By-laws

General

Departments

The Graduate Program in Logic, Algorithms and Computation, MPLA, is sponsored by the following departments:

1. Department of Mathematics, University of Athens
2. Department of Methodology, History and Theory of Science, University of Athens
3. Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, University of Athens
4. School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
5. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
6. Department of Computer Engineering and Informatics, University of Patras.

Administrative support for the program is provided by the Department of Mathematics of the University of Athens. MPLA is authorized to award both M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. The M.Sc. degree is awarded in the following specializations:

1. Logic and Theory of Algorithms and Computation
2. Mathematical Logic
3. Computer Science Logic

Approval

MPLA was approved, for a ten year period, by ministerial decrees F.711/B7/146/14-3-96 (FEK 241/B/96) and F.711/B7/38/20-1-99 (FEK 73/B/99), which together with Law 2083/1992 govern its operations. The Master's course duration is a full year—6 semesters and the program may accept up to 20 (twenty) students each year. The Doctoral course duration is 6–12 semesters and the program may accept up to 10 (ten) students each year.

Governing bodies

The governing bodies of the program are as follows:

1. The Special Inter-university Committee (S.I.C.) of the program, which is elected by the six sponsoring Departments, wields those authorities that the Graduate Studies Committee (G.S.C.) has in single department graduate programs (clause 12, paragraph c) of Law 2083/1992).
2. The Director, who is elected by the S.I.C.
3. The Chairman, who is elected by the S.I.C. (according to the decision of the Senate of the University of Athens during its sitting of November 5, 1998).

Regulations

The By-Laws of the program detail and complement the ministerial decree which established the program; they are approved by the S.I.C. and may be amended once each year.

Student selection and program enrollment

Announcement

Each year, before the spring semester is over, the S.I.C. sets up a three member Student Selection Committee (S.S.C.) and announces, publishes in the daily press and notifies the appropriate departments of the competition for the selection of students for the next academic year.

Candidates

Candidates for the program are, initially, graduates of Departments of Mathematics, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, as well as graduates of other Natural Sciences Departments of Universities and Polytechnic schools, so long as they meet the necessary standards for successful study in the program, in the judgement of the S.S.C. The S.S.C. may also select for enrollment in the program individuals who have not completed their undergraduate work, on the condition that they will do so before the beginning of the next academic year. According to Law 2083/1992, candidates must also know one foreign language, preferably English. It should be noted that some of the courses on the program are taught in English.

Formal requirements

Along with the basic credentials of their qualifications, applicants for admission to the program should submit the following:

1. Two or three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with their studies.
2. Evidence of knowledge of at least one programming language.
3. A brief study proposal (two pages maximum) in which they discuss their interest in the program and their preparation for it.

Candidates who want to become immediately accepted to the Ph.D. program must have earned the M.Sc. from MPLA or an equivalent degree from another institution. In addition, candidates may submit further evidence which could strengthen their application, e.g. published or unpublished research.

Interview

Candidates who meet the standard qualifications for selection and submit complete applications within the time limits are called on an interview with the S.S.C.

Reannouncement

Students that are accepted by the program in June must submit in writing, the later by the 15th of August, to the secretariat of the Program, their intention to enroll in the program and to attend classes in the coming Fall. If by August 15th the number of candidates for the M.Sc. degree that have been accepted and have in turn signified their intention to enroll in the program is under 20, or the equivalent number for the Ph.D. degree is under 10, then the S.S.C. may hold a second competition in order to fill the remaining openings.

Selection criteria

The basic selection criterion for admission to the program is the candidate's ability, in the judgment of the S.S.C., to complete successfully all the necessary requirements for the M.Sc. degree within four (4) semesters or the requirements for the Ph.D. degree within six (6) semesters. Should the number of candidates meeting this criterion exceed the allotted number, then the S.S.C. orders the candidates and selects the best. In evaluating candidates the committee uses the following, equally weighted four criteria:

1. Cumulative grade average of the undergraduate degree.
2. The successful completion of a substantial number of rigorous, undergraduate mathematics courses.
3. The successful completion of a substantial number of rigorous, undergraduate courses in Computer Science or strong evidence of knowledge of basic Computer Science.
4. Letters of reference, study proposal and any additional evidence submitted by the candidate.

For the Ph.D. degree, the basic criterion is the student's ability and readiness to conduct research.

Course Curriculum

Make sure you also check our courses page for more information.

The program offers required, elective required and elective full courses, elective half courses and reading courses, as follows:

Required Courses

The following five basic courses are required for the M.Sc. and are offered each year:

• Λ1 Mathematical logic
• Λ2 Computability
• Λ3 Algorithms and complexity I
• Λ4 Algorithms and complexity II
• Λ5 Research methodology

Elective Required Courses

• M6 Set Theory (spring semester).
• Π6 Basic course in Theoretical Computer Science, after approval of the S.I.C. (spring semester)

Elective full courses

The program offers a selection of the following courses every semester:

• M10 Metamathematics of Set Theory
• M11 Recursion Theory
• M12 Model Theory
• M13 Introduction to Constructive Mathematics
• Λ14 Introduction to λ-calculus
• Λ15 Proof Theory
• Λ16 Non-Classical Logics
• Π17 Mathematics and Cryptography
• Π18 Logic Programming
• Π19 Mathematical Theory of Programming Languages
• Mιθα Special Topics in Mathematical Logic
• Πιθα Special Topics in Computer Science Logic

In coding special topic courses, the letters ιθ denote the academic year that the course is offered for the first time and the code α ranges from A to M and signifies the specific course. M98B, e.g., is the second course in the category Mιθα offered for the first time in the academic year 1998 – 1999).

