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