MS in Computing

Admission 

The program admits students with a four-year bachelor’s degree earned in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field. Students who have taken courses in programming, object oriented programming, data structures and algorithms during their bachelor's degree will be admitted unconditionally (e.g., students with a computer science background). Students who do not have these classes will need to take two prerequisite courses:  CS 581 and CS 582 prior to entry into the degree program. Applicants needing prerequisite coursework must take it through Wichita State University. Those needing to take prerequisite courses may be admitted simultaneously to nondegree Category A status and this degree program (conditionally). Upon successful completion (C or better) of this coursework, the student will be considered full standing in the degree program. If the prerequisite coursework is not successful, the degree-seeking admission may be deferred until courses are successfully completed (up to one year).

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 be above average.

The MS in computing enables students to obtain a master's degree in the computing field. This degree also utilizes stackable graduate certificates that the department offers. This means that students can earn graduate certificates in areas such as cybersecurity, data science, computer networking and software engineering that can be used to earn this master's degree. A typical student can easily stack two certificates and with a little extra work, even three certificates. More details and examples are available at the department website. This is a coursework-only degree, i.e., does not require a project or thesis.

Program Requirements

Course Title Hours
Common Core Requirements
Students must take three of the four classes listed below. 9
CS 665
Introduction to Database Systems 1
CS 771
Artificial Intelligence
CS 664
Computer Networks 1
CS 580
Introduction to Software Engineering 1
Concentration Electives
Select up to 15 credit hours of 600-level or higher CS/ECE courses. Students are encouraged to see what courses would apply to the department's graduate certificates and take those courses. If a student decides to take all four common core courses, the fourth one can apply in this category.15
CS 656
Introduction to Cybersecurity
CS 697AP
Applied Parallel Computing
CS 697AQ
Web Programming
CS 731
Mathematical Foundations for Computer Networking
CS 737
Wireless Networking
CS 746
Perspectives on Data Science
CS 764
Routing and Switching I
CS 767
Foundations of Network Security
CS 770
Machine Learning
CS 780
Advanced Software Engineering
CS 797
Special Topics in Computer Science (any letter suffixed CS 797 courses)
CS 869
Multi-Service Over IP
CS 898BA
Image Analysis and Computer Vision
CS 898BD
Deep Learning
CS 898AW
Artificial Intelligence for Robotics
CS 898AE
Software Analysis Methodologies
Technical Electives
Select up to 6 credit hours of 600-level or higher CS/ECE courses. Students are encouraged to see what courses would apply to the department's graduate certificates and take those courses. If a student decides to take all four common core courses, the fourth one can apply in this category. Students can also take related courses from outside the department with prior authorization by the program's graduate coordinator. 6
Total Credit Hours30
1

If a student has taken any of the courses that are indexed with this footnote during their previous undergraduate or graduate studies, then they cannot take these courses but they will have to substitute them with elective courses. Students should consult their graduate coordinator.

Applied Learning 

Students in the MS in computing program 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: