Information and Computer Science Degree

The UCI General Catalogue is the official guide to all degree and graduation requirements; the information below is intended for general planning purposes only.

Concentration in Informatics-General Track (INF-GEN), (M.S. and Ph.D.)

In addition to the Informatics-General concentration, there are also three other Informatics concentrations listed below. Click on a track to learn more about it.

The general track of the Informatics concentration covers aspects from both the ICT track and the Software track to broadly cover the topics of Informatics. more »

Fall 2007 to Current Degree Requirements
Concentration Core:

Students must complete the Survey courses, Informatics Core courses, Informatics Breadth courses and a focus track.

General Informatics Track (GEN):

  • Survey of Research and Research Methods:
    • INF 201: Research Methodology for Informatics
    • Note: Students in the MS program may substitute INF 201 for one additional Informatics course numbered 200-299. Consult with the ICS graduate counselors for more information.
    • Two quarters of Seminar in Informatics (Informatics 209S)
  • Informatics Core Courses (select three) :
  • Informatics Breadth:
    • Two four-unit graduate courses in ICS, CS or Statistics, outside of Informatics
  • Electives:
    • Six four-unit graduate courses approved by the student's advisor and the Department Chair
    • ** MS students pursuing the thesis option may substitute two of these courses with two quarters of Inf 298 Thesis Supervision.
Research Project for the Ph.D.

Each student must find an Informatics faculty advisor and successfully complete a research project with that faculty member by the end of the second year. The research project should be done over at least two quarters of independent study or thesis supervision (Informatics 299 or 298) with that faculty.

Written Assessment for the Ph.D.

Each student must pass a written assessment. Students in the SW and ICT tracks must pass a written examination regularly administered by the department. This examination is based on predetermined reading lists maintained by the SW and ICT faculty. Students in the UBICOMP and GEN tracks must describe the research project in a publication-quality report, which must be approved by three UBICOMP and Informatics faculty.

- Written Assessment Timeline/Procedures (PDF, 47kb)

Candidacy Examination for the Ph.D.
Each student must pass the oral advancement to candidacy examination, which assesses the student’s ability to conduct, present, and orally defend research work at the doctoral level.

Students in the UBICOMP and GEN tracks, additionally to questions about the presented research, will also be asked questions about a predetermined list of papers. In the case of UBICOMP, that list is maintained by the UBICOMP faculty; in the case of GEN, that list is to be determined by the student’s committee.

Dissertation Topic Defense

The student must present a dissertation plan that includes the proposed dissertation abstract, a dissertation outline, a comprehensive survey of related work, and a detailed plan for completing the work. This plan must be unanimously approved by the dissertation committee.

Doctoral Dissertation and Final Examination

The student is required to complete a doctoral dissertation in accordance with Academic Senate Policy. The student must also pass an oral dissertation defense which consists of a public presentation of the student's research followed by an oral examination by the student's doctoral committee. The dissertation must be approved unanimously by the committee.

Fall 2006 to Spring 2007 Degree Requirements
Concentration Core:

All courses must be passed with a grade of B or better. M.S. and Ph.D. course requirements for each concentration are listed below.

  • Required:
    • ICS 200: Seminar in Research in ICS (2 units)
    • INF 231: Human-Computer Interaction (4 units)
    • INF 211: Software Engineering (4 units)
    • INF 261: Social Analysis of Computing (4 units)
    • INF 209s: Three quarters of Seminar in Informatics (6 units)
    • INF 241/CS 248A: Introduction to Ubiquitous Computing (4 units)
    • CS 221: Information Retrieval, Filtering and Classification (4 units)
    • Two four-unit graduate lecture courses in ICS, outside of the field of Informatics
  • Select two Software electives from the following (8 units):
    • INF 213: Formal Specification and Modeling
    • INF 221: Software Architecture
    • INF 215: Software Analysis and Testing
    • INF 217: Software Processes
    • INF 223: Applied Software Design Techniques
    • INF 235: Advanced User Interface Architectures
    • INF 219: Software Environments
  • Select two ICT electives from the following (8 units):
    • CS 248B/INF 242: Ubiquitous Computing and Interaction
    • INF 233: Knowledge-Based User Interfaces
    • INF 251: Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
    • INF 263: Computerization, Work and Organization
    • INF 265: Theories of Computerization and Information Systems
    • INF 267: Computing and Cyberspace
    • INF 203 or Social Ecology 217 or MGMT 290: Qualitative Research Methods in Information Systems
    • INF 205 or 207 or Social Science 201A: Quantitative Research Methods in Information Systems or Descriptive Multivariate Statistics I
  • Seminar (8 units):
    • Students need to choose two courses of INF 295 taught by Informatics faculty.

