Master of Science in Computer Science - Games and Media Integration

The Masters of Science degree in Computer Science - Games and Media Integration option is an interdisciplinary degree that gives all students a firm foundation in pursuing research and development in the area of games, animation and movie making, VR/HCI, complex systems, and wearable computing.

Both animation and games industry, and the wearable computing community demand highest quality portfolio in place before students graduate. Up to six credit hours of Portfolio Development is an important feature of this degree program. In addition to a complete Game program, a short animated movie, or a wearable computing product, portfolio development may include auditing classes in Letters, Arts and Sciences (LAS) and the College of Business.

One of the most exciting aspects of the degree program is the combination of a set of required courses to ensure all students develop a firm foundation in the basics of design and development of games and media integration products, and the opportunity for students to pursue their special interests through several elective courses and portfolio development.

Program graduates will know and be able to perform to professional standards in the following areas:

• Broad understanding of the entire spectrum of media convergence, games and media integration
• A thorough understanding of the process of creating, designing, product development and deployment of a game, animation and movie, or a wearable computing product
• Proficiency with many of the tools and techniques for implementing game and media integration product for the industry

Plan of Study

The student, in consultation with his/her major advisor, must complete a Plan of Study consisting of at least 30 semester hours. The Plan of Study must be submitted prior to the completion of 12 semester hours of graduate work. This document specifies the courses and options chosen by the student and must be approved by the student's GMI Graduate Advisory Committee and the Chairman of the GSC. With GMI Advisory Committee approval, this Plan of Study may be changed during the course of the student's graduate program.

In order to insure that the graduate of the program will have acquired a sufficient breadth of knowledge in computer science as well as games and media integration, the following courses or their equivalents are required if they were not previously taken as an undergraduate:

• CS 5720 Design and Analysis of Algorithms

• CS 5780 3D Games and Digital Contents Creation

• CS 5800 Introduction to Computer Graphics

In addition, if a student's future plans are to pursue a PhD in Computer Science, the following core courses are highly recommended if they were not taken as part of an undergraduate program:

• CS 5200 Computer Architecture
• CS 5500 Operating Systems
• CS 5700 Computability, Automata & Formal Languages
• CS 5720 Algorithms

The entrance requirements coupled with these three courses insure that the graduate of the GMI program will have acquired a sufficient breadth of knowledge in computer science. Students who have advanced undergraduate courses in these exact areas will not be allowed to take these courses for graduate credit, but instead are required to include other graduate level computer science courses in their Plan of Study from the list of elective courses.

Industrial Portfolio, Project, Thesis

In addition students will be required to develop an industrial portfolio (up to six credit hours), and complete a project (three credit hours) or a thesis (six credit hours). A maximum total of nine credit hours of thesis or project, and portfolio are allowed ensuring that students have sufficient coursework in the games and media integration areas.

Example:

• 6 hours thesis + 3 hours GMI Portfolio
• 3-6 hours project + 3-6 GMI Portfolio (must not exceed 9 hours but must be more than 6 hours; combination of 9 hours needed in total)

The proposed program is unique in a variety of ways. The interdisciplinary nature of the program provides all students with extensive knowledge in the widely-varied aspects of Games and Media integration. In turn, this provides students with the chance to integrate technical and artistic ideas in their portfolio. Portfolio requirements allow students to carry out a concept to completion. As a story would be conceived and then animated; a quest imagined and then fulfilled; or wearable computing product imagined and implemented, for example.

Required Portfolio (up to 6 credit hours)

GMI students are required to develop an industrial portfolio with an interdisciplinary focus. Through the portfolio, the student shows an ability to completely realize their individual contributions, resulting in possibly a high quality exhibit, movie, or game. The interdisciplinary nature of the GMI program provides all students with extensive knowledge in the widely varied aspects of Games and Media integration. In turn, this provides students with the chance to integrate technical and artistic ideas in their portfolio.

With the portfolio requirement, students carry out a concept to completion: a story would be conceived and then animated; a quest imagined and then fulfilled; or a wearable computing product imagined and implemented, for example. Suggested applications with strong GMI emphasis areas include but are not limited to the following: applications integrated in Theatre Works Productions, Digital Animation Movie Production and/or Production of Games, applications coordinating with the Center on Aging, work with visual and performing arts, and disability applications.

The student's portfolio advisory committee will consist of three faculty members, including an advisor selected from the CS graduate faculty and, if applicable, one faculty member from LAS. The third member should preferably come from a local industry, representing for example the SigGraph, IGDA community with major portfolio development experience. Dr. Semwal initially would be the CS portfolio advisor. Completed works are expected to be submitted to SigGraph Animation and Film Festival, International Symposiumon Wearable Computing, a variety of virtual reality and HCI interaction conferences, Game Developers Conference, or other related venues around the world.

