The Master of Science program in Computer Science is overseen by the Computer Science Graduate Committee (CSGC). The basic guidelines for approval of a students program are recommendations appearing in the Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the professional society in Computer Science.
Prerequisites for Admission
Completion of the following courses, or their equivalents, is prerequisite to entry into the program: CSC120, CSC220, CSC317, MTH161, MTH210, MTH224, and MTH309. Students may be admitted with deficiencies, normally a maximum of 6 credits; these must be completed in addition to the degree requirements. Students with more deficiencies should consider completing the Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Computer Science to obtain the necessary prerequisite knowledge.
Application Procedure and Deadlines
Procedures, deadlines, and a link to the online application form are available here.
Requirements for Graduation
Students must complete one of the following three options:
- Thesis option:
- 24 credits from approved courses, including at least 18 credits from CSC6XX and CSC7XX courses, at least 9 credits from CSC7XX courses, not more than 6 credits from CSC670, and at least one course from four of the five core areas listed below.
- CSC810 - Master's Thesis (6 credits)
- Non-thesis option:
- 27 credits from approved courses, including at least 18 credits from CSC6XX and CSC7XX courses, at least 9 credits from CSC7XX courses, not more than 6 credits from CSC670, and at least one course from four of the five core areas listed below.
- CSC712 or CSC793 - Coursework Capstone (3 credits)
- Concentration in Software Systems:
- CSC631 - Introduction to Software Engineering
- 21 credits from approved courses, including at least 18 credits from CSC6XX and CSC7XX courses, at least 9 credits from CSC7XX courses, not more than 6 credits from CSC670, and at least one course from three of the four core areas listed below (excluding SOftware).
- CSC712 or (CSC710 and CSC713) - Coursework Capstone (6 credits)
Core Area Courses (see the course descriptions)
Algorithms: CSC609, CSC616, CSC632, CSC640, CSC645, CSC647, CSC648, CSC732.
Data Science/Arficial Intelligence: CSC642, CSC645, CSC646, CSC648, CSC649, CSC650, CSC746, CSC749, CSC751, CSC752.
Software: CSC629, CSC631, CSC632, CSC642, CSC645, CSC646, CSC647, CSC648, CSC649, CSC650.
Systems: CSC609, CSC616, CSC629, CSC 632.
Theory: CSC609, CSC640, CSC751.
Responsible Conduct of Research
All Computer Science graduate TAs and RAs must complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training during their first semester in the department. All other Computer Science graduate students must complete RCR training before starting research work. Information about RCR training can be found from UM ethics programs: https://bioethics.miami.edu/clinical-and-research-ethics/responsible-conduct-of-research/index.html.
