Who is eligible?

• Those who hold a bachelor's degree in computer science and software engineering or equivalent from an institute of recognized standing (transcripts required) are eligible.
• Applicants with degrees in other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines are encouraged to apply and will be evaluated by the committee on a case-by-case basis.
• The GRE requirement is waived if you apply to the online CSSE master's program.

• Online students can choose the non-thesis option, except with special permission from the department to complete a thesis.
• For the non-thesis option, students must complete 33 credit hours of graduate-level (6000 or above) course work with the following three required courses:
  • COMP7270 Advanced Algorithms (3 hours)
  • COMP7500 Advanced Operating Systems (3 hours)
  • COMP7300 Advanced Computer Architecture (3 hours)
  • The remaining eight (8) courses are at the discretion of the student and the director of graduate programs (a.k.a., GPO). All courses in the degree must be taken for a grade.
  • A project (i.e., COMP7980) demonstrating mastery of software engineering is required for the M.S. (non-thesis) degree if M.S. non-thesis students are admitted prior to the fall 2018 semester. The COMP7980 project includes both software and a written report. A proposal supporting the project must be approved by the student's advisory committee before work on the project may start. The format for the proposal and the project report are determined by the student's major professor. The project report must be given to the department's graduate program office upon completion for filing as a technical report.
  • For M.S. non-thesis students who are admitted in or after fall 2018, COMP7980/7986 is an elective course. These students are referred to as course-only M.S. non-thesis students, who don't need to submit (1) plan of study and (2) advisory committee selection forms. An approved Form 8 is no longer a requirement for non-thesis students.
• The Master of Science degree (M.S.) requires a minimum of 30 graduate semester credit hours. The following courses are required:
  • COMP7270Advanced Algorithms (3 hours)
  • COMP7500 Advanced Operating Systems (3 hours)
  • COMP7300 Advanced Computer Architecture (3 hours)
  • COMP7990 Research and Thesis (6 hours)
  • The remaining courses are at the discretion of the student and the director of graduate programs (i.e., GPO). All courses in the degree must be taken for a grade. The exception is COMP7990, Research, and Thesis, which is offered only in incomplete/complete format.
  • A written proposal supporting the thesis must be approved by the student's advisory committee before work on the thesis may start. The format for the proposal and the thesis are determined by the student's major professor.