Master of Science Degree in Computer Science

Mission Statement

The mission of the Master of Science degree in Computer Science program is to provide a quality graduate education in the field of Computer Science that prepares a student for meaningful engagement in work experiences and/or a furthering of the student’s education in a doctoral program.

Program Outcomes

1. Develop a deeper understanding of the technical foundations of Computer Science on the graduate level and interpret the connections between theory and practice.
2. Analyze and interpret researched articles in professional journals and utilize their contents in the analysis and development of the student’s own graduate-level research.
3. Execute the mathematical skills related to theoretical Computer Science and the performance of statistical analyses on scientific data.
4. Produce well-designed and well-constructed computer programs written in recognized computer languages for the purpose of solving a problem or producing a desired outcome according to specified requirements
5. Analyze a problem, deconstruct it into the component parts and assess the computing requirements appropriate to its solution.
6. Develop the ability to engage in graduate-level projects in Computer Science and produce results worthy of presentation at conferences or publication in journals.
7. Develop an ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal.
8. Recognize and exemplify an understanding of project management within the discipline of Computer Science so as to be able to outline successfully the planning and implementation of the creation of a computerized system, utilizing the current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice.
9. Successfully complete research project or large-scale software development project on a systems level.
10. Develop an awareness of what constitutes ethical conduct throughout the Computer Science profession and the issues involved in the ethical handling of data, information, systems, and computer technologies.
11. Analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society.
12. Judge situations and be willing to take a lead role as a computing professional in any industry concerning ethical, legal, security, social, and/or technology-based issues and responsibilities.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the 4+1 option of the Master of Science degree in Computer Science will require a student’s transcript to be evaluated when first he or she applies to the program. If the student is a Computer Science and/or Cybersecurity major at Felician University, he or she would need to maintain a 3.0 average in the major(s) and at least a 2.75 GPA overall through the senior year (the year in which master’s degree work would begin).

To be eligible for admission to the traditional master’s degree, a student must have completed an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Information Systems, or related field, with an overall GPA of 2.75 or higher and a GPA in the major of 3.0 or higher. Two letters of recommendation will be required, as well as certain other general requirements for graduate school admission, as outlined in the Felician University graduate catalog. Students not satisfying the above-stated GPA criteria and students whose bachelor’s degree is in a non-technical field will be considered for conditional matriculation on a case-by-case basis.

Such students will be required to complete the following courses or their equivalent in order to be qualified for matriculation: CS 500 Introduction to Programming, CS 501 Discrete Structures, CS 502 Computer Architecture and Organization, CS 503 Data Structures and Algorithms, CS MATH 500 Calculus for Non-Majors. These prerequisite (bridge) courses must be completed with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The bridge courses will not be counted towards the master’s degree. A traditional master’s degree must be completed within five years of acceptance into the program.

Program Delivery Format

The Master of Science in Computer Science degree will be offered in the following formats:

1. 4+1 format

The 4+1 format allows a student to complete an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and/or Cybersecurity as well as the master’s degree in Computer Science in five years (4 years for the BS degree, 1 year for the MS degree). This will be accomplished by allowing qualified candidates to take two to three master’s-level courses in their senior year of undergraduate studies and have those courses count toward the students’ bachelor’s degree, thus allowing the students to complete the remainder of the master’s degree in one additional year.

2. Traditional master’s degree format

Students who are not in the 4+1 program will be admitted with an appropriate bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and typically will spend 1.5 – 2 years completing the master’s degree if enrolled full time, or 2-3 years if enrolled part time. They will be required to take certain prerequisite courses if their bachelor’s degree is not in Computer Science or in a closely related field.

3. Combination hybrid and online formats

The delivery format of the courses will be a combination of hybrid and fully online. Some Computer Science courses are better suited for delivery as fully online courses than others. For some of our courses, the students will benefit greatly from having exposure to their professor in a classroom/laboratory setting for a portion of the semester or the track, and interacting with professor and classmates online for the remainder of the coursework. Our extensive experience in course delivery in both of these formats, hybrid and fully online, has shown the benefits of the hybrid model in certain cases, especially for students who are not yet working in the profession and do not have any exposure to background fundamentals. Providing this combination of delivery models gives students much-needed flexibility, enhances their learning experience, and allows them to have the best of both environments.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Computer Science requires completion of at least 30 credit-hours of study at the graduate level (CS 600 and CS 700 level courses) with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a minimum grade of C in any course.

All 30 credits must be taken from Computer Science six hundred and seven hundred level courses. Three core courses  (total 9 credits) are required and 21 credits are electives. If a course that can be considered a required course is not selected as such (selected among the 9 credits), it can be selected as an elective, if desired. Students have a wide variety of electives to choose from (not all of which will be offered each year) because of the wide variety of specializations available in the Computer Science field today.

Note: if a course that can be considered as required is not selected as such (from the Required Courses II-3 credits). then it can be selected as an elective, if desired.

Program length: 24 months (based on full-time enrollment)