The Core Exam is generally offered on the third Friday following the start of the semester. The next Core Exam will be held on:
Friday, February 10, 2012 9:30 a.m.
The exam is held in room 412 WWH from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m and 1:45 to 3:15 p.m. Students must arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of each session to sign in and present their NYU ID card. The programming languages and operating systems questions are given in the morning session, the algorithms questions in the afternoon.
To register for the Core Exam, send an email to Jen Rose Alexander at jenrose@cs.nyu.edu.
Please include the following information on one line, in the body of your message:
Last Name, First Name UID (without the use of dashes separating the numbers)
For example:
Doe, John N12345678
Students will receive a confirmation to their email requesting registration within two business days. Students must register at least one week in advance for the Core Exam. For the Spring 2012 Core Exam, the last day to register to take the Core Exam is Friday, February 3rd. We will not accept registrations after that day.
In addition to the course requirements, students in the MSCS program under the MSCS Degree Requirements Prior to Fall 2009 must pass the Core Exam. Please note that MSCS students under the MSCS Degree Requirements Effective Fall 2009 do not need to take the Core Exam.
This exam is based on three core courses: Fundamental Algorithms (G22.1170), Programming Languages (G22.2110) and Operating Systems (G22.2250), plus additional material listed in the syllabus below. All questions on the exam are given equal weight and are scored from 1 to 10. Both the individual answers and the total scores are curved to determine the passing grade.
Every student gets two chances to pass the Core Exam. A student who registers for and attends the exam will be considered to have used one of these two chances, even if he or she does not submit the exam. Cancellations of exam registration will be accepted until 5:00 P.M. the day before the exam. If the student fails both times, the student will be terminated from the program and will not receive the degree.
Graduation cannot take place earlier than three months after you have passed the Core Exam. If you pass the Core exam administered at the start of the spring term, and that is your final degree requirement, you will be eligible to graduate in May; you must then register for Maintenance of Matriculation (G47.4747-001) for the spring semester. Passing the exam administered in the beginning of the fall semester as your final requirement qualifies you for a January degree and you will have to register for Maintenance of Matriculation (G47.4747-001) for the fall semester.
All students are strongly urged to take the Core Exam at the first available opportunity after completing at least 6 courses in the MS program. For a typical full-time student admitted in the fall semester, it would mean taking the exam in September, at the start of your third semester. This is especially important for international students on a 2-year visa, as it would allow time for a second and final attempt in your final semester.
Algorithms
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Operating Systems
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Programming Languages
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Compilers (Starting with the September 2008 Core Exam, Compilers will no longer be part of the Core Exam)