Master of Science in Computer Science Degree Requirements

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The Graduate School provides general requirements for the Master of Science in all departments at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder. The following requirements specifically pertain to students pursuing a Master of Science in the Department of Computer Science. It supplements the Graduate School requirements; in all cases not specifically mentioned below, the general Graduate School requirements are understood to apply.

External Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students

Plan of Study

Students will be expected to submit a , in consultation with their departmental advisor, during the first semester of study. Changes to the plan of study must be approved by the advisor.

While pursuing the research based MS degree in CS, you may select between two options:

  • Thesis Option: Complete 24 credit hours of course hours, according to the course requirements mentioned below, and take 6 thesis credit hours. You must also fulfill other MS degree requirements as stated by the department. Learn more about the thesis option requirements.
  • Non-Thesis Option: Complete 24 credit hours of course hours, according to the course requirements mentioned below, and take 6 credits of independent study hours. You must also fulfill other MS degree requirements as stated by the department.

Advising

Research based Master's students are advised by the Sr. Graduate Advisor when they start the program. If a student chooses to do Independent Study research work, the Sr. Graduate Advisor continues as their academic advisor throughout the program. If a student chooses to do a master's thesis, typically their thesis supervisor serves as their research/thesis advisor and the Sr. Graduate Advisor will continue with academic advising. Students consult with the Sr. Graduate Advisor to plan their course of study and any academic advising.Ìý

Course Requirements

View the pre-fall 2019 course requirementsÌý

The research-based MS requires 30 total credit hours of approved graduate-level courses.Ìý

Required Professional Development (3 credit hours)Ìý

The research-based MS requires students to complete the following three 1.0 credit professional development courses. All students must earn a B or better (not a B-) in these courses.Ìý

  • CSCI 5000 Intro to MS Research (1 credit) - taken during first fall.
  • CSCI 5100 Research Colloquium (1 credit) - taken any semester.
  • CSCI 5100 maybe taken twice at the most but not more than that. Alternately, students may elect to take any other approved graduate level 1.0 credit course, which is not Independent Study research hour.

Bin / Breadth requirement (9 credit hours)Ìý

For details about Computer Science BIN/breadth requirements check Breadth Course Bins.

Pre-Fall 2019 Breadth RequirementsÌý

Elective Courses (12 credit hours)

  • 12 credit hours of graduate-level coursework (5000 level and above) offered at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder with the following restrictions:
    • Students may take no more than 6 total credit hours of non-CSCI classes.
    • Exactly three (3) credit hours of theÌýProfessional Internship class (CSCI 6930) can count as an Elective course.
    • CSEN Research based students may not take MSCPS project based capstone classes (CSCI 5040; CSCI 5050; CSCI 5340 and CSCI 5350) and count towards their degree.
    • MS / MSCPS students may not take Network Engineering Fundamentals classes (CSCI 5010; CSCI 5020; CSCI 5030) and count them towards their CSEN MS / MSCPS degree.
    • Credits from the MS-DS Bridge Courses, General Data Science Courses and the following courses DO NOT count towards any CS graduate degree requirements:
      • DTSC 5501 Data Structures and Algorithms.
      • CSCI 5122 Neural Networks and Deep Learning for Science
      • CSCI 5612 Machine Learning for Data Science.
      • For more information check .

Research-based courses (6 credit hours)

Total 6 credit hours of either independent study or MS thesis hours. These hours cannot be taken during the first semester. A minimum GPA of 3.3 is required to be eligible to enroll in research credits. Students need at least a B (not B-) or better grade to complete this requirement. The deadline to add these hours in any given semester is always the first Wednesday after classes begin.

Graduation Checklist

Check the Graduate School deadlines for details prior to the start of the semester.

Transfer Credit

Please review the Graduate School Rules forÌýTransfer Credits.

Grades

Please review the Graduate School Rules forÌýGrades and Quality of work.

