M.S. Requirements

Note: The requirements shown below are for students starting their degree program in or after Fall 2024. Requirements for students who started before Fall 2024 may be found here.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Computer Science program requires 30 graduate credit hours with a minimum 3.0 GPA, which may optionally include 6 credit hours of thesis. At least 18 credit hours of the courses applied to the degree must be from the Department of Computer Science, and at least 24 hours must be from the College of Computing and Informatics. At least 15 credit hours must be at the 6000-level or above courses. No more than 6 credit hours may be in Individual Study. A maximum of 6 credit hours of graduate credit may be transferred from other graduate degree programs.

Core Requirements:

Select four courses, one from each core group, to satisfy the core requirements.​

Note: When picking your core courses, consider what pre-requisite courses are required by the concentration or elective courses you plan to take. The alternate version of this page found at catalog.charlotte.edu (see this link) allows you to click on a particular course and see what pre-requisites it has.

Foundation of Computing Core

AI, Robotics, and Gaming Core

Data Science and Management Core

Software, Systems, and Networks Core

Optional Concentration (9 credit hours)

Students who choose to declare a concentration must take at least 9 credit hours of courses listed in that concentration (see below). Courses used to fulfill the core requirement cannot be counted for credit in an area of concentration.

AI, Robotics, and Gaming Concentration (ARGC)

Select three of the following:

Data Science Concentration (DSC)

Select three of the following:

Information Security and Privacy Concentration (ISPC)

Required Course
Elective Courses

Select two of the following:

Software, Systems, and Networks Concentration (SSNC)

Select three of the following:

Dual Concentration

Students may request to complete two concentrations. However, no course can count towards two concentrations.

Elective Courses (0-15 credit hours)

Students who select no concentration must complete 15 credit hours of elective courses. Students who select a concentration must complete 6 credit hours or of elective courses. Students who chose to declare dual concentration will not need elective courses. Students may choose from the following elective courses:

  • ITCS 5000 – ITCS 6999
  • ITIS 5000 – ITIS 6999
  • DSBA 5000 – DSBA 6999

Comment: Note, the above is the general rule as found in the Graduate Catalog. However, whenever the Graduate Catalog description for a particular ITCS/ITIS/DSBA course has further specific restrictions or limitations, the more specific restriction supercedes the general rule above. (This is how specific vs general rules work). One example is the restriction for ITCS 6490, discussed here Catalog and here FAQ. Other restrictions may also apply, see the Graduate Catalog course descriptions for details (https://catalog.charlotte.edu/)

Capstone (3 credit hours)

Select one of the following courses. Credit hours from a capstone course may be counted towards a concentration requirement, too, if the same course is listed in that concentration. For students pursuing the M.S. Thesis, they will have to enroll in ITCS 6991 in two consecutive semesters (6 credit hours total), with the 3 credit hours satisfying the capstone requirement.