Master of Science (M.S.) in Computer Science
Kennesaw State University is now offering the NEW Master of Science in Computer Science
(MSCS) degree to meet Georgia's increasing workforce demand in computer science. This
program offers students a true graduate-school experience in the exciting discipline
of Computer Science, with high expectations and intensive learning. The Master's program
is designed to serve two kinds of qualified students who want to further their study
in computer science: those who have a bachelors degree in computer science, and those
with undergraduate degrees in areas other than computer science with required computer
science and mathematics course work.
- Meet all KSU Graduate College Admission Requirements.
- Resume/Vita required.
- Two letters of recommendation (optional).
- Undergraduate degree from an accredited university.
- 2.75 Minimum GPA for students with an undergraduate degree in a computing discipline, OR a noncomputing discipline.
Foundation Courses
Students with an undergraduate degree in a noncomputing discipline may need some foundation courses. If any of the following foundation courses have not been taken in another program, these must be completed at the earliest.
- CS 5000: Foundations of Programming
- CS 5020: Computer Architectures and Operating Systems
- CS 5040: Data Structures and Algorithms
- CS 5070: Mathematics Structures for Computer Science
Required Common Core (6 Credit Hours)
- CS 6041: Theory of Computation
- CS 6045: Advanced Algorithms
Program Models (24 Credit Hours)
Select one of the following:
Thesis Model Requirements
Required Courses (9 Credit Hours)
• CS 7999: Thesis *
• * Repeat for a total of 6 credits
• CS 7998: Research in Computer Science
• Electives (15 Credit Hours)
Students must complete 15 credit hours of any 6000 or 7000 level CS course work. At
least 12 credit hours must be from 7000-level or higher. Students may choose to complete
one concentration area listed below or a combination of courses including CSE 7983:
Graduate Internship* and DS 7900: Applied Analytics Project Course*. *Courses may
not be repeated for credit.
Professional Model Requirements
Students must complete 24 credit hours of 6000 or 7000 level CS courses. At least 18 credit hours must be from 7000-level or higher, excluding CS 7998 and CS 7999. Students may choose to complete one concentration area listed below or a combination of courses including CSE 7983: Graduate Internship* and DS 7900: Applied Analytics Project Course*.
*Courses may not be repeated for credit.
Program Total = 30 Credit Hours
Artificial Intelligence Concentration (12 Credit Hours)
Select any 12 credit hours from the following:
- CS 7375: Artificial Intelligence
- CS 7267: Machine Learning
- CS 7367: Machine Vision
- CS 7347: Natural Language Processing
- CS 7357: Neural Networks and Deep Learning
- CS 7990: Special Topics in Computer Science
- Special Topic must be in AI
Data Computing Concentration (12 Credit Hours)
Select any 12 credit hours from the following:
- CS 7050: Data Warehousing and Mining
- CS 7172: Parallel and Distributed Computing
- CS 7265: Big Data Analytics
- CS 7253: Graph Algorithms
- CS 7263: Information Retrieval
- CS 7990: Special Topics in Computer Science
- Special Topic must be in Data Computing
Cyber and Network Security Concentration (12 Credit Hours)
Select any 12 credit hours from the following:
- CS 7530: Advanced Cryptography
- CS 7535: Software and OS Security
- CS 7540: Network Security
- CS 7545: AI for Security and Privacy
- CS 7990: Special Topics in Computer Science
- Special Topic must be in Cyber and Network Security
- Special Topic must be in Cyber and Network Security
A student may transfer a maximum of six semester hours of graduate courses. The transfer of credit for course work completed at another institution will be approved only under the following conditions:
- A minimum grade of "B" was received in the course;
- The content of the course corresponds to that of a course required or permitted in the student's program at Kennesaw State University;
- The credit to be considered for transfer will not be more than six years old at the time the student enters KSU.
A request for consideration of transfer credit must be submitted to the MSCS program
director by the student during the first semester of residence. The request must indicate
the specific course(s) for which transfer credit is sought. A copy of the other institution's
transcript and a course description from the catalog must be submitted.
