OMS CS FALL 2016 ORIENTATION INFORMATION

Welcome to the Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMS CS) program! The faculty and staff at the College of
Computing are looking forward to working with you for the duration of your time at Georgia Tech.
We encourage you to watch our introductory videos online that cover many of the topics in this document:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtYJ8HXD0d7BRjUZSYJhLz5_nLX5GvXRG.
SECTION A. ACADEMIC POLICIES
As a Georgia Tech student, you are responsible for familiarizing yourself with the following:
Academic Honor Code: Website
Student/Faculty Expectations: Website
SECTION B. FOUNDATIONAL COURSE REQUIREMENT
1. You have one calendar year from the time you matriculate to complete the foundational course requirement.
2. If this is your first term as a new admit, you have Fall 2016, Spring 2017, and Summer 2017 to complete this
requirement.
3. The foundational course requirement is a minimum grade of B in two foundational courses.
4. The foundational courses are those with an asterisk (*) listed on the Current Courses page under the Program
Information tab on the OMS CS Home Page.
5. In any term, if you make less than a B in a foundational course, that term still counts as part of your one-year
time frame to complete the requirement.
6. In any term, if you withdraw from a foundational course, that term still counts as part of your one-year time frame
to complete this requirement.
7. For new Fall 2016 students who matriculate this semester, you will be restricted to enrolling only in
foundational courses until you have satisfied the foundational course requirement.
SECTION C. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
You may view the current MS CS degree requirements here. The OMS CS program has the same DEGREE
REQUIREMENTS as the on-campus MS CS but offers fewer areas of specialization and fewer classes.
1. Students must complete 30 credit hours (10 total courses) for the OMS CS degree.
2. Students must declare one specialization. 15-18 hours comprise the Area of Specialization.
3. The remaining 12-15 hours comprise CS/CSE free electives. The electives are any OMS CS course not used in
your Area of Specialization.
4. The thesis and project options are not available to online students. OMS CS is a course-only program.
5. You must earn at least a B in all courses in your chosen Area of Specialization.
6. You must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 to graduate.
7. Additional program information can be found here: http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-information.
The following Areas of Specialization are available through the OMS CS degree:
Computational Perception and Robotics
Computing Systems
Interactive Intelligence
Machine Learning
SECTION D. REGISTRATION TIME TICKETS
Your time ticket will tell you the specific date and time you are allowed to begin registering for classes.
You will be able to view your time ticket on Friday, August 12 at 6:00pm ET.

To check your time ticket in OSCAR, follow these directions:

1. Go to the BuzzPort Home Page.
2. Sign in using your GT credentials.
3. Click Registration, and that will take you to OSCAR.
4. On the OSCAR main menu, choose Student Services & Financial Aid.
5. Click Registration, then Registration Status.
6. Click Fall 2016 for Term and hit SUBMIT.
7. This page will display a time at which your Registration Time Ticket will begin. Also, if you have any holds or
outstanding issues, they will appear here as well.
SECTION E. REGISTRATION HOLDS
1. Once your account is activated, you must check to see if you have any holds that might prevent registration.
Instruction on how to view holds is available online: Holds.
2. If you have a hold on your account, you MUST clear it before you can register for classes. You must contact the
department who placed the hold, as the department who placed the hold is the only department who can
remove the hold.

If you have a Graduate Admissions HOLD: Graduate Studies is missing documentation (probably your
final official transcript). Email them directly at gradinfo@mail.gatech.edu or call 404.894.1610.
If you are located in the Atlanta area and wish to drop off your documentation instead of mailing it, you
may do so. Graduate Studies is located in the Savant Building (Room 318) on the Georgia Tech campus.
If you prefer to mail your documents to Graduate Studies, see SECTION K: FAQs for their mailing
address.
If you are a new student starting Fall 2016, you will not have a missing document hold placed on your
account for transcripts until after Phase II registration has ended. However, you will want to ensure that
you submit all required official transcripts/documents to avoid future holds.

If you have a Lawful Presence HOLD: Only the documents listed here can be used to clear this hold. Go
to the Graduate Studies Home Page under New & Current Students and click Lawful Presence. For
questions, please send an email to christie.couvillion@grad.gatech.edu.

