Computer Science (MSc)

Program Overview

Degree Requirements

zCandidates for the M.Sc. degree must complete five graduate three-credit courses and successfully defend a Master’s thesis if they wish to follow the Thesis Option or seven graduate three-credit courses and a project if they prefer the Project Option.

Upon acceptance to the M.Sc. program, the Candidate will meet with their thesis supervisor, who will advise them on the degree requirements and assist them in their course selection and research. The checkpoints in the M.Sc. program are listed in the following table, along with both expected and mandatory completion times, measured from entry into the program. Students also are required to submit a Progress Report each term on December 31 (Fall term) April 30 (Winter term) and August 31 (Summer term), until the completion of degree requirements.

M.Sc. Program Checkpoints

There is a breadth requirement on the selected graduate courses; at least one course must be from each of the following three groups:

• Theory of Computing and Scientific Computing
• Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Systems
• Systems: Software and Hardware

No more than one third of the course requirement can be integrated with undergraduate courses (EECS5xxx courses). Details about these groups can be found under the link to “Courses”.

M.Sc. Thesis Option

Students that choose the Thesis Option must choose an area of specialization and submit a thesis on an approved subject. The thesis work will be supervised by a faculty member of the Graduate Program. Before work on the thesis starts, the Thesis Supervisory Committee must approve of the thesis topic. M.Sc. theses are evaluated according to FGS requirements. In particular, there is an oral examination conducted by the Thesis Examining Committee.

M.Sc. Project Option

Students that choose the Project Option must choose an area of specialization and submit a project report. The Project work is supervised by a faculty member of the Graduate Program. The project is a body of work similar to a thesis in quality but of more limited scope and/or degree of originality. Project topics may include implementation and evaluation of recent published ideas, development of novel software/hardware applications or improvements of algorithms. The student and the supervisor have to agree on the topic and the exact scope of the project early and the agreement submitted in writing to the Graduate Director. The Project Report is evaluated by the Supervisor and a Reader who must also be a member of the Graduate Program.

Residency Requirements

Students must maintain a continuous registration in the Program. A year (12 months) consists of three terms: fall, winter, and summer. Students are expected to complete the Master’s Programs in no more than five terms (20 months) and the Doctoral Program in no more than twelve terms (48 months). Leaving for more than 4 weeks a term requires the permission of both the program director and the dean of FGS. According to Faculty regulations, beyond the second year of M.Sc. or M.A.Sc. study, full–time students are automatically converted to part-time, and are no longer eligible for financial support.

Program Features

The M.Sc. program covers a wide variety of sub-disciplines in Computer Science. For more information, see the list of faculty members.

Contact Information