Master of Science in Computer Science

The Department of Computer Science at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs offers the Master of Science degree in Computer Science. Courses at the graduate level and the undergraduate courses required for admission to the graduate program are regularly offered in the late afternoon or evening to enable students from local industry to continue their studies. Graduate students are encouraged to participate in the professional activities of the department. This includes attending seminars and colloquiums, suggesting improvements in curriculum (both undergraduate and graduate), suggesting new teaching techniques and participating in the enhancement of computer hardware and software facilities within the department.

• ​​​​​​Provide students with an understanding of advanced Computer Science concepts, to prepare for a successful career in the Software industry.
• Emphasize both theoretical and practical aspects of Computer Science, preparing students for a career in Software development and/or research.
• Develop students' communication skills and professionalism.

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

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.

Candidates for a master's degree are normally required to satisfy a residency requirement of at least two semesters of full-time graduate study or the equivalent on a part-time basis. Each student must have a graduate advisor to direct his/her pursuit of the M.S. degree. With the aid of the graduate advisor, the student must choose an M.S. Advisory Committee and complete a Plan of Study which specifies the courses to be taken and the option, Plan I (thesis) or Plan II (non-thesis). In either case, Plan I or Plan II, the student is required to pass a final oral examination that covers work presented for the degree. These requirements are now described in detail.

Advisory Committee

Prior to completing 12 credit hours of graduate course work in the M.S. program, the student must select a computer science graduate faculty member to serve as academic advisor, research director, and chairman of the student's M.S. Advisory Committee. In conjunction with this advisor, the student must invite at least two other graduate faculty members to serve as M.S. Advisory Committee members. The M.S. Advisory Committee will provide any necessary direction to the student as well as be responsible for approving the Plan of Study and administering the final oral examination.

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 M.S. Advisory Committee and the Chairman of the GSC. With M.S. 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 M.S. program will have acquired a sufficient breadth of knowledge in computer science, the following three courses or their equivalents are required if they were not previously taken at the upper division as an undergraduate:

• CS 5500 Operating Systems I
• CS 5700 Computability, Automata and Formal Languages
• CS 5720 Design and Analysis of Algorithms

The entrance requirements coupled with these three courses insure that the graduate of the M.S. 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 in their Plan of Study.

The Plan of Study must also satisfy a depth enhancement requirement. To satisfy this requirement the graduate student's Plan of Study can include unlimited computer science courses that are cross-listed with 4000 level computer science courses.

The remaining courses in the Plan of Study are electives. The number of courses will depend on whether a thesis or the course only option is chosen. Plan I requires a thesis worth 6 credit hours. Up to 6 hours of graduate level courses may be taken in other departments. The student's Advisory Committee must approve such courses before they are taken. Any course, which is cross-listed with computer science, is considered a computer science course, regardless of the department in which the student actually registers. The student must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 or be subject to being placed on probation or denied the privilege of continued enrollment as a graduate student in the University.

A graduate student who has hours to transfer should complete a Transfer of Credit form, which is available from the Computer Science Department office. This form must be given to the student's advisor for his or her signature and further processing. There are two types of courses eligible for transfer: 1) graduate courses in computer science, taken at another institution and not applied towards another degree and 2) graduate courses in computer science taken at UCCS while the student was in unclassified status. The total number of credits to be transferred cannot exceed nine hours. Only courses in which a grade of B or higher was earned can be transferred.

Thesis (Plan I)

Students who intend to write an M.S. thesis should develop a thesis proposal in conjunction with their major advisor that outlines the topics, scope, and objectives of the proposed thesis. The thesis topic will normally be in a common interest area to both the student and the thesis advisor. The thesis proposal should be discussed with and approved by the student's M.S. Advisory Committee before the student begins the research and writing of the thesis. A signed copy of the proposal must be placed in the student's permanent file. A thesis proposal consists of a written document which must be signed by the student's committee, and an oral presentation to the committee discussing the proposal.

The thesis should represent the best writing possible by the student and is not to be written or extensively edited by the student's major advisor. Original research work is praised though not necessary. Implementation and survey type theses are acceptable as is quality work related to the student's professional activities. However, the work must be accomplished while the student is enrolled in the master's program. The thesis is intended to furnish objective evidence of the student's ability to use independently and constructively the information, skills, and powers acquired in his/her graduate work. Students should begin writing their thesis early so there will be sufficient time for evaluation by the thesis advisor and rewriting by the student.

In mechanical features, all theses must comply with the specifications of the Graduate School. These specifications are contained in the document entitled "Thesis and Dissertation Manual" which is available on the Graduate School website. It is the student's responsibility to be familiar with this document so that a thesis acceptable to the Graduate School can be produced. This document specifies thesis form and standards, not technical content. Technical content is subject to the approval of the M.S. Advisory Committee.  A copy of the thesis should be uploaded to the Computer Science Department GSC repository following the instructions given at the time of scheduling the defense.

The written thesis must be defended in a formal presentation given to the student's advisor committee. The student should get their advisor's approval before defending.

Course Only Option (Plan II)

Students must complete a total of 10 graduate level classes. The student's advisor must approve the courses selected. Up to 2 classes from outside the Computer Science Department may be included with advisor approval.

Final Oral Examination (Defense)

For either Plan Plan I, or II the student is required to pass an oral examination on work presented for the degree.