If you have an Immunization HOLD: Send an email to immunizations@health.gatech.edu and request a

Waiver Request Form. Once the waiver is submitted, it is valid for one year from the date it is signed.
Distance Learners do not require proof of immunization but must complete the yearly waiver.

SECTION F. REGISTER FOR CLASSES

Registration dates can be found on the Academic Calendar on the Registrars website.
Registration begins on Saturday, August 13 and ends on Friday, August 26 at 4:00pm ET.
Check your time ticket to see the exact day and time you can begin registering.
You will NOT be able to add/drop classes AFTER 4:00PM ET on Friday, August 26.

To prepare for registration:

1. First, be sure your status in BuzzPort is Student Status and NOT Applicant Status. You may not activate your
GT account until that changes, and it will change about a week before registration begins. **Please note that
since advisors are unable to change BuzzPort statuses, you must contact Graduate Studies at
gradinfo@mail.gatech.edu for assistance if your status is still Applicant and not Student. Please make sure to
include your full name and GTID number (90X-XX-XXXX) in your email.**
To check your status:
Log in to BuzzPort (http://buzzport.gatech.edu/).
Select Registration OSCAR (this can be found under the Registration and Student Services panel on
the right side).
Select Student Services & Financial Aid.
Select Registration.

Select Registration Status.

Select the Fall 2016 term.
Click SUBMIT.

2. Activate your GT email account here: https://faq.oit.gatech.edu/content/how-do-i-activate-my-gt-account.

3. The Institute, as well as the OMS CS department, will use this email address as your official contact. You are
required to keep it active, and you are expected to read your email DAILY. This is true even if you are
sitting out a semester. Please see #12 in SECTION K. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs).
4. The courses that are available for Fall 2016 can be found online at: http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/currentcourses.
5. Any Online course will have a section of O (example: O01, O02, etc.). You can narrow your search in the
Schedule of Classes by designating the Campus to Online.
6. Registration is first come, first served, so you will want to register as soon as possible after your time ticket
begins.
7. Be sure to do a search on both CS and CSE for a full listing of the online courses offered. The search for CS
is Computer Science, and the search for CSE is Computational Science and Engineering.
8. For detailed registration information, please follow this link: Registration Instructions.
9. We strongly recommend that new students start with only one class.
During the Fall and Spring semesters only, students can take up to two courses (6 hours).
Once you have completed your foundational requirement, you may take up to three courses (9 hours) in
one term (in the Fall and Spring semesters only).
10. The best way for a student to confirm that he/she has registered successfully for a course is from the "Student
Detail Schedule" section of OSCAR. Follow the directions below:
Log in to BuzzPort (http://buzzport.gatech.edu/).
Select Registration OSCAR (this can be found under the Registration and Student Services panel on
the right side).
Select Student Services & Financial Aid.
Select Registration.
Select Student Detail Schedule.
Select the current term.
**This will show, in detail, the courses for which you have registered successfully, as well as all waitlisted courses
(if any).**
11. Course materials will be available sometime during the first week of classes. That means it could be anytime
between August 22 and August 26. Unfortunately, we do not have control over and/or information regarding
when course materials will be available. You also can refer to the student-run OMSCS Google + webpage
(https://plus.google.com/communities/108902554607547634726) to see if other students have received access to
their course materials.
If you register for a course during the first week that classes begin, please note that it can take up to 24
hours before you can access your course materials. If after this period of time you still cannot access
your course materials, please contact GTech-support@udacity.com.
12. If you try to register for a course and receive an error message, please refer to the following link:
http://www.registrar.gatech.edu/registration/error.php for an explanation of what the error message means.
If you receive the error message OPEN - # WAITLISTED, this means that you are trying to register for a
course(s) that does not have any open seats. It may appear as though the course(s) has seats available;
however, the open seats are reserved for students on the wait list.
If a course is CLOSED
Once the registration cap has been reached for a course, the course is full. In order to request a seat in a closed
course, you must follow the instructions in SECTION G. WAITLISTING FOR A CLOSED COURSE. We DO NOT

accept requests for overrides.

