As a master’s student in computer science, you will be in a professional degree program
that will prepare you for a career in the field, through intensive coursework and
the department’s internship requirement—one that can be satisfied by suitable employment.
Immersed in challenging, advanced coursework, you will become well versed in topics
such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, algorithms, database systems and
computer networks. You also will have opportunities to conduct independent as well
as student-faculty research and develop software applications and systems through
individual and team projects—projects that will become a valuable addition to your
portfolio while clearly demonstrating your skills to future employers.
The list of forward-looking careers for which you will be prepared include:
“I was able to use my computer science expertise both professionally and academically
thanks to the MSCS program. The academics at Duquesne are outstanding; with their
guidance, students can succeed.”
—Nida Malik
International Students
If you do not have an approved waiver of language testing, regular admission to the
MSCS program requires language scores of 80 TOEFL (iBT), 6.5 IELTS or 105 Duolingo
English. Also note that we offer a Pathway Program for students who need to improve their English language skills but want to take some
computer science coursework at the same time. Pathway can last up to three semesters, and the GRE is not required.
Once you successfully complete the Pathway Program, you will be directly admitted
to the MSCS program with 6 graduate credits earned toward your degree. The Pathway Program requires applicants to have earned iBT (TOEFL) test scores of at least 60,
IELTS scores of at least 5.5 or Duolingo scores of at least 85 prior to starting the
program and to have an appropriate background in computer science.
For all applicants, there is no fee for the initial online application. But you may
need to pay a fee to a third party in order to submit supporting materials, such as
international credit evaluations and satisfactory test scores on the TOEFL for non-English
language speakers.
Program Features
The computer science M.S. degree offers:
Convenience: All courses offered evenings.
Courses taught by accessible and experienced Ph.D. faculty with deep knowledge of
the field.
30 credit hours that can be completed in 1.5 years.
Ability to obtain a degree without the requirement of comprehensive examinations.
Potential to participate in faculty research projects, publish findings and present
work nationally and internationally.
Languages and tools used in courses will vary, but might include C/C++, C#, Python,
Java, JavaScript, Ruby, Prolog, Scheme, MATLAB, Maple, NASM, SQL, NoSQL, HTML, CSS,
XML, NodeJS, Docker, git, Eclipse and Visual Studio.
Competitive tuition.
B.S./M.S. Accelerated Program
Qualified undergraduate students in computer science can apply for our combined B.S./M.S.
degree program after they have earned at least 60 credits toward their undergraduate
degree. Under this program, you can potentially earn an M.S. in computer science with
one year of study after completing your bachelor's, rather than the two or more years
that might otherwise be required.
To earn both the B.S. and M.S. degrees, you must earn at least 150 credits, 30 of
which must be graduate (500-level or above) credits fulfilling requirements of the
master's in computer science program. No more than 15 of these 30 graduate credits
can be taken while you are an undergraduate.
As an undergraduate student enrolled in the combined-degrees program, you’ll also
enjoy the following advantages:
Automatic approval for enrolling in computer science graduate courses, as long as
the course prerequisites are met.
Provisional graduate admission before completion of the undergraduate degree (this
becomes regular admission once the B.S. is earned, assuming that the entrance QPA
requirements listed below are maintained).
Freedom from concern during your senior year with graduate school applications and
admission decisions.
Application Requirements
Students must complete Duquesne's online application, including submission of an updated
resume.
Application submission deadlines:
Fall admission: July 1
Spring admission: December 1
Graduate assistantship: February 1 for assistantships beginning in the fall (currently,
assistantships only begin in the fall).
Applicants should be sure to indicate on their application that they are requesting
an assistantship and provide GRE general exam scores.
Students should submit official transcripts from previous educational institutions.
These educational institutions should send the transcripts directly to Duquesne University.
Students must submit two letters of recommendation, at least one of which should be
from a reference who can comment meaningfully on your prior academic performance.
A personal statement of at most 500 words that explains why you are applying to the
Computational Mathematics and Statistics program and provides any other information
you wish the admissions committee to have.
GRE scores are recommended for admission and required for assistantship applications
(the Duquesne school code is 2196 and the department code is 0402).
Program Requirements
One core course must be taken from each of the following four core areas:
COSC 510 or 511 Advanced Operating Systems and Computer Architecture
COSC 512 or 513 Artificial Intelligence and Data Management Systems
COSC 514 or 515 Networks and Security
COSC 516 or 517 Algorithms and Models of Computation
Advanced courses build on the core courses and provide more depth in the core areas.
COSC 521 Automated Theorem Proving
COSC 522 Data Compression
COSC 523 Machine Learning
COSC 524 Natural Language Processing
COSC 525 String Processing
COSC 560 Algorithms/Graph Theory
A requirement of the program is to gain useful, real-world experience applying the
tools and concepts acquired in the course of study.
If you have no prior, relevant work experience, you will be required to complete an
internship or employment experience, typically during the summer term.
If you have prior, relevant work experience, you may satisfy the internship requirement
by submitting suitable materials. These materials include an academic reflection that
addresses the skills, knowledge, techniques and design principles related to computer
science acquired in your work, along with a portfolio of related work projects, including
design documents, programs and documentation as appropriate, which demonstrate a mastery
of these areas.
All Duquesne students have access to Handshake through the Center for Career Development as one of the tools in finding internships.
The computer science electives must be at the 500 level or above. If a core area has
been satisfied, any additional course taken in that core area may be counted as an
elective.
Yu may take up to six credits of 500-level courses outside the program with departmental
approval. These credits may be earned at Duquesne or at other approved institutions,
including at Carnegie Mellon or the University of Pittsburgh through cross-registration.
COSC 530 Web-based Systems
COSC 531 Parallel and Distributed Computing
COSC 532 Data Visualization
COSC 533 Compilers
COSC 535 Theory of Programming Languages
CPMA 551 Digital Image Processing
CPMA 565 Numerical Methods
CPMA 566 Operations Research
CPMA 573 Statistical Computing
You must have a 4-year bachelor's degree, or a 3-year degree followed by a master's,
in computer science or closely related field covering material at least equivalent
to Duquesne University's undergraduate majors-level courses inoperating systems,algorithms and their prerequisites.
Applications from students who have completed only a 3-year undergraduate degree without
a master's degree will not be considered.
If you have not completed all of the appropriate coursework, you might be admitted
provisionally, but if so you will be required to satisfactorily complete missing foundational
courses as specified abovebeforetaking any graduate courses. This foundational coursework will not count toward the
necessary graduate credits.
The GRE examination is not required for admission but is recommended for all applicants
and is required for applicants wishing to be considered for an assistantship.
FAQs
About the Master's in Computer Science
Duquesne does not charge a fee for graduate applications. However, if you wish to
be considered for an assistantship, the GRE general exam is required, and if you are
an international applicant, you might need transcript evaluation and/or English language testing. We are unable to waive any fees that might be charged
by third parties for such services.
Language testing waivers can be granted for a variety of reasons, such as having earned
a post-secondary degree from an accredited university entirely in English.
An MSCS student must enroll in at least 6 credits (typically 2 three-credit courses)
in a semester to be considered full-time for that semester.
For 2022-23, the MSCS tuition is $1,054 per credit, and students must earn a total
of at least 30 credits to complete the program.
Note that the current MSCS tuition rate is approximately 25% less than the typical
program in Duquesne's Graduate School of Liberal Arts. There is also a one-time $125
fee for new international students. Estimates for other expenses, such as health insurance
and living expenses, can be found at our admissions page.
See the previous answer regarding the discounted tuition rate for MSCS courses relative
to most other liberal arts programs. For spring 2023, no financial assistance is expected
to be available.
For fall 2023, we hope to be able to offer one teaching assistantship which would
include some level of tuition remission and a stipend. To be considered for a teaching
assistantship, an applicant should indicate their interest in response to the appropriate
question in the application system and submit GRE general exam scores.
Students are also encouraged to consider possible external sources of financial assistance.
Although the MSCS program requires all students to complete an appropriate internship
(or provide evidence of prior relevant work experience), we do not arrange internships.
Duquesne's Center for Career Development does support students seeking internships by providing access to the Handshake employment-search
system, hosting job and internship fairs, leading resume and interview skills workshops,
etc.
The MSCS program is designed with employed students in mind. All program courses
are scheduled to meet from 6 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. Eastern time. You have at least six
years to complete the program, so you can potentially earn your degree even when completing
only two courses most years and taking a leave for a semester or two.
Generally speaking, we expect students to attend class in person. However, we will
consider requests for remote accommodation on a case-by-case basis.
Admitted students can request a deferral of their admission for a variety of reasons. Note that this request should be submitted at least 10
business days before the original entry date and that you will need to pay an enrollment
deposit before a deferral will be granted.
Each application to the MSCS program is reviewed by a faculty committee that sends
its recommendation to the dean of liberal arts for a final decision. Therefore, no
one person can answer the question of whether an application will be accepted. The
only way to obtain an answer to this question is to submit a full application through
the application system for review.
That said, if an application shows very little or no background in computer science,
it is unlikely that the applicant will be admitted to the MSCS program, even provisionally.
We aim to communicate decisions to applicants within three weeks of the completed
application reaching the faculty admission committee. However, at times we have received
many applications in a short period of time. Such a situation might lead to slighly
longer response times.
Before beginning the MSCS program, students must have successfully competed either
a four-year or a three-year degree and a master's degree. Therefore, we will not consider
applications from students who expect to have completed only a three-year degree by
the semester for which they are applying.
Pittsburgh offers a wide variety of housing options. The University's Office of Commuter
Affairs maintains an off-campus housing information page.
For information about the MSCS program requirements, courses and related issues, browse
the MSCS web site, or contact the program director using the information in the left sidebar of this
page.
Student Funding
Outstanding applicants may qualify for a limited number of graduate assistantships.
Graduate assistantships provide full or partial tuition remission and a stipend.
Teaching assistants primarily lead undergraduate labs and tutor undergraduate students.
If it is mutually agreeable, they might also have full responsibility for teaching
an introductory course.
Research assistantships may be available subject to grant funding.
Applications that include an assistantship request will be considered for the fall
term only and must be submitted by February 1. Note that to be considered for an assistantship,
GRE general exam scores are required.
All students are required to have either relevant job experience or an internship
before completing their degrees. Duquesne's location in the heart of Pittsburgh, the
demand for students with the skill sets we teach and the many local employers who
have Duquesne alumni as employees all facilitate placements. The internship requirement
can be met through either paid or volunteer internships. All Duquesne students are
able to use Handshake through the Center for Career Services to assist in finding
internships.
