Bachelor of Science/Master of Science

Program Description

Goals
(a) To integrate research training into our curriculum.
(b) To attract high quality undergraduate students to pursue our graduate program by providing an accelerated path to a graduate degree, with awarding of both BS & MS degrees.
(c) To create an on-campus community of graduate students.
(d) To foster an environment that enables research training and production of meaningful research work by enhancing the senior project with the graduate thesis.

Career Opportunities

Computer science graduates find jobs in a wide array of occupations including software engineering, application, game, and web programming, network administration and security, and database administration. Because computers are becoming more and more pervasive, computer science jobs are available in almost every field. According to the US Department of Labor, computer science  job opportunities are expected to grow at approximately 20% through 2018 which is much faster than the average for all occupations. Graduates with a M.S. in Computer Science receive starting salaries approximately 10-20% higher than graduates with only a B.S.

Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements
(a) Application for admission into this joint BS+MS program.
(b) Junior Standing
(c) Completion of both:
(i) All courses in Area F, and
(ii) At least 15 credits of CPSC courses at 3000 level or above.
(d) A minimum institutional GPA of 3.00 overall and 3.50 calculated on all CPSC courses taken is required.
(e) A statement of research interest.
(f) A proposed plan of study by semester.
(g) A recommendation letter from a prospective graduate thesis advisor.
(g) Students are not required to take the GRE.
(h) Students are selected by the CS graduate curriculum committee.

Learning Outcomes

Goals
(a) To integrate research training into our curriculum.
(b) To attract high quality undergraduate students to pursue our graduate program by providing an accelerated path to a graduate degree, with awarding of both BS & MS degrees.
(c) To create an on-campus community of graduate students.
(d) To foster an environment that enables research training and production of meaningful research work by enhancing the senior project with the graduate thesis.

Additional Program Requirements

Graduation Requirements
(a) Students must earn at least a 3.00 GPA calculated on all graduate courses.
(b) Students must earn a minimum of C grade in each CPSC course.
(c) At most 6 credits of graduate level courses with a C grade will be applied toward the degree.
(d) Students must earn at least 36 credits from graduate level courses in computer science.
(e) Students must earn at least 21 credits from CPSC 6000 level courses.
(f) Students must take at least 6 credits of CPSC 6985 and successfully finish and defend a master’s thesis.
(g) Upon success completion of the 36 graduate credit hours and all graduate requirements, students may apply for the MS in Applied Computer Science degree.

Undergraduate/Graduate Student Status
(a) Students will retain an undergraduate student status until they finish taking all undergraduate level courses. This is to maintain their federal and/or state financial aid eligibilities.
(b) Upon successful completion of 123 credit hours and all undergraduate requirements, students may apply for the BS in Computer Science degree.
(c) Students will petition to become a graduate student with regular status after a completion of all undergraduate requirements for this program (which is at most 108 undergraduate credits).

Program of Study

Area A Essential Skills Required Hours: 9
ENGL 1101 (with a grade of "C" or better)
ENGL 1102 (with a grade of "C" or better)
MATH 1113

Area B Institutional Options Required Hours: 4
COMM 1110
Select one of the following courses:

OR
Select one of the following courses: Foreign Language 1001, 1002, 2001, or 2002
Any Area C-E course with a study abroad component.

Note: the two extra hours may be used as electives.

Area C Humanities/Fine Arts/Ethics Required Hours: 6
Select one of the following humanities courses:

Select one of the following fine arts courses: *ITDS 1145, though listed under both humanities and fine arts, may be taken only once.

Area D Science/Math/Technology Required Hours: 11
Select two lab science courses from below:

Take the following course:
MATH 1131 (one extra hour will be applied to Area F)

Area E Social Sciences Required Hours: 12
Select one course from the following two courses:
HIST 2111
HIST 2112
Take the following course:
POLS 1101
Select one behavioral science course from the following courses:

Select one world cultures course from the following courses:

Wellness Requirement Required Hours: 3
PHED 1205
Select any one PEDS course.

Area F Courses Related to Major Required Hours: 18

Area G Program Requirements Required Hours: 48

Area H Program Electives Required Hours: 12
CPSC 3000, 4000, 5000U/G, or 6000 level

Students interested in the following should take:

Games, Modeling, and Simulation:
CPSC 6000.

Total Graduate Hours Required: 36

Total Hours Required: 144

* satisfies both BSCS Area G and MSCS Area 1 Program Core requirements