1. What are the requirements for admission to the Master’s in Computer Science?
For admission, you must meet UWM’s graduate school admission requirements. These include English proficiency requirements.
There are different additional requirements for each track.
Professional Track Admission Requirements
You should have successfully completed two courses in programming, or gained equivalent experience through self-study or in employment (please describe in your reason statement). You may be required to take remedial programming courses unless you place out of them using our placement examinations, which can be taken only once.
Regular Track Admission Requirements
You should have completed a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or in Computer Engineering (if it has a strong Computer Science core) with an excellent overall evaluation from a respected university.
2. What is the deadline for application?
- Fall: March 15
- Spring: September 15
3. Are letters of recommendation required?
Letters of recommendation are not required for master’s students; however, you many use them to support a weak application.
4. Am I required to submit GRE scores?
No, they are not required for admission to our master’s program. As with recommendation letters, you many use GRE scores to support a weak application. UWM’s GRE institutional code is 1473.
5. Can I overcome a bad undergraduate GPA?
If your undergraduate GPA is above 2.50 (but below 3.0), you may be considered for admission on probation by presenting evidence of ability to succeed in graduate-level work. Applicants with GPA of 2.50-2.74 must present at least one of the following:
- A grade point average of 3.0 or above during the final 60 semester credits of your baccalaureate degree program.
Completion of 6 or more credits of program-approved, post-baccalaureate coursework in Computer Science. The grades earned must be a “B” or better (B- not acceptable). You can find more information on the Graduate School’s website.
- Submission of official GRE scores that indicate a high probability of success in graduate school. Official is defined as having been sent directly from the testing service to UWM. Our GRE institutional code is 1473.
- An advanced degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Applicants with a GPA below 2.50 must present at least TWO of the following conditions to be considered:
- A grade point average of 3.0 or above during the final 60 semester credits of your baccalaureate degree program.
Completion of 6 or more credits of program-approved, post-baccalaureate coursework in Computer Science. The grades earned must be a “B” or better (B- not acceptable). You can find more information on the Graduate School’s website.
- Submission of official GRE scores that indicate a high probability of success in graduate school. Official is defined as having been sent directly from the testing service to UWM. Our GRE institutional code is 1473.
- An advanced degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
6. Do you offer evening and online courses?
Many Computer Science graduate courses are taught in the late afternoon or evening. Very few of our courses are fully online because we wish to preserve academic integrity. But, a number of our courses are offered in “blended” format with fewer in-person class meetings (e.g. eight or ten total) and with much of the instruction being provided online.
7. When will I know whether I have been admitted?
After all application materials are submitted, the Graduate School will evaluate your application and then release it to the College of Engineering & Applied Science Graduate Programs Office. Computer Science applications are evaluated by an admission committee. This process usually takes two months. We anticipate rendering a decision on all applications submitted by the March 15th deadline before June 1st.
8. Should I apply for the PhD or the MS?
The Computer Science department rarely admits directly to the PhD program without a master’s degree in Computer Science. If you have a master’s in electrical engineering, computer applications, information science, or information technology, we recommend a second master’s in Computer Science before applying to the Computer Science doctoral program. These related fields are not close enough to core computer science to give a strong foundation for doctoral studies. Additionally, a maximum of 33 credits may be considered for transfer credits into the doctoral program from an earned master’s degree.
Alternatively, if you have a prior master’s degree outside Computer Science, you might consider the PhD in Biomedical and Health Informatics, which is also offered by the department, but does not presume a prior a major in Computer Science.
9. Can I change the degree to which I’m applying?
If you originally applied to a different program you may request via email that the College of Engineering & Applied Science Graduate Programs Office forward your application to the Computer Science department. The same applies to people who applied to the doctoral program and wish to be considered for the master’s program, or to be switched to your desired track.
10. Can I switch between tracks after being admitted?
Professional track to regular track
A student admitted under the professional track may switch to the regular track after completing at least nine credits of advanced courses (CompSci 700-level or CompSci 751) in the professional track, with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA. Note that not all courses acceptable under the professional track may be acceptable under the regular track.
Regular track to professional track
A student in the regular track may apply to switch to the professional track at any time. Approval of the department will be granted, unless one has previously received a tuition waiver as a TA/RA.
