Conditional admission may be granted upon completion of a bachelor's degree, including a two semester sequence in a modern programming language with elementary data structures (CPS 180, CPS 181), from an accredited institution with a minimum overall grade point average of 3.0 in the last two years of study, as well as in the programming courses. International students are required to demonstrate English competency. (See section on English Language Competency in this Bulletin).
Regular admission is granted to students who meet the above conditional requirements and have completed the following or the equivalent:
Conditionally admitted students who have not met all these requirements will be required to get the department chairperson's permission to register in each graduate course.
Students are required to achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the above-listed courses.
Program Requirements
Required Courses I (6 hours)
Required Courses II (12 hours)
Students must choose one track as a cohort:
CPS Track
Select CPS 542 and CPS 691 (required) plus 6 additional hours:
| CPS 520 | Software Architecture | 3(3-0) |
| CPS 542 | Analysis and Design of Algorithms | 3(3-0) |
| CPS 585 | Applied Data Engineering | 3(3-0) |
| CPS 610 | Advanced Software Design and Development | 3(3-0) |
| CPS 685 | Pattern Recognition and Data Mining | 3(3-0) |
| CPS 691 | Research Design and Professional Practice | 3(3-0) |
| CPS 710 | Software Engineering Metrics, Models and Management | 3(3-0) |
ITC Track
Select ITC 520 (required) plus 9 additional hours:
| CPS 585 | Applied Data Engineering | 3(3-0) |
| CPS 685 | Pattern Recognition and Data Mining | 3(3-0) |
| ITC 520 | Foundations of Computer Security | 3(3-0) |
| ITC 530 | Mobile Computing | 3(3-0) |
| ITC 620 | Information Security and Privacy | 3(3-0) |
| ITC 630 | Cloud Computing | 3(3-0) |
| ITC 686 | Big Data Analytics | 3(3-0) |
Other Requirement (3-6 hours)
Select either Plan A or Plan B.
Plan A Requirement (6 hours)
The 30-hour requirements include 24 hours of coursework, a Master's thesis of 6 hours (CPS 798 or ITC 798), and an oral examination on the thesis. For Master's thesis, a Thesis Committee shall be formed according to the procedure outlined in the Thesis, Field Study, or Dissertation section of the Graduate Studies Bulletin.
Select one of:
Plan B Requirement (3 hours)
The 30-hour requirements include 27 hours of coursework and a Plan B Project. A student must complete a substantial written report in computer science or an application of computer science for the Plan B project.
Copies of procedures for such projects are available from the department chairperson. The project will ordinarily include a significant original programming component with a written defense of the programming component and must include evidence of scholarly and creative ability. The project must be supervised while in progress and approved by a committee of two faculty members.
Select one of:
| CPS 697 | Independent Study | 1-6(Spec) |
| ITC 691 | Information Technology Project | 3(3-0) |
Electives (6-9 hours)
At most 3 hours of electives may be non-CPS/ITC designator and must be approved in advance by faculty advisor in the CPS department.
Total: 30 semester hours
Notes:
At least 15 semester hours of courses must be at 600-level or above.
A student who satisfied any of the course requirements prior to entering the program may be excused from that course requirement. However, the 30-hour requirement will not be affected.
Accelerated Master of Science in Computer Science
Undergraduate students in Computer Science can pursue a Master of Science program in Computer Science while still fulfilling the requirements for their Bachelor's degree. The Accelerated Master's Degree Program (AMDP) allows students to reduce the total number of credits required to complete their undergraduate and graduate level degrees by applying up to 12 credits (500 and 600 level courses) towards graduation requirements on both degree programs.
Admission Criteria:
To be eligible for the accelerated program, a student must have completed a minimum of 90 credits (including transfer and/or AP credits) towards a Bachelor's degree, including all University Program requirements. An overall grade point average (GPA) of a least 3.25 is required, as well as a minimum of 3.00 in Computer Science course work. In addition, students must satisfy all requirements for regular admission to the Master's program in Computer Science, with the possible exception of completing CPS 450 and 470 courses, which may be completed during the senior year.
During the fourth year, students will complete 12 credits of graduate level course work (excluding independent study credits) that will be counted towards both the undergraduate and graduate degrees. In addition , students will take either CPS 450 and 470 or 6 hours of CPS electives. Other courses may be taken to complete Bachelor of Science degree requirements. Students will complete the course work required for a Master of Science degree and complete either Plan A or Plan B option by the end of the fifth year.
A sample curriculum for a student who has completed 90 credit hours of undergraduate course work is given below:
Sample Curriculum for Plan A or Plan B option:
Year Four
Fall (15 hours):
| CPS 541 | Modern Databases | 3(3-0) |
| | | |
| CPS | Elective | 3 |
| | OR | |
| CPS 450 | Programming Language Concepts | 3(3-0) |
| | | |
| | Undergraduate Courses | 9 |
CPS 541: Elective for BS, required for MS
Spring (15 hours):
| CPS | Elective | 3 |
| | OR | |
| CPS 470 | Introduction to Operating Systems | 3(3-0) |
| | | |
| | Other BS Requirement | 3 |
| ITC 510 | Software and Data Modeling | 3(3-0) |
| CPS/ITC | courses for both BS and MS | 6 |
ITC 510: Elective for BS, required for MS
Summer (3 hours):
| | UG Courses (if necessary?) | 3 |
Year Five
Fall (12 hours):
Spring (12 hours):
| CPS 650 | Theory and Practice of Compiler Construction | 3(3-0) |
| | Requirements and Electives for MS* | 12 |
CPS 650: Required for MS
*Note: Students may complete CPS 798 - 6 hours over the course of two semesters for the MS Plan A Option.