Hi,

Usually what I suggest is to browse through some previous class
schedules and look for the same course with the same professor. Once
you find it then click on the link and it will show you the details
like what books were used and how many students were there in the
class etc. Bingo !!! (and in 99.99% cases they don't change the
textbook)

Check the links below under the courses you mentioned....

All the best
Sachin

Hi all,

Please help me figure out the books required for the following courses
or is it advisable to mail the professors and ask them.

CS 514 database theory and implemention
http://www2.sdsu.edu/cgi-bin/schedule/browse=dept/command=info/id=c3ce5364774b086d/course=CS%20514/semester=fall03

CS 520. Advanced Programming Languages
http://www2.sdsu.edu/cgi-bin/schedule/browse=dept/command=info/id=d07b9faf9fcb90ba/course=CS%20520/semester=fall03

CS 535. Object-Oriented Programming and Design
http://www.eli.sdsu.edu/courses/fall03/cs535/books.html

CS 550. Artificial Intelligence
http://www2.sdsu.edu/cgi-bin/schedule/browse=dept/command=info/id=919fbe117bf0fbc7/course=CS%20550/semester=fall03

CS 574. Computer Security
http://www2.sdsu.edu/cgi-bin/schedule/browse=dept/command=info/id=42f498b9c4f799e4/course=CS%20574/semester=fall03

Seems like you want to finish you MS real quick. Yah if you are in hurry then you can stick with
what you have decided. But the fact is thesis is something you won't be able to finish in one
semester but few exceptions. And taking four courses in one semester will work fine if you don't
do any on-campus part time job, but again it depends on your capability. i would recommend to
stick with taking not more than 3 courses per semester. and also i would like to ask whether you
are givne 560 and/or 570 as prerequisite ?? if yes, then please take into note that these courses
are not counted towards your master program, i.e. don't count the credits of these courses towards
the 30 credits required for MS CS program.


> This is how I have roughly planned out my M.S. C.S.; tell me if its ok..
>
> 1st Sem: Three 500 level courses
> 2nd Sem: One 500 level course + Three 600 level courses
> 3rd Sem: Two 600 level courses + Thesis
>
> Is there any constraint that so many 500 level, so many 600 level and so many 700 level courses
> need to be completed?
> What are the courses which u took in each of u'r Semesters? Is my above planning correct?

i would like to ask one question that are u getting this insurance just for a short duration until
u get the policy sponsored by SDSU associated students, or u r getting it for the long term to
fulfil the requirement as an international student's F-hold ??

if for the long term, then let me clarify an issue... as far as the international student
insurance is concerned, no matter how reputed the insurance company is, if it doesn't meet the
requirements mentioned at this link http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/isc/regulations.htm#wra02, your
insurance policy will not be considered at all. and before you get any insurance policy besides
the one sponsored and recommended by SDSU, get an approval from ISC.

IMHO, i would recommend you to get a policy offered by SDSU itself, as you will be able to use
services from Student Health Services. I know it will be cheaper for you to
get a policy from India itself, but it would be safer and less painful if you get it from here.

hope i conveyed the message clearly.


> hi,
> i am joining sdsu. i have taken health insurance at TATA AIG in India.This is supposed to be
> a very reputed place and a lot of students from india get their insurance done here.Will there
> be any problem?more over regarding the mmr the dates of vacinnation in the certificate are
> somewhere after a year or 2 from my dob.are the dates ok?
>

wow,

so many questions at a time !! i will try to answer most of them.

> How do I select the courses which I wanna study? I had contacted Prof. Eckberg,
> but he hasn't replied about that point yet..

it completetly depends upto you ... what field you are interested in ?? actually in SDSU there are
no specialization streams like software engg, AI, networking etc. you just pick some courses from
whatever is offered !! what i would suggest is look at the reviews of the professors and select
the courses. to find the reviews of professors, you can go to this link
http://ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?sid=877&startRow=194&letter=C&orderby=TDept

look for the professors Whitney (my favourite and the best in the dept, if you are completely
object oriented & software development person), Root, Caroll etc. please avoid prof Marovac.

don't expect much from prof eckberg, he won't reply to any of your emails in your expected /
required time. email prof donald (jdonald@cs.sdsu.edu), who is another appointed graduate advisor
and he will reply instataneously, but again both of these profs might be busy helping other
students too, so keep your patience. and most of the information you will get from us who have been
here from one semester to 2 yrs.

