The graduate program in applied computer science prepares students for careers in industry and provides additional instruction for professionals.  The program is an approved Professional Science Master’s program (http://www.sciencemasters.com/) designed to allow students to pursue advanced traiing in computer science, while simultaneously developing workplace skills highly valued by employers.  A set of practical courses builds on the knowledge gained from undergraduate coursework in computer science, while a required internship component gives the student real-world experience in applying this lknowledge.

Students work individually with an advisor to create a program plan. The faculty specializes in areas such as databases and data mining, computational linguistics, geospatial computing, computer graphics, game programming, distributed systems, Internet applications, computer security, and forensics. We offer some evening classes that enable working students to complete the degree requirements with minimal impact to their busy schedules.

Graduate students have opportunities to engage in research and help the department in a variety of ways. Assistantships providing tuition and a stipend are available.

Admission Requirements

Students must meet SOU admission criteria (http://www.sou.edu/admissions/graduate/) and then be approved by the department for admission to the graduate program. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis. The department evaluates applications on the basis of the following:

1. undergraduate GPA;
2. GRE general test scores;
3. three letters of recommendation from faculty;
4. a statement of objectives; and
5. undergraduate preparation in computer science.

We welcome and encourage students with backgrounds in other disciplines. Students without an undergraduate degree in Computer Science must complete the following coursework with a grade of B (or better) in order to gain full admittance to the program:

1. CS 258 - Computer Science III
    
2. CS 336 - Networks I
    
3. CS 360 - Databases
    

Students without these prerequisites may still apply for graduate admission and can be admitted as a post-baccalaureate student. If accepted, these students are guaranteed full admittance to the graduate program after successful completion of the prerequisites.