Students seeking admission to the M.S. program in the Department of Computer Science must meet all the requirements for admission to the NIU Graduate School. The master’s program requires degree-seeking applicants to submit the following materials:
Baccalaureate Field: A B.A./B.S. degree in computer science or a closely related field is preferred. 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.
Test Scores: All applicants must provide official scores on all sections of the General Test of the GRE taken in the past 5 years.
Letters of Recommendation: Two (2) letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak to the applicant’s ability to be successful in the completion of a graduate-level degree program. Individuals submitting letters should have a professional or academic relationship with the applicant.
Personal Statement: Should be at least 500 words in length. It should outline the applicant’s preparation for graduate study in their chosen field, as well as their goals for graduate school and beyond. Additional information about the applicant’s personal academic journey that cannot be found in other application documents should be included here.
Resume/CV: Copy of current resume/CV in PDF format indicating the applicant’s professional and/or volunteer experience. If applicable, papers and other works produced by the applicant should be mentioned here.
Deadlines: Application deadlines for fall semester (August) admission are May 1st for international applicants living abroad and July 15th for those residing in the U.S. Application deadlines for spring semester (January) admission are October 1st for international applicants living abroad and December 10th for those residing in the U.S. The department does not accept applications for initial summer term admission.
Program Information
Students pursuing the M.S. in computer science must complete at least ten graduate-level courses of 3 or 4 semester hours each. At least eight of the ten required courses must be in 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. For students who write a master’s thesis, 6 semester hours of CSCI 699 will count as two of the ten courses required. In addition, students must complete one semester hour of CSCI 600.
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 advisor 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 (3-4) IV. Theory (3) V. Specializations (6) VI. Electives (15)
Total (31-32)
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 electives courses 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 who are planning to continue through the department’s doctoral program should 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.
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