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Bilkent University

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Undergraduate and Graduate Programs 2024-2025


COMPUTER ENGINEERING

Selim Aksoy, Ph.D., Chair

Academic Staff
Courses

The Computer Engineering Department offers programs that lead to B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees.

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

Bilkent University has been founded with the aim of establishing a center of excellence in higher education and research. The Department of Computer Engineering is responsible for the implementation of this mission in the area of computer engineering, and is dedicated to serving society and the advancement of knowledge through excellent teaching and scholarship.

Bilkent University Computer Engineering Department graduates

  1. establish successful careers in computer engineering and science, demonstrating strong technical competence and proficiency while adapting to technology changes;
  2. successfully complete advanced studies and research in graduate programs to become recognized and influential experts in their fields;
  3. develop innovative solutions in computer engineering practice and research using creativity and analytical thinking;
  4. are model professionals, exhibiting strong soft skills including collaboration, leadership, initiative, and integrity.

The program aims to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and interdisciplinary problem solving skills for a fulfilling career in high quality engineering work and advanced research, required in the information based society of the 21st century. The program emphasizes a solid background in basic science and mathematics, a strong preparation in hardware, software and theory towards the analysis, design and application of computers and information-processing techniques to the solution of real world problems. The courses are complemented with laboratory practice with state-of-the-art computing systems. With the help of two summer trainings each of which must be at least four weeks long, junior and senior students practice their knowledge, learn to function in a collaborative and most of the time multi-disciplinary environment, and improve their communication skills. The program also provides the students with a broad intellectual spectrum by including various elective courses in economics, social sciences, humanities and arts. For two semesters in the senior year, students work on a design project that requires creative thinking and present their work at the end of their study in the department.



The Computer Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

CURRICULUM

FIRST YEAR

Autumn Semester

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 101  Algorithms and Programming I  3  4  4  6.5
ENG 101  English and Composition I  5    3  5
GE 100  Orientation      1  2
MATH 101  Calculus I  4    4  6.5
MBG 110  Introduction to Modern Biology  3    3  5
TURK 101  Turkish I      2  3.5

Spring Semester

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 102  Algorithms and Programming II  3  4  4  6.5
ENG 102  English and Composition II  5    3  5
MATH 102  Calculus II  4    4  6.5
MATH 132  Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics  3    3  5
TURK 102  Turkish II      2  3.5

SECOND YEAR

Autumn Semester

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 211  Data Structures  3    3  5
CS 223  Digital Design  3  4  4  6.5
GE 250  Collegiate Activities Program I      -  1
HUM 111  Cultures Civilizations and Ideas I  3    3  5
MATH 225  Linear Algebra and Differential Equations  4    4  6.5
PHYS 101  General Physics I  3  3  4  6.5

Spring Semester

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 224  Computer Organization  3  4  4  6.5
CS 319  Object-Oriented Software Engineering  3    4  6.5
GE 251  Collegiate Activities Program II      1  2
HUM 112  Cultures Civilizations and Ideas II  3    3  5
MATH 230  Probability and Statistics for Engineers  3    3  5
PHYS 102  General Physics II  3  3  4  6.5

THIRD YEAR

Autumn Semester

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 299  Summer Training I      -  7
CS 311  Mathematical and Computational Foundations of Artificial Intelligence  3    3  5
CS 353  Database Systems  3    3  5
CS 473  Algorithms I  3    3  5
ENG 401  Technical Report Writing and Presentation  3    3  5
  Social Science Core Elective      3  -

Spring Semester

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 342  Operating Systems  3    4  6.5
CS 476  Automata Theory and Formal Languages  3    3  5
GE 301  Science Technology and Society  2    2  3.5
HIST 200  History of Turkey  3    4  6.5
  Engineering Elective      3  -

FOURTH YEAR

Autumn Semester

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 399  Summer Training II      -  7
IE 400  Principles of Engineering Management  3    3  5
  Arts Core Elective      3  -
  Project Elective      3  -
  Technical Electives (3)      9  -

