Computer Science, MS

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The Computer Sciences major prepares students for a professional career in software development or Computer Science research. It gives students a deep foundation in computer science and exposure to the computer application development life-cycle, including modeling, algorithm development, software, programming languages, and development frameworks. Students may define an area of interest (concentration) in which to develop expertise in areas such as mobile computing, security, bioinformatics.

Admission Requirements

A candidate must meet the university-level admission requirements for graduate school and have at least the equivalent of a minor in computer science or a related field.

Degree Requirements

The MSCS degree program requirements consist of course work and a master’s thesis. Students must:

maintain a grade of 3.0 (out of 4.0) in all courses in the curriculum,
select an area of research study, thesis advisor, and thesis committee during the second year of study,
submit a thesis accepted by the thesis advisor and thesis committee,
complete 27 hours of classroom courses.

Year One

Fall Semester

Spring Term

Year Two

Fall Semester

Concentration course (3)
Concentration course (3)
CIS 5970 Thesis

Spring Term

Elective (3)
CIS 5970 Thesis

Concentrations

All concentration courses must be graduate-level courses that are not required by the degree program. At least six credit hours of the concentration courses must be selected from graduate-level courses that are offered by the CIS Department and do not have the CGS prefix. The elective may be either another concentration course or a graduate-level or 4000-level course selected from courses outside the CIS Department. See the CIS graduate coordinator for additional information.