Professional Masters Program in Big Data

Information Booklet

Fall 2017

Numbers have an important story to tell.

They rely on you to give them a voice.

Stephen Few
 CONTENTS

Message from the Program Director..................1

About the Big Data Masters Program................2

Our Expectations...........................................3

Program Requirements...................................4

Program Structure.........................................6

Tuition Fees..................................................7

Ancillary Fees................................................8

The Big Data Co-op Experience........................9

Special Lab Access.......................................10

Graduate Student Matters.............................11

Student Organizations..................................17

Academic Forms and Letters..........................18

Important Dates & Deadlines.........................19

Important Contacts......................................21

Important Links...........................................22
Message from the Program Director
I am very pleased to welcome you
to the Professional Masters Program
at SFU. Since its inception in 2014,
this program has been very
successful; we can barely keep up
with the substantial demand from
industry for our students. We are
very proud of our graduates who
have already made significant
achievements in the industry. For
example, the team winning the top
award in the Royal Bank of Canadas
Amplify competition in 2017 is from our program.

We have structured the Professional Masters program

to be both interesting and challenging, covering
fundamental concepts and cutting-edge technologies.
You will receive instruction from excellent faculty
members who are experts in their fields. A dedicated
administrative team will support you throughout the
program and will assist you in finding the right
opportunity for your co-op and landing your dream job
after graduation. In addition to courses and projects in
the Professional Masters program, I highly encourage
you to participate in the various social and academic
activities in our school. You will meet great colleagues
and expand your knowledge.

Finally, I wish you the best of luck in your studies at

SFU and your career afterwards. We are all looking to
you to be leaders in the growing and exciting field of
big data and its numerous applications.

Dr. Mohamed Hefeeda,

Professor and Associate Director, Research and
Industry Relations, in the School of Computing
Science, and Program Director, Big Data

1
About the Big Data Masters Program

The first of its kind in Canada, SFUs Professional

Masters Program in Big Data was launched in
2014 and is designed to train professionals who
can manage and lead the application of big data
technology.

Simon Fraser University was ranked Canadas

number one comprehensive university in
Macleans annual review of Canadian universities
in 2014. SFU has placed number one every year
from 2008 to 2012.

The School of Computing Science is home to

more than 50 top-notch researchers and
instructors, many of whom specialize in database
systems, data mining, systems and algorithms.
Recently, the School was ranked as one of the
top 50 computer science departments in the
world and the 3rd in Canada (2014 ARWU
University Ranking).

2
Courses in the Big Data program are taught by
exceptional faculty. You can learn more about our
faculty on our website at www.sfu.ca/bigdata.

Our Expectations

As a graduate student, you are expected to:

Maintain a cumulative grade point average

(CGPA) of 3.00 or higher throughout the
program
Actively monitor your student account (e.g.
course registration and fee assessment)
Be aware of important dates and deadlines
regarding academic changes, penalties, etc.
Practise academic honesty and appropriate
student conduct
Check e-mail regularly and respond and/or
act as required
Contact us if you have questions or concerns

3
Program Requirements

Students in the Big Data program will complete a

minimum of 30 credit units of graduate work.
These units are divided into three main sections
as follows:

a minimum of 15 credits of graduate

course work
12 credits of specialized lab work
3 credits of co-op (internship) work

The program is typically 4 semesters (16

months) in length. This includes a 4-month co-op
placement. Students who take more than 4
semesters to complete the program are required
to pay a continuing fee (50% of regular tuition)
for each additional semester.

All students must take all of:

CMPT 726 Machine Learning

CMPT 732 Programming for Big Data 1
CMPT 733 Programming for Big Data 2

4
And one of:

CMPT 705 Design and Analysis of Algorithms

CMPT 706 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
for Big Data (recommended)

And at least two of:

CMPT 741 Data Mining

CMPT 756 Big Data Systems
CMPT 767 Visualization
CMPT 825 Natural Language Processing
IAT 814 Knowledge, Visualization, and
Communication
STAT 852 Modern Methods in Applied
Statistics*

* STAT 652 Statistical Learning and Prediction

can be used in place of STAT 852 with permission
of the School.

Additionally, students may select up to one

elective course (typically 3 credits) from the
following list of courses:

CMNS 815 Communication Theories in

Technology and Society
Any special topics course in Computing
Science: CMPT 829, 880, 881, 882, 884,
885, 886, 888, 889
CMPT 894 Directed Reading
Other courses with permission of the School

5
6
Tuition Fees

The tuition fee structure is based on a per

term (not per credit) fee of $6,897.86 per
semester for domestic students and $8,224.37
for international students.

Please note that the same per term/semester fee

applies to the co-op semester as well.

If a student wishes to add an additional semester

to his or her program, there will be a continuing
fee that is half the normal tuition per semester
after the first four consecutive semesters.

Total program cost for domestic students (4

semesters): $27,591.44

Total program cost for international students (4

semesters): $32,897.48

7
Ancillary Fees

Below is an outline of additional fees students

can expect to pay each semester (except where
indicated otherwise). Please note that these
numbers are provided for informational purposes
only. Your actual assessment may vary. You can
access your financial account at go.SFU.ca under
the Finances tab in the Student Services
Centre.

Grad Health Plan Dental* 265.51

Grad Health Plan Medical* 194.03
U-Pass BC Fee Assessment 164.00
GRAD Rec & Athletic Fee 75.42
GRAD Student Activity Fee 67.80
GRAD Student Services Fee 45.26
Graduate Graduation Fee** 12.00
International Medical
281.00
Insurance***

*Paid once per year. Students already covered by

an equivalent health and dental plan can opt out
of the graduate benefit plan during the change-
of-coverage period. For more information, please
visit www.ihaveaplan.ca.

**Paid the first three terms only.

***International students only. This is usually

paid for one term only, as students apply for the
BC Medical Services Plan during this time.

8
The Big Data Co-op Experience

A strong focus of the Professional Masters

Program in Big Data is to prepare graduates for
the workforce. This is done through an emphasis
on hands-on practical skills during the laboratory
courses and through a work placement (co-op)
later in the program.

The co-op placement allows students to practice

what they know in a real-life work setting. In
order to give students more flexibility, we have
designed the co-op experience around several
options. Students can work in industry, execute a
project, take one or more additional courses, or
work in a research position on- or off-campus.

Visit our website to learn more about the co-op

experience of some of our previous students.

9
Special Lab Access

Big Data students enjoy a strong connection to

KEY, SFUs Big Data Initiative. Students receive
special 24/7 access to lab space at SFUs Big
Data Hub, located at the Burnaby campus. The
newly renovated lab (Room 10928) features
sophisticated, state-of-the-art computer
hardware and software to help you find value in
data. With breakout spaces nearby, students can
collaboratively work while instructors and TAs can
conduct impromptu discussions.

As part of the Hub, students can access hands-on

training workshops, attend events featuring big
data thought leaders, and connect with a larger
community of people engaging in big data
questions and approaches.

In addition to the lab, students can access the

lunch room and the print room. The lunch room
is equipped with a fridge, dishwasher,
microwaves, dishes, and an eating space. The
print room has a photocopier and printer for your
use. Meeting rooms are available with approval
by the School of Computing Science (e-mail
cmptmgr@sfu.ca).

10
Graduate Student Matters

Settlement & Visa Support for International

Students
SFUs International Services for Students office
provides comprehensive information about
settlement in Canada, including information
about medical insurance, permits and
documents, working on- or off-campus, and
more. Access these resources here:
www.sfu.ca/students/isap.

English as an Additional Language Support

There are many opportunities for students to
perfect their English language skills at SFU.
Student Learning Commons (SLC) offers
workshops, where students can improve their
spoken and written language skills. The SLC also
offers numerous resources and workshops
centered on skills for success in university
(writing, time management, note-taking, etc).
Find more information here.

