500 West 15th Street
325 Computer Science Bldg.
Rolla, MO 65409
(573) 341-4491 csdept@mst.edu
Master of Science in Computer Science
The Computer Science faculty at Missouri S&T have active research
programs with a broad range of scholarly interests. These interests include
distributed/embedded computing, security, algorithms and complexity, data
mining, artificial intelligence, machine learning, software quality, formal
methods, internet computing, database systems, graphical user interfaces,
parallel computing, and wireless computing. Our current student population
boasts a GRE quantitative score of 730 and a written score of 4.5.
Research within the department may be disciplinary or interdisciplinary.
Often Missouri S&T Computer Science graduate students work in a large group
setting with faculty from many departments examining advanced research problems
in Software Engineering, Critical Infrastructure Protection, and
Bioinformatics.
Cooperation between students and faculty at this advanced level is a
hallmark of Missouri S&T Computer Science research. For the M.S. in
Computer Science, the department's philosophy is to have the student take a
substantial fraction of his or her work in one of the principal areas. The
student may choose the thesis or non-thesis option.
NEW!
The M.S. degree is now offered through distance. Distance education courses
use streaming internet video for course delivery. In this setting, students
actively participate in classes by viewing the class on their computer while
being interactively connected by telephone. Lectures are archived so they may
be reviewed at any time during the semester. Instructors are available outside
of class time by e-mail and telephone. The program requirements are the same as
the on-campus program described below.
Entrance Requirements – Effective for Fall Semester 2008
Applicants are expected to have the following minimum qualifications before
being admitted as a "regular" graduate student:
A minimum GRE verbal score of 370
A minimum combined GRE quantitative and analytic score of 1200 or GRE
Quantitative = 700 and WR score >=4.0
A minimum TOEFL score of 570 (CBT >=230 OR IBT >=89), for those
students not speaking English as their native language
An undergraduate GPA of 3.0/4.0 or better over the last 2 years, or successful
completion of 12 graduate Hours in Computer Science as a "conditional"
graduate student at Missouri S&T with at least a 3.0 GPA.
Knowledge of the following:
1. Strong
Math Skills
2. Competency
in a Modern Programming language
3. Computer
Science Core including:
* Algorithms
& Data Structures
* Computer
Organization/Architecture
* Database
& File Structures
* Discrete
Mathematics & Automata
* Operating
Systems
* Software
Engineering
* Master Students are expected to satisfy their 400 level course
requirements using Computer Science courses
The M.S. degree with thesis requires the completion of 24 hours of graduate
course work (a minimum of 12 at the 400 level), 6 hours of research, and the
successful completion and defense of a research thesis.
Non-Thesis Option
The M.S. degree without thesis requires the completion of 30 hours of
graduate coursework (a minimum of 18 at the 400 level).
Required Courses
All M.S. students must enroll in and satisfactorily complete CS 355 -
Analysis of Algorithms prior to completing their M.S. program, if not already
taken.
Emphasis Areas
Currently, there are three emphasis areas in the CS Department:
Bioinformatics Emphasis Area
Bioinformatics is any application of computational methods to address
biological problems. Although often used to refer to analysis of genomic
information, bioinformatics is defined broadly by the NSF and NIH as
"research, development, or application of computational tools and
approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral or health
data, including those to acquire, store, organize, archive, analyze, or
visualize such data." Missouri S&T's bioinformatics research program
specializes in visualization of biological data sets, parallel algorithm
development and algorithmic theory for biological data analysis, and management
of biological databases.
To obtain an emphasis in Bioinformatics, the student takes the following
courses as part of their M.S. degree program:
Data Base Systems (CS 304): normalization and functional
dependencies, transaction models, concurrency and locking, time stamping,
serializability, recovery techniques, and query planning and optimization
Data Mining & Knowledge Discovery (CS 404): data knowledge
representation and knowledge acquisition, machine learning and neural
networks
Bioinformatics (CS 311): application of computational methods to
biology with problems in molecular, structural, morphological, and bio
diversity informatics
Advanced Bioinformatics (CS 401 soon to be CS 411): a
continuation of CS 311
Java GUI and Visualization (CS 342): Java classes with an eye towards
algorithm visualization
Web Data Management and XML (CS 412): semi-structured data models and
XML, query languages such as Xquery, XML indexing, and mapping of XML views and
schema management change detection, web mining and security
Critical Infrastructure Protection Emphasis Area
Critical Infrastructure Protection is a multi-disciplinary study dedicated
to improving the security, reliability, and survivability of the
infrastructures that play a vital role in the effective functioning of our
nation. Missouri S&T's specialty focuses on the critical hardware/software
integrated systems that make up the nation's critical infrastructures. Missouri
S&T's CS department focuses on the Software Engineering aspects of Critical
Infrastructure Systems, Wireless Computing Technologies, Artificial
Intelligence, Distributed Computing, Security, Fault Tolerance, and
Visualization. The intention is to improve the quality, survivability,
security, and reliability of critical systems using the broadest-based
technology possible, to grow a workforce aware of and trained in security
(physical and cyber), and to stimulate the economic viability of US
corporations and institutions by improving the security, reliability, and
survivability of their critical infrastructures.
