Master of Science in Computer Science

The M.S. in Computer Science is designed to offer professionals an opportunity to attain an advanced degree in the computer science field while upgrading their skills and knowledge. The computer science program is a joint program with the College of Charleston.

Admission Requirements

1. A completed graduate application form along with appropriate non-refundable application fee returned to The Citadel Graduate College (CGC), Bond Hall room 101.
2. An official transcript of the baccalaureate degree and all other undergraduate or graduate work from accredited colleges and universities. Students admitted to the program are normally expected to have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0. With the approval of the joint program admissions committee, students whose grade point average is less than 3.0 may be permitted to take up to 6 credit hours of courses in a non-degree-seeking status and then apply for admission after successful completion of these courses.
3. Approval from the Program Director or Department Head before registering for any graduate Computer Science (CSCI) courses.
4. Completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) with a minimum combined score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the general test and a minimum score of 4.0 on the writing assessment. The GRE must be current within five years of the application for admission to the program.
5. Evidence of a command of spoken and written English such as a TOEFL score of 550 paper-based, 79-80 internet-based, or 213 computer-based (if English is not the native language of citizenship).
6. Competency, demonstrated through coursework, approved work experience, or a program-administrated competency exam, in the areas of basic Computer Architecture, Object-oriented Programming, Discrete Mathematics, and Data Structures.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Computer Science degree is conferred upon those candidates who successfully complete an approved program of study consisting of a minimum of 33 semester hours of graduate credit (of which no more than nine may be transfer credit) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

All degree candidates must:

1. Complete the following four core courses for a total of 12 hours.
   CSCI 601 Data Modeling
   CSCI 602 Foundations of Software Engineering
   CSCI 603 Object-Oriented Design Patterns
   CSCI 604 Distributed Computer Systems Architecture
   
   
2. Declare an area of specialization from among software engineering, information systems, or computer science, and complete four courses in that area (12 hours).
   
   
   • Degree candidates in the Software Engineering specialization must complete four courses from the courses numbered 634, 654, 656, 657, 658, 659, 672, or 690 when approved by the department head or program director. One of these courses must be 656 and another of the courses must be chosen from 654 and 658.
     CSCI 634 Project Change and Management
     CSCI 654 Software Requirements Analysis and Specifications
     CSCI 656 Software Systems Design and Implementation
     CSCI 657 Embedded Systems Design
     CSCI 658 Software Testing and Maintenance
     CSCI 659 Service-Oriented Computing
     CSCI 672 Human-Computer Interaction
     
     
   • Degree candidates in the Information Systems specialization must complete four courses from the courses numbered 631, 632, 634, 636, 638, 659, 672, or 690 when approved by the department head or program director. Two of courses must be 632 and 638.
     CSCI 631 Privacy and Security Issues
     CSCI 632 Data Communications and Networking
     CSCI 634 Project Change and Management
     CSCI 636 Information Technology Policy, Strategy and Governance
     CSCI 638 Database Design
     CSCI 659 Service-Oriented Computing
     CSCI 672 Human-Computer Interaction
     
     
   • Degree candidates in the Computer Science specialization must complete four courses from the courses numbered 612, 614, 616, 618, 638, 674, or 690 when approved by the department head or program director. Three of the four courses must be from the courses numbered 612, 614, 616, or 618.
     CSCI 612 Advanced Computer Organization
     CSCI 614 Advanced Operating Systems
     CSCI 616 Automata
     CSCI 618 Programming Languages
     CSCI 638 Database Design
     CSCI 674 Introduction to Computer Graphics
     
     
3. Complete one of the following three options (9 hours).
   
   • CSCI 699 Research Thesis (6 hours) plus one elective.
   • CSCI 698 Project Thesis (3 hours) plus two electives.
   • Three electives (9 hours).

The Citadel’s School of Engineering offers a graduate certificate program in Technical Project Management consisting of four courses. ENGR 650 (Overview of Technical Project Management) may be substituted for CSCI 634 in satisfying degree requirements for the M.S. in Computer Science, and the remaining three courses, ENGR 651, ENGR 652, and ENGR 653, may be taken as electives satisfying requirement 3c above.

Applications

To apply for the program contact The Citadel Graduate College in Bond Hall on The Citadel campus (843-953-5089), or on the Web at http://www.citadel.edu/graduatecollege/.

For more information about the program or admission requirements, contact Dr. John I. Moore, Jr., Department Head (phone: 843-953-5048, e-mail: john.moore@citadel.edu), or Dr. Margaret A. Francel, Program Director (phone: 843-953-6987, e-mail: margaret.francel@citadel.edu)