For admission to the master’s program in computer science, students must have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a closely related field. Students without such a background may also be admitted, but may be required to take deficiency courses and earn a grade of B or higher in each. Deficiencies should be resolved in the first year and do not normally carry graduate credit toward the degree.
Students pursuing the M.S. in computer science must complete at least 31 semester hours. Students have the option of completing the M.S. degree in computer science by taking only courses or by combining course work with a master’s thesis. For students who write a master’s thesis, 6 semester hours of CSCI 699 will count as two of the ten courses required.
Students who are planning to continue their studies through the department’s doctoral program must choose the thesis option. Students who write a master’s thesis, may receive credit for up to 6 semester hours of CSCI 699.
A program of study designed by the student and the adviser must be approved by the Department of Computer Science.
Students must obtain prior departmental approval to apply courses not offered by the Department of Computer Science to their programs of study. No more than 8 credit hours may be taken outside the Department of Computer Science.
Check departmental information for any additional requirements.
Students must complete the required number of hours in each of the following areas:
I. Survey (1)
II. Programming (3)
III. Systems (3)
IV. Theory (3)
V. Specializations (6)
VI. Electives (15)
Total (31)
Graduate-level courses for which there exists an undergraduate equivalent (typically courses that are offered as 400/500 courses) shall not constitute more than 50% of the hours applied toward a master’s degree.
Students must complete sufficient semester hours of electives to fill out their program. Elective course work includes CSCI courses in the range 500-798 that have not been used to satisfy another requirement. Students may take up to 8 semester hours from other departments in courses relevant to the student’s program, subject to department approval.
Students who are planning to continue through the department’s doctoral program must take CSCI 701 - Research Methods in Computer Science, as one of their electives of the M.S. in Computer Science, preferably as early as possible.
Return to: