Program Overview
The Accelerated M.S. Program targets undergraduate students majoring in Computer Science at TSU. It provides them with the opportunity to complete a Master of Science in Computer Science (M.S. in CS) degree program within two semesters upon completing their Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (B.S. in CS) degree program. The existing M.S. in CS program requires completion of 33 credit hours of coursework. The Accelerate M.S. in CS program uses course substitutions for 9 credit hours of undergraduate courses, i.e., it allows the undergraduate students to take 9 credit hours of graduate courses during their undergraduate matriculation and use these courses to substitute for the related undergraduate courses. The additional 9 credit hours of graduate courses will be added to the minimum 120 credit hours of graduation requirements for the B.S. in CS program. The remaining 15 credit hours of coursework will be completed as a graduate student at TSU. The program is integrated with the current programs at the department. Therefore, the students will be graduating with one of the three concentrations offered by the department for the MS in CS program: (1) high-performance computing and bioinformatics, (2) cybersecurity and networking, and (3) data science.
Admission Requirements
All students desiring to enroll in this program must apply through the Engineering Centralized EngineeringCAS application system, School of Graduate and Professional Studies. To be admitted to the program, students should demonstrate a readiness to succeed in the graduate program. To do this, students should meet the following criteria:
- The applicant must be in the process of completing or have already completed 90 hours of required undergraduate coursework towards his/her B.S. in CS degree in the Department of Computer Science.
- The applicant must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale or a GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale for coursework in computer science only.
The application materials of each applicant will be evaluated by a committee.
Course Substitution Table
The following table shows the list of the graduate courses that substitute undergraduate coursework. Note that the student will not be allowed to enroll in a graduate course until the prerequisite requirement of its correspondent undergraduate course in the table is fulfilled. The three (3) graduate courses with 9 credit hours can be taken from the list of M.S. courses depending on the preferred concentration.
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Graduate Courses - Substitutes
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Undergraduate Courses
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COMP 5200 - Advanced Algorithms
Design and Analysis
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COMP 4700 - Algorithms
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COMP 5720 - Cryptography and
Computer Security
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COMP 4720 - Cryptography and Computer Security
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COMP 5750 - Computer Network
Management and Security
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COMP 4750 - Computer Network Management
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COMP 6100 Bioinformatics and
Computational Biology
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COMP 4820 - Intro to Bioinformatics Computing
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COMP XXXX - Course Title
See NOTE: below
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COMP 4900/4910 - Special Topics: Course Title
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NOTE: the Department typically offers COMP 4900/4910 - Special Topics course every semester with a different special topic in computer science.
Also, COMP 4900/4910 is typically dual listed with a corresponding graduate course. For example,
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COMP 5600 - Mobile App Development
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COMP 4910 Special Topics: Mobile App Development
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COMP 5520 - High-Performance Computing
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COMP 4910 - Special Topics: High-Performance Computing
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Non-Thesis and Thesis Options
The proposed program requires completion of either a 6-credit hour thesis, for the thesis option, or 6 credit hours of design-based courses, for the non-thesis option. For the thesis option, a thesis manuscript and an oral presentation are required to document the student’s research activity. A thesis committee will supervise the student’s thesis work. The committee will consist of three faculty members, including the thesis chair. At least two of the committee members must be computer science graduate faculty. The chair must be a computer science faculty member with graduate faculty credentials. For the non-thesis option, 6 credit hours of design-based courses are required. These courses will be selected from an approved list with the consent of the student’s advisor. These courses feature a strong project and design component.
Retention Requirements
The following is a list of the retention requirements:
- Students are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 throughout the program. After completion of nine semester hours of graduate work, if the student’s cumulative GPA at the end of the given semester falls below 3.00, the student will be placed on probation. A student who fails to attain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 during the next semester enrolled will be suspended.
- Students must have a grade of B or better in all core courses and may not have more than two C grades in other courses used to meet degree requirements.
- Students who have repeated a core course and failed to achieve a grade B or higher will be dismissed from the program.
- The maximum time allowed for completion of the master’s degree is six calendar years. All requirements for the M.S. in CS degree must be completed within the six-year period beginning with the student’s first term of enrollment in a graduate course.
- Students dismissed from the program will not be readmitted.
- In the Accelerated M.S. Program, if the student is dismissed from the program, any graduate course taken from the substitution table above with a grade of D or better while in the accelerated program can still be counted toward the B.S. degree.
Program Duration
Usually, a student needs about four (4) semesters to complete the coursework. Most students can finish within these two years, but sometimes, students need to take one or two semesters more to finish their studies.
Transfer of Credits
At the master’s level, a student may transfer a maximum of twelve (12) semester hours or eighteen (18) quarter hours of graduate credit. At the specialist’s and doctoral level, a maximum of six (6) semester hours may be transferred. Only courses in which the student earned grades “B” or better, and which are taken within the degree program time limit, will be considered for transfer.
Degree Requirements
The M.S. in Computer Science program has two tracks: (a) a non-thesis program that requires 33 hours of coursework or (b) the thesis program that requires completion 27 hours of coursework and a thesis. The thesis option is strongly recommended for the students who intend to pursue a doctoral degree. The Master of Science degree in Computer Science will require the following:
- Admission of all degree-seeking students to candidacy for the degree after the completion of nine (9) graduate credit hours in residence at the University. The student must file an Admission to Candidacy form with the Graduate School prior to the semester in which graduation is desired.
- A minimum of 33 credit hours of graduate work, including 18 credit hours of required graduate core courses, with the following conditions for the Non-Thesis Option and Thesis Option:
Non-thesis Option:
The student must complete 33 credit hours of graduate computer science coursework.
Thesis Option:
The student must complete 27 credit hours of graduate computer science coursework and 6 credit hours of thesis work. A thesis is documented by a report and an oral presentation is required. A thesis committee will supervise the student’s thesis work. The committee will consist of 3 faculty members including the thesis chair. At least 2 of the committee members must be computer science graduate faculty. The chair must be computer science faculty.
Accreditation Information
Master of Science in Computer Science program is a non-accredited degree. Non-accreditable graduate programs in Tennessee must undergo either an academic audit or external peer review on a pre-approved review cycle. Program Review Rubric lists the criteria used to evaluate a program. This rubric consists of 32 criteria. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) uses these criteria to assess standards and distribute points to graduate programs. A self-study report is usually prepared to comprehensively review the Computer Science (M.S.) degree program in the College of Engineering at Tennessee State University (TSU).
Career Opportunities
Most of the students who graduated from the M.S. program secure jobs in the computer science industry. Some students continue in the PhD programs.
Faculty Credentials
All faculty who teaches in the College of Engineering meet the SACSCOC guidelines for credentials, per review of their transcripts and credentials by the College of Engineering and the Division of Academic Affairs. They hold Ph.D. degrees from respected institutions in areas related to the concentrations they teach. They have also been reviewed by the Graduate Council and certified as Graduate Faculty. Further, as all the CS undergraduate degree programs are accredited by ABET, these faculty also possess the credentials deemed appropriate for their respective programs at the undergraduate level.
Program Coordinator/Contact Information
Tamara Rogers, Ph.D., Interim Chair and Associate Professor
Office: McCord Hall 005R
Phone: 615-963-1520
trogers3@tnstate.edu
Fenghui Yao, Ph.D., Professor and Program Coordinator
Office: McCord Hall 005G
Phone: 615-963-5875
fyao@tnstate.edu
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