The overall objective of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) education is to develop human resources with the capability of solving problems related to the growth of the society with the help of computing technology. Over the years, Darul Ihsan University (DIU) has developed an internationally competitive undergraduate Computer Science & Engineering program, modeled after similar programs offered by leading North American Universities. Graduates of this program have demonstrated excellence in industry and graduate studies both at home and abroad.

Leveraging the success of undergraduate program, DIU envisions developing the graduate program with the focus on research and technopreneurship. The CSE graduate program has been designed with the objective of creating and deploying new computing knowledge for enhancing the quality of life of citizens of Bangladesh and the rest of the world. In the process of developing this program, DIU’s CSE department performed extensive investigation of the research report on computer science education produced by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ (IEEE) Computer Society, reviewed similar graduate programs of leading North American Universities, studied the structure and dynamics of local and global IT industry and consulted with notable academicians and entrepreneurs in the area of Computer Science and Engineering.

Darul Ihsan University understands that it would be a formidable challenge for developing a world class CSE graduate program in Bangladesh. Over the years, DIU has invested significantly in developing the knowledge infrastructure comprising state-of-the-art library, computer laboratories and esteemed faculty members with international reputation. This basic infrastructure will work as strong foundation for the growth of this new graduate program to the standard of similar programs offered by leading North American Universities.

This graduate program is designed with the research focus on distributed multimedia computing, robotics and intelligent machines, software engineering, computer networking, algorithms and system complexity, computer graphics and visualization, and computer architecture, telecommunications and bioinformatics. A balanced approach has been taken in course and thesis works in order to develop both the breadth and depth of knowledge in graduating students.

Program Description

MS program in Computer Science & Engineering is offered to the graduates with 4-year B.Sc. degrees in Computer Science & Engineering. The program is intended to enhance the academic and professional career to meet the contemporary challenge of Computer Science and technology. The curriculum and syllabus of the program is designed to be compatible with the leading North American Universities. The courses are being taught by a group of highly qualified and professionally motivated faculty members with North American Ph.D. degrees and proven teaching and research records. The Department of Computer Science & Engineering at DIU has a wonderful academic and research environment for students with state of the art laboratory facilities. The department provides students with the most advanced resources for teaching and research. The department has an intimate and close professional relationship with administration and computing facilities to maintain a good communication and network facilities for students and faculty members. The DIU Library is the first in the country to introduce online facilities for most of their services. The library subscribes to the print versions of all the ACM periodicals and all the publications of the IEEE Computer Society. The library also subscribes to the ACM and IEEE Computer Society online Digital Library.

Degree Requirements

The general requirements for the Masters’ in Computer Science & Engineering degree are as follows:

Students must choose one of the following options:

1. A Thesis with 24 credits course work and passing of Qualifying Examinations in 3 areas
2. A Project with 27 credits course work and passing of Qualifying Examinations in 4 areas

The minimum and maximum time to complete the degree requirements are 3 semesters and 5 years respectively from the initial enrolment of the Masters’ program. The residency requirement is 21 credit hours including the Masters’ Thesis. A maximum of 9 credits are transferable from other universities.

A student must complete required number of credits with minimum CGPA of 3.0 on a 4 point scale to earn the degree. To continue in the program a student must maintain a minimum CGPA of 3.0 at all levels of academic advancement. If in any semester the CGPA drops below 2.70 the student will be on academic probation. If a student remains on probation for two consecutive semesters, he/she will be dismissed from the program

Course Requirement:

To fulfill the degree requirement, students in the Computer Science & Engineering Masters’ program will have to take eight courses, covering at least four of the following six groups. Students completing two courses and a thesis in one of these groups will receive the degree with concentration in that area.

Group 1:  Algorithms

Group 2:  Computer Networks & Systems

Group 3:  Intelligent System Engineering

Group 4:  Software Engineering

Group 5:  Telecommunication Engineering

Group 6:  Bioinformatics

Special Courses

Qualifying Examination:

There will be a qualifying exam administered at the beginning of each semester in the following 8 areas:

1. Algorithm Analysis
2. Operating Systems
3. Compiler construction
4. Computer Network
5. Database Systems
6. Artificial Intelligence
7. Computer Architecture
8. Software Engineering

All students are required to pass the qualifying examination in 4 areas within the 3 semesters of their enrolment. The students can sit for the examinations at most two times to pass in their chosen 4 areas. They will be allowed to sit in only for the required number of areas. (For example, a student needing to pass in 2 areas in his/her 2^nd attempt may not appear in 3 or more areas). Failure to pass the qualifying examination will result in the discontinuation from the Masters program. To avoid being dismissed from the program students are strongly advised to take relevant undergraduate courses before making the 2^nd attempt.

Thesis Committee:

After passing the qualifying examinations, a Thesis Committee will be formed for the student. The supervisor, in consultation with the Graduate Adviser, will form a four-member Thesis Committee that should include one external member.

The Thesis Committee advises the student regarding the direction of the course works and suggests possible research areas. The Committee would evaluate the student’s progress time to time and may suggest a few presentations in a seminar prior to the final thesis defense. The Thesis supervisor determines whether to enroll CSE 599 as a one-semester 6-credit course or a two-semester having 3-credits each.