Applicants must have a Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, from an accredited institution. Students are expected to have completed two semesters of calculus, along with courses in Data structures, Block structured languages, and upper level courses in at at least three of the following areas: Software engineering, Numerical analysis, Machine architecture/assembly language, Comparative languages, Analysis of algorithms, and Operating systems. Applicants without the prequisites stated above may occasionally be admitted with deficiencies.

Students may choose either the thesis option or the non-thesis option. The thesis option requires 24 hours of coursework plus 12 hours of thesis credit leading to an acceptable Master's thesis. The non-thesis option requires 36 hours of coursework.

The following core courses are required of all students. Elective courses may be selected from any other graduate courses offered by the Department, except for specially designated service courses. In addition, up to 6 credits of elective courses may be taken in other departments on campus.

Course descriptions of both graduate level courses and senior level courses are available for you to review.

For thesis students, it is desirable to find a thesis advisor and form a thesis committee by the end of the first year. You may review the detail requirements and a sample timeline for any additional questions you may have.

How to Apply

Applicants must submit the following materials:

• an application form, available online from the Graduate Admissions home page.
• transcripts of undergraduate and graduate work
• a statement of purpose (short essay) from the applicant briefly describing background, interests, goals at CSM, career aspirations, etc;
• three letters of recommendation; and
• the general Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

The Graduate School may require additional materials from some applicants, for example, applicants whose native language is not English may be required to provide proof of English proficiency by submitting TOEFL scores.

Variations from these requirements may be allowed in rare cases where exceptional promise is clear from other evidence provided.

If you are interested in our program, we'd like to learn more about you. Please complete our Online Request Form and we'll send you additional information about our program.