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Admissions Requirements

Apply for admission for master's in computer science through the Graduate School. Once the Graduate School has received all of your application materials, it will be forwarded to the School’s Center for Advanced Computer Studies for a complete review.

Admission Requirements

All students applying to the master’s in computer science program must meet the Graduate School’s admission requirements.

See all of the Graduate School’s admission requirements >

In addition to meeting those requirements, the Center for Advanced Computer studies expects that you will:

  • have a four-year bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer or electrical engineering, or a related field (with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75)
  • provide a statement of purpose, especially if you are interested in research

Please see the following page that answers most questions that we receive by potential applicants: https://cmix.louisiana.edu/node/271

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Admission Deadlines

To ensure that you have received an admissions decision in time to enroll, you must complete your application by the following dates.

Semester Domestic International
Fall June 30 May 15
Spring November 30 October 1
Summer April 30 N/A

Course Prerequisites

If you meet these admission requirements, the Center for Advanced Computer Studies will assess whether you have completed required prerequisites for entry.

Core Course Prerequisites

The Center for Advanced Computer Studies expects that you will have completed the equivalent of four core courses at the senior undergraduate level.

These courses are:

  • Computer architecture (CMPS 430)
  • Programming languages (CMPS 450)
  • Operating systems (CMPS 455)
  • Databases (CMPS 460)

Computer Science & Mathematics Course Prerequisites

For the computer science master’s degree, there are additional course prerequisites in both computer science and mathematics.

The computer science prerequisites are, at minimum:

  • Software design and data structures (CMPS 405 or 260-261)
  • Assembly language programming (CMPS 351)
  • Discrete mathematics and logic design (CMPS 341)

The mathematics prerequisites for the MSCS degree are, at minimum:

  • Two courses in college-level differential and integral calculus (e.g., MATH 270, 301)

We also recommend one course in applied statistics and probability (e.g., STAT 427).

These courses are essential for success in the program and thus they are enforced prerequisites. If you don’t already have these prerequisites completed, talk to the graduate coordinator about potentially completing these courses prior to admission or alongside your graduate-level courses on campus.

Completing Prerequisites

If you are planning to complete your master's in computer science degree and have not taken these classes as an undergraduate, you will be required to take the graduate level equivalents while in the master’s program.

Because prerequisite courses form a foundation for graduate courses, you should schedule prerequisites before other courses, and complete them as soon as offerings permit. At most 6 credit hours (or 2 classes) of these prerequisite classes can be used toward computer science master’s degree requirements.