M. Sc. in Computational Science

Introduction

The history of computing is closely linked with the development of mathematical models in physical sciences including physics and chemistry and more recently, biology. Today, computer modeling is increasingly understood to be the third "leg", along with theory and experimentation, of the tripod that forms the foundation of research in mathematical and physical sciences.

This close association between the sciences and computing has lead to the emergence of the cross-discipline known as Computational Science. This discipline is concerned with the development and implementation of new mathematical techniques, algorithms, and methodologies for solving problems that ranges from pure science to applied areas like drug design, finance, and manufacturing design. The application of computation to chemistry, for example, has led to the nascent field of computational chemistry, which has found many applications in the design of pharmaceuticals. Computational Science combines mathematics, computer science, information technology, basic sciences and engineering disciplines.

India has seen a spectacular growth of the IT industry in the last decade. While this has brought about superlative growth in the IT employment sector, it is important to note that there still exists a critical shortage of trained man power in the field of advanced research and development of information technology for science and engineering.

To address this gap, IIITM-K propose launching a suite of advanced programme in Computational Science. The programme will also depend on lectures and short courses on a regular basis by eminent scientists from within India and abroad. In addition, the programme will derive support from other scientific institutions co-located at Trivandrum: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology, etc.

The advanced programme in Computational Sciences is being designed to enable the professionals of the future to continuously upgrade their skills and engage in a life-long education. Research work jointly with industry, and internships will be encouraged.

Career Prospects for Computational Scientists

India is poised for a massive growth in the scientific R&D sector. The Indian information technology (IT) industry has played a key role in putting India on the global map. Indian IT-BPO sector grew by 12 per cent in FY 2009 to reach US$ 71.7 billion in aggregate revenue. According to a study by Springboard Research, the Indian IT services market is estimated to remain the fastest growing in the Asia-Pacific region with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6 per cent. As per a report prepared by McKinsey for NASSCOM, the exports component of the Indian industry is expected to reach US$ 175 billion in revenue by 2020. Many of the new jobs, however, will be in the so called Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) and Engineering Process Outsourcing (EPO) sectors, which will need to tap manpower in high technology and science, rather than the low-end IT and BPO areas. Although recent financial crisis retarded the growth of this sector slightly, global economic recovery is underway. Availability of manpower has been identified as a significant prerequisite to make further growth to be possible in the coming years. Given this prognosis, computational scientists will be in great demand in the R&D sectors of all high-technology areas, including IT, manufacturing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and health care.

Prerequisites and Admission

The Master's programme in Computational Sciences is open to students with a first class (equivalent to a 6.5/ 10 GPA) Bachelor's degree in Science / Engineering / Technology with Mathematics as a subject. Students shall be selected through an entrance examination conducted by Institute under the supervision of CUSAT for both science/engineering and general aptitude. Reservation of seats for SC/ST, OBC etc. is applicable as per government rules. The final selection of the candidates is done through an interview from the short listed candidates of written test. The total intake of the student is 40.

The types of programme offered is MSc (Computational Science). Each academic year will consists of two semesters. The student may register for maximum of 20 credits per semester.

Courses are divided into three groups: core course, electives, and thesis. The minimum number of credits required from each group for each programmes are shown in Table 1.

Table1. Group wise credits for M.Sc. programme

Group	Credits
Core	46
Electives	08
Thesis	18
Total	72

The choice of elective courses will be made after consultation with a graduate adviser who will take into account the student's background, aptitude, interest, and goals and plan students academic programme.

The general structure of the M Sc programme shall be as given below:

Programme duration 4 sem

Accumulated minimum credits
required for successful 72
completion of the programme

Minimum attendance required 75 %

Each semester shall have a minimum of 90 working days and one credit shall be given for one-hour lecture or 3 hours of practical work per week. No regular student shall register for more than 24 credits and less than 16 credits per semester.

Project

M.Sc. require project work carrying 18 credits spread over the last semester.

Semester-Wise Breakup of Courses for Two Years

Semester I

No	C.Code	Course Title	C/E	Credits	Pre-requisites
1	CSM2101	Differential Equations	C	3	As per admission to MSc CS
2	CSM2102	Statistical Methods	C	3	"
3	CSM2103	Principles of Programming	C	3	"
4	CSM2104	Computer Architecture and Organization	C	3	"
5	CSM2105	Operating System	C	3	"
6	CSM2106	Research Methodology	C	1	"
7	CSM2107	Principles of Programming Lab	C	1	CSM2103
8	CSM2108	Operating System Lab	C	1	CSM2105
*	-	Total for Semester I		18

Semester II

No	C.Code	Course Title	C/E	Credits	Pre-requisites
1	CSM2201	Discrete Mathematics	C	3	As per admission to MSc CS
2	CSM2202	Automata Theory	C	3	"
3	CSM2203	Object Orient. Programming	C	3	"
4	CSM2204	Database Mang.System	C	3	"
5	CSM2205	Object Orient. Programming Lab	C	1	CSM2203
6	CSM2206	Database Mang.System Lab	C	1	CSM2204
7*	CSM2207	Computational Chemistry	E	3	As per admission to MSc CS
8*	CSM2208	Computational Biology and Bio Informatics	E	3	"
9*	CSM2209	Artificial Intelligence	E	4	"
10*	CSM2210	Computer Networking	E	4	"
11	CSM2211	Computational Chemistry Lab	E	1	CSM2207
12	CSM2212	Computational Biology and Bio Informatics Lab	E	1	CSM2208
	-	Total for Semester II		18

* Choose any one elective theory course, For CSM 2207, CSM2211 is compulsory and for CSM2208, CSM2212 is compulsory

No	C.Code	Course Title	C/E	Credits	Pre-requisites
1	CSM2301	Software Engineering	C	3	As per admission to MSc CS
2	CSM2302	Computational Modeling	C	3	"
3	CSM2303	High Performance Computing	C	3	"
4	CSM2304	Data Structure and Algoritm	C	3	"
5	CSM2305	Data Struct. and Algor. Lab	C	1	CSM2304
6	CSM2306	Computational Modeling Lab	C	1	CSM2302
7*	CSM2307	Geographical Information Systems	E	3	As per admission to MSc CS
8*	CSM2308	Molecular Drug Design	E	3	"
9*	CSM2309	Optimization Techniques	E	4
10*	CSM2310	Advanced courses in Mathematics	E	4	"
11*	CSM2311	Computational Linguistics	E	4	"
12	CSM2312	Geographical Information Systems Lab	E	1	CSM2308
13	CSM2113	Molecular Drug Design Lab	E	1	CSM2309
		Total for Semester III		18

*Choose any one elective theory course, For CSM 2307, CSM2312 is compulsory and for CSM2308, CSM 2313 is compulsory

No	C.Code	Course Title	Credits
1	CSM2401	Project	18

Last Updated on Monday, 17 September 2012 15:28