Program Description

The M.S. program is designed to help students increase the breadth and depth of their computer science knowledge, strengthen their software development skills, and build their research skills. Professionally-oriented students often complete industry internships, and the program has an outstanding job placement record for its graduates. Research-oriented students complete an M.S. thesis under the guidance of a faculty mentor, which usually leads to publication and provides clear evidence of the developed research skills useful for obtaining a leadership position in industry or to go on to do a Ph.D. Applications are welcomed from students whose undergraduate degree is not in computer science. In this case, a well-defined set of undergraduate prerequisites must be completed as part of the M.S. program of study.

Requirements for the Program

The M.S. program has three options: thesis, project, and exam.

On This Page

M.S. Thesis Option

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
CS 900	Graduate Seminar	1
Select eight CS graduate courses of at least 3 credits each ¹		24
CS 899	Master's Thesis ²	6
Total Credits		31

The courses must satisfy the following requirements:

Two must be implementation intensive (see list below).
At least two courses must be chosen from each of three different breadth areas (see list below).
At least two courses must be above 900.
At most one can be CS 998 Independent Study.

The student must complete a thesis under the supervision of a thesis adviser and a thesis committee of at least three members.

M.S. Project Option

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
CS 900	Graduate Seminar	1
Select ten CS graduate courses of at least 3 credits each ¹		30
CS 898	Master's Project ²	3
Total Credits		34

The courses must satisfy the following requirements:

Two must be implementation intensive (see list below).
At least two courses must be taken from each of three different breadth areas (see list below).
At least three courses must be above 900.
At most one can be CS 998 Independent Study.

The student must complete a project under the supervision of a faculty adviser.

M.S. Exam Option

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
CS 900	Graduate Seminar	1
Select ten CS graduate courses of at least 3 credits each ¹		30
Comprehensive exam that includes four different examination topics (see list below) ²
Total Credits		31

The courses must satisfy the following requirements:

Two must be implementation intensive (see list below).
At least two courses must be chosen from each of three different breadth areas (see list below).
At least three courses must be above 900.
At most one can be CS 998 Independent Study.

One topic must be from the Theory topic area. The other three should be selected from three different topic areas (which can include a second theory topic). The topic areas are as follows: a) Theory: Formal Specification and Verification; Algorithms, b) Distributed Systems, c) Artificial Intelligence, d) Computer Graphics, e) Computer Networks, f) Information Retrieval, g) Machine Learning, h) Computer Security, i) Robotics, j) Parallel and Distributed Programming

Implementation Intensive Courses

Implementation intensive courses include:

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
CS 812	Compiler Design	3
CS 830	Introduction to Artificial Intelligence	3
CS 835	Introduction to Parallel and Distributed Programming	3
CS 870	Computer Graphics	3
CS 953	Data Science for Knowledge Graphs and Text	3

Breadth Course Areas

The list below identifies the three breadth course areas and introductory (800-level) graduate courses in each group. It is also acceptable to satisfy a group requirement by taking an advanced course (900-level) in the specified area. (Note that there are courses in the curriculum that are not in any of the identified groups.)

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Artificial Intelligence
CS 830	Introduction to Artificial Intelligence	3
CS 833	Mobile Robotics	3
CS 850	Machine Learning	3
CS 857	Mathematical Optimization for Applications	3
CS 931	Planning for Robots	3
CS 933	Human Robot Interaction	3
CS 950	Advanced Machine Learning	3
CS 953	Data Science for Knowledge Graphs and Text	3
Systems
CS 820	Systems Programming	3
CS 823	Performance Evaluation of Computer Systems	3
CS 825	Computer Networks	3
CS 827	Computer Security	3
CS 853	Information Retrieval	3
CS 920	Distributed Systems and Algorithms	3
CS 925	Advanced Computer Networks	3
CS 927	Software Security Analysis	3
Software
CS 812	Compiler Design	3
CS 835	Introduction to Parallel and Distributed Programming	3
CS 845	Formal Specification and Verification of Software Systems	3
CS 858	Algorithms	3
CS 870	Computer Graphics	3
CS 871	Web Programming Paradigms	3
CS 875	Database Systems	3
MCBS 913	Applied Bioinformatics	3

Application Requirements & Deadlines

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Deadlines

Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:

Fall: March 1 (for funding); April 1 (final)
Spring: Dec. 1
Summer: N/A
Special: N/A

Application fee: $65

Campus: Durham

New England Regional: No

Accelerated Masters: Yes (for more details see the accelerated masters information page)

New Hampshire Residents

Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission or you will not be able to register for classes.

Transcripts

If you attended UNH after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester and UNH Non-Degree work.

If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must request one official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. International transcripts must be translated into English. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:

Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.

Transcripts are required for any school you earned a degree from, attended for at least one year, or attended for 2 or more semesters. Exceptions to this rule may be approved at the discretion of the program you are applying to and the UNH Graduate School Admission’s office.

Letters of recommendation: 3 required

Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.

Test Scores: GRE Required

GRE General test scores are normally required but may be waived for students who have taken computer science courses at UNH. If required, request official test scores to be sent directly to the Graduate School by the testing service. Test scores more than five years old are not acceptable. Student copies and photo copies of scores are not considered official. Our CEEB code is 3918.

For general information about test scores required for admission into our programs please visit our Test Scores webpage.

Personal Statement/Essay Questions

Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:

Reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives.
Your specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field.

Important Notes

All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program specific application questions.

International Applicants

The University of New Hampshire recommends that international applicants who are living outside of the United States, and are planning on pursuing a research based degree, submit a preapplication form before submitting a full application. Your preapplication request will be carefully reviewed and a decision usually provided within 3 weeks. If your preapplication is approved then it is recommended you then submit a full application. If you are currently living in the United States (on a H1B visa, etc.), or you plan on pursuing a professional master’s degree, then you do not need to submit a preapplication.

Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.

International applicants to this program with low TOEFL scores may be eligible for our Bridge Program.

Prerequisite requirements for students without a Computer Science degree

The computer science graduate program is designed for students with a B.S. degree in computer science. However, applications from students whose undergraduate degree is not in computer science are also welcome. In this case, a well-defined set of undergraduate prerequisites must be completed as part of the M.S. program of study. The prerequisites include an introduction to computer science, object-oriented programming, data structures, machine organization, operating systems, and computer science theory.

These prerequisites can be satisfied at UNH by the following undergraduate courses:

CS 415, Introduction to Computer Science I
CS 416, Introduction to Computer Science II
CS 515, Data Structures
CS 520, Assembly Language Programming and Machine Organization
CS 620, Operating System Fundamentals
CS 659, Introduction to the Theory of Computation
Some students may need to take additional mathematics classes.

Students without a B.S. or M.S. in computer science are not normally admitted directly into the Ph.D. program, but it is possible to transfer from the M.S. program to the Ph.D. program.

Applicants must submit current scores (within five years) for the general test of the GRE. Students who have taken computer science courses at UNH can request a waiver of this requirement.

Computer Science (M.S.)