Computer Science, MS

Location(s): Main Campus

The Master of Science in Computer Science degree (MS CS) focuses on the design and application of computing systems, including the design of hardware and software components, hardware-software trade-offs, and the diverse applications of computing. This program offers two optional tracks in special topics in computer science: the Artificial Intelligence Track and the Cybersecurity Track. Students may choose to complete the MS in Computer Science with or without a track.

Admission Requirements

Holders of a baccalaureate degree in computer science or a related field are invited to apply for admission to the MS CS program. Students whose undergraduate degrees are not in computer science may be required to complete some preparatory work in addition to fulfilling the program requirements listed below.

Program Requirements

All MS CS students must complete 31 credits of computer science graduate courses.

To complete the MS in Computer Science, students must maintain at least a B average in all graduate coursework.

MS with Thesis Option

Core Courses (9 credits)

Complete the following three core courses (total of 9 credits):

Computer Systems Elective Course (3 credits)

Students must take at least one course from the following three computer systems electives:

Additional Elective Courses (15 credits)

Complete five additional elective courses approved by your faculty advisor (making a total of nine courses). Students may choose from the three computer systems electives or from the list below.

Thesis (4 credits)

Students must write and defend a four-credit master’s thesis.

CS 599 - Masters Thesis

MS with Project Option

Core Courses (9 credits)

Complete the following three core courses (total of 9 credits):

Computer Systems Elective Course (3 credits)

Students must take at least one course from the following three computer systems electives:

Additional Elective Courses (18 credits)

Complete six elective courses approved by your faculty advisor (making a total of ten courses). Students may choose from the three computer systems electives or from the list below.

Termination Project (1 credit)

Students must develop and present a one-credit project.

CS 595 - Termination Project

Elective Course List

With approval of the faculty advisor and Graduate Director, at most, two elective courses may be taken from other departments or schools in Watson College or from other schools within the University.

MS in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Track

Students who take the AI track in the MS in Computer Science must still complete the three core courses, a project or thesis and fulfill the requirement to take at least one of the computer systems electives. The MS in Computer Science requires 31 total credit hours, with or without a track.

To complete the AI track in the MS in Computer Science, students must replace four electives in the MS in Computer Science with the following:

Two required artificial intelligence courses:

Two artificial intelligence electives chosen from the following list:

CS 515 - Social Media Data Sci Pipeline
CS 517 - Intr to Human Comp Interaction
CS 524 - Intelligent Mobile Robotics
CS 535 - Introduction To Data Mining
CS 555 - Intro to Visual Info Processin
CS 556 - Intro to Computer Vision
CS 636X - Adv Topics of Machine Learning
CS 580, CS 581, and CS 680 Special Topics courses - Certain approved CS topics courses in areas such as Computational Social Science, Deep Learning, and Natural Language Processing. The School of Computing website will maintain a current listing.

MS in Computer Science with Cybersecurity Track

Students who take the cybersecurity track in the MS in Computer Science must still complete the three core courses, a project or thesis, and fulfill the requirement to take at least one of the computer systems electives. The MS in Computer Science requires 31 total credit hours, with or without a track.

To complete the cybersecurity track in the MS in Computer Science, students must replace four electives in the MS in Computer Science with the following:

Two required cybersecurity courses:

Two cybersecurity electives chosen from the following list:

CS 527 - Mobile Systems Security
CS 528 - Computer Networks
CS 536 - Intro to Machine Learning OR CS 580E - Introduction to Deep Learning
CS 553X - Software Security
CS 561 - Topics in Data Privacy
CS 580, CS 581, and CS 680 Special Topics courses - Certain approved CS topics course in areas such as Hardware and Systems Security and Data Privacy. The School of Computing website will maintain a current listing.

Artificial Intelligence Micro-Credential

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Micro-Credential is available to students in the MS in Computer Science program. The AI Micro-Credential program within the existing MS in Computer Science program is designed to:

Embrace the phenomenal needs in our society for AI.
Offer fundamental knowledge of AI to a reasonable level both in breadth and depth
Help train the AI workforce for our society.

For more information about the AI Micro-Credential, please refer to the Artificial Intelligence Micro-Credential section.

Additional Information about the Program

For more information on the Computer Science MS program, please refer to the Computer Science Graduate Programs website. To apply to the Computer Science MS program, please visit the University Graduate Admissions website.