Please note that the OMSCS advising team cannot register students for courses and/or add students to wait lists.
Students must follow the procedures that have been outlined in this orientation document.
Please DO NOT email a professor to seek permission to enroll in his/her course, as professors have no control
over this.

SECTION G. WAITLISTING FOR A CLOSED COURSE

Waitlisting is not registration or enrollment in a course. Waitlisting allows students to add to a wait list for a course that is
closed. Once a student has waitlisted for a course section, he/she will receive a notification email IF a seat becomes
available in that section. Waitlisted students are notified on a first come, first served basis.
Things to know about waitlisting:
The wait list will become active only after ALL the time tickets for current students have been released and are
active. This can take 4-5 days from the start of registration. Please do not email the OMS CS advising
department asking when the last time ticket will be released and/or when wait lists will become active, as we do
not know the specifics of this timeframe since time tickets are generated and handled by a separate department.
Do NOT wait list for every class only the ones you actually WANT to take. Please follow all the instructions from
the Registrars webpage on Instructions for Waitlisting.
If you have added yourself to a wait list successfully, there are two different reasons why you might be issued a
wait list notification: (1) we have added seats to a class or (2) someone else drops the class and releases the
seat. We can control when we add seats, but we cannot control when someone else drops. For example, if you
receive a wait list notification at midnight, it is because someone else dropped the course at that time, and we
cannot control that.
Students only have 12 hours to register for the course once the notification has been sent. Please understand
that this timeframe is implemented by the Institute, and the OMS CS advising team cannot extend the timeframe
or make accommodations if you miss the 12-hour window.
Once you receive the wait list notification, you must add by CRN. Add by look up does NOT work for waitlisted
courses.
If you miss your wait list window, you will be dropped from the wait list, and the next person on the list will receive
permission to enroll. Again, we have no control over this. If you miss your wait list notification window, your only
option is to add yourself back to the wait list (if possible) and hope for the best. Your new position will be at the
end of the list, so be sure to keep an eye on your email for your notification.
If you are trying to wait list and receive an error message, please refer to the following link to help decipher the
meaning of the error message: http://www.registrar.gatech.edu/registration/error.php.
o If you receive the error message OPEN - # WAITLISTED, this means that you are trying to register for a
course(s) that does not have any open seats. It may appear as though the course(s) has seats available;
however, the open seats are reserved for students on the wait list.
Checking your wait list number:
The best way for a student to check his/her wait list number is from the "Student Detail Schedule" section of OSCAR.
Please follow the directions below:
1. Log in to BuzzPort (http://buzzport.gatech.edu/).
2. Select Registration OSCAR (this can be found under the Registration and Student Services panel on the right
side).
3. Select Student Services & Financial Aid.
4. Select Registration.
5. Select Student Detail Schedule.
6. Select the current term.
**This will show, in detail, the courses for which you have registered successfully, as well as waitlisted course(s). Your
waitlisted course(s) will include "Waitlist Position: X", X being where you are on the wait list.**
Please note the following:
The OMS CS advising team cannot register students for courses and/or add students to wait lists. Students must
follow the procedures that have been outlined in this orientation document.
Please DO NOT email a professor to seek permission to enroll in and/or wait list for his/her course, as professors
have no control over this.
If you register for your maximum hours (nine if you have satisfied the foundational requirement and six if you have
not), and you also are on several wait lists, it makes it extremely difficult for the OMS CS program staff to
determine the actual demand for courses. Therefore, if you are registered and waitlisted for more than your