Project or Thesis (3 or 6 credit hours)

Students are required to complete a Project (three credit hours) or a Thesis (six credit hours). A maximum total of nine credit hours of thesis or project, and portfolio is allowed, ensuring that students have sufficient course work in the Games and Media Integration areas. Students will be expected to work with an advisor in the GMI area of concentration following the guidelines of MS Thesis or Project work in the CS Department.

Transfer Credit

Up to 9 hours of graduate level course work may be transferred from an accredited graduate program, provided:

• Course work has not been used for any other degree
• Grade earned for the course(s) is B or better
• The course work has been taken within past six years.
• The course coverage is equal in level, content, and depth to the course for which it is being substituted.

Degree Requirements

The Computer Science Department adheres to all minimum requirements of the UCCS Graduate School in addition to its own policies and procedures. To learn more about Graduate School policies, please visit the Graduate School Policies and Procedures Website.

The student must have an overall 3.0 grade point average in all graduate work; an advisor appointed during the first semester of graduate work; all work applied to the degree must be accomplished within a six year time limit; up to 9 hours of graduate work may be transferred from an accredited graduate program, provided course work has not been used for any other degree, the grade earned for the course(s) is B or better, the course work has been taken within past six years, and the course coverage is equal in level, content, and depth to the course for which it is being substituted; all courses included for this degree must be part of an approved plan of study, and this plan must be developed by the student and approved by his/her advisor or program director prior to completing 12 credit hours of graduate level course work.

For details on degree requirements, please visit the Academic Catalog.

Click here for Program Guidelines

Development of new forms of interaction, innovative research in a team environment, and portfolio development are the core foundation of the proposed degree. All courses in the curriculum will emphasize creativity and team participation by all students. Potential projects and application include -- graphical asset generation, virtual reality, education, medical, movie making and animation, rehabilitation and geriatric healthcare, history and theory, mixed, augmented and wearable computing, and simulation and training.

This program requires 30 credit hours of graduate level work. In order to insure that the graduate of the program will have acquired a sufficient breadth of knowledge in games and media integration, the following three courses or their equivalents are required if they were not previously taken as an undergraduate:

• CS 5720 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
• CS 5780 3D Games and Digital Contents OR one of CS 5750, 5770, 5790, 5810, 6770
• CS 5800 Introduction to Computer Graphics

In addition, if the student's future plans are to pursue a PhD in Computer Science, the following core courses are highly recommended if they were not taken as part of an undergraduate program:

• CS 5200 Computer Architecture
• CS 5500 Operating Systems
• CS 5700 Computability, Automata & Formal Languages
• CS 5720 Algorithms

These courses insure that the graduate of the GMI program will have acquired a sufficient breadth of knowledge in computer science. Students who have had advanced undergraduate courses in these exact areas will not be allowed to take these courses for graduate credit, but instead are required to include other graduate level computer science courses.

Industrial Portfolio, Thesis, Project

In addition students will be required to develop an Industrial Portfolio (up to six credit hours), and complete a Project (three credit hours) or a Thesis (six credit hours). A maximum total of nine credit hours of thesis or project, and portfolio is allowed ensuring that students have sufficient coursework in the games and media integration areas. Students will be expected to work with an advisor in the GMI area of concentration following the guidelines of MS Thesis or Project work in the CS Department.

Example:

• 6 hours thesis + 3 hours GMI Portfolio
• 3-6 hours project + 3-6 GMI Portfolio (must not exceed 9 hours but must be more than 6 hours; combination of 9 hours needed in total)

Elective Courses

The remaining credit hours will be from the following set of 3 credit hour elective courses. Note that some courses have prerequisites as noted.

• CS 5200 Computer Architecture
• CS 5220 Computer Communication
• CS 5250 Multi-Media
• CS 5260 Advanced Web Systems and Internet
• CS 5510 Distributed Systems (requires CS 4500/5500 Operating Systems)
• CS 5600 Numerical Computing (requires MATH 1360 Calculus 2)
• CS 5610 Applied Convex Optimization: Applications and Algorithms (requires MATH 1350 Calculus 1)
• CS 5710 Evolutionary Computation
• CS 5730 Algorithmic Game Theory and Multiagent Systems (requires MATH 3810 Probability and Statistics)
• CS 5740 Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a connected world (requires MATH 1360 Calculus 2)
• CS 5750 Computational Geometry
• CS 5770 Animation and Visualization
• CS 5790 Wearable Computing and Complex Systems
• CS 5810 Advanced Computer Graphics/Morphing
• CS 5840 Computer Vision (requires MATH 2350 Calculus 3)
• CS 5870 Introduction to Artificial Neural Networks
• CS 5890 Computational Linguistics (requires 3160 Concepts of Programming Languages)
• CS 6770 Virtual Reality and Human Computer Interaction
• CS 7060 Portfolio: SFI Complex Systems 1 (Online Independent Study with Dr. Sudhanshu Semwal, reach out to him with any questions)
• CS 7060 Portfolio: Complex Systems II (meets with HNRS 3011)
• ECE 5520 Multivariable Control Systems I (Corequisite requirement of ECE 5510 Feedback Control Systems)
• ECE 5530 Multivariable Control Systems Control II (requires ECE 5520 Multivariable Control Systems 1)
• MAE 5131 Computational Fluid Dynamics (requires MAE 3130 Fluid Mechanics, MATH 3130 Linear Algebra, and MATH 3400 Differential Equations)