> How many units need to be selected.. So totally for M.S in C.S, how many
> courses need to be done?

you have to finish 30 credit units in order to get you MS in CS diploma. most of the courses are
worth 3 credit units, so you will need atleast 10 courses. and the other requirement is you have
to have atleast 15 credit units from 600 level courses. 700 level courses (thesis or project) are
NOT counted in 600 level courses. so you have to have 15 credits from 600 level courses. if you
look at your graduate bulletin (http://coursecat.sdsu.edu/bulletin/CS.pdf), you will find
different catagories for area of study, and you have to have atleast one course from each
category.

> Should I consult with Prof. Eckberg before selecting some courses or should I consult the
> teaching faculty for that course before selecting it? Only after selecting the courses I can
> decide on the books to be bought.. right?

As i mentioned before, consulting prof eckberg might not be a good idea. yah you can consult the
faculty who is teaching particular courses of your interest and try to get along with them. well
for the books it's not necessary to decide courses first. you can always bring some basic books
for algorithms, software engg, operating systems, database, networking, other reference books for
languages like C/C++/Java/Smalltalk etc. visit http://sdsusanskriti.blogspot.com for more details.

> So, u have completed u'r M.S in C.S over there? Did u complete u'r Thesis also? How many of
> u got in campus recruitment this time?

i still have to take one 600 level course and my thesis. when you say in campus recruitment, if u
mean job related to CS then very few of us have our field related jobs. and if u mean any other on
campus job, then most of us have on campus jobs.

i think that's pretty much it !! do let me know if you have further questions.

all the best for everything
sachin

hi,

everything on one certificate.... signed AND stamped by the doctor, will do. You basically need
the proof for MMR shots.. rest is upto you if you want to include.

visit these links
http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/admissions/immunization.html
http://shs.sdsu.edu/pages/IR/Immunizationreq.html

have a safe trip
> Hi,
>
> i had a quick quest for you.
>
> What should be the format or say the requirements of the medical certificate
> we need to produce at SDSU? how should it look like. is it that I need to
> carry all the certificates or its everything bundled in one certificate
> signed by the doc. and what are the different medical tests that need to be
> done.

hi,

well your search for computer science geek ends here !! fortunately my major is Computer Science and i m a master student. do lemme know what courses you are taking and i will help you to find the books for it.

bring a few basic books like
-> Computer Algorithms/C++ by Ellis Horowitz, Sartaj Sahni, Sanguthevar Rajasckaran
-> Design of the Unix Operating System by Maurice Bach
-> Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and the Unified Process (2nd Edition) by Craig Larman

also bring some books which might help you for your reference like Programming with C, C++, Java etc and some reference for Database programming. Rest of the books will depend on what course you are taking. If you are already decided with most of the courses you are going to take here then you can refer to some old class schedules like spring 2003 (http://www2.sdsu.edu/cgi-bin/schedule/browse=dept/command=search/dept=CS/semester=spring03) and you click on a particular course, it will show you the text book and optional books for that course. try the same with other class schedules like fall 2002, spring 2002 if you don't find all the courses you want to take in one class schedule. and search the same book in amazon.com which will give you all the details of authors and latest edition in the market and everything.

hope this will help you much better way to get your books. all the best for everything else.

wishes
sachin

--- Madhusudan Sathyanarayan wrote:
> Dear Sachin,
> Madhusudan here (Bangalore, India).. how r u?? I'm fine and getting all busy with the packing
> and stuff. Hey sachin, could u get hold of some M.S Computer Science guy over there (senior) and
> gimme his mail id? Many of us here want to know what books are available there and what to
> carry.. so it will be helpful if we could speak to him directly over mail.

well, i don't want to disappoint you but there is an increase of 30% fees for fall 2003 and this increase was in action since 16 July 03. visit this link http://bfa.sdsu.edu/fm/co/cashiers/regfees.html

as there are very limited choice of courses here, what i would do is look for the professor's reviews and go with that course. yah may be sometime you want to overcome that rule and want to go with the course of your interest, no matter what prof is teaching that course !! so for professors' reviews you can go to http://ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?sid=877&startRow=150&letter=C&orderby=TDept

and for other course reviews from my experience you can visit http://sdsusanskriti.blogspot.com and this new webpage would also help you to make your trip easier http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~sdsuisa/newcomers.htm

wishes
sachin


>
> Hi Sachin,
>
> How r u doing? I'm Madhusudan here from India.. I'm coming there on Aug 11th for M.S in
> Computer Science.. I've payed the registration fees today of 1088 $ + 15 $. I hope the fee
> hasn't increased for Fall 2003.
>
> My doubt is, how do i select my courses which i want to take in the 1st sem? I have no idea
> which website to visit to select the courses.. could u guide me on that?