Linköpings universitet       Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research
       
 
 
 
   
New applicant
Application information
Requirements for ECSEL graduate students
Transfer rules for admission to ECSEL

ECSEL students
ECSEL Graduate Courses

Transfer rules for admission to ECSEL

The goal of ECSEL is to promote a wide and integrated interdisciplinary research activity. In order to make this possible all graduate students belonging to ECSEL are expected to have the foundational knowledge relevant to Computer Science and Systems Engineering. The common foundation can also be seen as prerequisite knowledge that will help the students participate in the Project-Oriented Study (POS) and to take research-oriented courses in any of ECSEL's thematic research areas. Project-Oriented Studies are intended to help the graduate students carry out an interdisciplinary research training with high industrial relevance.

The requirements for the foundations for ECSEL students is defined terms of three course packages belonging to the following disciplinary areas:

  • Modeling of physical systems
  • Software technologies
  • Theory of computing
For each area there is a description of the required knowledge together with the equivalent requirements. The foundational knowledge can be compared to the qualifying exams that are common in U.S. universities.

Another common platform for ECSEL's graduate students is the Project-Oriented Studies (POS). During the first semester of each academic year, one of the five thematic areas will be hosting a project-oriented study. Each project group in POS will consist of participants from all thematic areas. All graduate students are expected to participate at least one POS.

Admission to ECSEL

Applications for admission to ECSEL should include a study plan and time plan. The application form is electronically available.

If you need general information about ECSEL and/or the application procedure, contact us

Study plan

When applying for a position as graduate student in ECSEL you are expected to enclose a study plan together with your application. In the study plan the applicant gives an account for:
  • the already acquired knowledge compared to ECSEL's foundational requirements (see "Standard Transfer Rules for Foundational Courses" below),
  • the courses that are intended to take in order to acquire the foundations, and
  • the project-oriented study that you intend to undertake (see "Standard Transfer Rules for Foundational Courses" below). ECSEL will then review the application and makes a decision on the required foundations.

Time plan

ECSEL graduate students are expected to participate in required foundational courses and one project-oriented study "earliest possible". For this reason you are expected to make a time plan for the order and the time for taking the required foundational courses and the project-oriented study. The time plan is especially useful for students who have a background from disciplines other than computer science and systems engineering.

If you plan to cover a foundational course by self studies, you are expected to pass a corresponding exam for the foundational course. In this case please indicate, in your time plan, when you will be taking the corresponding exam.

Crossing rules /Transfer rules (Övergångsregler)

ECSEL will consider more flexible crossing rules for the applicants who have already approached a Licentiate degree. If you regard yourself as such, please prepare a position statement of your work in addition to describing the PhD courses you have passed and the research project(s) you have participated in. Remember, however, that you are still required to fill in your study plan as described above.

Standard Transfer Rules for Foundational Courses

Following there are some guidelines followed by some standards (stereotypes) that will help applicants in accounting for their foundational knowledge.

Guidelines

In order to help ECSEL evaluate your application, please note the following:
  • Knowledge acquired from any of the following sources can be accounted for: undergraduate courses, graduate courses, courses taught, or another way.
  • For the equivalent foundational knowledge it is important to give a precise mention of the courses you are referring to.
  • If you have acquired the foundational knowledge from a combination of courses and/or other sources, it is important that you give a precise description of your equivalent knowledge in terms of courses, literature, etc.
  • Within the area of software technology, indicate your choice of the two courses out of the three possible.
  • In the case where you intend to take a foundational course, please indicate it explicitly.
  • If you plan to take a course which covers the foundational requirements for another course, please indicate this in your study plan. The same request applies if you intend to acquire the foundational knowledge in an area by teaching a course.
  • If you have taken a course which is the predecessor of the standard cases presented below, indicate the course name.

Standards (Stereotypes)

Modeling of physical systems

This course is intended for ECSEL graduate students from the C-program (but not for those from Y, D, M). The course will be organized to be of interest also to a wider public.

Any of the following courses gives equivalent knowledge:

  • Modellbygge och Simulering (TSRT62)
  • Reglerteknik (TSRT12 or equivalent)
  • Object Oriented Modeling and Simulation of Dynamic Systems with Modelica (doktorandkursen)

Software Technologies

The foundations in software technologies will be obtained by covering two of the three courses below, or having equivalent knowledge:

Fundamentals of Modern Database Systems

Any of the two courses below cover the foundationals in this area:

  • Course TDDB 38, "Database Technology" given for C2, C3, and D4.
  • Course TDDA 03, "Databases", given for I4 and M4.
Principles of Programming Languages and Environments

Students from C and D programs with a compiler course do not need this course. The same is valid for Ypv with TDDB 25 and TDDA 28.

Principles of Knowledge Representation

This course is covered by (and more than covered by) the course TDDA16, "Representation of Knowledge in AI", which is given for C4, together with its prerequisites.

Also, students having taken either of the following undergraduate course combinations (which means all D, C, and DX graduates) can obtain approval for the present course requirement by joining the last part of the course:

  • Course TATM 90, "Discrete Mathematics and Logic" and TDDA13, "Artificial Intelligence D" (given for D3, DX3).
  • Course TDDB 90, "Discrete Mathematics and Logic" and TDDA58, "Artificial Intelligence C".

Selected Notions in the Theory of Computing

The course has a modular structure. For each module we specify undergraduate courses at LiU which cover/substantially overlap with its material.
The Ph.D. students who passed one of the specified courses (or equivalent courses at other universities) should not take the module.

Module 1. Abstract Automata and Formal Languages.
TDDA89, "Formal Languages and Automata Theory", for C1, D3, DX3.

Module 2. Petri Nets and the Modeling of Systems. (Not covered by any undergraduate course at present).

Module 3 and 4. Algorithms, Computability, Tractability TDDA32, "Design and Analysis of Algorithms", for C4, D4, D5; or
TDDB45, "Computability and Complexity Theory", for C3, C4, or
TTIT33 Tema3 Algorithms and optimization for IT2

Equivalent Project-Oriented Study (POS)

New projects within the frame of a POS

ECSEL encourages the supervisors/student to propose alternative projects that will fit in the frame of thematic areas. The proposed project must promote the goals of the corresponding POS, e.g. group work, interdisciplinary cooperation with students from other thematic areas, industry relevance, general knowledge of the thematic area for the corresponding POS, and in-depth knowledge in one's own thematic area. The professor in charge of the corresponding POS will make a review of the proposed project and if she/he finds the project relevant it is added to the list of projects.

Projects with industrial or academic partners

At most one POS can be substituted by another project in cooperation with industry or an academic partner in a discipline outside ECSEL. The project still should promote the general goals of project-oriented studies, such as the interdisciplinary breadth in the research and training.

If you are going to work (or you have already worked) in a project that you believe can fit as a substitute for a POS, send an application to ECSEL with:

  • a description of the project
  • how/why you find the project be a suitable substitute for a given POS. ECSEL will then make a decision about your application.
ECSEL will then make a decision about your application.

Please note that this application can be sent to ECSEL only after you are registered as an ECSEL student, in other words, after your agreement for study and time plan has been approved by ECSEL. 


For more information contact:

Nahid Shahmehri, e-mail: nahsh@ida.liu.se
work phone +46 (13) 28 20 66, fax: +46 (13) 28 26 66
Department of Computer and Information Science
University of Linköping, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden