Computer Science

Degree Offered Master of Science in Computer Science

Program Overview

The goal of the graduate program is to provide education for individuals in the field of computer science who wish to gain further computer sophistication in order to advance their careers. The Master's Degree in Computer Science has three concentrations: one for individuals who want to enter careers in industry, one for high school teachers who want to obtain an endorsement to teach computer science, and one for individuals who want to pursue a Ph.D.

The program is designed especially for the convenience of the part-time student; courses are scheduled in the evening and on Saturday.

You can go to the CS Master's Degree homepage by clicking here.

Admission Requirements

Full admission to the program requires a four year degree from an accredited undergraduate college, with an overall undergraduate grade point average of not less than 2.75 (on a 4.0 scale). Previous course work in computer science is necessary to enter the program; however, the student must have knowledge of discrete structures and programming in order to take courses which count towards the degree. If the student does not have this background, it is necessary for the student to take the background courses CS-405 Applied Discrete Structures and CS-406 Object Oriented Development before beginning course work towards the degree.

Degree Requirements

1. Course Work Requirement:

The Master's Degree in Computer Science requires 36 credit hours of course work, 27 of which must be earned at Northeastern Illinois University. The 36 hours will be made up of 9 credit hours of core course work, 18 credit hours of required course work from one of three concentrations, and 9 credit hours of elective course work (or 6 credit hours, if the student completes a Master's thesis).

No more than 9 hours of specifically approved 300 level courses may be selected to satisfy course requirements for the Master's Degree. Courses taken to remove deficiencies (i.e., CS 405 and CS 406) will not be counted toward the 36 hours of course work required for the Master's Degree. Courses taken to satisfy undergraduate degree requirements can not be used toward the Master's Degree. All elective course work is to be selected in consultation with and approved by the gradate advisor.

Required Core Courses:

Management Information Systems Concentration:

This concentration prepares students for the application of computer science and related technologies to solving business problems.

Recommended electives: CS-331, CS-440, CS-460, ECON-401 (MIS concentration only).

Computer Science Concentration:

The primary purpose of the Computer Science Concentration is to prepare students to enter a Ph.D. program in computer science. However, students interested in obtaining in-depth knowledge of systems programming should also consider this concentration.

Recommended electives: CS-311, CS-415, CS-426, CS-460.

Teacher Endorsement Concentration:

The purpose of this concentration is to provide teachers with 1) the course work necessary to obtain an endorsement for teaching computer science and 2) the skills necessary to teach computer science at the pre-college level.

Recommended electives: CS-403, CS-420, CS-426, CS-460.

Obtaining an M.S. in this concentration does not automatically result in an endorsement to teach computer science. Rather, after completing 32 Computer Science semester hours, persons who want to add an endorsement to teach computer science to their existing certificate can apply to their regional superintendent of schools or they can apply on line on the OTIS system at www.isbe.net/otis. The form to use is 73-52, Application for Endorsement of Issued Certificate.

For a complete list of courses, Click to the Graduate Course Rotation Plan.

2. Project Requirement:

As stated in the course requirements above, each student is required to complete a Master's Project or Master's Thesis. The student will make this decision in consultation with his or her advisor.

A Master's Project must be a paper or a large-scale software project that extends a student's scope of study beyond that covered in any course. A Master's Thesis will allow students to undertake more ambitious projects than the Master's Project course. Enrollment in either CS-490 Master's Project (3 credit hours) or CS-495 Master's Thesis (6 credit hours) is allowed only after a student has completed 30 credit hours in the program. Both the Master's Project and the Master's Thesis are chosen and worked on with a project advisor. The Master's Thesis must, in addition, be submitted to a thesis committee for final approval. A defense of the thesis will also be required. The grade for the Master's Thesis will be given after the thesis committee has reviewed the project and the defense has been made.

3. Transfer of Credit:

Courses taken at Northeastern Illinois University
A maximum of six credit hours taken at Northeastern prior to the granting of the bachelor's degree may be considered for acceptance to the Master's program if these credits, a) are applicable; b) have not been applied to the baccalaureate degree; and c) were completed no more than 12 months prior to the date of graduation. The office of Admissions and Records must be advised, in writing, of a student's intention to petition to apply those courses to a Master's degree program. The above applies only to NEIU graduates. Courses taken as a Graduate Student-at- Large at NEIU are not automatically accepted in the Master's degree program. A maximum of nine credit hours taken under this classification may be applied toward the Master's degree if such work corresponds directly to specific program requirements and satisfies scholastic requirements of the Graduate College.

Courses taken at other accredited institutions
Students may apply to the Graduate College for the transfer of up to nine credit hours from other accredited graduate institutions. Students must first be admitted to a degree program and write a letter of petition to the dean. The course(s) in question should be identified by title, number, school, and course description. A transcript of the work must be on file in the graduate office. The course(s) must have been completed relatively recently at an accredited institution, with a grade of 'B' or better, and be applicable to the Master's degree program.

Current list of all Graduate Advisors