maximum hours, there is a strong possibility that you will be moved to the bottom of EVERY wait list you are on
for the term.
SECTION H. DROPPING/WITHDRAWING FROM A COURSE(S)
When a student drops a course, this action can only be done during periods of registration (either in Phase I and/or
Phase II). For Fall 2016 Phase II registration, this period runs from August 13 through August 26 at 4:00pm Eastern
Time. If a student drops a course, the course will not be reflected on his/her transcript. It will appear as if the student
never registered for the course, according to his/her transcript.
If a student withdraws from a course (this is done after Phase II registration has ended and before the semesters
withdrawal deadline), this action will result in a W on the students transcript. For the Fall 2016 semester, this period
runs from August 26 at 4:01pm Eastern Time through October 29 at 4:00pm Eastern Time. If a student withdraws from a
course (or courses) and receives a W on his/her transcript, this counts as a record of enrollment for that specific term.
For step-by-step instructions on how to withdraw from a class or classes, please visit
http://registrar.gatech.edu/students/withdrawal.php. Once a student has dropped the course successfully, its status field
in this same view in OSCAR will change from "**Registered**" to "Course Drop by Student or Withdrawn from School.
To confirm if you withdrew correctly, please view your Student Detail Schedule section of OSCAR. Instructions
regarding how to access this can be found in Sections F and G of this document. Please do NOT email our office asking
for confirmation of your withdrawal, as you will be directed to this document.
The deadline to withdraw from an individual course for the Fall 2016 semester is Saturday, October 29 at 4:00pm ET.
If you withdraw from the only course you are enrolled in, or ALL the courses you are enrolled in, this is called a
withdrawal from school. You are eligible for a partial refund. Please refer to this schedule:
http://www.bursar.gatech.edu/content/refund-calendars. Look at the "Fall 2016 Refund Calendars" NOT the
Distance Learning Refund Calendar.
If you are enrolled in two or more courses, and you want to withdraw from only one of them, your deadline is
Saturday, October 29 at 4:00pm ET. You will have a W on your transcript. You will not receive any refund.
A withdrawal from school does NOT mean you are dropped from the OMS CS program. It simply means you
are withdrawing from all of your courses for the term.
Please note the following:
For questions regarding tuition, payments, fees, refunds, etc., please contact the Bursars Office directly at
404.894.4618 or by email at bursar.ask@business.gatech.edu. You may also visit their website at
http://www.bursar.gatech.edu.
If you withdraw from a Fall 2016 class completely after 4:00pm ET on August 26 and before 4:00pm ET on
October 29, you will receive a refund based on this refund schedule: http://www.bursar.gatech.edu/. Click on the
Refunds tab, and you will see the Refunds Policy and Refund Calendars.
Fall and Spring semesters only: you will receive NO refund if you are enrolled in more than one course and
withdraw from only one course. You only are eligible for a partial refund if you completely withdraw from school
(withdraw from ALL of your courses for the current term).
If you withdraw from school in the Fall 2016, you still can register for a Spring 2017 course. However, if you sit
out two or more consecutive semesters, you will have to apply for readmission
(http://registrar.gatech.edu/students/readmission.php). Please note that the summer semester counts toward the
two consecutive semesters.
If you withdraw from a course, you may retake it later. We will consider the newest grade for purposes of
completing a requirement (specialization course and/or foundational course); however, you can never have that
previous grade replaced or taken out of your GPA.
If you received financial aid, please contact the Financial Aid Office with any questions on how withdrawing may
affect your loan (http://www.finaid.gatech.edu/).
The OMSCS advising team cannot drop or withdraw students from their course(s).

Once Phase II registration has ended (August 26 at 4:00pm Eastern Time), there will be a small window of time in
which you will NOT be able to withdraw from your course(s). If during this timeframe you decide that you wish to
withdraw from a course, you can do so in BuzzPort/OSCAR once the "withdraw" option is available (which
typically is 1-3 days after the fee payment deadline of August 29 at 4:00pm Eastern Time), or you can choose not
to pay your tuition and have your schedule cancelled by the Bursar's Office. If you already have paid your tuition,
you will need to wait until the "withdraw" option becomes available.
If you do not pay your tuition/fees in full by the fee payment deadline of August 29 at 4:00pm Eastern Time, your
Fall 2016 course(s) will be cancelled due to lack of payment. As noted on the Bursars Office website:
Students with an outstanding balance on their account after the final fee deadline are subject to class
cancellation and holds. There will be a late penalty of $100.00 if paid after the Fee Deadline. If
cancelled, the student will be notified by e-mail. If the student is reinstated into classes, a reinstatement
fee of $200.00 will apply, and the account balance must be paid immediately to avoid re-cancellation.

