Requirements for the Master's Degree

The Master of Science program is available to both day and evening division students. All candidates must complete at least 30 hours of graduate level course work as listed below.  

• 18 hours of regular Computer Science (CS) or Software Engineering (SE) course work at the 6000 level
  
  
  • Plan I (Thesis) requires at least 3 and no more than 6 Hours of CS 6990 Directed Research
  • Plan II (Non-Thesis) requires 3 hours of CS 6910 Directed Research


• 12 additional hours of Computer Science (CS) or Software Engineering (SE) course work at or above the 5000 level including:
  
  
  • CS 5050: Research Methods in Computer Science
  • CS 5120: Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Plan I

Plan I is the thesis option. Students must prepare a formal thesis while enrolled in CS 6990 for at least 3 credits. No more than 6 hours of CS 6990 may be included in the required total of 30 hours. They may also include 3 hours of CS 6850 (Independent Study), CS 6890 (Internship) or approved graduate-level coursework in other departments. The thesis must be defended at a public meeting. Enrollment in CS 6990 is restricted to students who are at least past their first semester and past 9 credit hours of courses completed toward the program, who are deemed ready by their CS 6990 faculty supervisor. More information on thesis requirements is available.

Plan II

Plan II is the non-thesis option. Students must complete a project while enrolled in CS 6910 for at least 3 credits. No more than 3 hours of CS 6910 may be included in the required total of 30 hours. They may also include 3 hours of CS 6850 (Independent Study), CS 6890 (Internship) or approved graduate-level coursework in other departments. Enrollment in CS 6910 is restricted to students who are at least past their first semester and past 9 credit hours of courses completed toward the program, who are deemed ready by their CS 6910 faculty supervisor.

Oral Presentation

All graduate students are required to give an oral presentation as part of their Master's Degree requirements. Students pursuing the thesis option (Plan I) will use their thesis defense as their presentation. Students pursuing the non-thesis option (Plan II) will give a presentation on their project. More information about this requirement is available.