11
The Burnaby Mountain Toastmasters is a public
speaking group that meets regularly on campus.
Members practice various speaking skills, such as
story-telling, speaking with confidence, and
eliciting emotions in listeners - all in a safe,
supportive environment. Visit their Facebook
page for more information.

Employment
Many employment opportunities exist on campus.
If you are an international student and have
questions around work permits, you should
contact SFU International Services for Students
(sfu_international@sfu.ca).

Before you decide to pursue work alongside your

studies, you should consider your workload. Big
Data students take 12 credit units in the fall and
spring semesters. It is generally recommended
that students spend 3 hours per credit unit each
week to complete assignments and prepare for
classes. This comes to 36 hours in addition to the

12
12 class hours per week that you will have to set
aside for your studies. The Big Data program is a
rigorous, full-time program, so you should ensure
that any part-time work you do on the side does
not interfere with your ability to perform well in
class. Big Data students have to maintain a
cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 in
order to be able to continue in the program.
Remember that your paid co-op work placement
helps off-set the cost for the program.

Paid and volunteer opportunities can be accessed

through SFU myInvolvement and the Dean of
Graduate Studies (DGS) blog, for example.

Another option is the work-study program, which

allows students to participate in research-based
projects on campus in a supervised, paid position
with flexible hours. Applications are made
through the student information system at
go.sfu.ca.

Financial Aid
SFU offers student financial aid in many forms.
Although Big Data students are not eligible for
research-based funding, you should still
familiarize yourself with other opportunities that
may help to finance your studies. All financial
awards have eligibility criteria that must be met
by the successful recipient, so be sure to check
these before you apply.

Bursaries are graduate scholarships based on

demonstrated financial need; you can access the
application form through go.sfu.ca.

13
Loans offered by Canadian governments are
available to Canadian citizens, permanent
residents, and landed immigrants. Student lines
of credit offered through financial institutions are
another option. If you are an international
student, it is important to note that lines of credit
are usually more expensive than government
loans granted by students home countries, so it
would be wise to investigate the latter option
first. BC residents can learn more about
government loans here: studentaidbc.ca. If you
are a resident of a different province, you should
contact your provincial authority for student
loans to obtain further information.

Equity and Student Well-Being

SFUs Centre for Students with Disabilities (CSD)
offers support to students with a documented or
suspected disability. CSD offers academic
accommodations to eligible students. These
accommodations are changes in a class or exam
which help create equal educational opportunities

14
for students with disabilities. For more
information, please visit the CSD website.

Health and well-being are important to student

success. SFUs Health & Counselling Services help
students maintain a healthy lifestyle in a variety
of ways. Health & Counselling Services operates
a health clinic on the Burnaby campus, where
students can obtain primary medical advice and
treatment. They also offer counselling services,
physiotherapy, chiropractic services, and more.
Visit their website for great online resources on
how to manage stress, deal with difficult
situations, and generally increase well-being.

Application to Go on Leave

Graduate students are required to maintain

continuous enrollment. When students find it
necessary to interrupt their studies, they must
apply for a leave of absence. During a leave of
absence, graduate students are not enrolled and
should not use any of the University's facilities or

15
resources, or undertake academic or research
work related to their program.

The on-leave option is only meant for exceptional

circumstances, since there are challenges in
leaving a cohort-based program for any period of
time.

It is expected that students make every effort to

complete the program on time with the rest of
the cohort. However, in extenuating
circumstances, a student may request to go on
leave for one or more semester(s). These
circumstances fall under one of four categories:

1. Personal Leave
2. Parental Leave
3. Medical/Compassionate Leave
4. Academic Break

In all of the above cases, the student submits a

Leave of Absence Request form for review by
the Program Director well before the beginning of
the semester for which the on-leave status is
being requested. The form can be found here.

Please see here for full regulations.

