What does it take to get a Master of Science (MS) degree in Computer Science?  This page tells you.  Read the whole page if you are new to this site.  Otherwise choose from the menu below.

• Background
• Division of Graduate Education Requirements
• College of Engineering Requirements
• Computer Science Department Requirements
  • Admission into the Master of Science Program
• Tracks through the MS program
  • Thesis (Plan A) Track
  • Project (Plan B) Track
  • Students who do not have a prior CS degree
  • The Seminar
  • The Comprehensive Examination
• Timeline
• Satisfactory Progress
• Application Procedure
• Transfer credits
• Foreign Students
• Financial Support
• FAQ

Background

The Master of Science (MS) degree is intended for students who want to pursue careers in computer science at the highest levels of the practice.  In general, students with an MS degree receive higher starting salaries and quicker advancement than students with BS degrees.  Some companies prefer to hire students with MS degrees.  The MS degree also qualifies students to be hired as faculty members at some community colleges and smaller four-year colleges, or to work as adjunct instructors at larger institutions of higher learning. Completion of an MS degree, particularly on the thesis track, is good preparation for pursuit of a PhD degree as well.

In order to understand the requirements for the MS degree it is important to understand how the MS program is administered by the University.  In particular, to earn an MS degree, a student must satisfy the requirements of

• the Division of Graduate Education
• the College of Engineering
• the Department of Computer Science

The Division of Graduate Education sets the minimum standards and requirements for admission to the MS program and completion of the MS degree from MSU regardless of the College or Department in which the degree is earned.  The College of Engineering may impose additional standards and requirements, but cannot lessen the requirements established by the Division of Graduate Education. Similarly, the Computer Science Department may impose additional standards and requirements, but cannot lessen those of the College of Engineering or the Division of Graduate Education. All prospective and current students are therefore required to become intimately familiar with the standards and requirements imposed by each of these entities.

Division of Graduate Education Requirements

http://www.montana.edu/gradstudies

Carefully read everything on this site that relates to graduate school and the Master's program. Notice that you can apply to graduate school online on this site.

In particular, potential graduate students should pay special attention to the sections of the online graduate catalog that apply to the MS degree by visiting

http://www.montana.edu/gradstudies/catalog.shtml

College of Engineering Requirements

At this time, the College of Engineering imposes no additional standards and requirements beyond those specified by the Division of Graduate Education. Students are encouraged to read the COE Graduate Student Handbook.

Computer Science Department Requirements

Requirements for Admission into the Master of Science Program

Applicants to the Computer Science MS program must meet all College of Engineering and Division of Graduate Education admission requirements.  In addition applicants must meet the following admission requirements of the Computer Science Department.

1.   Graduate Record Exam (GRE):     All applicants must take the graduate record exam.  The Computer Science Department does NOT further require that the content-specific exam for computer science be taken.  The general exam suffices.  Typical minimum GRE scores for admission are:

These numbers are, however, just one data set used in determining admission to the program.  High undergraduate grades and/or strong letters of recommendation can result in a positive evaluation even if GRE scores are somewhat lower than these.

2.   TOEFL: Foreign students from countries where the primary language is not English, and who do not have a previous degree from an English-speaking university, must complete the TOEFL exam with a score that meets the Division of Graduate Education standards, which currently are:

3.   Positive Reference Letters: Applicants must be able to submit three letters of reference that address the applicant's chances of success in the MS program from persons who are familiar with the applicant's academic successes and talents.

4.   Previous Degree Grade Point Average: Applicants must have earned a 3.0 GPA during the last two years of their most recent degree.

5.   Previous Bachelor's Degree:  A previous Bachelor's degree (or higher) is required.  

Students whose prior degree is not in computer science, will be required to complete remedial computer science courses before gaining full admission to the MS program.

6.   Previous Coursework:   Applicants with previous Bachelor's degrees in computer science from known, reputable institutions (and who meet the other admission requirements) will be admitted into the MS program without deficiencies.

The transcripts of applicants from institutions unfamiliar to MSU will be reviewed to determine whether the applicants have sufficient background to be admitted directly into the MS program.  Background course requirements include the usual programming, data structures, and discrete mathematics courses expected of computer science students, as well as  

• software engineering
• computer architecture
• theory of computing
• operating systems

and a substantial number of other upper division courses, including such subjects as

• networks
• compilers
• graphics
• artificial intelligence
• database systems
• distributed computing

and others.