SECTION I. SYSTEMS YOU WILL BE USING

System
OMS CS Portal
Udacity

Website
http://omscs.gatech.edu/current-students
See website above (OMS CS Portal)

BuzzPort

https://buzzport.gatech.edu/cp/home/displaylogin

T-Square

See website above (BuzzPort)

Piazza

https://piazza.com/

Reason
Use this to sign in to Udacity each day.
Udacity is where you will watch all
lecture videos.
Use this to register for classes, pay
tuition, view any holds, view final
grades, etc. This also is used to access
T-Square.
T-Square is where you will go for all of
your assignments and to turn in
homework. You access T-Square
through your BuzzPort log in.
This is your virtual classroom for
interacting with classmates, professors,
TAs, and course developers.

SECTION J. IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE FALL 2016 SEMESTER

(All times refer to Eastern Time)
Date

Event

August 12 at 6:00pm ET

Time tickets for Fall 2016 registration are available

August 13 26 by 4:00pm ET

Registration for Fall 2016

August 22

First day of class

Week of August 22

Course materials available online

August 26 by 4:00pm ET

Last day to register, make schedule changes, and/or drop courses without a
W grade

August 29 by 4:00pm ET

Tuition/fee payment deadline

September 5

Official School Holiday Labor Day

October 29 by 4:00pm ET

Last day to withdraw from a Fall 2016 course with a W. This is also the last
day to withdraw from school* (see notes below).

October 29 by 4:00pm ET

Last day to change grade mode from letter to P/F and vice versa.
**If you change to pass/fail, the course will NOT count toward your degree.**
No changes to audit mode permitted after last day of registration.

November 24 25

Official School Holiday Thanksgiving Break

December 8 15

Final exams

December 16

Commencement for Masters students graduating in December 2016 (For

further information, please visit http://www.commencement.gatech.edu.)

December 17

End of term

December 20 after 6:00pm ET

Grades available

December 26 30

Winter Break (campus will be closed)

**Please note that this list does not reflect all of the academic-related dates. In order to view the Institutes
full academic calendar, please visit the Registrars website at: http://www.registrar.gatech.edu and refer to
your syllabus for course-specific deadlines/dates.**
SECTION K. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
1.

Where do I send my official transcript(s) and other official documents?

Send your final official transcript(s) and other official documents to Graduate Studies at:
Office of Graduate Studies
Georgia Institute of Technology
631 Cherry Street, Room 318
Atlanta, GA 30332-0321
Phone: 404.894.1610
Email: gradinfo@mail.gatech.edu

2.

How do I apply for Financial Aid?

Review GTs Financial Aid website here: http://www.finaid.gatech.edu/.

3.

How do I pay for classes? (Note Do NOT pay for classes until you have registered for them.)
See the Bursars website (http://www.bursar.gatech.edu) and click on STUDENT PAY NOW in the Quick
Links column. Methods of payment accepted by the Bursars Office are cash, check, money order, wire
transfers, webchecks, and credit cards (online only). Please note: there is a third-party service fee
(2.75%) when paying by credit card. OMS CS students are ineligible for the GT Payment Plan.

4.

What is the amount I need to pay?

See Tuition and Fees on the Bursars website (http://www.bursar.gatech.edu/) to view the costs by term.

5.

What is the deadline to pay my fees?

Refer to the Bursars calendar for the Fee Payment Deadline for the specific term. If fees are not paid by
the Fee Payment Deadline, class cancellation may occur, and a late fee also may be assessed.

6.

Why was I charged for health insurance?

This is an error. Please contact your advisor, and remember to include your full name and GT ID number
(90X-XX-XXXX) in your email.
i.
Students with a last name that begins with A-L, please email Reina Grundhoefer at
reina.grundhoefer@cc.gatech.edu.
ii.
Students with a last name that begins with M-Z, please email Amy Hinsley at
ahinsley@cc.gatech.edu.

7.

I have a documented disability. What resources are available?

Please contact The Office of Disability Services, which is a division of the Dean of Students office. Their
contact information is available on their website at: http://disabilityservices.gatech.edu.

8.

What if I have a personal or family emergency and need an extension on an assignment or exam,
or I need to withdraw from a class or from school after the deadline?
The worst thing you can do is not tell anyone! Your first point of contact should be your TA/professor if
something has come up with work, family, etc. If your TA/professor would like you to go through the Dean
of Students office, their website is: www.studentlife.gatech.edu.

9.

What if a course I want to register for is CLOSED?

