Computer Science (M.S.)

https://ceps.unh.edu/computer-science/program/ms/computer-science

The M.S. program is designed to help students increase the breadth and depth of their computer science knowledge, strengthen their software development skills, and build their research skills. Professionally-­oriented students often complete industry internships, and the program has an outstanding job placement record for its graduates. Research­-oriented students complete an M.S. thesis under the guidance of a faculty mentor, which usually leads to publication and provides clear evidence of the developed research skills useful for obtaining a leadership position in industry or to go on to do a Ph.D. Applications are welcomed from students whose undergraduate degree is not in computer science. In this case, a well-­defined set of undergraduate prerequisites must be completed as part of the M.S. program of study.

The M.S. program has three options: thesis, project, and exam.

M.S. Thesis Option

CS 900Graduate Seminar1
Select eight CS graduate courses of at least 3 credits each 124
CS 899Master's Thesis 26
Total Credits31
1

The courses must satisfy the following requirements:

  • Two courses must be implementation intensive (see list below)
  • All students must take CS 845 Formal Specification and Verification of Software Systems or CS 858 Algorithms
  • At least two courses must be above 900
  • At most one can be CS 998 Independent Study
  • Students must take courses taught by a minimum of five different faculty
2

The student must complete a thesis under the supervision of a thesis adviser and a thesis committee of at least three members.

M.S. Project Option

CS 900Graduate Seminar1
Select ten CS graduate courses of at least 3 credits each 130
CS 898Master's Project 23
Total Credits34
1

The courses must satisfy the following requirements:

  • Two courses must be implementation intensive (see list below)
  • All students must take CS 845 Formal Specification and Verification of Software Systems or CS 858 Algorithms
  • At least three courses must be above 900
  • At most one can be CS 998 Independent Study
  • Students must take courses taught by a minimum of five different faculty
2

The student must complete a project under the supervision of a faculty adviser.

 M.S. Exam Option

CS 900Graduate Seminar1
Select ten CS graduate courses of at least 3 credits each 130
Comprehensive exam that includes four different examination topics (see list below) 2
Total Credits31
1

The courses must satisfy the following requirements:

  • Two courses must be implementation intensive (see list below)
  • All students must take CS 845 Formal Specification and Verification of Software Systems or CS 858 Algorithms
  • At least three courses must be above 900
  • At most one can be CS 998 Independent Study
  • Students must take courses taught by a minimum of five different faculty
2

One topic must be from the Theory topic area. The other three should be selected from three different topic areas (which can include a second theory topic). The topic areas are as follows: a) Theory: Formal Specification and Verification; Algorithms, b) Distributed Systems, c) Artificial Intelligence, d) Computer Graphics, e) Computer Networks, f) Information Retrieval, g) Machine Learning, h) Computer Security, i) Robotics, j) Parallel and Distributed Programming, k) Cloud computing.

Implementation Intensive Courses
CS 812Compiler Design4
CS 820Systems Programming4
CS 830Introduction to Artificial Intelligence4
CS 835Introduction to Parallel and Distributed Programming4
CS 853Information Retrieval4
CS 870Computer Graphics4
CS 881Data Science for Knowledge Graphs and Text4
CS #953Data Science for Knowledge Graphs and Text3

This graduate program is approved to be taken on an accelerated basis in articulation with certain undergraduate degree programs.

General Accelerated Master's policy, note that some programs have additional requirements (e.g. higher grade expectations) compared to the policy.

Please see the Graduate School website and contact the department directly for more information.

Graduates of the UNH M.S. CS program will have an ability to:

  • Apply computer science theory to increase the breadth and depth of their computer science knowledge.
  • Utilize advance software development skills.
  • Carry out guided computer science research.
  • Obtain an advanced position in industry or continue onto a PhD program.