Elective half-courses

The program occasionally offers half courses in specific subjects. These are taught (usually) by visiting faculty members and are offered specifically to enable students to take advantage of short visits by distinguished scientists. Half courses are coded in the same manner as the elective full courses, but the code α ranges from N to Ω.

Reading courses

With the approval of his or her Advisor and on the basis of a written study proposal, a student may enroll in a reading course under the supervision of a regular or visiting MPLA faculty member. The Reading courses are coded in the form of Mκιθ or Πκιθ, where ιθ denotes the year and κ ranges from A to M for the fall semester and from N to Ω for the spring semester.

Teaching credits

The basic required courses Λ1 – Λ4, the elective required courses M6 – Π6 and the elective full courses, correspond to four (4) teaching credits and are taught for four (4) hours per week, one (1) of which may involve coaching and lab exercises. Λ5 (Research methodology) corresponds to two (2) teaching credits. Each elective half course corresponds to two (2) teaching credits and involves at least twenty (20) hours of lectures. Each reading course corresponds to four (4) or two (2) teaching credits as set out in the study proposal.

Grading

Written final examinations are set in the basic courses Λ1 – Λ5, but the grade may depend on other factors (papers, midterm tests etc.) at the discretion of the lecturer. Elective full and half courses are graded at the lecturer's discretion, but the method of grading must be communicated to the students in the first week of of classes. For each enrollment in a required or elective required course, each student can be examined at most twice. In case of failure in the first examination at the end of the semester in which the course was offered, the student can take the second examination in the coming September. For each enrollment in an elective full or half course, each student can be examined once only, at the end of the semester during which the course was taught.

Evaluation of student progress

Advisor

Upon entrance to the program, each student is assigned an advisor and it is the advisor's responsibility to approve the student's study list each semester. After the first semester and with the approval of the program director, the student may change advisor by submitting to the secretariat a petition which indicates the proposed new advisor's agreement to serve. The Advisor must be a regular faculty member in one of the six departments which sponsor the program.

Enrollment deadline

Enrollment in classes must be completed by the end of the fourth week of teaching, every semester, at which time it is final. Students are graded on all courses in which they enroll.

Enrollment in Λ1 – Λ5 and M6 – Π6

All students must enroll in Λ1, Λ2 and Λ3 in the first semester, and in Λ4 and M6 or Π6 in the second semester of study. Each student enrols in course Λ5, under the supervision of his/her Supervisor, during the preparation of his M.Sc. Thesis.

Exemptions

Exemptions to these regulations can be made only by the S.I.C. and after a written request by the student.

The Master's degree

Courses

To earn the M.Sc. a student must accumulate forty-two (42) teaching credits through successful attendance of the required courses and, depending on his specialization, of additional courses as follows:

• for the specialization "Logic and Theory of Algorithms and Computation", the elective required course Μ6 and elective or half courses or reading courses,
• for the specialization "Mathematical Logic", the elective required course Μ6 and elective or half courses or reading courses, accumulating at least sixteen (16) teaching credits from the courses Μ10 – Μ13, Λ14 – Λ16, Μιθα and Μκιθ,
• for the specialization "Computer Science Logic", of the elective required course Π6 and elective or half courses or reading courses, accumulating at least sixteen (16) teaching units from the courses Λ14 – Λ16, Π17 – Π19, Πιθα and Πκιθ,

Each student may

• earn up to eight (8) credits from reading courses,
• earn up to eight (8) credits through the successful completion of courses in other graduate programs (Greek or foreign),
• ask for the formal recognition of MPLA courses that he/she had successfully completed before his enrollment in the Program.

Each student may accumulate at most twenty (20) credits from courses of cases 2. and 3. above, by applying to the S.I.C., supplying all relevant information concerning such courses.

As an example of the last provision, undergraduate students in the sponsoring Departments may enroll in courses of the program. If a student at NTUA, for example, enrolls in and passes Λ2 and is later accepted by MPLA, he or she can then be exempted from this course. And if an MPLA student wants to take a graduate course in another Department, then he or she may request from the S.I.C. to recognize that course.

Thesis

Each student must write an M.Sc. Thesis, which corresponds to ten (10) teaching credits. To this purpose and after the completion of the first five required courses, the student proposes and the S.I.C. appoints a three-member Advisory Committee. At least two of the members of this committee, one of whom is appointed as Supervisor, must be regular faculty members in some of the six sponsoring Departments. In special cases, it is possible that the Advisory Committee consists of four members, two of whom are appointed as Co-Advisors and three of whom must be regular faculty members in some of the six sponsoring Departments or Schools. In collaboration with his or her committee, the student selects an appropriate topic and works on his thesis. After the preparation of the thesis, the student presents his thesis during a public lecture in the presence of the members of his Advisory Committee and delivers two typewritten copies and a written approval of the committee. Date of conferring the degree on each student is the date he/she delivered these documents to the Secretariat of the Program.

The Ph.D. degree

Courses

Each student must accumulate twenty four (24) teaching credits through successful completion of elective full or half courses or reading courses. At most sixteen (16) of these may come from reading courses.

Participation in G.Q.E. and O.Q.E.

Each student must participate successfully in the General Qualifying Examinations (G.Q.E.) concerning three scientific branches of MPLA, which are determined by the S.I.C., and pass the Oral Qualifying Examination (O.Q.E.), in the presence of all members of his Advisory Committee.

Doctoral Thesis

Each student must complete successfully a Doctoral Thesis, which constitutes an original contribution to science, according to paragraph 5, article 12 of Law 2083/1992. The Doctoral Thesis corresponds to thirty six (36) credits.