Courses and Course Requirements

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The M.S. in computer science has two tracks. Each track has a separate set of requirements. Students can get an M.S. under either track. Both tracks are offered under Plans I (thesis option) and Plan II (course work only option).

Here are a couple of PDF diagrams to show the difference:

Graduation (M.S. Track 1)

In addition to all Office of Graduate Studies requirements for the master's degree, the Department also requires the following:

  1. 32 semester hours of approved graduate courses.
  2. Exactly 2 semester hours of CS 592 (Colloquium), taken at The University of New Mexico.
  3. At least 18 hours must be in regularly scheduled courses offered by the Computer Science Department; this specifically excludes thesis, individual study, and special topics courses.
  4. In addition to Colloquium, at least 15 of the 32 hours must be in courses offered by the Computer Science Department at the 500 level or above.
  5. Students graduating under Plan I must take a minimum of 6 hours of CS 599 and submit an acceptable thesis. Only 6 hours of CS 599 may be counted toward the 32 hours.
  6. Completion of four common core courses: CS 500 (Introduction to the Theory of Computation), CS 530 (Geometric and Probabilistic Methods in Computer Science), CS 580 (The Specification of Software Systems) and a course in complex adaptive systems (contact the department for a list of acceptable courses).
  7. Completion of an advanced course in algorithms: contact the department for a list of acceptable courses.
  8. Completion of an advanced course in system design: contact the department for a list of acceptable courses.
  9. Passing the master's examination. For Plan I students, the master's examination is the defense of thesis. For Plan II students, the master's examination is a written examination based on the seven courses CS 451, 460, 561, 481, 500, 530 and 580.

Graduation (M.S. Track 2)

In addition to all Office of Graduate Studies requirements for the master's degree, the Department also requires the following:

  1. 35 semester hours of approved graduate courses.
  2. Exactly 2 semester hours of CS 592 (Colloquium), taken at The University of New Mexico.
  3. At least 18 hours must be in regularly scheduled and special-topics courses offered by the Computer Science Department; this specifically excludes thesis and individual study.
  4. In addition to Colloquium, at least 18 of the 35 hours must be in courses offered by the Computer Science Department at the 500 level or above.
  5. Students graduating under Plan I must take a minimum of 6 hours of CS 599 and submit an acceptable thesis. Only 6 hours of CS 599 may be counted toward the 35 hours.
  6. Completion of any three of the four common core courses: CS 500 (Introduction to the Theory of Computation), CS 530 (Geometric and Probabilistic Methods in Computer Science), CS 580 (The Specification of Software Systems) and a course in complex adaptive systems (contact the department for a list of acceptable courses).
  7. Completion of one of several concentrations defined and approved by the faculty of the Computer Science Department. These concentrations will comprise 9 to 12 units. Plan I students can apply 3 units of 599 towards their concentration.
  8. Passing the master's examination. For Plan I students, the master's examination is the defense of thesis. For Plan II students, the master's examination is a written examination based on the seven courses CS 451, 460, 561, 481, 500, 530 and 580. Adjustments in the exam will be made depending on which core courses the student took.

Concentrations

The gist of Track 2 is that it allows a greater specialization in an area of interest. Please see the Concentrations for Track 2 Master's Students for information on which areas are allowable.

Differences between the Track 1 and the Track 2 MS requirements

  Track 1 Track 2
Units
Required		 32 35
500 Level and Above Course Hours Required 15 18
Required Core Courses All four cores courses (CS 500, CS 530, CS 580, and the course in complex adaptive systems)
Any three of the four cores courses (CS 500, CS 530, CS 580, and the course in complex adaptive systems)
Track Focus An advanced course in algorithms and an advanced course in systems
 A 12 unit concentration is required
What the exam covers all four core courses the 3 core courses the student took

Requirements for all CS Master's Program Students

The purpose of the master's program is to acquire a broad knowledge of computer science, possibly combined with particular expertise in one area of computer science. Thus two types of courses will be approved in a graduate program: general computer science courses ("what every computer scientist should know"), which include most of the 400-level classes, and advanced classes in a chosen area (those classes need not all be in the Department of Computer Science). Examples of specialty areas (within the department) include computer hardware and architecture, databases, numerical computing, artificial intelligence, pattern recognition and image processing, graphics, human-computer interfaces, data structures and algorithms, computability and complexity theory, operating systems, and programming languages.

All classes must be approved in advance by the graduate advisor and every graduate student must check with the graduate advisor at least once a semester. Considerable latitude is given the student in choosing courses; among other things, up to 12 of the required credit hours can be taken outside computer science if they help define a coherent program.

With the exception of the 32 hours rule, all classes taken to fulfill the above requirements must be taken at the University of New Mexico. If a student has taken as part of his or her undergraduate work (or graduate work taken previously) the equivalent of one of the advanced courses in algorithms or system design, he or she is required to take another course from the appropriate category. The course may be eligible for transfer credit, however, and can then be counted toward the 32 hours required for a master's degree. In the rare case when a student has the knowledge equivalent to one of the common core courses, the course can be waived at the discretion of the graduate advisor-this does not reduce the total number of hours (32) or the number of 500-level hours (15).

A maximum of 12 semester hours can be transferred into the master's program from approved graduate study at other universities and a maximum of 12 semester hours can be transferred from study at this university as a nondegree student; the total number of semester hours transferred under all categories cannot exceed 12. All transfers must be approved by the graduate advisor; the only acceptable classes are graduate courses with a grade of B or better. Note that because of the University-wide residency rule, in most cases the effective number of credits that can be transferred from an outside institution is usually six.

Courses are approved by the graduate advisor in the context of the student's whole program. Thus it can happen that a course approved for a particular student is not acceptable for another; this is not a reflection on the quality of the course or of the student. The approval policy stems from the fact that the master's program is not long enough to learn all the fundamentals of computer science and still do advanced work in more than one area.

No 300-level class (with the one exception of CS 375) will be approved as part of a student's graduate program, whether or not the offering department lists such a class as available for graduate credit.


For students who entered the M.S. Program before Fall 2001

These changes will apply to all students who enter the program from Fall 2001 on. Students already in the program can elect to graduate under the the degree requirements in effect when they entered the graduate program or under these degree requirements. Students already well into the program will probably not want to change but students just beginning may want to consider the new program.

A brochure describing the program and requirements can also be obtained from the department.



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