Computer Science Graduate Programs
Master of Computer Science (MCS)
30 credit hours
The Master of Computer Science (MCS) is a Professional Master's degree program designed for:
- Computer science professionals currently working in business, government, or industry who want to advance their careers.
- Recent computer science graduates who want to extend and deepen their knowledge of the field in order to gain a competitive edge in the job market.
- People without a previous degree in computer science who want to prepare for a career as a working computer science professional.
The MCS program provides a conceptual and practical education in computer science by combining a broad core curriculum with user-selected areas of study. Students interested in an especially extensive study of a topic can opt for one of four specializations: Business; Computer Networking & Telecommunications; Information Systems; or Software Engineering. Students with a CS-based specialization take four of their elective courses in their area of specialization; students with the business specialization take three MBA courses from the Stuart School of Business.
A full-time student whose bachelor degree was in Computer Science can complete the program in three semesters plus a summer course. (Other students may require extra time to make up deficiencies in prerequisite undergraduate coursework.) The program does not include a master's exam; a Master's Project is allowed but optional.
Graduate CS classes are offered during the day and evening, and both day-only and evening-only student schedules can be accommodated. Distance learning students can use IIT Online to complete an MCS entirely through on-demand Internet and live interactive TV, without ever visiting the IIT campus (with the exception that MCS/Business students must take their business courses at the IIT Downtown Campus in Chicago).
In general, for admission into an MCS program, prospective students need a bachelor's degree (not necessarily in Computer Science) and are required to submit a transcript, and possibly GRE and TOEFL scores. For more information about this program, contact Dr. Jim Sasaki.
» MCS/Business
» MCS/Computer Networking and Telecommunications
» MCS/Information Systems
» MCS/Software Engineering
» Admission Requirements
» Prerequisite Undergraduate Coursework
» Transfer Credit
» Required Core Courses
| All Master of CS students must include at least one course from each of the following three core areas in their program of study. | |
|---|---|
| Programming Core Courses | |
| CS 522 | Data Mining |
| CS 525 | Advanced Database Organization |
| CS 529 | Information Retrieval Systems |
| CS 540 | Syntactic Analysis of Programming Languages |
| CS 546 | Parallel Processing |
| CS 551 | Operating System Design and Implementation |
| Systems Core Courses | |
| CS 542 | Computer Networks I: Fundamentals |
| CS 544 | Computer Networks II: Network Services |
| CS 547 | Wireless Networking |
| CS 550 | Advanced Operating Systems |
| CS 555 | Analytic Models of Simulation of Computer Systems |
| CS 570 | Advanced Computer Architecture |
| CS 586 | Software Systems Architectures |
| Theory Core Courses | |
| CS 530 | Theory of Computation |
| CS 532 | Formal Languages |
| CS 533 | Computational Geometry |
| CS 535 | Design and Analysis of Algorithms |
| CS 536 | Science of Programming |
| CS 538 | Combinatorial Optimization |
» Degree Requirements
Completing the MCS degree program requires:
- A minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework (33 for the MCS/Business).
- A GPA ≥ 3.0/4.0 in the program of study.
- Specialization courses, for students working toward an MCS with a Specialization.
Coursework used to meet degree program requirements must be listed in a student's Program of Study. This program of study must be approved before completing 9 credit hours of graduate study and must meet the following restrictions:
- It must include at least one course in each of the three core areas of Systems, Theory, and Programming.
- At least 20 of the 30 credit hours must be in ≥ 500-level CS or CS Professional courses, from the IIT CS department.
- The remaining credit hours may include CS or CS Professional courses at the ≥ 400 level and transfer credit for coursework from other IIT departments or for CS courses from other universities.
- At most 6 of the 30 credit hours can come from "short", accelerated courses.
- At most 5 of the 30 credit hours can come from CS 597 or the optional Master's Project.
- CS 401, 402, 403, and Interprofessional Projects (IPROs) cannot be applied toward the credit hour requirement.