All MS students have these three requirements in common:

earn a minimum of thirty units of graduate credits,
be registered continuously, and
take a master's exam.

How the student chooses to complete those requirements, however, is a choice the student may make. The three options are course-only, project, or thesis.

Course-only Requirements

at least eighteen credits of graduate CS coursework
at least six credits of coursework outside CS, drawn from a field related to CS or to the student's area of concentration
at least six credits of approved course electives

At least six of the thirty credits must be earned by taking courses that have a significant course-project component (at least 30% of the total weight).

Each student will take an oral exam, typically 15-20 minutes long, administered by a three-person examining committee appointed by the Department Chair. The exam is based on a portfolio containing:

all student papers, project reports, and slides from oral or written presentations, both from project-oriented and other courses
material created by the student as a research or teaching assistant
a written description of an internship project, including a discussion of how the experience relates to the student's field and a summary of what the student has learned (if the student undertook an internship)
an updated resume
a recent transcript

Project or Thesis Requirements

at least twelve credits of graduate CS coursework
at least six credits of coursework outside CS, drawn from a field related to CS or to the student's research
at least six credits of approved course electives
at most six credits of (ungraded) research, which count toward the 30 required credits, but allow time in the student's schedule to work on their project or thesis research

Each student must complete a research project or thesis under the supervision of the faculty advisor and a supervisory committee. The student must prepare a written project report or thesis, as applicable, and defend the work in a public presentation before the committee. The committee votes to accept the work as a project if the student has chosen the project option, to accept the work as a thesis if the student has chosen the thesis option, or to fail the defense.

G-CPS-MS - Computer Science - Master's

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