Adequate Progress

  • Please review the Graduate School Rules for Adequate Progress.
  • Graduate students who have completed at least one semester at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder, may request a Leave of Absence if they have extenuating circumstances that prevent them from taking coursework for a certain amount of time. ClickÌýhereÌýto learn more about Leave of Absence at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder.

Academic Standards

Minimum Grades & GPA Requirements

Students must complete a total of 30 credit hours of approved graduate level course work with a grade of C or better and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.

Any student, who fails to maintain a 3.00 grade point average or to make adequate progress toward completing a degree, as assessed by the student’s academic/research advisor, will be subject to suspension or dismissal from the Graduate School upon consultation with the major department. The final decision on suspension or dismissal will be made by the Dean of the Graduate School. See theÌýGraduate School Rules for additional information.

Incomplete (I) Grades

  • An incomplete (I) grade is given only when students, for documented reasons, beyond their control, have been unable to complete course requirements in the semester enrolled.
    • A substantial amount of work must have been satisfactorily completed before approval of such a grade is given.
    • The final grade (earned by completing the course requirements or by retaking the course) does not result in the deletion of the (I) from the transcript.
    • A second entry is posted on the transcript to show the final grade for the course. At the end of one year, (I) grades for courses that are not completed or repeated are regarded as (F) and are shown as such on the student’s transcript.
    • Courses with grades of (I) are not included in the computation of grade point averages until a final letter grade has been awarded in that course.
  • ClickÌýto learn more about Incomplete Grades.

Time Limit

All requirements for the research based MS degree must be completed within four years of the start of course work.

Repeat Exams

A student who fails the oral thesis defense may retake the failed exam once, in a later semester. In doing this the student may switch between the thesis and the non-thesis option of the program. A maximum of two attempts is allowed.

Switching to the Course-Based MS

You may switch between the research-based and course-based MS degree options once for genuine academic reasons on a case-by-case basis via petition to the Graduate Committee. For more information please check here.

Moving from MS to PhDÌý

Research-based MS students may transfer to the PhD program at any time during their academic career at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder. Learn how to move from MS to PhD.Ìý

Thesis vs. Non-Thesis

Students who elect to do a thesis receive 6 hours of thesis credit towards the required 30 hours of coursework. They must also take an oral comprehensive exam on their thesis work and submit their thesis to the graduate school for approval. Students electing the non-thesis option must complete 6 hours of independent study research. The Independent Study hours may be spread over two or more terms. Master's thesis defense must be scheduled following Graduate School deadlines and the exam committee plus date of defense must be sent to your Graduate Advisor at least two weeks before the exam is held via email.

Thesis Option Requirements

Thesis Advisor Selection

In order to enroll in the MS Thesis program, students must first secure a thesis advisor. There are various ways to finding an advisor during your first Fall semester, you may contact your academic advisor for details.

MS Thesis Plan

MS Thesis students must submit the MS Thesis Plan Form.Ìý This notifies the Grad School and your advisor that you are opting for the Thesis option. If your plans change and you switch to the Independent Study option, you will have to email your academic advisor and they will notify the Grad School of the same.

MS Thesis Hours

6 credits of MS thesis hours (CSCI 6950) must be completed. Students may split these hours however they like but they must discuss this with their faculty advisor. Students may enroll in a maximum of 3 thesis credits per semester. Students are not able to register for MS thesis credits on their own and should submit the online petition for enrollment. Your advisor will add these hours for you.

Written Thesis

The written thesis must comply with Graduate School rules and procedures in terms of format and submission and meet set deadlines. Students are required to submit the full written thesis electronically at the .

Thesis Defense

Students must pass a thesis defense, which is a final examination on the thesis and related topics. In the defense, students are expected to explain their research clearly and concisely. This is an opportunity for recognition of completed MS Thesis research. It is also an opportunity for discussion and formal evaluation of the thesis. The thesis defense may occur before or after the final electronic submission of the written thesis to the Graduate School but must take place prior to the end of the final semester.

Thesis Advisor & CommitteeÌý

When you are ready to defend

ÌýOnce students are ready to defend their MS Thesis please check out Master's Degree Checklist.