General MS Degree Requirements

In addition to the basic requirements of the university, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering requires master’s degree candidates to complete an approved program of study consisting of at least 30 semester hours of graduate-level computer science courses and a thesis or project while maintaining a GPA of at least 3.0. With prior approval of the graduate committee, a student may substitute up to 9 semester hours of graduate-level mathematics or other engineering courses. All courses must be taught by University of Colorado graduate faculty.

A student must submit an approved plan of study to the department during the first semester of his/her admission. An academic advisor will consult with each student to develop a plan of study.

Adequate Progress toward MS in Computer Science Degree

Students are expected to finish the MS degree program within five years. Candidates for the MS degree may not get credit for a course taken longer than five years before the date on which the degree is to be granted.

Students who do not enroll for any course work relevant to computer science in a given semester (summer semesters excluded) must supply the Department of Computer Science and Engineering with a written statement describing the reason for the inactivity. Students who are inactive for three consecutive semesters (summer semesters excluded) will be removed from the program, and must re-apply for admission.

Students may choose either Plan I (thesis) or Plan II (MS project).

Plan I—Thesis

Students choosing Plan I take 24 semester hours of graduate course work and conclude their program with 6 semester hours of thesis work. A minimum of three courses must be chosen from among five “core” courses and must be passed with a grade of B or better. Three additional courses must be chosen from among more than a dozen “breadth” courses. Plan I students must also write a thesis and defend it before a thesis committee. The students in Plan I may take one independent study course for a maximum of 3 hours.

Plan II—MS Project

Students choosing Plan II take 27 semester hours of graduate course work and conclude their program with 3 semester hours of MS project work. A minimum of three courses must be chosen from among five “core” courses and must be passed with a grade of B or better. Three additional courses must be chosen from among more than a dozen “breadth” courses.  Plan II students must also write an MS project report and defend it before an MS project committee. The students in Plan II may take one independent study course for a maximum of 3 semester hours.

Note: Students can take only graduate engineering (21 semester hours must be CS courses) and graduate mathematics courses. No more than 6 semester hours can be taken in the form of online courses.