1. Overview of MS Program Requirements

The academic requirements for the Master of Science degree in Computer Science consist of: (1) completion of the course requirements (48 units total), and (2) the capstone experience (comprehensive examination. project, or thesis). MS students also take a course that satisfies the professional development requirement. The remainder of this section gives an outline of these requirements. For the complete description of the MS program requirements see the UCR catalog. 

Course Requirements

The course requirements consist of 48 units of graduate or upper-division courses. These courses need to meet three specific requirements:

• Core Requirement (8 units). Certain CS courses are designated as core courses and are grouped into three Core Areas: (1) Hardware Design Principles, (2) Theoretical Foundations, and (3) Software and Systems. Two courses from two different areas are required.

• Breadth Requirement (8 units). The CS graduate courses are grouped into 8 Major Specialty Areas numbered A-H. MS students need to take 2 breadth courses. These two courses, together with two core courses, need to cover four different Major Specialty Areas.

• Electives (32 units). These need to be graduate or upper division courses in Computer Science. Students who choose the thesis or project option of the MS degree can use some number of research units towards the elective requirement. 

The list of allowed courses and the details of the course requirements can be found in the UCR catalog. In justified cases, exceptions from the degree requirements may be considered: some students may transfer courses from previously attended institutions (see the section with information for new students), some may be allowed to get credit for courses outside Computer Science, or for courses taken at other UC campuses. For more information, contact your Graduate Program Coordinator.

MS Capstone Experience

All students must complete a capstone experience that synthesizes and integrates the knowledge and skills obtained throughout the MS program. There are three options for the capstone experience: Comprehensive Examination, Project, or Thesis. The default option, used by most students, is the Comprehensive Examination option. For the Project or Thesis option, the student needs to have a faculty advisor. It is the student's responsibility to find an advisor willing to supervise a project or a thesis. Students who have a faculty advisor and decide to switch to one of these options need notify their Graduate Program Coordinator before their 3rd quarter in the program.

• Comprehensive Examination Option (Plan I) 

  This is the default option for all MS students in Computer Science. Up to 12 units of approved CSE undergraduate major technical electives (see the UCR catalog) may be counted towards graduate elective units (and only towards the elective requirement). 

  To meet the Comprehensive Examination requirement, MS students must pass 3 capstone experience problems (CEPs) in their core courses; two CEPs will be offered within each core course final exam per quarter. Students may take the CEPs without taking the course (or entire final exam), but this needs to be arranged with the instructor ahead of time and will be approved on a case-by-case basis. Students are only permitted two attempts per core course CEP set and these attempts are not cumulative (that is, students can use results from only one of these attempts).

• Project Option (Plan II) 

  In the project option, students are expected to complete a research project under the guidance of a research advisor. The research advisor must be a faculty member associated with the CSE Department (who can offer a CS 297 course). The project will require a written report that will be presented to a committee of at least two faculty members in an oral examination. During the project the student should enroll in CS 297, and 4 units of CS 297 may be counted towards graduate elective course requirements. 

  Students must nominate their project committee by completing the Project-Option Committee Nomination form prior to the defense. Upon completion of the project, the fully approved Project-Option Report form is submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator. 

  If multiple students work on a large project, each of them can use their work to satisfy the M. project requirement. However, each student must have a separate report and a separate oral presentation, and it should be clear in both the written document and in the oral presentation what portion of the overall project was performed by the student being examined.

• Thesis Option (Plan III) 

  In the thesis option, students work on a substantial research project under the guidance of a research advisor.  The research advisor must be a faculty member associated with the CSE Department (who can offer a CS C97 or CS 299 course). The thesis needs to represent original research work, and it should demonstrate a student’s ability to master the knowledge of a research area, identify an open problem, and make a novel research contribution. The thesis research requires typically 3 quarters to complete. The thesis must be presented to and approved by a committee of at least three faculty members, with at least one member being a regular member of the CSE Department (with his/her home department in CSE). While working on their thesis, students should enroll in the CS 297 or CS 299 course.  Students who choose the thesis option can count up to 12 units of CS 297 or CS 299 towards the elective course requirements.

  Prior to the defense students need to officially nominate their committee and have it approved. The committee nominations are specified on the Application for Candidacy form. MS thesis defenses are public. Students are required to inform their Graduate Program Coordinator about a scheduled defense at least two weeks in advance, and send them the following information: the date, time, and place where it will be held, as well as the title, the abstract, and the name of the faculty advisor. Upon completion of the thesis defense, the Report of Final Defense for MS Degree form is submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator. 

  The formatting of MS theses needs to follow the guidelines that can be found on the Graduate Division website. A format review will need to have been completed before the final draft of the thesis can be submitted to the Graduate Division. 

Professional Development Requirement

To meet the professional development requirement, MS students must complete one of the following courses (1 unit): CS 287, GDIV 301, GDIV 403, CS 298. Other courses with a professional development content may be approved as substitutes.

2. Related Regulations

M.S. Candidacy Status

The advancement to candidacy is an intermediate step towards a graduate degree. For MS students, this step occurs after they completed a certain number of course requirements and their focus shifts towards satisfying their chosen capstone experience requirement: a comprehensive examination, a project, or a thesis. Students need to submit a petition to advance to candidacy no later than in the first week of the quarter in which their degree is expected to be awarded. Deadlines for submission are published each quarter in the Schedule of Classes and in the annual Graduate Division Calendar. If the application is not received by the deadline date, the degree may be deferred until the following quarter.

Residency Requirement

The minimum academic residency in the University of California is three quarters, two of which must be spent at the Riverside campus. Registration in at least 4 units of 100 or 200 level coursework and CS 287 is necessary for each quarter of academic residence.

Certificate of Degree Award 

Students are advised by mail of formal degree award at the end of the quarter in which the degree is conferred. As soon as all degree requirements are completed, the student may request a certificate of completion bearing the Graduate Dean’s signature. A formal certification of completion is the equivalent of the diploma or the official academic transcript for employment and career advancement purposes. The degree is posted to the transcript approximately 6-8 weeks after conferral. Once the diploma is ready, the Registrar will notify students by postcard that they may pickup their diploma at that office (approximately 5 months after conferral). For pickup, they must pay the Registrar for postage. They should make these arrangements with the Registrar’s Office and keep their address updated on R’Web.

Duplication of Higher Degree (Second MS) 

Permission to work for a second MS degree may be approved when there is little relation in content between the two degrees. Duplication of a MS degree in a single field is not permitted.

Proceeding Toward the CS PhD Degree 

MS students interested in pursuing the PhD degree may request a change in their degree objective to PhD. For such requests to be considered, they should have strong recommendations from CSE Department faculty members and have a research advisor interested in supervising their PhD dissertation. Such requests will be reviewed in the same manner as a regular PhD application to our graduate program and they will be subject to the Graduate Division and department admissions guidelines. Foreign students must submit a new letter verifying financial support before final approval can be granted by the Graduate Division.