Applicants who cannot  show proof of sufficient previous coursework or expertise in these areas may, at the discretion of the Computer Science Department, be admitted into the MS program with appropriate courses from the MSU undergraduate Computer Science curriculum listed as deficiencies. Identified deficiency courses must be taken in addition to the courses required for the MS degree (see the section Track for Students with an Undergraduate Degree in a Non-Computer Science Discipline below).  

Applicants must be aware that these are minimum requirements and do not by themselves guarantee admission to the MS program. Applications are evaluated and accepted based on enrollments in the Computer Science Department and other factors, such as whether an applicant needs financial support and whether the Department has financial support to offer.

Tracks through the MS program

• Students must meet with the MS graduate advisor (currently Dr. Ross) immediately after admission to the graduate program and prior to enrolling in any courses.
• Students enrolled in the MS program without deficiency courses to complete must choose an academic advisor from among the faculty during their first semester in the graduate program (note: it is possible to switch advisors later if the plans for a project or thesis take a different turn).
• Students enrolled in the MS program who are completing deficiency courses must choose an academic advisor from among the faculty during the first semester in which they begin taking courses that are to be counted towards their MS degree.
• During the first semester in which a student has a formal academic advisor, the student must fill out a Program of Study form in consultation with his or her advisor. This form must be signed by the academic advisor and forwarded to the MS graduate coordinator, who will select the remaining members of the student's committee (to keep the committee loads evenly balanced throughout the department) and send the Program of Study on through the proper channels (note: it is simple to modify the Program of Study later if course changes are necessary).
• Students must meet with their advisors beginning each semester prior to enrolling in courses to ensure that the Program of Study is being followed to the satisfaction of the advisor.
• Students must schedule and present a seminar on their work prior to the comprehensive exam (see the section on seminars later).
• Students must schedule and take a comprehensive MS exam (see the section on the comprehensive exam later).

Thesis Track (Plan A)

Students on the thesis track must complete a Program of Study of at least 30 credits which includes at least 20 credits of coursework and exactly 10 credits of thesis. The Program of Study is to be filled out during a student's first semester of graduate school in consultation with his or her advisor.  

Credit Requirements

• CS 510 and 515 must be taken by all students.
• More than ten credits of CS 590 (thesis) may be taken by a student but exactly ten credits must appear on the Program of Study.
• The number of credits listed at the 500 level or higher (including CS 590) on the Program of Study must total at least 20.
• No more than three credits total can appear on the Program of Study from CS 500, 570 and 571 combined.
• CS 576 may not appear on the Program of Study as part of the minimal 30 credits.
• Credits at the 400 level may be listed on the program of study, excluding CS 400, 460, 461, 470. 474, 476, 489, and 490.
• No course at the 400 level whose subject matter was taken in fulfillment of a previous degree (e.g., a BS in computer science degree) may be used.   One exception to this rule arises if a student's advisor determines from an interview with a student and from a description of a course taken by the student with a title similar to a CS 400 level course offered at MSU that the subject matter of the previously taken course does not match the similarly-titled MSU course.  In such a case, the student may include the similarly titled MSU course on the Program of Study at the advisor's discretion.
• No course that is a required deficiency course or is a course listed on the Program of Study may be taken pass/fail. 

Elective coursework included on the Program of Study beyond the required CS 510 and 515 is to be determined by the student in consultation with his or her graduate advisor.

The Master's Thesis

There are five distinct issues that you must address when completing a MS thesis:

• time management
• research
• content
• format
• publication

Time Management.   Time management refers to the management of your time to ensure completion of the necessary research and writing of the thesis prior to your proposed graduation date.  Be aware that even though the thesis is a ten-credit proposition, it cannot be completed in one semester. It takes concerted effort to perform research.  It also takes more time than most people expect to write the thesis.  Furthermore, the MS exam must be held at least three weeks prior to the end of the semester (not counting finals week), and the thesis must be approved (not just submitted) by the graduate school at least two weeks prior to the end of classes (not counting finals week). Since the thesis cannot be completed until the research is done, there simply isn't time to complete both during the semester of graduation. 

Research. Research is the intellectual effort you invest in the exploration of some computer science problem or issue.  Given the time management  problem described above, all students on the thesis track are required to begin their research at least one semester prior to the intended semester of graduation. Indeed, the best approach is to become well acquainted with your advisor and a selected research topic early in your studies and spread both the research and the writing of the thesis across three semesters and the intervening summers.  This does not imply that you will be doing more than 10 credits worth of work (although that can happen) but simply that you spread the effort out over more time, which usually results in a better thesis.

