2025-2026 Academic Catalog

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Computer Science, MS

Program Requirements

Students need to submit an approved Plan of Study to the department during the first semester of their admission. An academic advisor will consult with students to develop a Plan of Study. Students may choose Plan I (Thesis), Plan II (MS Project), or Plan III (Course Only). Both Plans I and II require successful defense of thesis or project in the student's graduating semester. Students completing Plan I and II should find a research advisor to sponsor their project before their second year of study.

  • Plan I-Thesis: Students take 24 hours of graduate course work, and additionally write and defend a thesis, which counts for 6 hours of graduate thesis work. In this plan students will take a minimum of three "category A" courses, a minimum of three "category B" courses, and six hours of MS thesis (over a minimum of 2 semesters). Students are allowed a maximum of 6 credit hours of CS Independent Study with the approval of their faculty research advisor. 
  • Plan II-MS Project: Students take 27 hours of graduate course work, and additionally write and defend a MS project report, which counts for 3 hours of graduate MS project work. In this plan, students will take a minimum of three "category A" courses, a minimum of four "category B" courses, and three hours of MS project. Students are allowed a maximum of 3 credit hours of CS Independent Study with the approval of their faculty research advisor. 
  • Plan III-Course Only: Students must take 30 hours of graduate course work and, additionally, complete the final assessment during the student's graduating semester. In this plan, students will take a minimum of three "category A"  courses and a minimum of four "category B" courses. One of the "category B" courses must be from a designated list of courses that will satisfy a final MS course project. Students are not eligible to complete CS Independent Study.  Students can satisfy all 30 credits by taking all courses in Category A and B or elect to take the final credits in Category C. (For example; students completing their Software Engineering certificate.)

Students may take courses from Mathematics and other Engineering departments with prior approval of the CSE Graduate Committee.

No more than 6 credit hours may be in the form of online courses.