Curriculum
The online computer science degree program consists of 45 credits (15 courses) and is organized in 10-week quarters. Students are required to take 6 core courses and 9 elective courses. Click here to view the pre-requisites for the MSCS program.
*Students who meet all but a few of the program pre-requisites may be provisionally admitted and may be required to take one or both of the pre-core courses. If a student is required to take these courses for entry into the program, then the credits will count toward fulfillment of the electives.
Core Course Descriptions
CS 520 - Foundations for Computer Science
Survey of basic mathematics concepts needed for the study of computer science at the graduate level: induction, iteration, recursion; analysis of program running time; elementary probability and combinatorics; relations, graphs and trees; regular expressions and finite automata; propositional and predicate logic.
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CS 521 - Data Structures and Algorithms I
Techniques for analyzing algorithms: asymptotic notation, recurrences, and correctness of algorithms; divide and conquer: quick sort, merger sort, median and order statistics; elementary data structures: hashing, binary heaps, binary search trees, balanced search trees; graph algorithms: Depth and Breadth first searches, connected components, minimum spanning trees, shortest paths in graphs.
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CS 522 - Data Structures and Algorithms II
(Prerequisite: CS 557 Minimum Grade: C)
Discussion of algorithm design techniques, augmented data structures including Binomial and Fibonacci heaps and Splay tree; Amortized analysis of data structures, topics in pattern and string matching, network flow problem, matching in bipartite graphs, and topics in complexity theory including reduction and NP-completeness, and approximation algorithms.
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CS 525 - Theory of Computation
(Pre-Requisites: CS 521 Minimum Grade: C or CS 557 Minimum Grade:C)
Theory of computation introduces basic mathematical models of computation and the finite representation of infinite objects. These topics covered in the course include: finite automata and regular languages, context free languages, Turning machines, Partial recursive functions, Church's Thesis, undecidability, reducibility and completeness, and time complexity.
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CS 543 - Operating Systems
Covers the classical internal algorithms and structures of operating systems, including CPU scheduling, memory management, and device management. Considers the unifying concept of the operating system as a collection of cooperating sequential processes. Covers topics including file systems, virtual memory, disk request scheduling, concurrent processes, deadlocks, security, and integrity.
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CS 550 - Programming Languages
Covers basic concepts of the design and implementation of programming languages, including data representation and types, functions, sequence control, environments, block structure, subroutines and coroutines, storage management. Emphasizes language features and implementation, not mastery of any particular languages.
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CS 571 - Programming Tools and Environments
Covers UNIX operating system, Shell programming, PERL, JAVA, and advanced features of C++ from the viewpoint of efficient software development.
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CS 544 - Computer Networks
Computer networks and computer communication; network topologies; local area networks and store-and-forward networks; circuit, message, and packet switching; CBX vs. LAN; network protocols and OSI reference model; performance analysis; and distributed systems. Includes case studies.
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Sample Elective Course Descriptions
CS 500 - Database Theory I
Introduces relational and knowledge base data models and contrasts the expressiveness of the two models. Covers semantics of knowledge bases, negation, dependencies, Armstrong's axioms, decompositions, and normal forms.
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CS 510 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Well-formed problems; state spaces and search spaces; Lisp and functional programming; uniformed search; heuristic search; stochastic search; knowledge representation; propositional logic; first order logic; predicated calculus; planning; partial order planning; hierarchical planning.
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CS 530 - Developing User Interfaces
This course examines the implementation of multimodal user interfaces within the context of interface design and evaluation. The course involves both practice implementing interfaces using current technologies and study of topical issues such as rapid prototyping, advanced input, and assistive technology.
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CS 575 - Software Design
Introduces techniques and notations with formal (mathematical) underpinnings for specifying the structural and behavioral properties of software systems. Covers these systems at various levels of abstraction, from architecture to subsystem decompositions to module/class dependencies and interfaces. Students analyze, synthesize, and express software designs using a variety of special-purpose design notations, and obtain practical experience with a team project. Topics include software architecture, architectural styles, module interconnection languages, modularity and information hiding principles, object-oriented design patterns (structural and behavioral), Petri nets, state charts, state transition diagrams, and Z notation.
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CS 576 - Dependable Software Systems
Offers an in-depth treatment of software testing and software reliability, two components of developing dependable software systems. Testing topics include path testing, data-flow testing, mutation testing, program slicing, fault interjection and program perturbation, paths and path products, syntax testing, logic-based testing, testing within the software development process, test execution automation and test design automation tools. Reliability topics include reliability metrics, fault avoidance, cleanroom software development, fault tolerance, exception handling, N-version programming, recovery blocks, formal methods, functional specifications, and Z notation.
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CS 645 - Network Security
(Pre-Requisites: (CS 543 Minimum Grade: C or CS 720 Minimum Grade: C ) and (CS 544 Minimum Grade: C or CS 740 Minimum Grade: C ))
The purpose of this course is to cover the principles and practice of cryptography and network security. The first half of the course covers cryptography and network security techniques. The second part deals with the practice of network security, i.e. with the processes and application that have to be in place to provide security.
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ECEC 500 - Foundations of Computer Hardware
Covers computer organization and architecture; elements of computer hardware, processors, control units, and memories; hardware for basic mathematical operations; tradeoffs between speed and complexity; examples of embedded systems; microcontrollers; systems modeling.
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ECEC 600 - Fundamentals of Computer Networks
Fundamentals design principles of ATM, Internet and local area networks; protocol layers and the Internet Architecture; medium access protocols; application protocols and TCP/IP utilities; basic prinicles and virtual circuit switching; naming and addressing; flow and congestion control protocols; routing algorithms; Quality-of-Service in computer networks; security issues in networks.
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