Once the registration cap has been reached for a course, the course is full. In order to request a seat in a
closed course, you must follow the instructions in SECTION G. WAITLISTING FOR A CLOSED
COURSE. The OMS CS program does not accept override requests. Please note that the OMS CS
advising team cannot register students for classes, nor can we add students to wait lists.

10.

What are the chances of enrolling in a class if I am waitlisted or if the class is closed?
We strive to give all students an opportunity to register for a variety of courses. The number of
available seats is determined primarily by the number of TAs available for each course. Unfortunately,
advisors cannot predict if/when a course may have more seats added or if a wait list will be expanded.
Also, we cannot guarantee students will be able to enroll in specific courses. Our best advice is to
continue monitoring the courses you are interested in taking and/or the wait lists for those courses.
Toward the end of Phase II, the wait lists will be removed, and you may have another opportunity to
register for your desired course(s). More information regarding this will be forthcoming.
Alternatively, you may review the degree requirements and try to find another course.

11.

What is the difference between dropping and withdrawing from a course?

When a student drops a course, this action only can be done during periods of registration (either
in Phase I and/or Phase II). If a student drops a course, the course will not be reflected on his/her
transcript. It will appear as if the student never registered for the course, according to his/her
transcript.
If a student withdraws from a course (this is done after Phase II registration has ended and before
the semesters withdrawal deadline), this action will result in a W on the students transcript. If a student
withdraws from a course (or courses) and receives a W on his/her transcript, this counts as a record of
enrollment for that specific term.

12.

Can I take a semester off?

OMSCS students may take a semester off at any time. However, if you take two or more consecutive
semesters off (the summer term counts as one of the consecutive semesters), you must apply for
readmission. For more information, please review the Registrar's Readmission Policy online at
http://registrar.gatech.edu/students/readmission.php.
For example, if a student enrolls in a course and withdraws (which would result in a W on his/her
transcript), this counts as a record of enrollment for that semester. Therefore, the student would need to
sit out the next two consecutive semesters before he/she would need to apply for readmission.
If a student drops a course, this does not count as a record of enrollment, and this would be considered
as sitting out a semester.
Please see question #11 for a detailed explanation of the difference between dropping and withdrawing
from a course.

13.

Is it possible to repeat a course, and what are the consequences of doing so?
We will consider the newest grade for purposes of completing a requirement (specialization and/or
foundational course); however, you can never have the initial grade replaced or removed from your
GPA. Please also note that if you retake a course, it only can be used to satisfy one requirement,
as one course cannot be used to satisfy more than one requirement.
Unfortunately, the grade substitution policy does not apply to graduate students
(http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/rules/5/). Therefore, as a graduate student, if you retake a course,
both grades will count in your overall GPA.
If you withdraw from a course, Ws are visible on your transcript, but they have no impact on your
GPA. If you retake a course from which you previously have withdrawn, the W from your first
attempt and the new grade from that class both will appear on your transcript.

14.

Can I register for more than one CS 8803 class in the same semester?
If you plan to take two special topics classes with the same course number (ex: CS 8803), you will need a
duplicate course permit to register for both. Please contact oms-advising@cc.gatech.edu to request
this. Please be sure to include your full name, GT ID number (90X-XX-XXXX), and the name of the
course you are attempting to add to your schedule.

15.

The website states, Applicants will be conditionally admitted into the degree program and
must pass their first two OMS CS foundational courses with a grade of B or better to be fully
admitted. Will I be notified of when I am fully admitted into the OMS CS program?
As stated previously, to be able to continue in the program after the first 12 months from your date
of matriculation, you must complete a foundational coursework requirement of two foundational
courses with a grade of B or better. The courses that constitute foundational courses are
designated with an asterisk (*) on this page: https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/current-courses.
We do not send out notifications for students who have completed their foundational requirement. If you
would like to verify if you have completed your foundational requirement, please refer to the link above.

16.

Am I allowed to make substitutions within the OMS CS degree requirements?

The official College policy is that substitutions for specialization coursework are made only when
necessary when specialization courses are not available. For any specialization that can be
completed without substitutions, no substitutions will be approved.
For those of you choosing Interactive Intelligence, Computational Perception and Robotics, or
Computing Systems, you should expect to take the courses from the Specialization lists:
http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/specializations.
For Machine Learning, we will accept both CSE 8803 Big Data for Health and CS 8803-O03
Reinforcement Learning.

