• General
• Admissions
• Course Requirements
• Admission To Candidacy
• Thesis
• Removal From the Program
• Departmental Requirements
• COSC Graduate Course Description

The M.S. degree program in Computer Science is one of the graduate degree programs of the University of Houston. Students in this program must comply with all the rules and satisfy all the requirements set by the University. In addition, the Department of Computer Science has the following rules and regulations.

A student must be admitted to the M.S. degree program by the Department of Computer Science.

1. The admission standard takes both the score for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and the Grade Point Average (GPA) over the last 60 credit hours into consideration. Typically a GPA = 3.00/4.00 and GRE = 1150 (Verbal puls Quantitative) would be satisfactory. (Note: Students whose native language is not English must obtain a TOFEL score not less than 550; in this case, a minimum GRE score of 1000 with the quantitative part no less than 600 will be considered adequate.) An applicant's background in Mathematics and Computer Science is also a deciding factor. Normally, an applicant should have at least six hours of mathematics beyond Calculus II and at least two programming courses. In addition the student must submit at least three letters of recommendation.

A student must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours subject to the following restrictions:

1. No less than 15 credit hours of Computer Science courses of 6000 level or above excluding special problems (6198, 6298, 6398, 6498, 6598), special topics( 6397), colloquia(6110), thesis(6399 and 7399),and preparatory courses (6301, 6302, 6303, 6304).
2. No more than 6 hours of 4000 level courses of which no required computer science courses in the undergraduate degree program in Computer Science may be counted. Specifically, COSC 4310 and COSC 4330 may NOT be counted. All these courses have to be with specific approval of the graduate advisor. Undergraduate courses for graduate credit will be allowed only in well-justified cases.
3. 6399, 7399 in two consecutive semesters.
4. A student must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better for all advanced computer science courses (i.e., at 4000-level or above)

Upon admittance to the department and prior to registration for any subsequent semester, every graduate student must consult the graduate advisor to set up a tentative program for course work and obtain approval for registration.

1. A student who has demonstrated an appropriate level of proficiency will be admitted to candidacy for the Master´s degree in Computer Science by approval of the Graduate Committee.
   1. Level of proficiency is defined to mean: either complete with a grade of "B-" or better, or obtain advanced placement in every one of the following eight categories:
      1. Math 1431 (Calculus I), 1432 (Calculus II), and Math 2431 (Linear Algebra)
      2. COSC 1320 (Intro to CS II).
      3. COSC 2320 (Data Structures).
      4. COSC 2410 (Computer Organization & Programming).
      5. COSC 3330 (Computer Architecture).
      6. COSC 3340 (Intro to Automata & Computability).
      7. COSC 4330 (Fundamentals of Operating Systems).
      8. COSC 4351 (Software Engineering).
      NOTE: Any course in the above categories in which a grade of "B-" or better is not made must be repeated the very next semester after having attempted the course originally.
   2. Advanced placement can be obtained by passing an examination administered by the instructor of that course. The result of the placement tests will be included in the student´s academic file.
   3. A student can make a request to take advance placement test(s) during the first four weeks of his/her first graduate study. If approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, the test must be completed with in his/her first semester. The instructor shall report the result to the Director of Graduate Studies.
   4. The courses in 3.1.1 must be completed before a student will be allowed to register in other courses which are to be counted towards his/her degree. The only exception is that a student will be allowed to register for other courses in the semester in which he will complete all courses in 3.1.1.
2. Upon admittance to candidacy, a student must enroll the following semester in 6399 and in 7399 all subsequent semesters until graduation.

The student must complete a Thesis.

1. After completing 18 credit hours of course work toward the degree, a student must enroll in 6399. He/she must subsequently enroll in 7399 each semester until graduation.
2. No later than one semester before the anticipated graduation date of the student, a Thesis advisory committee must be formed, by the student's advisor, which consists of the advisor himself and at least other two faculty members. One faculty member must be from outside the Department of Computer Science.
3. The Thesis is not considered to be complete until the student passes a comprehensive examination, which is primarily a defense of the thesis.
4. The examination will be given upon the request of the student with the approval of his advisor.
5. The thesis advisory committee will be the comprehensive examination committee.
6. The comprehensive examination is open to the University community and should be publicized by the advisor at least one week in advance.

1. Students are reminded that they must complete their degree within 5 years of their initial enrollment in the program.(See time limitation in the graduate school catalog).
2. A student will be removed from the program if he has earned a grade of "C+" or lower in 4 courses while he is enrolled as a Graduate Student in Computer Science. All other scholastic regulations as specified in the Graduate School catalog must be satisfied.

A student, at his/her own option, must satisfy either

• (a) all the requirements of the department at the time he/she enrolled as a Graduate Student in the Department, or
• (b) all the present requirements of the department subject to the exclusions stated in section 2.1. NO MIXED PETITIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED.