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Catalog Home : Graduate School Catalog

Scientific Computation

Link to a list of faculty for this program.

Contact Information—Scientific Computation Program, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-626-1458; fax 612-626-5009; www.scicomp.umn.edu).

Along with the program-specific requirements listed below, please read the General Information section of this catalog for Graduate School requirements that apply to all major fields.

Curriculum—This program encompasses coursework and research on the fundamental principles for using intensive computation to support research in the physical, biological, and social sciences and engineering. Emphasis is on research issues, state-of-the-art methods, and applying these methods to outstanding problems in science, engineering, and other fields that use scientific computation, numerical analysis and algorithm development, symbolic and logic analysis, high-performance computing tools, supercomputing and heterogeneous networks, and visualization. The program and degree requirements are described in detail on the program Web site.

Prerequisites for Admission—Applicants fill out the online Graduate School Application and the Survey of Research Interests Form found on the program website. A bachelor’s degree in a field that uses scientific computation is required for admission.

Special Application Requirements—Applicants must submit scores from the General Test of the GRE; three letters of recommendation from persons familiar with their scholarship and research potential; a complete set of official transcripts; and a clearly written statement of career interests, goals, and objectives. Students may apply at any time; however, submission of all application materials by January 1 is strongly encouraged to ensure priority consideration for fellowships and assistantships.

Key to test abbreviations (GRE, TOEFL, GMAT, MELAB).

For an online application or for more information about Graduate School admissions, see the General Information section in this catalog, or visit the Graduate School Web site.

Courses—Refer to the Scientific Computation (SCIC) in the course section of this catalog or in Twin Cities Courses on the University Catalog Web site for courses pertaining to the program.

Use of 4xxx Courses—Inclusion of 4xxx courses on Degree Program Forms is subject to adviser and director of graduate studies approval. Students from other majors may include such courses subject to their own program’s approval.

M.S. Plan A Degree Requirements

The program is offered under Plan A (thesis), which includes a minimum of 20 course credits and 10 thesis credits. The course credits must include at least 6 credits from the scientific computation core and at least 6 credits in a minor. Only 3 credits from courses offered in a student’s minor may be counted toward the core requirements in scientific computation. A course listed in both the core requirements of scientific computation and a student’s minor may not be counted under both.

Language Requirements—None.

Final Exam—The final exam is oral.

Minor Requirements for Students Majoring in Other Fields—The master’s minor requires approval of the director of graduate studies and a minimum of 4 credits from the core curriculum; the credits may not be from courses in the student’s major field.

Ph.D. Degree Requirements

A minimum of 24 course credits is required with a minimum of 12 credits in core courses; 24 thesis credits are also required. Students have two options:

Ph.D. with supporting program—In addition to the core credits, this option requires 12 credits in subjects that support computational science—these can include core credits beyond the required 12 credits.

Ph.D. with minor—In addition to the core credits, this option requires 12 credits in a minor. Many minor programs require more than 12 credits; in such cases, the greater requirements will be in effect. The minor field must be declared before the student takes the preliminary oral exam.

Language Requirements—None.

Minor Requirements for Students Majoring in Other Fields—A doctoral minor requires approval of the director of graduate studies and a minimum of 12 credits (a minimum of 6 of these in core courses with remaining credits from supplementary courses). A student may use one course from their major field to satisfy the requirement of a minor in scientific computation, provided there is no rule prohibiting this in the student’s major field.

Faculty

For latest graduate faculty listings, see <www.grad.umn.edu/faculty_rosters/faculty.html>.

Key to membership categories (abbreviations after faculty names).

Regents Professor
Apostolos P. Georgopoulos, Neuroscience, SM
Donald G. Truhlar, Chemistry, SM

Professor
Douglas N. Arnold, Mathematics, SM
Victor H. Barocas, Biomedical Engineering, SM
Daniel L. Boley, Computer Science and Engineering, SM
Graham V. Candler, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, SM
J. Bernardo Cockburn, Mathematics, SM
Christopher J. Cramer, Chemistry, SM
Jeffrey J. Derby, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, SM
Timothy J. Ebner, Neuroscience, SM
David M. Ferguson, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacognosy, SM
Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, Civil Engineering, SM
Jiali Gao, Chemistry, SM
Thomas W. Jones, Astronomy, SM
Daniel D. Joseph, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, SM
Daniel J. Kersten, Psychology, SM
Vipin Kumar, Computer Science and Engineering, SM
David J. Lilja, Electrical and Computer Engineering, SM
Mitchell B. Luskin, Mathematics, SM
John L. Nieber, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, SM
Hans G. Othmer, Mathematics, SM
N. P. Papanikolopoulos, Computer Science and Engineering, SM
Yousef Saad, Computer Science and Engineering, SM
Guillermo R. Sapiro, Electrical and Computer Engineering, SM
George R. Sell, Mathematics, SM
J. Ilja Siepmann, Chemistry, SM
Jaideep Srivastava, Computer Science and Engineering, SM
Harlan W. Stech, Mathematics and Statistics, Duluth, SM
Ellad Tadmor, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, SM
David D. Thomas, Biochemistry, SM
Vaughan R. Voller, Civil Engineering, SM
Renata M. Wentzcovitch, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, SM
George L. Wilcox, Neuroscience, SM
Paul R. Woodward, Astronomy, SM
David A. Yuen, Geology and Geophysics, SM

Associate Professor
Scott Fahrenkrug, Animal Science SM
George Karypis, Computer Science and Engineering, M2
Krishnan Mahesh, Aerospace Engineering, SM
Darrin M. York, Chemistry, SM

Assistant Professor
Bagrat Amirikian, Neuroscience, M2
Rui Kuang, Computer Science and Engineering, M2

Lecturer
Norman J. Troullier, Chemistry, M2

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