The final oral examination should be scheduled according to the deadline established by the UCCS Graduate School Office. Under Plan I, the examination will consist of a defense to the thesis and its foundations. Under Plan II, the examination will consist of a defense of the project and its foundations. It is the responsibility of the M.S. Advisory Committee to administer the examination and to report the results to the Graduate School. It is the responsibility of the student to upload a copy of the thesis or project report to the GSC repository at least one week (preferably two weeks) in advance of the scheduled examination following the instructions given at the time of scheduling the defense, and to schedule the examination in concurrence with the M.S. Advisory Committee. This examination is open to the public.

If the student fails the final oral examination, the student may not attempt the examination again until at least three months have elapsed and until the student has covered such work as may be prescribed by the M.S. Advisory Committee. The student may retake the examination only once. If this examination is failed twice, the student will be terminated from the program.

A master's degree student must be registered either for course work or as "Candidate for Degree" (CS 9990, 0 credit hours) the semester in which the final oral examination is scheduled.

Time Limits

Full-time graduate students should be able to complete the M.S. degree in computer science in two and a half years. Part-time students, taking one courses per semester, should complete their work in three to four years. Most graduate courses are offered in the late afternoon and evening in order to provide graduate study opportunities for working professionals. All work toward the M.S. degree must be completed within a six year time limit. If the degree cannot be completed within this time period, then the student must request an extension from the Graduate School and validate any course work more than six years old, possibly by special examination.

Graduate Studies Committee

The Department of Computer Science at UCCS has a Graduate Studies Committee which reviews graduate student progress once a year and writes to students when a lack of progress is encountered; reviews and approves Plans of Study and changes in these plans; and may be asked to assist in the selection of graduate advisors and M.S. Advisory Committees.

Progress Toward Degree

Any student who does not enroll for three consecutive semesters will be automatically inactivated from the program by the admissions department. The student must then re-apply and be re-admitted to continue in the program.

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

Applicants for graduate study in computer science must hold a B.S. or B.A. degree and have considerable computing experience, sufficient mathematical background and show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research. Applicants with a B.S. in computer science or in a technical area (such as mathematics, engineering, or physics) are natural candidates for graduate study in computer science.

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

• CS 1150 Principles of Computer Science
• CS 1450 Data Structures and Algorithms
• CS 2080 Programming in UNIX
• CS 2060 Programming in C
• CS 2160 Computer Organization and Assembly Language Programming
• CS 3160 Concepts of Programming Languages
• CS 3300 Software Engineering
• Calculus 1
• Calculus 2
• Discrete Math

A student who has completed CS 1450, but lacks other pre-requisites may be admitted, but would still be required to take the pre-requisite courses after admission.

The applicant is considered to have sufficient mathematical background if he/she has taken at least two semesters of university level calculus, a course in discrete mathematics, and at least one additional course of a mathematical nature. This latter course need not be in a mathematics department; however, it should require mathematical maturity expected of an upper division mathematics undergraduate.

The student should have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0. Students with an average below 3.0 but above 2.75 will be considered on an individual basis, as well as students with an average above 3.0 who completed their undergraduate degree more than a few years ago. Students with GPA deficiencies who take undergraduate courses to meet the entrance background requirements will have their performance in those courses considered in making the admission decision. Students who recently earned an undergraduate degree with a GPA below 3.00 will be required to take the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) before they can be considered for admission. A score of 148 (new grading scale) on the quantitative portion is considered favorable. Students with an average GPA below 3.0, if admitted at all, should expect to be admitted provisionally. If a student with a GPA below 2.75 is admitted, then the Graduate School requires provisional admission. International applicants must follow the international applicant requirements located on the 'How to Apply' page.

The Computer Science Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) meets regularly for action on completed applications. It is the responsibility of the applicant to assure that all materials are received in a timely manner.  The applicant being considered for admission will be notified of the results of the GSC decision via email.

If the applicant lacks pre-requisites, the letter notifying the applicant will list the courses the applicant needs to take before his/her application can be reconsidered. The applicant can be an unclassified student while satisfying the pre-requisites. Depending on the number of deficiencies, it may take as long as two years to satisfy requirements for admission into the graduate program.

US Applicants for regular admission should have all application materials into the Admissions Office at UCCS by April 1 for Fall Semester and by November 1 for Spring Semester. These deadlines permit time for the GSC and the Graduate School to process the application. It is the student's responsibility to follow up to make sure all materials are received on time. If these deadlines are not met, an application for regular admission will be considered for the following semester.

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 four classes constitute the PhD Written Qualifier, which is required for PhD candidates.

Applicants with any foreign post-secondary course work should also submit a course-by-course evaluation by a NACES member.

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: UCCS requires official transcript(s) with a certified English translation and an official evaluation by any NACES or AICE member for all students that have taken coursework outside the U.S.
  • We recommend International Education Evaluation (IEE), The Evaluation Company (TEC), and World Education Services (WES) as our trusted Evaluation Agencies. Among these IEE is our preferred vendor. Students who opt for the UCCS IEE Student Portal will benefit from a discounted rate for the International Transcript Evaluation (Course-By-Course Evaluation).

Military Considerations

Students on V.A. support who do not have adequate background for regular admission must pursue a plan for admission as an unclassified student. The Graduate Studies Committee, upon the request of the student, will send a letter to the V.A. indicating courses and other requirements, which must be completed before regular admission can be considered.

Financial Aid

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.

Students seeking financial support should visit the Computer Science Department faculty website to explore the faculty research areas of interest.  Make direct contact with any faculty whose research areas match your own to see if any financial support is available.  Financial support opportunities exist through graduate research assistantship positions or part-time teaching assistantships.

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 English Proficiency requirements are waived for Streamlined Applicants.
• Submit the application, a $60 non-refundable application fee
• Minimum GPA of 3.0
• Must be about to graduate or graduated in the last 1 year
• Letter of Recommendation from the Chair

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