To obtain an emphasis in Critical Infrastructure Protection, the student
takes at least four out of the following courses as part of their M.S. degree
program (two of them must be at 400 level):
Distributed Operating Systems(CS 384): algorithms used in the
creation of modern (distributed) operating systems
Distributed Systems Theory and Analysis(CS 484): advanced
analysis using formal methods
Computer Communications and Networks (CS 385): network architecture
model, security, and wireless with implementations
Advanced Topics in Wireless Networking (CS 401 to become CS
485):cellular networks, ad hoc networks, wireless LAN'S and security
Computer Security (CS 483): vulnerabilities and threats to
information in cyberspace, principles and techniques for preventing and
detecting threats, and recovering from attacks
Mobileand Sensor Data Management (CS 486): architectures,
Mobile-IP, broadcasting, replication, caching fault tolerance, ad hoc and
sensor routing, keys
Software Testing and Quality Assurance (CS 307): unit, subsystem,
system, object-oriented, and specification, testing, software quality
Object Oriented Analysis and Design (CS 308): principles, mechanisms,
and methodologies in object-oriented analysis and design
Software Engineering Emphasis Area
Missouri S&T's Computer Science program provides a full unified software
lifecycle experience over the entire course of the student's CS education at
Missouri S&T. This experience includes software project management in its
many roles, ranging from overall project management and process improvement to
the management of individual lifecycle components, including software
deployment and evolution. Missouri S&T's software engineering research
program specializes in software quality, software testing, hardware/software
co-design, and formal methods of software specification and verification,
software requirements engineering and software process improvement, and
algorithm theory.
To obtain an emphasis in Software Engineering, the student takes the
following courses as part of their M.S. degree program:
Requirements Engineering, (CS 301 will become CS 309):
elicitation of software requirements
Software Testing and Quality Assurance (CS 307): unit, subsystem,
system, object-oriented, and specification, testing, software quality
Object Oriented Analysis and Design (CS 308): principles, mechanisms,
and methodologies in object-oriented analysis and design
Software Engineering II (CS 406): software metrics used in the life
cycle
Departmental Seminars
The Computer Science Department sponsors a weekly seminar presented by a
combination of departmental faculty members, graduate students, and external
speakers. Regular attendance is required by all graduate students. (See schedule)
Financial Aid for M.S. and Ph.D. Students
Financial assistance is available to graduate students at Missouri S&T
in the form of assistantships and fellowships. Half-time assistants devote
approximately 20 hours per week to laboratory supervision or other departmental
duties, including research, and/or teaching, and receive a stipend of $16,325
per academic year for the 2007-2008 school year. Applications for these
assistantships may be obtained here. For priority consideration, this application
should be submitted by January 1 of each year for the ensuring fall
semester.
All applicants for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) MUST
satisfactorily complete a five-day Instructional Communication Workshop during
the week prior to registration week. One aspect of this workshop is the
assessment period at the end of the workshop. Each individual will demonstrate
the ability to communicate by presenting a brief introduction to a subject in
the appropriate discipline. A panel of four individuals, one from the workshop
faculty, two students, and one faculty member from the potential teaching
assistants' department, will evaluate the candidates' performance at the end of
the workshop. A GTA may be granted to the individual only if this assessment
period is judged satisfactory.
Additional Information
Additional information pertaining to the Computer Science program may be
obtained by writing to Dr. Bruce McMillin, Graduate Coordinator, Computer
Science Department, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 325 Computer
Science Bldg., 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, MO 65409-0350 or through e-mail to: ff@mst.edu.
For additional information and requirements pertaining to graduate school,
please consult the Graduate Catalog, which may be obtained by writing
to the Admission's Office, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 106
Parker Hall, 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, MO 65409-1060.
For general information concerning graduate school regulations, consult the
Graduate Student Handbook, which is available from the Graduate Studies Office,
Missouri University of Science and Technology, 118 Fulton Hall, 1870 Miner
Circle, Rolla, MO 65409-1130.