11. Can I ask for reconsideration if denied admission?
Within a year you may ask for reconsideration of a negative decision, especially if the circumstances of your original application have changed.
12. Can I defer admission?
Students may defer admission up to two semesters without completing a new application. If a student would like to defer, they may do so in their SLATE portal.
13. What support/employment can I get?
Students in the Professional Track are not eligible for departmental support or scholarships (including fee waivers). Students on an F-1 visa may work up to 50% time in on-campus employment (visit https://uwm.edu/set/campus-employment/). There is also the possibility for students with F-1 visas of Curricular Practical Training after successfully completing two semesters in the program.
Students in the regular track are eligible for departmental scholarships, teaching and research assistantships. Competition for the few slots available is stiff. See Research and Teaching Opportunities.
14. What are the Undergraduate Requirements?
We want candidates who completed undergraduate degrees in other fields to be able to get a master’s degree in Computer Science at UWM. However, we also want Computer Science master’s degree graduates to have a good grasp of the core of Computer Science.
The courses required to satisfy Undergraduate Requirements for the Regular Track are:
- COMPSCI 317 Discrete Information Structures
- COMPSCI 351 Data Structures and Algorithms (Programming III) (can be taken for graduate credit as COMPSCI 751 Computer Studies)
- COMPSCI 458 Computer Architecture
- COMPSCI 535 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
- COMPSCI 537 Operating Systems
The courses required to satisfy Undergraduate Requirements for the Professional Track are:
- COMPSCI 317 Discrete Information Structures
- COMPSCI 351 Data Structures and Algorithms (Programming III) (can be taken for graduate credit as COMPSCI 751 Computer Studies)
- COMPSCI 535 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
Plus your choice of the following:
- COMPSCI 431 Programming Languages Concepts
- COMPSCI 537 Operating Systems
All students in the program must complete these courses either (for regular track students) prior to beginning coursework at UWM, (for any students) with the “sufficiency” examination at the beginning of their first semester, or during the coursework of their program. All of the above courses, with the exception of COMPSCI 317, which is an undergraduate course, can count as part of the 30 or 31 credits required by the program.
Before enrolling in classes, you should complete the “Undergraduate Requirements Assessment” form for your track with your advisor. You can find the forms for the Professional Track and the Regular Track here.
15. What is the “sufficiency” examination?
This is an optional examination held in the second week of the semester to pass out of an undergraduate requirement. You must register for the examination well before the start of your first semester with the College of Engineering & Applied Science Graduate Programs Office. Please indicate which course(s) you are attempting to pass. You can request a syllabus for the examination at the same time.
16. What courses do I need to take as part of the program?
Please consult the requirements in the UWM catalog. You should plan how you will meet the requirements by filling out a “Program of Study” form with your advisor during your first academic year in the program: You can find the Program of Study forms for the Professional and Regular (thesis and non-thesis) tracks here.
The second page of the form summarizes the requirements.
Professional Track students demonstrate advanced knowledge in computing by completing at least one “Qualifying Examination Day 2 CompSci 700-level course” (described in Item 17), rather than completing a thesis or capstone. Students in the Regular Track need to take three of these designated courses, along with a thesis or capstone.
Note: a full load for a graduate student is eight or nine credits unless you are a TA or RA, in which case it is six. U.S. residents can go part-time as desired, but students on a student visa usually need to be full time.
17. What are the “Qualifying Examination Day 2 CompSci 700-level courses”?
These are the 700-level courses listed on the Day 2 syllabus for the doctoral qualifying examination. These courses are regularly taught by our tenure-stream faculty and represent core areas of strength for our department.
Currently they are the following courses:
- CompSci 710: Artificial Intelligence
- CompSci 711: Introduction to Machine Learning
- CompSci 712: Image Processing
- CompSci 718: Advanced Computer Graphics: Modeling and Animation
- CompSci 720: Computational Models of Decision Making
- CompSci 723: Natural Language Processing
- CompSci 732: Type Systems for Programming Languages
- CompSci 744: Text Retrieval and Its Applications in Biomedicine
- CompSci 754: Compiler Construction and Theory
18. How do I enroll in courses?
Pleasel visit this helpful web page with many links on the topic of enrolling in classes, including one on adding dropping and changing classes in PAWS.