Program Overview

Master of Computer Science (MCS) Degree

The Master of Computer Science (MCS) degree is a non-thesis master's degree that requires a minimum of 30 credit hours to satisfy degree requirements. The program is designed to provide students with a graduate-level understanding of computer science and prepare them for a technical career in the computer industry.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the MCS degree, students will be able to:

• Solve advanced computer science problems by acquiring and applying a graduate-level understanding of material in sub-areas of computer science.
• Design and implement complex software systems, demonstrating skill in their design and implementation and functioning effectively in teams.
• Communicate effectively to a client and user.

Requirements for the MCS Degree

The MCS degree requires:

• A minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate-level study (graduate semester credit hours, coursework at the 500-level or above).
• A minimum of 24 graduate semester credit hours must be taken at Rice University.
• A minimum of 24 graduate semester credit hours must be taken in standard or traditional courses (with a course type of lecture, seminar, laboratory, lecture/laboratory).
• A minimum residency enrollment of one fall or spring semester of part-time graduate study at Rice University.
• A maximum of 2 courses (6 graduate semester credit hours) from transfer credit.
• The requirements for one area of specialization (see below for areas of specialization).
• A 10-week to 6-month internship, with students responsible for obtaining and selecting an internship that best aligns with their career goals.
• A minimum overall GPA of 2.67 or higher in all Rice coursework.
• A minimum program GPA of 2.67 or higher in all Rice coursework that satisfies requirements for the non-thesis master's degree.

Areas of Specialization

The MCS degree program offers five areas of specialization:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Bioinformatics/Computational Biology
• Data Science and Machine Learning
• Management and Leadership
• Systems and Security

Area of Specialization: Artificial Intelligence

Students must select 3 courses from the following:

• COMP 509: Logic and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
• COMP 546/ELEC 546: Introduction to Computer Vision
• COMP 550/MECH 550: Algorithmic Robotics
• COMP 552: Reinforcement Learning
• COMP 557/ELEC 557: Artificial Intelligence
• COMP 560: Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling
• COMP 562: Introduction to Modern Robotics
• COMP 565: Introduction to Human-Machine Interaction
• COMP 598/ELEC 598/MECH 598: Introduction to Robotics
• COMP 646: Deep Learning for Vision and Language
• COMP 650: Physical Computing
• COMP 655: Advanced Topics in Robotic Manipulation
• ELEC 545: Introduction to Digital Image and Video Processing
• ELEC 575: Learning from Sensor Data
• STAT 525: Bayesian Statistics

Area of Specialization: Bioinformatics/Computational Biology

Students must select 3 courses from the following:

• BIOE 552/SSPB 502: Intro Computational Systems Biology: Modeling & Design Principles of Biochem Networks
• COMP 571: Modeling and Inference in Computational Genomics
• COMP 572/BIOE 564: Bioinformatics: Network Analysis
• COMP 573: Professional Development for Biomedical Informatics
• COMP 580: Probabilistic Algorithms and Data Structure
• STAT 623: Probability in Bioinformatics and Genetics

Area of Specialization: Data Science and Machine Learning

Students must select 3 courses from the following:

• COMP 540: Statistical Machine Learning
• COMP 543: Graduate Tools and Models - Data Science
• COMP 545: Advanced Topics in Optimization: From Simple to Complex ML Systems
• COMP 549/DSCI 535: Applied Machine Learning and Data Science Projects
• COMP 559: Machine Learning with Graphs
• COMP 576/ELEC 576: A Practical Introduction to Deep Machine Learning
• COMP 631: Introduction to Information Retrieval
• COMP 642: Machine Learning
• COMP 646: Deep Learning for Vision and Language
• ELEC 515: Machine Learning for Resource-Constrained Platforms
• ELEC 573: Network Science and Analytics
• ELEC 575: Learning from Sensor Data

Area of Specialization: Management and Leadership

Students must select 3 courses from the following:

• ENGI 505/CEVE 505: Engineering Economics and Project Management
• ENGI 511: Leading Change - Revolutionary Moments in Engineering and Society
• ENGI 515: Leading Teams and Innovation
• RCEL 501: Engineering Management & Leadership Theory and Application
• RCEL 502: Engineering Project Management
• RCEL 503: Engineering Product Management in Industry 4.0
• RCEL 504: Ethical-Technical Leadership
• RCEL 505: Engineering Economics for Engineering Leaders

Area of Specialization: Systems and Security

Students must select 3 courses from the following:

• COMP 518: IoT Programming and Data Analysis
• COMP 520/ELEC 520: Distributed Systems
• COMP 522: Multi-Core Computing
• COMP 526/ELEC 526: High Performance Computer Architecture
• COMP 527: Computer Systems Security
• COMP 530: Database System Implementation
• COMP 536/ELEC 510: Secure and Cloud Computing
• COMP 541: Introduction to Computer Security
• COMP 556: Introduction to Computer Networks

Policies for the MCS Degree

• No financial aid is available from Rice University or the Computer Science Department for students in the MCS degree program.
• For Rice University's policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit.
• Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit.
• Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content) and by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS).

Opportunities for the MCS Degree

• Fifth-Year Master's Degree Option for Rice Undergraduate Students: In certain situations and with some terminal master's degree programs, Rice students have an option to pursue a master's degree by adding an additional fifth year to their four years of undergraduate studies.
• Advanced Rice undergraduate students in good academic standing typically apply to the master's degree program during their junior or senior year.
• Upon acceptance, depending on course load, financial aid status, and other variables, they may then start taking some required courses of the master's degree program.
• A plan of study will need to be approved by the student's undergraduate major advisor and the master's degree program director.