17.

Are there prerequisites for the OMS CS program and/or classes?

In general, we expect students who enter the program to be very comfortable working with multiple
programming languages such as C, Java, and Python (there is no provision within the program for
make up any deficiencies) and to have taken several more advanced topics, such as Advanced
OS, Networking, Theory, and/or Algorithms.
If a student needs to take refresher courses before enrolling in OMS CS courses, it is up to the student to
find out how and where to take these kinds of courses, as we cannot provide advisement for that.

18.

Can my advisor help me plan out all of my courses in advance?

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that students will be able to take specific classes during specific
semesters, so planning out the exact ten courses you wish to take (and the semesters you wish to take
them) most likely is not possible, as students should plan to be flexible in taking courses whenever they
are available.
To confirm, there are no prerequisites for the OMS CS courses, so students essentially can take
these classes in any order. There are certain recommendations as to what material/information you
should be familiar with prior to taking a course, but there are no official prerequisites for the OMS CS
courses. For course-specific prerequisite information, please read the course descriptions online at
http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/current-courses.

19.

What are the degree requirements for the OMS CS program?

The OMS CS degree requires 30 hours (10 classes). Students must declare one specialization,
which, depending on the specialization, is 15-18 hours (5-6 classes). The remaining 12-15 hours
(4-5 classes) are free electives and can be any classes offered through the OMS CS program. You can
review the degree requirements online at http://www.cc.gatech.edu/future/masters/mscs.

To be able to continue in the program after the first 12 months from your date of matriculation, you
must complete the foundational requirement of two foundational courses with a grade of B or
better. You may choose a foundational course that counts towards any area of your degree,
whether a specialization requirement or a "free" elective. The courses that constitute foundational
courses are designated with an asterisk (*) on the courses page of our website
(http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/courses/).
The requirements for the specializations can be found online at http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/programinfo/specializations. Please note that courses listed in bold have been produced for the OMS CS program
or currently are in production to be released in an upcoming semester
(http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/future-courses).
20.

Is there an orientation for the OMS CS program?

Since this is an online program, we do not have a formal orientation for OMS CS students.
However, we encourage you to view introductory videos online at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtYJ8HXD0d7BRjUZSYJhLz5_nLX5GvXRG and
http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/online-ms-cs/omscsportal. You also can access onboarding information
online at http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/online-ms-cs/omscsportal/onboarding.

21.

What are the expectations regarding my GT email account?

As stated previously, the Institute, as well as the department, will use your Georgia Tech email
address as your official contact. You are required to keep it active, and you are expected to
read your email DAILY. This is true even if you are sitting out a semester.
Even if you have arranged for your GT email to be forwarded to your personal account, we encourage
you to check your GT email account directly and often, as we have heard from students on multiple
occasions that their forwarding service did not always work properly. Unfortunately, no exceptions will be
made simply because you missed an email that was sent by our department and/or the Institute.
Please pay special attention to any messages sent from omscs-official@cc.gatech.edu, as important
announcements typically are sent from this account. Since this account is the official mailing list for all
OMS CS students, please do NOT reply or send messages to this account, as this could result in all OMS
CS students receiving your message.

22.

I took courses and/or earned another degree (undergraduate and/or graduate) from Georgia
Tech are there restrictions as to which OMS CS courses I can enroll in and count toward
my OMS CS degree?
If you previously completed courses at Georgia Tech, specifically undergraduate/graduate
Computer Science (CS) or other CS-related undergraduate/graduate courses, you will be
responsible for researching whether or not the course(s) are considered to be equivalent to OMS
CS courses, as these credits cannot count toward your OMS CS degree.

23.

If I was admitted for the Fall 2016 term and am not able to attend, what are my options?
It may be possible to defer your admission if you do not matriculate into the OMS CS program.
Applications are good for one year from the term for which you applied originally. For example, if you
originally applied for the Fall 2016 term, and you do not enroll in any classes/matriculate, it may be
possible to request a deferral up to the Fall 2017 term. If you wish to defer past the Fall 2017 term, you
will need to reapply to the OMSCS program. Please note that deferral requests only can be
processed for the fall and spring semesters.