16
Student Organizations

Computing Science Graduate Student

Association (CSGSA)
A graduate caucus of the Simon Fraser Student
Society (SFSS), CSGSAs main agenda is to
provide support, community involvement, and
assistance for all Computing Science graduate
students. The CSGSA organizes social events and
offers mentoring, among other things. The group
meets at least once per semester to discuss and
vote on student issues. For more information,
join the Facebook group at
www.facebook.com/groups/cssfu

The Graduate Student Society (GSS) at SFU

The GSS represents the Graduate Student
population at SFU. As a registered student, you
automatically gain access to their services, some
of which are: advocating for the interests of
graduate students at SFU, supporting and
promoting graduate student activities on campus,
representation to other groups at SFU,
administration of the graduate student benefit
plan, provision of free legal services, etc.
Please visit their website for further information:
www.sfugradsociety.ca

Women in Computing Science (WICS)

Membership is free and welcome to females and
males who are willing to help WICS achieve the
following goals: promote women in Computing
Science, support women throughout their study
of Computing Science, build a strong network of
friendly faces for women in Computing Science,
and challenge the biases and myths faced by
women in Computing Science. Learn more online
at cgi.sfu.ca/~wics

17
Academic Forms & Letters

During your studies at SFU, you may be required

to provide confirmation of enrollment to an
external party, make a change to your program,
request a transcript, etc. For such formal
procedures, there are forms you must obtain.
The Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies
provides most of the forms you would need
online.

A Confirmation of Enrollment for a current

term can be obtained through your goSFU
account. Simply log in to the Student Information
System at go.sfu.ca and go to the Student
Centre. Under the Academics heading,
Enrollment sub-heading, click the small double
arrow for the drop down menu and select
Confirmation of Enrollment. The current term is
automatically selected. Click the Go button.
Click the Refresh button every 30 seconds until
the view PDF link appears. You can then open
the PDF file and save or print it.

The School of Computing Science can provide

official letters for immigration/visa
purposes. Students can contact the School for
letters supporting a study visa renewal or a travel
visa application (i.e. in cases where students are
required to leave Canada as part of their program
- for example, for co-op positions in the U.S.).

If you are unsure how to obtain a form or letter,

or which form you need, please contact us at
bigdata@sfu.ca.

18
 Important Dates & Deadlines:
Fall 2017

This schedule is provided as an overview only.

For a complete schedule of important dates and
deadlines, please refer to the online calendar
published by the Office of Graduate Studies here:

Monday, Sept. 4, 2017 Labour Day, University closed.

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017 Fall term classes start.
Monday, Sept. 11, 2017 4:30pm Deadline for submitting
a U-Pass BC exemption request
for Fall 2017.
Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 End of Bursary application
period.
Monday, Sept. 18, 2017 Last date to opt out or change
your coverage in the Graduate
Health Plan.
Last day for graduate students
to enroll through self-service.
Last day to drop with 100%
refund of tuition. For refunds on
U-Passes, please refer to the U-
Pass website.
Tuition and fees are due and
payable.
Monday, Sept. 25, 2017 Last day to drop with no
notation on transcript.
Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 Last day to drop with 75%
refund of tuition. No refund of
ancillary fees.
Only applicable to new
international students: Last day
to opt out of Guard.Me@SFU.

19
Monday, Oct. 9, 2017 Thanksgiving Day. University
closed.
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017 Last day for a 50% refund of
tuition for term withdrawals. No
refund of ancillary fees.
Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017 Western Canadian Deans
Agreement deadline for
applying to take transfer
courses at other western
Canadian universities is 46
weeks before the beginning of
the next term.
November 624, 2017 Work-study application period.
Monday, Nov. 6, 2017 Last day for graduate students
to drop classes with WD on
their transcripts
Enrollment opens for Spring
2018 semester.
Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 Remembrance Day. All classes
cancelled and offices closed.
Monday, Dec. 4, 2017 Classes end for Fall term.
WedSun, Dec. 617, Examination period.
2017

