Online Master of Computer Science

2021

Spring B – March 15, 2021 | Application deadline: February 15, 2021
Summer 2021 – May 17, 2021 | Application deadline: April 19, 2021
Fall A 2021 – August 19, 2021 | Application deadline: July 22, 2021

A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 in the last 60 credit hours (last two years) of a four-year undergraduate degree. If your degree was completed in the U.S., it must be from a regionally accredited university.

Students who are applying who have previously completed graduate-level coursework must have a minimum post-baccalaureate/graduate GPA of 3.00.

Don't yet meet these admission requirements? Learn more about the pathway or a professional certification by clicking on the nondegree tab below.

Two (2) semesters of advanced math in Calculus I and Calculus II (6 credit hours of Calculus), and a background course in Discrete Math*.

Applicants with an undergraduate degree in a STEM field have likely completed the math requirement.

*Discrete Math is not always a separate class at all universities, taking a course that covers data structures and algorithms may also fulfill this requirement. If an applicant has never done algorithms, they may not have the proper background for the program.

Students joining the MCS program are expected to have programming knowledge in a variety of languages, including but not limited to: C/C++ Java, Python and HTML.

Students must also have demonstrated knowledge on official transcripts of the topics below.

CSE 230: Computer Organization and Assembly Language Programming

• Register-level computer organization. Instruction set architecture. Assembly language. Processor organization and design. Memory organization. IO programming. Exception/interrupt handling.

CSE 310: Data Structures and Algorithms

• Advanced data structures and algorithms, including stacks, queues, trees (B, B+, AVL), and graphs. Searching for graphs, hashing, external sorting.

CSE 330: Operating Systems

• Operating system structure and services, processor scheduling, concurrent processes, synchronization techniques, memory management, virtual memory, input/output, storage management, and file systems.

Principles of Programming Languages OR Introduction to Theoretical Computer Science

• CSE 340: Principles of Programming Languages — Formal syntactic and semantic descriptions, compilation and implementation issues, and theoretical foundations for several programming paradigms.

• CSE 355: Introduction to Theoretical Computer Science — Introduces formal language theory and automata, Turing machines, decidability/undecidability, recursive function theory, and complexity theory.

Are you a non-computer science undergrad?

If you don’t have these topics on your transcript but have a strong understanding of them, you can take the prerequisite knowledge exams. If you complete the exams with the grade outlined in the respective syllabi, you will satisfy that prerequisite knowledge requirement.

To access these exams and the accompanying refresher courses, click here.

To pursue the pathway or a professional certification (also known as the Coursera MasterTrack™ Certificate), you must submit a nondegree application. See instructions for each option below.

Pathway

The pathway offers you an opportunity to establish a high graduate GPA in order to meet admission requirements.

Through the pathway, you choose and complete any three 500-level courses that are part of the Master of Computer Science program as a nondegree student. If you complete all three courses with a 3.00 GPA on the first attempt within 18 months, you’ve demonstrated the ability to succeed in the subject matter and can apply to the degree program using this new GPA. The courses you complete in the pathway with a B or better will apply toward the master’s degree in computer science, once admitted.

Additionally, students who complete nine graduate credits with a 3.00 or better do not need to demonstrate English proficiency. Therefore, if you successfully complete the pathway, you’ll have satisfied the English proficiency requirement.

To pursue the pathway, please follow these steps:

1. Submit your computer science graduate nondegree application here
   • Be sure to select Nondegree in the upper lefthand corner when you start your application. Make sure you select Master of Computer Science in the nondegree application under Plan.
   • If you don’t see this option, make sure you only start the application from the link above.
   • If you wish to save and complete the application at a later time, you must reach the Institution Information section and save before exiting.
   • Please note: If you don’t enroll in the semester in which you are admitted, you must submit a new application and pay the application fee.
2. The ASU admission team will review the application and notify you by email if any additional steps are required or upon admission.
   • All official emails will go to your ASU student Gmail account.

Professional certification (also known as a Coursera MasterTrack™ Certificate)

If you’re not sure you want to pursue the full degree yet or you only want to focus on a specific topic, you can pursue a professional certification for ASU credit (also known as a Coursera MasterTrack™ Certificate.)

To receive a professional certification, you must successfully complete the three specific online Master of Computer Science courses (nine credit hours) outlined on the respective Coursera MasterTrack™ Certificate page with a B or better on your first attempt.

To pursue a professional certification, please begin by submitting your application on the Coursera MasterTrack™ Certificate page of interest:

• AI and Machine Learning
• Big data
• Cybersecurity
• Software engineering