M.S. Course Requirements

It is unusual for students to be admitted into a Masters-only track within our department.  Most such students are UMass Amherst undergraduates with a strong academic record who are admitted via the Bay State Fellowship program.  One or two additional students are admitted MS-only each year.  Most of our students enter in the MS/PhD track or the PhD-only track.  Financial support for most MS-only students comes in the form of half or full assistantships.

The Department expects that students starting work toward a Masters degree have a solid undergraduate background in Computer Science.  If you are unsure of your background, you should consult your advisor.

To earn a Masters of Science degree in Computer Science, a student must satisfy the following requirements:

1. Core requirements.  You must satisfy four core requirements, one from each of three areas, plus one additional requirement from any of the three areas.  For most students this requirement is satisfied by getting a grade of B or better in a core class.
   
   
2. MS project.  You are required to complete a research project to the satisfaction of at least two faculty readers, with a grade of B or better.  (The Department does not have a Masters Thesis option.)  You must prepare and submit a one-page MS Project Proposal and have it endorsed by the faculty readers and the GPD. After approval, you must enroll in CMPSCI 701 (6 credits).  When the project is completed, you will notify the Graduate Program Manager who will ask your readers to fill out a MS Project Completion form.  The proposal form is available here.
   
   
3. Credits.  You must take a total of 30 credits with the following restrictions:
• 6 of those credits will be your Masters Projects (701).
• Another 18 of those credits must come from courses at the 600-900 level that are not independent studies. Classes taken to satisfy core requirements fall into this group. The Masters Project (701) does not count for these 18 credits.
• The remaining 6 credits may come from courses at the 600-900 level, but can also come from 500-level courses or from independent studies.
• Across the 24 (18+6) course credits, at most 9 credits may come from courses outside of the Computer Science Department. (Credit for graduate courses from other departments must be approved by the GPD.)
• Classes with a grade below a C may not be counted toward the MS degree. You must get a B or better in 701.
• Only a limited number of credits may be transferred from other programs or institutions.
  
  
4. GPA.  Your overall grade point average for those 30 credits must be 3.0 or higher.