MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM IN
Computer Science
College of Engineering,
Design and Computing
University of Colorado Denver
These degree requirements are in effect starting from 2022-2023 Admission.
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) offers a Master of Science degree
in Computer Science as part of the Computer Science and Engineering Graduate Program. The
CSE department also offers several graduate certificates, doctorate degrees and undergraduate
degrees. For a complete list of degrees, please visit the CSE website at cse.ucdenver.edu
Research areas of emphasis include: algorithms, automata theory, artificial intelligence,
big data management and mining, bio-informatics, cloud computing, communication
networks, combinatorial geometry, computational geometry, computer graphics, computer
security, computer systems, cyber physical systems, cyber security, database, distributed
computing, graph theory, high performance computing, information theory, internet,
mobile computing, mobile health systems, machine learning, parallel processing,
simulation, and software engineering.
MS in Computer Science Degree Requirements
For students interested in our master’s degree program, please see the College of Engineering,
Design and Computing Graduate Admissions website for admission requirements and deadlines.
Upon admission into the MS program, students are required to show adequate preparation
for their degree plan. Depending on their educational background, students may be
required to complete up to 12 credit hours of core foundational courses in addition to the
required 30 graduate credit hours. (Qualified applicants with no CS background who are
interested in graduate studies in CS may need more foundational courses.)
Master’s degree candidates are required to complete a program of study consisting of a minimum of
30 semester hours of graduate level computer science courses while maintaining a cumulative grade
point average of at least 3.0. Graduate courses with grades below B- cannot be applied towards the
completion of the graduate degree. Foundational courses assigned as part of admission must be
completed with a B or higher.
Students are responsible for completing all requirements towards graduation. Regular visits with a
CSE advisor are expected and will help to verify satisfactory progress towards a degree in computer
science. Students should start their MS Plan of Study during their first semester of study and
updated it on a consistent basis. It is recommended that students get to know CSE faculty well
enough that they can serve as references in the future.
Students who do not enroll for any course work for three consecutive semesters (including
summer) will be discontinued and need to reapply to the program. Students are expected to finish