Content. Content is the results of your research that you record in your thesis. The following suggested organization of the content can serve as a guide as you write your thesis, but you must be sure to resolve content presentation with your advisor for your individual case.  In general, a thesis should have at least these five parts:

1. An introduction.  The introduction is where you introduce your research, outline what the main results of your research are, and describe the organization of the presentation that follows in the next sections.  Remember, the purpose of the thesis is to inform, not to hold readers in suspense about your results.  So, in the introduction you tell readers up front what your research results are without yet detailing how you arrived at the results.
2. Related Work . At some point in your thesis you must place your work in the context of work that has been done by others who have performed similar research. A good place for this is right after the introduction. (Depending on your preferred organization, it could also go after you have described your own work in detail). This part should be thorough and should include citations to every related work you have encountered, as well as their relevance to your work, their strengths, their weaknesses, and brief comparisons with your own results.  The most embarrassing thing that can happen to a student when defending a thesis is to discover that someone else has already done what you did unbeknownst to you, or that you have left out an important reference to a contribution to the research you did for your thesis.
3. Your Methods and Results.  This should be the largest part of the thesis and should include a detailed reporting of your results and how you arrived at those results.
4. Summary and Future Work. The final section of the body of your thesis should include a short summary of the thesis and the context of your work with respect to future directions the research could take.
5. References. From the moment you begin working on your research (possibly long before you begin writing your thesis) you should be keeping a list of references in the format required by the Division of Graduate Education.  Then, when you write your thesis, all you need to do is include the references where they belong and cite them as you write the thesis.  Remember that this is a list of references, not a bibliography.  All of the references you list here should be cited somewhere in your thesis.

Format. Format refers to the way your thesis must be written--margin sizes, line spacing, how to include and refer to illustrations, how the table of contents must be formulated, and so forth--in order to satisfy the Division of Graduate Education.  There are no hard rules about content presentation, but there are very strict rules about formatting.  The reason is that the Division of Graduate Education needs to ensure the publication quality and uniformity of all theses submitted at MSU.  Therefore, the CS Department has the following requirements;  all MS students must:

• review the formatting requirements found here on the Division of Graduate Education web site prior to starting the writing of the thesis.
• strictly follow the formatting guidelines for theses provided by the Division of Graduate Education while preparing the thesis.
• take the first few pages you write for your thesis (following the guidelines) to the Division of Graduate Education for a quick review to ensure that you are indeed following the guidelines.
• Take a near final draft of your thesis to the Division of Graduate Education well in advance of the final date the thesis is due to ensure that it will be accepted when you finally do submit it.

Again, we stress that these steps are mandatory to ensure that your graduation date (and the amount of money you must pay to finish your degree) are not jeopardized.

Publication. The results of the thesis are expected to be submitted to a journal or conference for publication.  This requirement can be met in one of two ways.

1. A completed paper that has been submitted to a journal or conference can be provided to the student's MS committee at the same time as the thesis.
2. A document that identifies the title of a paper that will be written on the thesis, the authors of the paper, an abstract of the paper, at least one possible journal or conference to which the paper will be submitted, and the deadline dates for submission to said journals and conferences can be provided to the student's MS committee at the same time as the thesis.  This paper must be signed by both the student and the advisor as indication that submission of the paper will occur.

Project Track (Plan B)

Credit Requirements

Students on the project track must complete a program of study of at least 30 credits, including

• CS 510, Theoretical Foundations of Computer Science (3 credits)
• CS 515, Analysis of Algorithms (3 credits)
• a 4-credit project taken as CS 575 credits

• exactly four credits of CS 575 (project) must appear on the program of study.
• the number of credits listed at the 500 level or higher (including CS 575) on the program of study must total at least 20.
• no more than three credits total can appear on the program of study from CS 500, 570 and 571 combined.
• CS 576 may not appear on the program of study as part of the minimal 30 credits.
• credits at the 400 level may be listed on the program of study, excluding CS 400, 460, 461, 470. 474, 476, 489, and 490.
• No course that is a required deficiency course or is a course listed on the Program of Study may be taken pass/fail. 

Elective coursework listed on the program beyond CS 510 and 515 is determined by the student in consultation with his or her graduate advisor.

The Project

The project is to be determined by the student in consultation with his or her MS advisor, and consists of tackling some computer science problem, most often resulting in a software solution. A paper must be written that describes the problem and solution.  The format of the paper should follow the outline given for a thesis above, but it generally will be substantially shorter than a thesis.

