MS Course Requirements

  1. Core requirements. You must have satisfied four core requirements (one from each of three areas, plus one additional requirement from any of the three areas). This requirement is usually satisfied by taking courses and getting a B or better in them.
  2. Credits. You must take a total of 30 credits with the following restrictions:
    • No more than 18 of the course credits may come from courses at the 500 level. 500-level classes taken to satisfy core requirements fall into this group.
    • No more than 6 credits may come from independent studies and/or SAT (Also known as Pass/Fail). The SAT option for graduate students is only allowed by instructor consent. 
    • No more than 9 credits may come from courses outside of the computer science department. 
    • At least 12 of those credits must come from courses at the 600-900 level that are not independent studies. 600-level classes taken to satisfy core requirements fall into this group.
    • Classes with a grade below a C may not be counted toward the MS degree.
    • Only a limited number of credits may be transferred from other programs or institutions.
  3. GPA. Your overall grade point average for the 30 credits must be 3.0 or higher.

Transferring Credit

If you enter the program and have already taken some courses at another institution, it may be possible to transfer some of your credits. The following Graduate School rules limit your options:

  • You may transfer a maximum of 12 graduate credits; however, a maximum of six credits may be from any combination of the following:
    • other accredited colleges or universities in the US
    • non-degree credits taken at UMass
    • courses taken as an undergraduate (that were not applied to the baccalaureate degree)
    • Continuing Education courses
  • Transfer credits must come from courses where you received a B or better and that were taken no more than three years prior to your entering the program.
  • Credits from outside the University of Massachusetts Amherst may not be used to satisfy the 600-800 level requirement for a Masters degree.
  • The grade you received on transferred credits does not apply toward the GPA requirement of the degree.
  • Graduate courses that have been applied toward any baccalaureate or advanced degree may not be used for fulfilling requirements for any other master's degree at the University.
  • You may not transfer credits from outside the University of Massachusetts Amherst to satisfy any requirements for the PhD.

The Graduate Student Handbook provides more details.

Note that transferred credit only reduces your credit requirements toward the Masters or PhD degree; it does not satisfy other requirements. In particular, transferring a course does not automatically result in your passing a corresponding core requirement. If you feel that the course should satisfy a core requirement, see the instructions on passing out of a core requirement.