Graduate
Degree Programs
Computer Science
M.S. in Computer Science
M.S. Requirements
The Master of Science in Computer Science program includes a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work in the foundations of computer science, programming, systems, and applications.
CURRICULUM
Most of the Computer Science Program’s courses at the 500-level and above are classified into these areas:
- Foundations (middle digit 0 or 1, e.g., B 501, B 502, B 503, B 510)
- Programming Languages (middle digit 2, e.g., B 521, B 522, P 523, B 524)
- Systems (middle digit 3 or 4, e.g., P 536, B 538, B 541, P 542, B 543)
- Applications (middle digit 5, 6, 7 or 8, e.g., B 551, B 552, B 553, B 561, P 565, P 566, P 573, B 581, B 582)
General courses not associated with a specific area are numbered with a middle digit 9. Courses that involve a major programming project are designated as “programming-in-the-large,” and carry a course number with letter designation P.
Required Computer Science Courses (18 cr.)
- 6 courses in computer science listings at the 500-level or higher
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With prior written permission from the director of Master’s studies, one course may be selected from:
- CSCI-B 401 Fundamentals of Computing Theory
- CSCI-B 403 Introduction to Algorithm Design and Analysis
- CSCI-P 436 Introduction to Operating Systems
- CSCI-B 443 Introduction to Computer Architecture
- MATH-M 471 Numerical Analysis I
- MATH-M 472 Numerical Analysis II
- One course must be a CSCI P-course
- One course must be a CSCI Foundations course
- Two of the three areas (Programming, Systems, Applications) must be represented
-
Computer Science Electives (3–6 cr.)
Creativity Requirement (6–9 cr.)
Students have a choice among five options to fulfill their creativity requirement.
C: Computer science concentration
Three graduate-level courses (minimum of 9 credit hours) from computer science, including an additional P-level graduate course beyond the core requirements. Only 3 credit hours of these courses may be used for independent study (CSCI-Y 790 and Y 791).
R. Master's research project
Two graduate-level independent study courses (maximum of 6 credit hours), consisting of a survey or original research at a level appropriate for publication as a departmental technical report or conference presentation.
S: Master's software project
Two graduate-level independent study courses (maximum of 6 credit hours), consisting of substantial individual input into a major software research and development project, documented in the public domain.
TH: Master's thesis
Two graduate-level independent study courses (maximum of 6 credit hours), consisting of a formal master's thesis as prescribed by the University Graduate School.
A: Interdisciplinary application of computer science
Three or more courses (minimum of 9 credit hours) in a program that applies computer science to another discipline. These courses must be approved in advance by the graduate faculty and may affect the total number of credit hours you take in order to fulfill your computer science requirements.
APPROVED SPECIALIZATIONS
Bioinformatics (9 credits)
INFO-I 519 Introduction to Bioinformatics
INFO-I 529 Machine Learning in Bioinformatics
Choose one course from the following:
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- BIOL-L 504 Genomoe Biology for Physical Scientists
- BIOL-L 531 Cyberinstrasctructure-enabled Computational Genome Science
Data modeling and management (9 - 12 credits)
Choose at least two courses from the following:
-
- CSCI-B 552 Knowledge Based Artificial Intelligence
- CSCI-B 561 Advanced Database Concepts
- CSCI-B 565 Data Mining
- CSCI-B 581 Advanced Computer Graphics
- CSCI-B 656 Web Mining
- CSCI-B 661 Database Theory and Systems Design
- CSCI-B 662 Database Systems and Internal Deisgn
Choose at most two courses from the following:
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- ILS-Z 534 Information Retrieval: Theory and Practice
- ILS-Z 634 Metadata
- ILS-Z 636 Semantic Web
- ILS-Z 637 Information Visualization
Machine Learning (9 credits)
Choose at least one course from the following:
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- CSCI-B 554 Probabilistic Approaches to Artificial Intelligence
- CSCI-B 555 Machine Learning
- CSCI-B 565 Data Mining
- CSCI-B 652 Computer Models of Symbolic Learning
- CSCI-B 656 Web Mining
Choose one or two courses from the following: (PSY-P 533 and STAT-S 626 cannot both be counted)
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- PSY-P 533 Introdcution to Bayesian Data Analysis I
- PSY-P 553 Advanced Statistics in Psycholoy I
- STAT-S 520 Introduction to Statistics
- STAT-S 625 Nonparametric Theory and Data Analysis
- STAT-S 626 Bayesian Theory and Data Analysis
- STAT-S 670 Exploratory Data Analysis
- STAT-S 675 Statistical Learning and High- Dimensional Data Analysis
Security (9 credits)
INFO-I 520 Security for Networked Systems
INFO-I 533 Systems and Protocol Security and Information Assurance
Choose one course from the following:
-
- CSCI-B 649 Advanced Topics in Privacy
- CSCI-B 649 Modern Cyberfraud
- CSCI-B 649 Data Privacy and Trustworth Systems
- INFO-I 521 Malware Epidemic: Threat and Defense
- INFO-I 525 Organizational Informatics and Economics of Security
- INFO-I 536 Foundational Mathematics of Cybersecurity