Joint BS in Computer Science/MS in Computer Science
Degree Requirements
To earn a joint Bachelor of Science in Computer Science/Master of Science in Computer Science degree from UIC, students need to complete university, college, and department degree requirements. The Department of Computer Science degree requirements are outlined below. Students should consult the College of Engineering section for additional degree requirements and college academic policies.
The Joint Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) and Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) is designed for undergraduate students with outstanding academic performance who desire to pursue graduate studies in Computer Science, or who wish to prepare themselves for advanced placement in the workplace. Students will earn both a BSCS and an MSCS degree upon completion, with 8 hours of course work shared between the two degrees.
The requirements for completion of the combined BSCS/MSCS degree are identical to the completion of these two separate degrees; however, there are 8 hours of shared course work used for both degrees. Completion of 120 hours at the undergraduate level; plus 8 shared hours counting toward both the BSCS and MSCS degrees; plus 28 hours of course work at the graduate level will result in joint BSCS/MSCS degrees. Students in the BSCS who have only two semesters of course work left and who have at least a 3.60/4.00 grade point average may register for two graduate-level courses (one at the 400 level, and one at the 500 level) and receive 4 hours, instead of 3 hours, for each. The graduate-level courses taken in the senior year will be used at the undergraduate level to fulfill 8 hours of BS selective requirements. At the graduate level these courses will count as required courses. An advisor must approve these courses.
Students should apply to the program during their third year, after having completed at least 27 credit hours of CS courses (excluding CS 398). An overall GPA of 3.60 or higher is required for application.
Sample Course Schedule
First Year | ||
---|---|---|
Fall Semester | Hours | |
MATH 180 | Calculus I | 4 |
CS 111 | Program Design I | 3 |
ENGL 160 | Academic Writing I: Writing in Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
Science Elective | 5 | |
ENGR 100 | Engineering Orientation a | 1 |
Hours | 15 | |
Spring Semester | ||
MATH 181 | Calculus II | 4 |
ENGL 161 | Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
CS 141 | Program Design II | 3 |
CS 151 | Mathematical Foundations of Computing | 3 |
General Education Requirement course | 3 | |
Hours | 16 | |
Second Year | ||
Fall Semester | ||
MATH 210 | Calculus III | 3 |
CS 211 | Programming Practicum | 2 |
CS 251 | Data Structures | 4 |
Science Elective | 5 | |
General Education Requirement course | 3 | |
Hours | 17 | |
Spring Semester | ||
CS 261 | Machine Organization | 3 |
CS 301 | Languages and Automata | 3 |
Required math course | 3 | |
General Education Requirement course | 3 | |
Humanities/Social Sciences/Art Elective | 3 | |
Hours | 15 | |
Third Year | ||
Fall Semester | ||
CS 361 | Systems Programming | 3 |
CS 362 | Computer Design | 3 |
CS 342 | Software Design | 3 |
Required math course | 3 | |
General Education Requirement course | 3 | |
Free Elective | 3 | |
Hours | 18 | |
Spring Semester | ||
CS 341 | Programming Language Design and Implementation | 3 |
Technical Elective | 3 | |
Required math course | 3 | |
Humanities/Social Science Elective | 3 | |
Free Elective | 5 | |
Hours | 17 | |
Fourth Year | ||
Fall Semester | ||
CS 377 | Communication and Ethical Issues in Computing | 3 |
CS 401 | Computer Algorithms I | 3 |
Technical Elective | 3 | |
General Education Requirement course | 3 | |
Technical Elective | 3 | |
Hours | 15 | |
Spring Semester | ||
CS 499 | Professional Development Seminar | 0 |
CS 461 | Operating Systems Design and Implementation | 3 |
Technical Elective | 4 | |
Technical Elective | 4 | |
Free Elective | 4 | |
Hours | 15 | |
Fifth Year | ||
Fall Semester | ||
MS Course Work | 16 | |
Hours | 16 | |
Spring Semester | ||
MS Course Work | 4 | |
MS Course Work or | 4 | |
M.S. Thesis Research (thesis option) | ||
MS Course Work or one of the following: | 4 | |
Project Research (project option) | ||
M.S. Thesis Research (thesis option) | ||
Hours | 12 | |
Total Hours | 156 |