The Master of Science (M.S.) in Computer Science is the first graduate degree in the field, and usually takes one and a half years of full-time study to complete. Students entering the program must have a bachelor's degree and adequate background in computer science, such as is obtained in an undergraduate computer science program. The master's degree may be a good alternative to the post-bac program for those wishing to retrain in computer science from a different technical background. For them it can be completed in a little more than three years of full-time work, including background courses.
Departmental requirements are given below.
Graduation Requirements
In order to graduate with a master's degree, you must:- Complete a program of 45 graduate level credits. At most fifteen of these 45 credits may be outside of the CS Program. Approval of all 45 credits by your adviser is required. This is done on the "Quarterly Graduate Program Approval" form, signed and filed in the CS Office each quarter. This form is used to formally record advisor approval of the courses taken each term. By signing it, the advisor acknowledges that the listed courses will be approved for graduation. This must be done each term; forms are available at the CS office.
- Take the following graduate courses, or their equivalents:
(CS 581) Theory of Computation (CS 558) Programming Languages (CS 533) Concepts of Operating Systems
These courses must be passed with a grade of B or better. You are urged to take these courses, before, or as early as possible in your graduate program.
- Take one of the following sequences of courses. Track substitutions with other courses in the topic area may be permitted with the approval of the graduate committee.
Databases : CS 586, CS 587, and one course from the following: CS 588, CS 589, CS 510 Information Integration, CS 510 Data Streams or another graduate course in databases.
Intelligent and Adaptive Systems : CS 541, CS 545, and one course from the following: CS 542, CS 543, CS 546.
Languages : CS 558 and two courses from the following: CS 515, CS 520, CS 553, CS 557, CS 568, CS 577, CS 578, or any CS 510 course in programming languages.
Security : CS 591, CS 585, and one course from the following: CS 592, CS 576/676, CS 596/696, CS 510 Malicious Code and Forensics, or CS 510 Introduction to Computer Forensics.
Software Engineering : CS 554 and two courses chosen from: CS 553, CS 555, CS 556, CS 559, CS 510 Software Quality Analysis, CS 510 Modeling and Analysis of Software Systems, CS 510 Software Architecture and Domain Analysis, CS 510 Software Design Techniques, CS 510 Advanced Topics in Software Engineering, CS 510 Advanced Open Source Software Engineering.
Systems : CS 533, CS 594, and one course from the following: CS 595, CS 596, or CS 575.
Theory : CS 581, either CS 584 or CS 582, and one course from the following: CS 510 Scheduling, Planning and Search, CS 582, CS 584, or CS 585.
General Course Restrictions
The following general restrictions apply to the courses that count toward the 45 credits required for graduation:- All graded courses must be passed with a grade of B- or better; core courses must be passed with a grade of B. All courses taken P/NP must be passed. Your GPA for all graduate credits must be at least 3.0 (B).
- A maximum of 6 credits of CS 504 Internship, CS 505 Reading and Conference, or CS 506 Special Projects may be counted.
- Note that it is typical to receive only 1 credit for a summer internship, in which case it is expected that the student will have 46 credits, instead of 45 credits, on graduation.
- CS 501 (Research) /CS 509 (Graduate Assistant Practicum) credits may not be counted.
- At least 30 of the 45 credits must be in PSU CS courses.
- All 45 credits, to be included in your approved program, require the approval of your CS adviser.
You must be registered at PSU for at least 1 credit the term you graduate.
Thesis Option
Students are encouraged to undertake a thesis. However, students may choose to graduate under the coursework-only program described above.For the thesis option, you must write and defend a master's thesis. If this option is chosen, at least 6, but no more than 9, of the required 45 credits must be from CS 503 (Thesis). University requirements for a master's thesis are given in the PSU Bulletin. In particular, an oral thesis defense is required. You must be registered for at least 1 credit during every term during which you are working on any aspect of your thesis and during the term in which you plan to defend your thesis.
The University has a set of Thesis Guidelines that describe the format and content requirements for the thesis.
Graduation Procedure
Transfer or Pre-admit courses (a maximum of 15 credits) must be approved before graduation paperwork can be processed. To request approval of these credits complete a GO-21 form and put it into GC's (Graduate Coordinator) mailbox in the CS office, FAB-120.Non-Thesis OptionDeadlines: the Application for Degree and the GO-12 are both due the first Friday of the first week of the term the student wants to graduate. Please pay careful attention to the University's deadline for submission of the GO-16M.Thesis Option
- Fill out an Application for Degree and hand into the Office of Graduate Studies (CH117).
- Fill out GO-12, and have advisor sign it. Then put it into GC's (Graduate Coordinator) mailbox.
- Fill out a GO-16M and hand into the Office of Graduate Studies (CH117).
- Fill out an Application for Degree and hand into the Office of Graduate Studies (CH 117).
- Fill out a GO-12, and have your advisor sign it. Then put it into GC's (Graduate Coordinator) mailbox.
The GO-21 must be approved before all other forms.
Thesis students need to send their abstract and bio information, schedule a room, and request any needed equipment (projector) at least two weeks in advance of the defense; contact the Computer Science Department.
Please email GC (Graduate Coordinator, gc at cs.pdx.edu) with the date of the defense.
Application for Degree is located at the Office of Graduate Studies and at the Computer Science Department.
ALL GO-forms are located online at http://www.gsr.pdx.edu/ogs_forms.html. Copies are also available at the Office of Graduate Studies or at the Computer Science Department.
ADVISORS PLEASE NOTE: GC (Graduate Coordinator) will fill out the GO-17 for all graduating students; the student is not allowed to handle this form after it has been signed.