The Graduate Group in Computer Science (GGCS)
In order to encourage interdisciplinary research among its faculty and graduate students, the University of California, Davis, administers many of its graduate programs through the structure of a graduate group. These groups consist of faculty whose research areas intersect the appropriate field of study. The Graduate Group in Computer Science is composed of over 90 faculty from computer science, electrical and computer engineering, applied science and other campus departments. GGCS is also affiliated with the following Designated Emphases, which allows Ph.D. students to receive and be credited for training in various areas besides computer science:
- Designated Emphasis in Biophotonics and Bioimaging
- Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology
- Designated Emphasis in Computational Social Science
Primary support comes from the Department of Computer Science, which currently has more than 40 faculty with plans for further growth. In addition to forming the core of the faculty of the graduate group, the department offers two undergraduate majors -- Computer Science and Computer Science and Engineering -- enrolling over 1,300 students. Over 40 undergraduate and 50 graduate courses in computer science are offered by the faculty of the group. Approximately 300 students are enrolled in the graduate group, divided between M.S. and Ph.D. programs.
Northern California has the greatest concentration of computer companies and research centers in the world. Our program has close ties to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), which supports a number of computer research projects and has substantial computer facilities. Several members of our graduate group are based at Livermore, and advanced students can work on research projects at Livermore under the supervision of faculty members in Applied Science as well as with research scientists at LLNL.
Our computer science program also has strong ties to major computer companies. We have joint research programs with companies such as Intel Corporation, Hewlett Packard and Google, as well as with a number of smaller companies. We have a strong reputation with computer companies, and our good industrial ties are partly due to the large number of our graduates who work for these companies. Our master’s students have been very successful in getting high-quality industrial jobs. Most of our Ph.D. students choose academic positions, but those interested in industrial research jobs have also been quite successful. We have also received many generous equipment donations, which have helped us build a large state-of-the-art computer facility.
Find out about the GGCS, our governance, our faculty members, our commitment to diversity and much more.