*NOTE: M.S. students pursuing the thesis option must substitute two four unit courses of INF 298 for two courses from the Electives or Special Topics.

Fall 2004 to Spring 2006 Degree Requirements
Core:

All courses must be passed with a grade of B or better. M.S. and Ph.D. course requirements for each concentration are listed below. Please keep in mind that every student completing a degree in one of these eight areas must take the following core courses:

  • One course from Theory selected from:
    • CS 260: Fundamentals of the Design and Analysis of Algorithms
    • CS 261: Data Structures
    • CS 263: Analysis of Algorithms
  • One course from Architecture/CAD/Hardware selected from:
    • CS 244: Introduction to Embedded & Ubiquitous Systems
    • CS 250A: Computer Systems Architectures
    • CS 232: Internet
    • CS 252: Introduction to Computer Design
  • One course in Software and Systems selected from:
    • INF 231: Human-Computer Interaction
    • CS 241: Compiler Construction
    • CS 222: Principles of Data Management
    • INF 211: Software Engineering
    • CS 230: Distributed Computer Systems
Concentration Core:
  • Required:
    • ICS 200: Seminar in Research in ICS (2 units)
    • INF 231: Human-Computer Interaction (4 units)
    • INF 211: Software Engineering (4 units)
    • INF 261: Social Analysis of Computing (4 units)
    • INF 209s: Three quarters of Seminar in Informatics (6 units)
    • INF 241/CS 248A: Introduction to Ubiquitous Computing (4 units)
    • CS 221: Information Retrieval, Filtering and Classification (4 units)
  • Select two Software electives from the following (8 units):
    • INF 213: Formal Specification and Modeling
    • INF 221: Software Architecture
    • INF 215: Software Analysis and Testing
    • INF 217: Software Processes
    • INF 223: Applied Software Design Techniques
    • INF 235: Advanced User Interface Architectures
    • INF 219: Software Environments
  • Select two ICT electives from the following (8 units):
    • CS 248B/INF 242: Ubiquitous Computing and Interaction
    • INF 233: Knowledge-Based User Interfaces
    • INF 251: Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
    • INF 263: Computerization, Work and Organization
    • INF 265: Theories of Computerization and Information Systems
    • INF 267: Computing and Cyberspace
    • INF 203 or Social Ecology 217 or MGMT 290: Qualitative Research Methods in Information Systems
    • INF 205 or 207 or Social Science 201A: Quantitative Research Methods in Information Systems or Descriptive Multivariate Statistics I
  • Seminar (8 units):
    • Students need to choose two courses of INF 295 taught by Informatics faculty.
*NOTE: M.S. students pursuing the thesis option must substitute two four unit courses of INF 298 for two courses from the Electives or Special Topics.

More about the degree...

Informatics is the interdisciplinary study of the design, application, use, and impact of information technology. It goes beyond technical design to focus on the relationship between information system design and use in real-world settings.

These investigations lead to new forms of system architecture, new approaches to system design and development, new means of information system implementation and deployment, and new models of interaction between technology and social, cultural, and organizational settings.

In the Bren School, Informatics is concerned with software architecture, software development, design and analysis, programming languages, ubiquitous computing, information retrieval and management, human-computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work, and other topics that lie at the relationship between information technology design and use in social and organizational settings.

Effective design requires an ability to analyze things from many different perspectives, including computer science, information science, organizational science, social science, and cognitive science.

Relevant courses in those disciplines are therefore an integral part of the program and give this concentration a unique interdisciplinary flavor, which is imperative as the computing and information technology fields play such a pervasive role in our daily lives.