In order to request to defer your admission, please send an email to your advisor and include your full
name, GT ID number (90X-XX-XXXX), and the term to which you would like to defer.
i.
Students with a last name that begins with A-L, please email Reina Grundhoefer at
reina.grundhoefer@cc.gatech.edu.
ii.
Students with a last name that begins with M-Z, please email Amy Hinsley at
ahinsley@cc.gatech.edu.
If your original application term was Spring 2016 or Fall 2016, and you would like to defer to the
Spring 2017 semester, please send your advisor an email with your deferral request after October 3,
2016. Please note that this date (October 3) is contingent upon the system allowing us to defer to
Spring 2017 at that time.
If your original application term was Fall 2016, and you would like to defer to the Fall 2017 semester,
please follow up with your advisor regarding when this may be possible after February 1, 2017.
**For students who require TOEFL scores, please note that TOEFL scores are only valid for two
years from the date taken. For more information regarding TOEFL scores, please refer to this link:
http://www.grad.gatech.edu/international-students-toefl.**
SECTION L. NEED HELP? JOIN OUR LIVE TWITTER CHAT!
Our OMS CS Academic Advisors, Amy Hinsley and Reina Grundhoefer, and our Social Media Guru, Brittany Aiello, will be
available for a Live Twitter Chat on the following days and times:

Tuesday, August 9 from 1:00pm 2:00pm ET

Wednesday, August 24 from 10:30am 11:30am ET

Our Twitter Accounts:

Reina Grundhoefer: @GTOMSCSReina
Amy Hinsley: @GTOMSCSAmy
Brittany Aiello: @GTOMSCS
All participants must tag their tweets with #OMSChats for their tweet to appear in the chat stream.
SECTION M. GET CONNECTED!
You are encouraged to connect through social media:
Facebook (OMS CS Official)
https://www.facebook.com/gtomscs
Twitter (OMS CS Official)
https://twitter.com/gtomscs
Google+ Community (This is not an official OMS CS page; however, we do monitor it periodically. It is run by
students, for students, and is a great way to connect with your classmates across the globe.)
https://plus.google.com/communities/108902554607547634726
SECTION N. OMS CS ADVISING CONTACT INFORMATION
For all OMS CS advising questions, please email oms-advising@cc.gatech.edu. Please be sure to include your full name
and GT ID number (90X-XX-XXXX) in every email. Once you send an email to this address, you will receive an
automated response that will include a ticket number this number is assigned to your inquiry directly and is confirmation
that we have received your message.
Once we respond to your message, you will receive two emails: one with our response and the other stating that your
ticket has been resolved. You should receive our response first; however, if you receive the resolved ticket message
first, please be patient, as the response email should arrive soon. Please check to ensure it did not go to another folder
(like spam) before emailing us to say that you did not receive a response.
If you have further questions after we answer your email, you MUST create a new ticket by sending a new (separate)
email message to oms-advising@cc.gatech.edu. If you reply to our response, you most likely will not receive a reply
because these are not directed back to the oms-advising@cc.gatech.edu account.

If you are instructed to contact your advisor directly, please do so in a separate email and include the ticket number in
your message. Do not forward the email to your advisor, as these message are not always routed to the advisors inbox,
so you may not receive a reply.
When you send a message to oms-advising@cc.gatech.edu, please do not copy other people/departments on the
message the OMS CS advising staff will direct you to another department if necessary. Likewise, please do not copy
the oms-advising@cc.gatech.edu account on your messages to other people/departments.
Lastly, as a reminder, please do NOT reply or send messages to the omscs-official@cc.gatech.edu account, as this could
result in all OMS CS students receiving your message.
We appreciate your cooperation as we strive to be as efficient and timely as possible when answering your emails.
Your OMS CS advisors are:

Ms. Reina Grundhoefer (students with a last name that begins with A-L)

Ms. Amy Hinsley (students with a last name that begins with M-Z)

Again, welcome to Georgia Tech and the OMS CS program! We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
College of Computing Graduate Program Staff
oms-advising@cc.gatech.edu