Students working toward a non-thesis online MS in CS should follow the CS Master’s Curriculum. However, the on-line course offering is more limited than the on-campus offering.

Questions regarding course selection and registration pins should be directed to bmorrow@purdue.edu.

Engineering Professional Education is responsible for all other registration aspects and delivery of the course material to the distance learning student.  Questions concerning registration, site issues, and exam proctoring, will be directed to ProEd. 

Up to six semester-hours of credit for graduate courses taken at other institutions may be transferred with the approval of the Graduate Committee and the Graduate School. The grades must be A or B or the equivalent. Application for transfer is made when the plan of study is submitted for approval. Students may ask the Graduate Committee to accept equivalent graduate courses taken at other institutions in lieu of at most two of the above courses. Requests must be submitted to the CS grad office within the first six weeks of the fall or spring semester.  Follow the link below for instruction on course transfer:

Courses used to fulfill the requirements for other degrees (at Purdue or elsewhere) are not eligible for use on master’s plans of study. The sole exception is that courses used for a doctoral degree may be used on a master’s plan of study provided the doctoral plan of study does not include any course used for any other master’s degree.

For the Non-Thesis Option

• Three core courses: CS 50200 or 56500, CS 50300 or 53600, and CS 58000 or 58800 (offered as CS 59000RA for Fall 2020). These represent the areas Systems I, Systems II, and Algorithms in the Areas and Courses Table.
• Four other courses from the table. These must include courses from at least two areas other than Systems I, Systems II, and Algorithms.
• Three more Level 5 or 6 courses (not necessarily in Computer Science), at most two of which may be individual study courses.  For each individual study course, you must submit a detailed one page course description approved and signed by the CS instructor to the graduate office.  Follow this link for a listing of courses normally approved by the Graduate Committee: Approved Courses List

For the Thesis Option

• Three core courses: CS 50200 or 56500, CS 50300 or 53600, and CS 58000 or 58800 (offered as CS 59000RA for Fall 2020). These represent the areas Systems I, Systems II, and Algorithms in the Areas and Courses Table.
• Four other courses from the table. These must include courses from at least two areas other than Systems I, Systems II, and Algorithms.
• One more Level 5 or 6 course (not necessarily in Computer Science), which may not be an individual study course. Follow this link for a listing of courses normally approved by the Graduate Committee: Approved Courses List
• At least six credit hours of CS 69800, Research. M.S. Thesis. The thesis must be presented in an oral defense before the advisory committee.
• MS thesis defense procedure instructions

For the ISCP Concentration

• Two foundational courses: CS 50010 and CS 50011
• Two core courses: CS 52600 and CS 55500
• Four focus courses chosen from these ISCP offerings: CS 52300, CS 52700, CS 52800, CS 52900, and CS 55600
• Two more Level 5 or 6 courses (not necessarily in Computer Science), which may be individual study courses. For each individual study course, you must submit a detailed one page course description approved and signed by the CS instructor to the graduate office.  Follow this link for a listing of courses normally approved by the Graduate Committee: Approved Courses List

Plan of Study

Courses used to fulfill degree requirements must be listed on a plan of study and submitted for approval by the Graduate Committee and the Graduate School well before the final session. Grades in the A range (A+, A, A-) or B range are expected, but one or two grades in the C range may be accepted if they are compensated by grades in the A range (regardless of + and -). Other grades are unacceptable. The GPA of the courses on the plan must be at least 3.0. CS 69800, Research M.S. Thesis, is not listed on the plan of study.

Master’s programs typically take three or four semesters. The practical maximum load is four courses per semester and two in the summer session. Students with assistantships rarely take more than three courses per semester and one in the summer session. Completing a master’s program within twelve months is sometimes possible for well-prepared, industrious students.