M.S. in Computer Science

The Department of Computer Science offers graduate programs leading to Computer Science degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels. The department offers a comprehensive range of courses in the field of computer science. Special emphases lie in the areas of artificial intelligence, computational biology, databases, graphics and human-computer interaction, networks, security, software engineering, and theoretical computer science. Consult the CS Graduate Student Manual for current requirements, policies, and regulations. Updated information about the faculty, staff, curriculum, and courses is found on the CS website http://www.cs.uic.edu.

The department maintains and provides full-time technical staff for several specialized research laboratories, many housed in the Engineering Research Facility. The laboratories contain over 300 workstations and servers and an extensive array of computer-based multimedia equipment. All departmental computing facilities are networked to general university computing resources and national networks, which permits high-speed access to such facilities.

• CS 401. Computer Algorithms I. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 411. Artificial Intelligence I. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 412. Introduction to Machine Learning. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 415. Computer Vision I. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 421. Natural Language Processing. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 422. User Interface Design and Programming. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 424. Visualization and Visual Analytics. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 425. Computer Graphics I. 0-4 hours.
• CS 426. Video Game Design and Development. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 440. Software Engineering I. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 441. Engineering Distributed Objects For Cloud Computing. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 442. Software Engineering II. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 450. Introduction to Networking. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 455. Design and Implementation of Network Protocols. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 466. Advanced Computer Architecture. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 469. Computer Systems Design. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 473. Compiler Design. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 474. Object-Oriented Languages and Environments. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 475. Object-Oriented Programming. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 476. Programming Language Design. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 477. Public Policy, Legal, and Ethical Issues in Computing, Privacy, and Security. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 478. Software Development for Mobile Platforms. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 480. Database Systems. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 485. Networked Operating Systems Programming. 4 or 5 hours.
• CS 486. Secure Operating System Design and Implementation. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 487. Building Secure Computer Systems. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 489. Human Augmentics. 3 or 4 hours.
• CS 491. Seminar. 1-4 hours.
• CS 493. Special Problems. 2-4 hours.
• CS 499. Professional Development Seminar. 0 hours.
• CS 501. Computer Algorithms II. 4 hours.
• CS 502. Design and Analysis of Efficient Algorithms in Computational Molecular Biology. 4 hours.
• CS 503. Applied Graph Theory. 4 hours.
• CS 505. Computability and Complexity Theory. 4 hours.
• CS 511. Artificial Intelligence II. 4 hours.
• CS 514. Applied Artificial Intelligence. 4 hours.
• CS 515. Advanced Computer Vision. 4 hours.
• CS 521. Statistical Natural Language Processing. 4 hours.
• CS 522. Human-Computer Interaction. 4 hours.
• CS 523. Multi-Media Systems. 4 hours.
• CS 524. Visualization and Visual Analytics II. 4 hours.
• CS 525. Advanced Graphics Processor Programming. 4 hours.
• CS 526. Computer Graphics II. 4 hours.
• CS 527. Computer Animation. 4 hours.
• CS 528. Virtual Reality. 4 hours.
• CS 540. Advanced Topics in Software Engineering. 4 hours.
• CS 541. Software Engineering Environments. 4 hours.
• CS 542. Distributed Software Engineering. 4 hours.
• CS 545. Formal Methods In Concurrent and Distributed Systems. 4 hours.
• CS 553. Distributed Computing Systems. 4 hours.
• CS 554. Advanced Topics in Concurrent Computing Systems. 4 hours.
• CS 559. Neural Networks. 4 hours.
• CS 560. Fuzzy Logic. 4 hours.
• CS 565. Physical Design Automation. 4 hours.
• CS 566. Parallel Processing. 4 hours.
• CS 567. Principles of Computational Transportation Science. 4 hours.
• CS 569. High-Performance Processors and Systems. 4 hours.
• CS 577. Object Stores. 4 hours.
• CS 580. Query Processing in Database Systems. 4 hours.
• CS 581. Database Management Systems. 4 hours.
• CS 582. Information Retrieval. 4 hours.
• CS 583. Data Mining and Text Mining. 4 hours.
• CS 584. Advanced Data Mining. 4 hours.
• CS 586. Data and Web Semantics. 4 hours.
• CS 587. Computer Systems Security. 4 hours.
• CS 588. Security and Privacy in Networked and Distributed Systems. 4 hours.
• CS 590. Research Methods in Computer Science. 4 hours.
• CS 594. Special Topics. 4 hours.
• CS 595. Departmental Seminar. 0 hours.
• CS 596. Individual Study. 1-4 hours.
• CS 597. Project Research. 0-9 hours.
• CS 598. M.S. Thesis Research. 0-16 hours.
• CS 599. Ph.D. Thesis Research. 0-16 hours.

Admission Requirements

Applications are considered on an individual basis by the Graduate Admissions Committee. A complete set of transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work is required before an applicant is considered. In addition to the application requirements of the Office of Admissions and the policies set by the Graduate College, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

• Baccalaureate Field Computer science or computer engineering. Outstanding candidates from other related fields with substantial course work in computer science will also be considered.
• Grade Point Average At least 3.50/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of undergraduate study.
• Tests Required GRE General scores are required for financial aid applicants and all students with degrees from outside the U.S. A total score of 308 or above (new GRE scoring system as of August 2011) on the GRE General Exam (153+ verbal, 155+ quantitative and 4.5/6.0 analytical). For the old GRE scoring system (prior to August 2011), a combined score of 1200 or above (500+ verbal, 700+ quantitative, and 4.5+/6.0 analytical). All international students are required to submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), or PTE-Academic scores as well.
• Minimum English Competency Test Score
  • TOEFL 570 PBT; 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Internet-based),OR,
  • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores, OR,
  • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
• Letters of Recommendation Two Required. Applicants for financial assistance must provide three letters of recommendation.
• Personal Statement Required.
• Deadlines The application deadline is the same as the Graduate College deadline.

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Tuition and Fee Waiver

A limited number of tuition and fee waivers are available to graduate students. These awards provide an exemption from tuition fee (including differential), service fee, health service fee, AFMFA, LITA and $125 towards the cost of Campus Care health insurance (Fall & Spring only). Students must be registered for 12 hours of study during the semester in which they receive the waiver. A student who drops below the 12-hour requirement will be responsible for all tuition and service fees for the semester. Eligibility: Students should be in full standing (if admitted on limited standing, all requirements should be satisfied before applying) and GPI should be 3.0 or higher (on 4.0 scale). These are the minimum requirements for TFW eligibility. Application Procedure: Decisions for the following academic year (Fall and Spring semesters) are made during the Summer. Students must submit a completed application to their advisor, who should return the application to the Student Affairs Office (905 SEO) by the specified date. Applications for the Spring semester should be submitted to Student Affairs Office by mid December. Registration Requirement: At least 12 hours in Fall and Spring and 6 hours in Summer.