Computer and Information Sciences, Accelerated M.S.

Dr. Shankar Banik, Department Head
843-953-5039, shankar.banik@citadel.edu

Dr. Michael Verdicchio, Program Director
843-953-6987, mv@citadel.edu

Mission

The Master of Science in Computer and Information Sciences is designed to offer day students an opportunity to attain an accelerated advanced degree in the computer science field while upgrading their skills and knowledge. The accelerated Computer and Information Sciences program is a joint program with the College of Charleston. This program is not available to undergraduates enrolled at other institutions, or who have completed a Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree at another institution.

Admission Requirements

Completion of the online graduate application submitted prior to the senior year along with the non-refundable application fee.
Submission of an official transcript of the baccalaureate degree and all other undergraduate or graduate work directly from each accredited college and university.
Applicants are expected to have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.5.
Submission of official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score. Minimum combined score of 300 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the general test (minimum of 1000 under the old grading system) and a minimum score of 4.0 on the writing assessment is required. Admission test must have been taken within the last five years.
Competency, demonstrated through coursework and approved work experience in the areas of basic Computer Architecture, Object-oriented Programming, Discrete Mathematics, and Data Structures.

Students in this program, upon admission to the Graduate School, may apply up to 12 credit hours of graduate-level coursework towards their Bachelors Degree in Computer Information Sciences
Only graduate level courses with a “B” or better may be applied to the M.S. Degree
Students should plan to take the following 4 courses in their senior year:
- CSIS 601 taught every spring (replaces CSCI 332)
- CSIS 602 taught every fall (replaces CSCI 362)
- CSIS 604 taught every fall (replaces CSCI elective)
- CSIS 605 taught every spring (replaces CSCI 310)
- Other course substitution options may be available, see the graduate director for guidance

Graduate Requirement (Non-Credit Bearing)

LDRS 500 - Introduction to Principled Leadership - The Citadel’s graduate level leadership seminar

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Computer and Information Sciences degree is conferred upon those accelerated candidates who successfully complete an approved program of study consisting of a minimum of 33 semester hours of graduate credit (of which no more than twelve graduate courses may be earned as an undergraduate at The Citadel and counted towards the Citadel undergraduate degree in Computer and Information Sciences) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. At least 11 credit hours must be taken at each institution. Students earning an M.S. in Computer and Information Science may transfer in no more than 9 graduate credit hours from another institutuion (other than The Citadel or The College of Charleston).

All degree candidates must:

Four Core Courses

Complete the following four core courses for a total of 12 hours.

CSCI 601 - Data Modeling and Database Design Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 602 - Foundations of Software Engineering Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 604 - Distributed Computer Systems Architecture Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 605 - Applied Algorithms Credit Hours: 3

Area of Specialization

Declare an area of specialization from among Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or Software Engineering, and complete four courses in that area (12 credit hours).

Computer Science Specialization

Degree candidates in the Computer Science specialization must complete four courses from the courses numbered 612, 614, 616, 618, 632, 638, 674, or 690 when approved by the department head or program director. Three of the four courses must be from the courses numbered 612, 614, 616, or 618.

CSCI 612 - Advanced Computer Architecture Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 614 - Advanced Operating Systems Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 616 - Automata Theory Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 618 - Programming Languages Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 632 - Data Communications and Networking Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 638 - Implementation of Database Management Systems Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 674 - Introduction to Computer Graphics Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 690 - Special Topics in Computing Credit Hours: 3

Cybersecurity Specialization

Degree candidates in the Cybersecurity specialization must complete the following four courses:

CSCI 614 - Advanced Operating Systems Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 631 - Privacy and Security Issues Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 632 - Data Communications and Networking Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 641 - Advanced Cybersecurity Credit Hours: 3

Information Systems specialization

Degree candidates in the Information Systems specialization must complete four courses from the courses numbered 631, 632, 634, 636, 638, 659, 672, or 690 when approved by the department head or program director. Two of the courses must be 631 and 632.

CSCI 631 - Privacy and Security Issues Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 632 - Data Communications and Networking Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 634 - Project Change and Management Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 636 - Information Technology Policy, Strategy, and Governance Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 638 - Implementation of Database Management Systems Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 659 - Service Oriented Computing Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 672 - Human Computer Interaction Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 690 - Special Topics in Computing Credit Hours: 3

Software Engineering Specialization

Degree candidates in the Software Engineering specialization must complete four courses from the courses numbered 634, 635, 654, 656, 657, 658, 659, 672, or 690 when approved by the department head or program director. Two of these courses must selected from 654/656/658, and two of the courses must be selected from 634/635/654/656/657/658/659/672/690. A student cannot take both CSCI 634 and CSCI 635 to complete this specialization.

CSCI 634 - Project Change and Management Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 635 - Fundamentals of Agile Project Management Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 654 - Software Requirements Analysis and Specification Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 656 - Software Systems Design and Implementation Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 657 - Embedded Systems Design Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 658 - Software Testing and Maintenance Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 659 - Service Oriented Computing Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 672 - Human Computer Interaction Credit Hours: 3
CSCI 690 - Special Topics in Computing Credit Hours: 3

Complete One of the Following Three Options (9 hours)

CSCI 699 - Research Thesis Credit Hours: 3 – plus 3 additional hours of 699 and one elective
CSCI 698 - Project Thesis Credit Hours: 3 – plus two electives
Three electives (nine hours)

Total Credit Hours: 33

PMGT 650 - Overview of Technical Project Management, may be substituted for CSCI 634 in satisfying degree requirements for the M.S. in Computer and Information Science. PMGT 663 , Foundations of Agile Project Management, may be substituted for CSCI 635 in satisfying degree requirements for the M.S. in Computer and Information Science. When only one CSCI 634 and CSCI 635 is permitted, the same restrictions shall extend to these substitutions.