20
Important Contacts
Big Data Academic Program
Mohamed Hefeeda mhefeeda@sfu.ca
Professor & Big Data Program Director

Katie Knorr bigdata@sfu.ca

Academic Program Coordinator, Big Data

Big Data Co-op Program

Paula Scott paula_scott@sfu.ca
Big Data Co-op Coordinator

Eunice Koh eunice_koh@sfu.ca

Big Data Co-op Coordinator & Student Advisor

Laura Brock lbrock@sfu.ca

Big Data Co-op Student Advisor

Wendy McKay bdcoop@sfu.ca

Big Data Co-op Program Assistant

School of Computing Science

Tracy Bruneau cmptmgr@sfu.ca
Manager of Academic and Administrative Services

Dean of Graduate Studies Office

General Inquiries (ticket system) help.deangrad.sfu.ca
Career Services
Brenda Badgero bbadgero@sfu.ca
Career Education Manager

Health & Counselling Services

Alisa Stanton alisa_stanton@sfu.ca
Health Promotion Specialist

Graduate Student Society

Mitchell Kovacic internal@sfugradsociety.ca
Director of Internal Relations

International Services for Students

International Student Advisors intl_advising@sfu.ca

21
Important Links

SFU Departments
Big Data Home Page: www.sfu.ca/bigdata
Bookstore: http://sfu.collegestoreonline.com/
Campus Security: www.sfu.ca/security/
Career Services: www.sfu.ca/career.html
Centre for Students with Disabilities:
www.sfu.ca/students/disabilityaccess.html
Computing Science Co-op:
www.sfu.ca/coop/programs/cmpt/home.html
Graduate Studies Office: www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies
Faculty of Applied Sciences: www.fas.sfu.ca/
Health & Counselling Services: http://students.sfu.ca/health
KEY (SFUs Big Data Initiative): www.sfu.ca/key
IT Services: www.sfu.ca/itservices
Library: www.lib.sfu.ca/
Recreation & Athletic Services: http://students.sfu.ca/recreation/
School of Computing Science: www.cs.sfu.ca/
Student Services: http://students.sfu.ca/

Academic Matters
Academic Honesty & Student Conduct Policies:
www.sfu.ca/policies/Students/index.html
Forms for Graduate Students:
http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/forms.html
Important Dates and Deadlines for Graduate Students (Fall
2015): http://www.sfu.ca/dean-
gradstudies/current/important_dates/Fall2017.html
SFU Calendar: www.students.sfu.ca/calendar/
Student Information System: https://go.sfu.ca/
SFU myInvolvement: http://myinvolvement.sfu.ca
Student Learning Commons:
www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc

22
 Accommodation, Transportation, Childcare, etc.
Childcare: http://www.sfu.ca/childcare.html
Graduate Student Benefit plan: www.ihaveaplan.ca
Off-campus housing listings: http://sfu.och101.com/
Residence and Housing at SFU: http://students.sfu.ca/residences/
Translink: www.translink.bc.ca/

International Student Matters

SFU International: www.sfu.ca/international/
International Student Taxation Information: www.sfu.ca/dean-
gradstudies/current/international_students/IncomeTax.html
International Student Advising and Programs (settlement
resources): www.sfu.ca/students/isap
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency: www.cra-arc.gc.ca/
Citizenship and Immigration Canada: www.cic.gc.ca
Social Insurance Number (Service Canada):
www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/sin/index.shtml

Money Matters
Financial Aid & Awards: http://students.sfu.ca/financialaid/
Graduate Awards and Application System (GA3):
https://gradawards.sfu.ca
Scholarships and Awards via Dean of Graduate Studies:
www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/awards.html
SFU Finance: www.sfu.ca/finance/
Student Aid BC: www.studentaidbc.ca

Student Groups
Computing Science Graduate Student Society Facebook Group:
www.facebook.com/groups/cssfu
Graduate Student Society: www.sfugradsociety.ca/
Simon Fraser Student Society: www.sfss.ca/
Women in Computing Science (WICS): http://cgi.sfu.ca/~wics/

Last updated: Sept. 1, 2017.

23