MS in Computer Science

Admission 

The program admits students with a 4-year bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related area. Students from other engineering fields, mathematics or science may be admitted as well with an extra requirement to complete undergraduate level background deficiency courses determined at the time of admission. Such courses will not count towards the MS degree completion requirements.

To be considered for admission to the program the minimum requirements are: 

  • Student must have earned a GPA of at least 3.000 (or an equivalent score from another country) in the bachelor's degree.
  • Students whose bachelor’s degree is from an institution outside the U.S. are required to submit official scores of the GRE General Test along with the admission application. While we do not set a minimum score, we would like the quantitative portion of the GRE to be above average.
  • Applicants whose native language is not English must provide English proficiency exam scores as described in the Graduate School's admission requirements.

Letters of recommendation are optional but encouraged, especially if the student’s GPA and/or GRE do not truly reflect the student’s skills and/or abilities.

Program Requirements

Students must choose one of the three graduating options: thesis, project or coursework‑only. A total of 30 credit hours of graduate work is required for all options. All courses must be approved by the student’s advisor and the graduate coordinator. Students are advised to consult their advisor (if thesis or project option) or graduate coordinator (if coursework only option) before taking any courses especially if they are below 600 level or offered outside the department (i.e., for courses that are not ECE or CS prefixed).  

Students are strongly advised to choose courses in consultation with their advisor and/or graduate coordinator before completing their first semester. To ensure that students take relevant courses, students should seek approval from their advisor or graduate coordinator at each semester unless they have filed a plan of study. Courses that are taken without prior approval may affect the plan of study process, if deemed not to satisfy the graduation requirements.

Graduating Options

Thesis Option

Students need to complete an in-depth research project. Students should conduct extensive literature review, identify gaps, propose a research question, and seek a solution to the research question. This is ideal for students who desire to develop their research skills or plan to pursue a research career. Students will defend their findings to their thesis committee. One out of the three committee members must be outside the home department. Students are encouraged to take 6 credit hours of individual reading courses with their advisors leading to taking thesis credits.

Course Title Hours
CS 721Advanced Algorithms and Analysis3
CS 892Thesis6
Select 21 credit hours of graduate courses (except CS 891)21
At most 6 credit hours of CS 893 Individual Reading
At most 10 credit hours below 700 level
At most 6 credit hours of non-ECE or non-CS prefixed courses
Total Credit Hours30

Project Option

Students solve a specific problem or an issue of significance. Students will apply their hands-on expertise and implement a solution to interesting problems. Students will identify a problem, define a solution approach, implement it, collect necessary data and analyze. Upon which, they shall submit a written project report to a committee of three faculty members (with graduate status) and present their findings. Students are encouraged to take 3 credit hours of individual reading courses with their advisors leading to taking project credits.

Course Title Hours
CS 721Advanced Algorithms and Analysis3
CS 891Project3
Select 24 credit hours of graduate courses (except CS 892)24
At most 3 credit hours of CS 893 Individual Reading
At most 10 credit hours below 700 level
At most 6 credit hours of non-ECE or non-CS prefixed courses
At least 3 credit hours of 800 level or above courses with ECE or CS prefixes
Total Credit Hours30

Coursework Option

Course Title Hours
CS 721Advanced Algorithms and Analysis3
Select 27 credit hours of graduate courses27
No credit hours of CS 891, CS 892 and CS 893 Individual Reading
At most 10 credit hours below 700 level
At most 6 credit hours of non-ECE or non-CS prefixed courses
At least 6 credit hours of 800 level or above courses with ECE or CS prefixes
At least 3 credit hours of applied learning component courses
Total Credit Hours30

Applied Learning 

Students in the MS in computer science program (including students in the coursework option) are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by completing at least 3 credit hours of major courses with a research writing and presentation component that is applied to the plan of study with a C or better grade. Currently approved courses are: