must complete at least four Core courses out of the following six:
COMS W4115: Programming Languages and Translators
COMS W4118: Operating Systems
COMS W4156: Advanced Software Engineering
CSOR W4231: Analysis of Algorithms
COMS W4701: Artificial Intelligence
CSEE W4824: Computer Architecture
Since I’m planning on following the Network Systems track, I need to take the following course:
CSEE W4119: Introduction to Computer Networks
That leaves 5 courses for electives. You can take any 4 of the following classes but you need to make sure that at least (2) are 6000-level courses:
COMS E6181: Advanced Internet Services
COMS E6998: Advanced Internet Routing
COMS W6998: Content Networking
COMS W4180: Introduction to Network Security
COMS W4261: Introduction to Cryptography
COMS W4995: VOIP Security
COMS E6998: Advanced Topics in Security
COMS E6185: Intrusion and Anomaly Detection Systems
COMS E6118: Operating Systems II
COMS E6180: Modeling & Performance Evaluation
COMS E6125: Web Enhanced Information Management
COMS E6901: Projects in Computer Science
ELEN E6717: Information Theory
ELEN E4703: Wireless Communications
ELEN E6761: Computer Communication Networks
ELEN E6950: Wireless & Mobile Networks, I
ELEN E6951: Wireless & Mobile Networks, II
SIEO W4606: Stochastic Processes (or substitute with IEOR-W4106)
IEOR E6704: Queuing Theory and Applications
IEOR E6801: Monte Carlo & Discrete Event Simulation
IEOR E4406: Facilities Location, Routing, Network Design
One class is left for you to take as a free elective.
Here is the shocker: the classes are expensive. Remember that you are paying graduate school tuition as well as a CVN program fee. There is no financial aid available for CVN students either beyond what the government provides.
Here is how it breaks down for 2008:
CVN Credit Tuition: $1184 per point (Credit Hour)
CVN Audit Tuition: $634 per point (Credit Hour)
CVN Fee: $375 per course
Non-refundable one-time fees:
Transcript Fee: $75
Graduate Admission Application Fee: $65
Certificate Program Application Fee: $100
Late Registration Fee: $100
CVN Withdrawal Fee: $75, plus prorated tuition
For example:
A three credit course would be $3552 + transcript fee $75 (one-time) + CVN fee $375 = $4002.
EXPENSIVE.
6 comments
Most of the students in the CVN program are funded by their company/corporation.
It’s true that many students receive tuition reimbursement from their employers. I do myself. The problem comes in when that reimbursement is limited. My company has a set budget for tuition reimbursement per year. Relying on it alone means I can only take two classes every year.
I’m a CVN student at Columbia taking two classes. I don’t recommend it, especially if taking OS. Take one class per semester.
J,
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate the feedback. I’m probably going to end up taking one class per semester. I’m not sure about taking classes during the summer semesters.
Is there anything else that would be useful to know? How is the program working for you? How much further do you have to go?
Direct experience would be a very useful resource for anyone considering the program.
For those wanting to decide about the quality of the courses, there are some previews available for a number of different classes. These are not mini-previews, but each is a full classroom session and there are 1 to 4 previews depending upon the class. You can watch via streaming video or download the videos to your hard drive. Also, from the previews and/or the instructors home page, you can find the required textbooks and sometimes a syllabus to get a flavor of what is being taught.
They do ask you to register, but that is not a problem, you get an email saying “thanks for your interest” and maybe every 6 months some announcement, but they do not spam you to death.
Here is the video preview link:
http://www.cvn.columbia.edu/previews.php
I’ve taken 3 courses so far and I’m very happy with the program. I’ve learned a ton. So far, I’ve taken COMS E6125, COMS W4118 (very time consuming), and COMS W4187. All of the classes had top notch professors. I have comp sci degrees from a WI state school and a Masters from U of Minnesota. Columbia is a top notch program and CVN works well. Don’t expect an easy program, it is hard core. But, if you are a professional and you have real world experience in C and Java and software engineering, you should do fine. Oh, and it really sucks when you have work and school deadlines in the same week.
Expect usually two exams and around four or five homeworks per class. Both vary in difficulty. I put a ton of time into OS class, but now I am comfortable looking at Linux source code and making changes. I’ve taken many corporate classes, and nothing compares to CVN. This is a top notch program. I just wish they offered a PhD for us remote students.
Before enrolling, I looked into other online options. But nothing compared for computer science. Columbia is a great school.
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