Track for Students with an Undergraduate Degree in a Non-Computer Science Discipline

Students who have degrees in disciplines other than Computer Science enter the program with a variety of backgrounds.  In such cases a student's application is evaluated to determine which deficiency courses the student must take in order to gain admittance to the MS program in Computer Science.  During the time that the deficiency courses are being made up, a student may be enrolled as a non-degree graduate student.  Upon successful completion of the deficiency courses, the student will then be admitted into the regular MS degree program in Computer Science.

Deficiency subjects and their equivalent MSU courses are listed in the following table.

Students who have deficiency courses to make up can begin taking courses at the 400 and 500 level that count towards the MS degree as soon as they complete any prerequisite deficiency courses (that is, a student is not required to wait until completing all deficiency courses before he or she begins to take courses that count towards the MS degree, as long as all prerequisites for such courses have been taken).

Students on this track must complete either a thesis-based or project-based MS beyond any deficiency courses they are required to take (no deficiency course can be listed on the MS Program of Study).

The Seminar

Every MS student must present the results of their thesis or project in a department seminar.  The seminar must be held prior to the comprehensive exam (see below).

The Comprehensive Examination

The Division of Graduate Education requires all MS students at MSU to take an exam called, the Comprehensive Examination, just prior to graduation. For project (Plan B) students, the Comprehensive Examination is the only exam required. Thesis (Plan A) students must also take another exam called the Defense of Thesis. These examinations must be scheduled in accordance with the rules and deadlines of the Division of Graduate Education. 

The Computer Science Department has settled on the following examination structure to satisfy Division of Graduate Education requirements.

• Both project and thesis students will take a single, two-stage final exam.
• The two-stage exam consists of a public seminar in which a student presents the results of his or her project or thesis, followed by a closed-door oral exam on the same or a later day.
• For project students, this two stage exam will constitute the required Comprehensive Examination.
• For thesis students this two-stage exam will constitute both the Comprehensive Examination and the Defense of Thesis.

The oral component of the Comprehensive Examination will focus on two aspects:

• the student's project or thesis 
• coursework on the Program of Study in which the student earned a B- or less

Carefully note, however, that students must be prepared to answer computer science specific questions that naturally arise during the examination of their project or thesis, providing them the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to synthesize knowledge of computer science and apply it to their project or thesis work. Thus, it is strongly recommended that students review their coursework and knowledge of the computer science fundamentals underlying their project or thesis work. For example, questions about the time complexity/computability issues involved in their work are likely to arise, as are questions about the content-specific nature of their work.

The examiners for the oral part of the exam will include all members of the student's graduate committee and any other faculty who desire to take part.

Timeline

The following timeline table summarizes the paths to the MS degree.

Satisfactory Progress

In order to remain in the MS program, a student must sustain satisfactory progress towards the degree, including maintaining grades in accordance with Division of Graduate Education standards.

Progress

The faculty will assess the progress of all graduate students in a faculty meeting towards the end of each semester.  The case for each graduate student will be presented by the student's advisor.  Other faculty will then be able to discuss any issues with academic performance or professionalism.  The faculty will then vote on which of the following letters the student will receive:

• congratulations on satisfactory progress
• a warning of unsatisfactory progress and placement on academic probation
• dismissal from the program

Grades

The Division of Graduate Education has standards for grades and grade point averages that must be maintained by graduate students.  The standards are found here and should be reviewed by every graduate student.  Essentially, to avoid academic probation and/or dismissal from the University, a student must

• maintain a cumulative 3.0 or better GPA over all courses taken, regardless of whether they are on the Program of Study or not.
• maintain a 3.0 or better GPA over the courses listed on the Program of Study.
• maintain a 3.0 or better GPA over the courses taken each semester.
• ensure that a Program of Study has been submitted and approved by the deadline.
• continue to make satisfactory progress towards the degree.

Application Procedure

Applicants to the MS program in Computer Science are required to

• become familiar with the requirements for Master's students of the the Division of Graduate Education, the College of Engineering, and the Computer Science Department  by reading their respective web sites
• complete an application, available on the Division of Graduate Education web site.

Unless it is not possible for you to do so, we require that you fill out the online application rather than the paper application.

Foreign Students

We welcome foreign students from all countries into our program both for the academic expertise and the different cultures and perspectives that they bring.

Return to regular view		Updated: 01/30/2008