Mar 29, 2024  
Graduate Catalog | 2015-2016 
    
Graduate Catalog | 2015-2016 Previous Edition

Computer Science, M.S.


The Master of Science in Computer Science program provides students advanced skills and knowledge in planning, design, implementation, testing, and management of computer systems and applications. These skills form a good foundation for doctoral study, research, or teaching in computer science. These abilities are needed for those individuals holding related technical or managerial positions, as they provide the expertise to solve computer system problems in government, business, and industry.

The active research areas in the Department of Computer Science include 3D HCI, Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation, Biomedical Signal Processing, Communication Networks, Computer and Parallel Architecture, Computer Game Design, Computer Graphics, Computer System Engineering, Computer Vision, Data Mining, Evolutionary Computation, Flexible Query Processing, Haptics, Health Informatics, Heuristic Search, Image/Video Processing, Intelligent Systems, Knowledge Based Systems, Knowledge Discovery, Multimedia Databases, Music Information Retrieval, Natural Language Processing, Neural Networks, Neural Systems, Parallel Computing, Recommender Systems, Robotics, Scientific and Information Visualization, Soft Computing, Virtual Reality, Vision, and Wireless Networks.

Additional Admission Requirements


In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, students applying for this program are expected to have knowledge of two higher languages, data structures, algorithm analysis, operating systems or computer architecture, and two additional upper-division computer science courses. Also, knowledge of calculus, discrete mathematics, and linear algebra are required. Students without all the above undergraduate prerequisites in computer science and mathematics may need additional coursework after entering the program, as determined by the department.

A bachelor’s degree in a high quality computer science is desired. Individuals who have worked at a high professional level in the computer industry may be able to substitute work experience for some of the specific subject area requirements, subject to review by the Department Graduate Committee.

Students must have an undergraduate grade point average of (or equivalent to) at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 point scale) and a Junior/Senior GPA of at least 3.0. A satisfactory score on the aptitude portion of the GRE is also required.

Early Entry Program


Exceptional undergraduate students at UNC Charlotte may be accepted into the M.S. in Computer Science and begin work toward a graduate degree before completion of the baccalaureate degree. The criteria for admission are the following:

  1. A student may be accepted into the Early Entry Program at any time after completion of 75 credit hours of undergraduate work applicable to the appropriate degree, although it is expected that close to 90 hours will have been earned by the time the first graduate course is taken.
  2. The application process and all required documentation (e.g., test scores, transcripts, letters of recommendation) are the same for early entry students as for other applicants to the program, except that the GRE scores are waived. Admission must be recommended by the Department of Computer Science and approved by the Graduate School. The admission status will be “provisional” pending the award of the undergraduate degree.
  3. To be accepted into this program an undergraduate student must have at least a 3.2 overall GPA and a minimum 3.3 GPA in the Department of Computer Science.
  4. If an Early Entry student has not met the normal admission requirements of a 3.0 overall undergraduate GPA and a 3.0 Junior/Senior GPA at the end of his/her baccalaureate degree, she/he will be dismissed from the graduate program.
  5. Students accepted into an Early Entry Program will be subject to the same policies that pertain to other matriculated graduate students. Generally, it will be assumed that Early Entry students will finish their baccalaureate degrees before they complete 15 hours of graduate work.
  6. This Early Entry Program is also accelerated in which up to 12 hours earned at the graduate level may be substituted for required undergraduate hours. In other words, up to 12 hours of graduate work may be “double counted” toward both the baccalaureate and graduate degrees.

Degree Requirements


The Master of Science program in Computer Science requires 30 graduate credit hours with a minimum 3.0 GPA, which may optionally include 6 hours of thesis.  At least 18 hours of the courses applied to the degree must be from the Department of Computer Science and at least 24 hours must be from the College of Computing and Informatics.  At least 15 hours must be 6000 level or above courses.  No more than 6 hours may be in Individual Study. A maximum of 6 hours of graduate credit may be transferred from other institutions.

I. Core Requirement


All students must take three courses* from the Core Category. The following two courses are required:

Note:


*The three courses taken to satisfy the core requirement must each be passed with an A or a B grade.

II. Breadth Requirements


All students must take three courses, each from a different Course Category, to satisfy the breadth requirements.

Course Categories


III. Area of Concentration


Each student must take at least three related courses (9 hours) to form an area of concentration. The area of concentration may differ from the Course Categories; students are encouraged to have their areas of concentration aligned with faculty research areas. The three courses forming the student’s area of concentration must have the written approval of the student’s academic advisor. At most, one course can be used to satisfy both breadth and area of concentration requirements. Core courses cannot be used in area of concentration. At least two of the three courses forming an area of concentration should be from the Department of Computer Science except for the area of concentration in Information Security and Privacy, which requires ITIS 6200  plus two additional approved ITIS security courses. The three courses taken to satisfy the concentration requirement must each be passed with grades of A or B. In addition to the nine hours of coursework, a written study report on a subject in the area must be submitted to and be approved by the student’s academic advisor to complete the concentration requirement.

Minimum Background Requirements for Admission


Applicants to M.S. program in Computer Science must have had a computing background equivalent to two years of undergraduate training in Computer Science, including at least an introductory course on programming, a course on data structures, and a course either in operating systems or computer architecture. In addition, background in Mathematics to include courses in Linear Algebra or Statistics, Discrete Mathematics, and at least one year of Calculus is also required. Students without sufficient background in Computer Science or Mathematics may be admitted to the Program but must complete background courses determined by the M.S. Program Director in the first year.

Assistantships


Financial assistance for qualified students is available on a competitive basis in the form of graduate teaching and research assistantships. Students that are awarded assistantships are expected to choose the thesis option. The deadline for graduate teaching assistantship applications is March 15 for the following academic year. For detailed and updated information, refer to the Computer Science website.

Minor in Operations Research


The Department of Computer Science participates in the program leading to an interdisciplinary graduate Minor in Operations Research . See the Mathematics and Statistics  heading under the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences section of this Catalog for complete information and program requirements.