BS+MS Degree
Five-Year Program
A. Rationale
The BS degree program in computer science requires 120 credits of coursework including 37 credits of CS coursework and 11 to 12 credits in Math/Stat. It is designed to be completed by a full-time student in four academic years. The 30-credit MS degree program in computer science may take two academic years to complete, depending on the academic performance and preparation of the BS degree holder, e.g. how well they satisfy the prerequisites for admission to graduate school at Pitt. However, the requirements of the two degree programs can be accomplished by our best students over a period of five years. Besides earning both degrees a year early, advantages of this program include the opportunities to participate in a variety of experiential educational activities such as research and teaching (once admitted to the MS program, a student is eligible for consideration as a teaching or research assistant).
B. Program Description
In order to complete both degrees in five years, the student must be very well-prepared as an incoming freshman, ready to take our core CS courses. They must plan from the outset to follow a tightly packed, challenging, three-year course schedule, plus satisfy all the conditions (see below) before the end of the junior year in order to be certified for early admission to our MS program.
The course requirements for the BS+MS program will total 138 credits. They are based on the currently existing requirements for each program separately.
Required Progress in Undergraduate Studies:
A computer science major must have achieved the following in (approximately) three years of study toward the BS degree at Pitt:
- Completion of 96 credits of coursework
- At least 34 of the 37 CS credits required for the BS degree
- 11 to 12 credits in Math/Stat required for the BS degree
- The particular CS courses (22 credits) and the particular Math/Stat courses (18 credits) that are specified as prerequisites for admission to the MS program
- All General Education requirements specified by CAS
- All of the above with a QPA of at least 3.3, both overall and in computer science
Early Entry into the MS Program:
If a student meets the conditions, a computer science faculty committee will certify that fact and admit them to the MS program.
- Admission will be formalized using a minimal procedure based on completion of relevant parts of the regular graduate application form and a special checklist form identifying all above-specified requirements, including those in general education.
- Upon certification of a student's admissibility, the following offices will be notified: CS Graduate Programs, CAS, FAS Graduate Studies, and the registrar.
- The student will have approximately one year of study remaining to complete 24 credits toward the BS degree and to get started with selected graduate-level courses.
- One year will remain for study dedicated to the MS degree program.
Feasibility:
It is possible for a student to earn both the BS and MS degrees in computer science in five years because:
- One of the required courses for the MS degree, either CS 1510 or 1511, can be taken among the 96 credits of undergraduate coursework, thereby leaving only 27 credits necessary for the project-based MS degree;
- As a senior, the student can register for three graduate courses (nine credits) in some pattern distributed over the two terms of an academic year;
- The balance of 18 credits required for the project-based MS degree can then be taken during the fall and spring terms of the fifth year of study;
- The summer term between the fourth and fifth years can be used by the self-supporting student to get a head start on the three-credit MS project. Use of the summer is only an option, not a requirement; and
- Students who enter Pitt with advanced academic standing may be able to complete the program in less than five years.
C. Summary of Course Requirements and Prerequisites
Core CS courses (13 Credits): CS 0401, 0441, 0445, 0447
Upper-level required courses (9 credits): CS 1501, 1502, 1550
Upper-level elective courses (15 credits): At least five 1000-level courses
Required Math/Stat courses (11-12 credits): MATH 0220, 0230, and one of the following: MATH 0280, 1180, STAT 1000, 1151
Prerequisites for Admission to MS Program
Core CS courses (13 credits): Same as 1 above
Upper-level CS courses (9 credits): Either CS 1510 or 1511, either CS 1520 or 1621, and either CS 1550 or 1651. These can constitute a subset of 2 AND 3 above.
Required Math/Stat courses (18 credits): MATH 0220, 0230, 0240, and either MATH 1180 or 0280, and either STAT 1151 or 1152. These constitute a superset of 4 above; the student needs one more Calculus course and one more Math/Stat course.
Existing MS Degree in Computer Science
Required CS Courses (9 credits): Either CS 1510 or 1511 (also required among the prerequisites; see above), either CS 2410 or 2510, and either CS 2210 or 2710
Elective CS Courses (18 credits): Any six graduate courses (2000-level or above)
A three-credit MS project (or a six-credit MS thesis in lieu of one course)