Dr. Venkatesan Guruswami

Professor

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Biography

Venkatesan Guruswami is a Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his B. Tech. degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1997 and completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001. Before joining UC Berkeley in January 2022, he held faculty positions at the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests encompass theoretical computer science, particularly in the areas of mathematics, error-correction, approximate optimization, randomness in computing, and computational complexity. He has made significant contributions to the development of list error-correction codes and has worked on various topics including polar codes, deletion-correcting codes, cloud storage, and constraint satisfaction problems. Guruswami has held leadership roles in the theory computing community and serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the ACM and the journal TheoretiCS. He has been a program committee chair for several major conferences and is a fellow of the ACM and IEEE. He has received numerous awards including the Simons Investigator award and the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award.

Research Interests

Courses

CS 294-268. Proving TCS Math Theorems

Requirements for University of California, Berkeley

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
GRE Subject
Overall Score
Required:500
Overall
Required:500
TOEFL
Total
Required:90
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree or recognized equivalent Preparation comparable to undergraduate major at Berkeley in Mathematics or Applied Mathematics 2 full years lower-division work (Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus) 8 one-semester upper-division courses (Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Linear Algebra)
Application Checklist
  • Graduate Application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Personal History Statement
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • Unofficial Transcripts
  • C.V./Resume
  • Course and Textbook List
Specialization Notes

The Mathematics Subject GRE is required for the Fall 2026 admissions cycle. General GRE is optional.