General Requirements

The student must have an overall 3.0 grade point average in all graduate work; an advisor appointed during the first semester of graduate work; all work applied to the degree must be accomplished within a six year time limit; up to 9 hours of graduate work may be transferred from an accredited graduate program, provided course work has not been used for any other degree, the grade earned for the course(s) is B or better, the course work has been taken within past six years, and the course coverage is equal in level, content, and depth to the course for which it is being substituted; all courses included for this degree must be part of an approved plan of study, and this plan must be developed by the student and approved by his/her advisor or program director prior to completing 12 credit hours of graduate level course work.

For details on program coursework, please visit the Academic Catalog.

General Requirements

Applicants for graduate study in Games and Media Integration must hold a B.S., B.A. or B.F.A. degree and have considerable computing experience and show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research. An overall undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 is needed. Applicants with a GPA below 3.0 must submit a GRE. Applicants with a grade point average of less than 3.0 may be provisionally admitted on a case by case basis. International applicants must follow the international applicant requirements located on the 'How to Apply' page.

Entering students must have the equivalent of the following UCCS courses:

• CS 1450 Data Structures and Algorithms
• CS 3020 Advanced Object Technology using C#.net OR CS 3060 Object Oriented Programming in C++
• MATH 2150 Discrete Mathematics
• MATH 3130 Linear Algebra

A student who has completed CS 1450 but lacks the other pre-requisites may be admitted, but would still be required to satisfy the above requirements after admission. Students with considerable knowledge of programming and/or mathematical experience in the industry are encouraged to apply.

Application List

• Official Transcripts
• Resume
• Three letters of recommendation
• Goal Statement
• All sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required, with at least 148 on the quantitative portion, unless one of the following conditions is satisfied:
  • The applicant has a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.0 or above from an ABET-accredited Computer Science or a closely related program from within the U.S.
• English Proficiency of 6.5 or higher
• Official Transcripts
• Course by Course Evaluation for any foreign post-secondary work: WES or the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services

Financial Aid Information

For financial aid consideration we encourage you to apply by March 1st. Most scholarships and fellowships are given to Fall applicants, not Spring applicants. If you are an international student who will need a visa, we recommend you complete the application process by March 1st to give enough time for application review and visa processing. If your application comes after the posted semester deadline, it will be considered for the following term.

Streamlined Application Process

A Streamlined Application is designed to offer outstanding UCCS students who have completed a BSCS, BICS, BI Security or BI GDD degrees and alumni an expedited application to the graduate school in participating programs.

• If you are interested in applying, please fill out the regular application. Once you select that you have previously attended UCCS, it will ask you if you will be submitting the streamlined application.  The GRE and the English Proficiency requirements are waived for Streamlined Applicants.
• Submit the application, a $60 non-refundable application fee
• Must have a minimum GPA of 3.0
• Must be about to graduate or graduated in the last 1 year
• Letter of Recommendation from the Chair

International Students

International students applying for the program should have all application materials into the Admissions Office at UCCS by March 1st for Fall Semester and by October 1st for Spring Semester. Applications received later than these dates or incomplete by these dates may be considered for the following semester. It is the student's responsibility to follow up to make sure all materials are received on time. 

• All sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required, with at least 148 on the quantitative portion, unless one of the following conditions is satisfied:
  • The applicant has a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.0 or above from an ABET-accredited Computer Science or a closely related program from within the U.S.
• A TOEFL score of 80 of higher, an ILETS of 6.5 or higher, or a Duolingo exam score of 115 will be required for proof of English Proficiency. If the student has completed a degree in the US, this requirement may be waived.
• Course by Course Evaluation: Upon the successful completion of your online application, you will receive a private link to upload each foreign post-secondary transcript from institutions you have attended. These transcripts must include all courses and grades, must be issued in the original language, and be accompanied by certified English translations when applicable. This service is provided at no cost for UCCS applicants. More details will be communicated to you via email after we received your completed application. Please make sure to check your email for the uploading instructions.

Application Deadlines:

Fall Start: April 1st

Spring Start: November 1st

Our Fall application deadline is April 1st. For scholarship consideration we encourage you to apply by March 1st. If you are an international student who will need a visa, we recommend you complete the application process as early as possible to give enough time for application review and visa processing.

To learn more about admission requirements and the application process, please visit the UCCS Admissions page.

Additional resources for Admissions:

• Tuition Rate
• Cost of Tuition Estimator
• Financial Aid
• Scholarships