Program Overview

The MS program, through coursework and thesis options, lets students strengthen their foundational education, prepare for careers in applied research, or prepare for advanced study at the doctoral level. The department's faculty work in the areas of algorithms, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, database systems, data mining, information assurance, machine learning, non-standard parallel computing, and software engineering.

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Contact

Director of Graduate Studies
P: 202.687.5874
E: mscs at georgetown dot edu

Degree Requirements and Sequence

Students may elect to complete the requirements of the degree by taking ten courses or by taking eight courses and writing a thesis. All students must take Algorithms (COSC-330) and System Fundamentals (COSC-351). Students pursuing the coursework option take a total of eight electives to complete the degree. A generic schedule for a full-time student pursuing the coursework option appears in Table 1, which leads to a number of possible courses of study.

Students may choose as an elective any course numbered 350 or higher, but at least five of these classes must be numbered 510 or higher. Students may also elect to substitute up to two courses from another department for similarly numbered electives, provided that the courses support the student's plan of study and have been approved by the student's faculty advisor. Indeed, we have prepared a list of approved external electives. Students may petition for the use of other courses as external electives, but in addition to satisfying the previous criteria, such courses must be approved by the Department's curriculum committee. Students must obtain all necessary approvals before enrolling in the class.

Sample Graduate Specializations and Projected Courses

Thesis Option

Students choosing to write a thesis complete the same requirements, but substitute Graduate Thesis Research (COSC-999) for two electives numbered 350–499. That is, such students complete the core requirements, take one elective numbered 350–499, and take five electives numbered 510 or higher, for a total of twenty-four credit hours. The schedule for a full-time student pursuing the thesis option appears in Table 2. Students selecting the thesis option must maintain a grade-point average of 3.4 or higher.

Before the end of their first year, students should identify a topic, a thesis advisor, and a review committee. The thesis advisor must be an ordinary faculty member in the Department of Computer Science, and need not be the same person advising the student on curricular issues. If appropriate and approved by the thesis advisor, one member of the review committee can belong to another department at Georgetown or another university. Students must submit a thesis proposal to the Graduate School, and research for the thesis should begin during the summer before the second year. Students may enroll in COSC-999 (Graduate Thesis Research) only after completing their coursework.

Once the student completes the thesis, with the advisor's approval, the student distributes the thesis to other members of the committee for a period no shorter than three weeks. After this period, the advisor oversees any necessary changes to the thesis, and once completed, schedules a public presentation of the student's work. (See also the Graduate School's Guidelines for Dissertation and Thesis Writers.)

Admissions Requirements

Applicants to the Master of Science program must have a Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, information systems, electrical engineering, or a closely related field. Candidates must have taken basic courses in programming, data structures, computer hardware, and mathematics, such as discrete mathematics, calculus, linear algebra, probability, and statistics. They must have a grade-point average of at least 3.0 in their undergraduate studies. All applicants must take GRE, and foreign applicants must take the TOEFL. Applicants must provide the following documents:

1. graduate school application forms
2. all undergraduate transcripts
3. three letters of recommendations
4. statement of academic, professional, and personal goals
5. GRE scores
6. TOEFL scores, if necessary

Prospective applicants who lack the requisite background in computer science and mathematics will be considered for admission only after they have successfully completed preparatory courses in computer science and mathematics. Such courses may be taken at another university or at Georgetown. People in this latter category must enroll as a Special Student in Georgetown College through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Those who are admitted as a Special Student in Georgetown College must take an introductory programming course, such as COSC-072 in C++ or COSC-175 in Java, as well as Data Structures (COSC-173), Hardware Fundamentals (COSC-250), and any prerequisites these courses require. They must also take one course in mathematics beyond integral calculus, such as multivariate calculus (MATH-137) or linear algebra (MATH-150). Students who plan to enroll in equivalent courses elsewhere are advised to consult first with the Department's Director of Graduate Studies.

Regardless of where they enroll, students must earn at least a grade of "B" in each of these preparatory courses. After successfully completing these prerequisites, students may apply for admission to the Master's program in Computer Science. The completion of the prerequisite courses does not guarantee admission, and none of these prerequisite courses may be applied toward the credit requirements of the Master of Science in Computer Science.