Spring Semester

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
  General Elective      3  -
  Project Elective      3  -
  Technical Electives (3)      9  -

GRADUATE PROGRAM

The Department of Computer Engineering offers M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs with the possibility of specialization in different areas of research in computer engineering. Current research areas are artificial intelligence, logic, computer vision, data mining, machine learning, pattern recognition, big data, data stream processing systems, data intensive distributed systems, bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, database systems, distributed database systems, object-oriented systems, information storage and retrieval, software engineering, software architecture design, computer graphics, physically based animation, ray tracing, radiosity, user interfaces, image analysis, parallel processing, parallel algorithm design, task assignment, simulation of various applications on multicomputer architectures, multicores and manycores, cloud computing, high performance computing, parallel methods for scientific computing, computer networks, mobile and wireless networking, combinatorial algorithms, graph theory, graph drawing, graph coloring, computational geometry, graph visualization, capacity planning for web services, performance modeling.

Master of Science in Computer Engineering

Admission: All applicants are required to have a B.S. degree in computer engineering, computer science, or in a related field of science or engineering. Students with a B.S. degree in areas other than computer engineering may be requested to take several undergraduate courses in the field to acquire the necessary background. Evaluation of applicants is based on their ALES (Akademik Personel ve Lisansüstü Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı - Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education Entrance Examination) scores, past academic records, reference letters and an interview. Applicants who are not Turkish citizens and Turkish citizen applicants who are residents of another country may take GRE instead of ALES. All non-native speakers of English are required to submit a proof of satisfactory knowledge of English.

Degree Requirements: In addition to at least 21 credit units of course work, the M.S. degree candidate must prepare and successfully defend a thesis. Expected duration to complete the M.S. program is four semesters; the maximum duration is six semesters.

CURRICULUM

Courses

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 590  Research Seminar I  2    -  1
CS 599  Master's Thesis      -  71
GE 500  Research Methods and Academic Publication Ethics      -  1
GE 590  Academic Practices      -  12
  Graduate Electives (6)      18  -
  Technical Elective      3  -

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering

Admission:All applicants are required to have a B.S. degree in computer engineering, or in a related field of science or engineering. Evaluation of applicants is based on their ALES (Akademik Personel ve Lisansüstü Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı - Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education Entrance Examination) scores, past academic records, reference letters and an interview. Applicants who are not Turkish citizens and Turkish citizen applicants who are residents of another country may take GRE instead of ALES. All non-native speakers of English are required to submit a proof of satisfactory knowledge of English.

Degree Requirements:21 credit units of course work beyond the M.S. level or 42 credits of course work beyond the B.S. level is required. Ph.D. candidates must pass a qualifying exam and then must prepare a thesis work proposal. Preparing and defending a dissertation based on original research is the essence of the program. A paper based on the candidate's thesis must be accepted or published in a reputable journal before the dissertation can be defended. The expected duration to complete the Ph.D. program is eight semesters for students who enter the program after an M.S. degree, and ten semesters for those who enter after a B.S. degree. The maximum durations are twelve and fourteen semesters, respectively.

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering

CURRICULUM

Courses

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 690  Research Seminar II  2    -  1
CS 699  Ph.D. Dissertation      -  203
GE 500  Research Methods and Academic Publication Ethics      -  1
GE 690  Academic Practices      -  24
  Graduate Electives (7)      21  -

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering (After a Bachelor's Degree)

CURRICULUM

Courses

Code Course Name Hours Credit ECTS
Credit
Lec. Other
CS 590  Research Seminar I  2    -  1
CS 690  Research Seminar II  2    -  1
CS 699  Ph.D. Dissertation      -  203
GE 500  Research Methods and Academic Publication Ethics      -  1
GE 690  Academic Practices      -  24
  Graduate Electives (14)      42  70

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