Text for the Web Page on CSIT Certificate Program

Students currently enrolled at FSU are invited to participate in the
Computational Science and Information Technology Certificate Program.  All
applications to this program must be sponsored by a CSIT faculty member.  If
approved, a CSIT "mentor" for the student will be selected in consultation
with the student and thesis advisor.  The CSIT mentor will serve on the
student's doctoral or thesis committee.  Mentor and advisor will be jointly
responsible for establishing a balanced study plan and must approve all course
selections.

CSIT students must satisfy both CSIT requirements and home department
requirements.  With carefull planning, these will usually overlap
considerably, making it possible to earn the CSIT degree specialization in one
semester's worth (approximately 12 credit hours) of additional coursework.

The student will take a minimum of:

Six credit hours among required CSIT core courses in the first two years, and

Six credit hours of affiliated courses in a department other than the primary
one.

The student is also expected to participate in CSIT-designated functions, such
as seminars or short courses by visiting researchers.

A student completes the CSIT certificate program of studies by passing the
required CSIT courses, and successfully defending an original dissertation.
An outside CSIT faculty member on the thesis committee will judge whether the
thesis has sufficient content in computational science and information
technology to warrant CSIT certification.  There exist many interpretations
presently as to what constitutes CSIT, as distinct from, for example,
computational aerodynamics or computational biology.  For the purpose of this
judgement, it is not sufficient that a candidate make extensive use of pre-
existing computational resources in performing a scientific or technological
investigation.  There must  be an original algorithmic or computer-
implementation component in addition to the scientific or engineering
contribution.

The student will submit to the CSIT a complete copy of the Ph.D. thesis. It is
expected that the results of the research will also be published in
appropriate professional journals and that, if applicable, CSIT financial
support will be properly acknowledged.

Near the completion of his or her studies, the student shall present him- or
herself for a written or oral qualifying examination whose purpose is to
determine whether the student shall receive the CSIT certification of
specialization.