Graduate Students
2024-2025
Graduate Degrees Awarded
2024-2025
Graduates entered careers following graduation
2020-2021
Application Deadline:
- Fall semester: June 1
- Spring semester: December 1
- No summer admissions
- Decisions emailed to students on a rolling basis.
- If you are a USU Computer Science BS student and missed this deadline, please contact the GPC, Taryn Sommers taryn.sommers@usu.edu.
* Please be aware that for many international students, it can take up to 6 months to secure a student visa even after they've had their interview.
Minimum Admission Requirements:
- C or better in CS 2420 Data Structures and Algorithms (or equivalent) at an ABET accredited University.
- Extensive experience in modern programming languages.
- Understanding of Calculus and Statistics
- 3.0 Cumulative GPA in your BS program
- Three satisfactory Letters of Recommendation from past instructors and/or employers.
Credits: 30
Additional requirements: Successful defense of a Thesis.
No grades of B- or lower will be counted toward your credits of completion.
If you do not meet these minimum requirements, please wait until you do and then apply.
Funding:
GTA Funding is not available to MS students.
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs) are sometimes available directly from individual faculty members if they are in need of students. Contact the faculty via email. Find faculty's research areas here.
School of Graduate Studies requirements for completion of degree.
See also Additional Information at the bottom of this page.
Application Deadline:
- Fall semester: June 1
- Spring semester: December 1
- No summer admissions
- Decisions emailed to students on a rolling basis.
- If you are a USU Computer Science BS student and missed this deadline, please contact the GPC, Taryn Sommers taryn.sommers@usu.edu.
Please be aware that for many international students, it can take up to 6 months to secure a student visa even after they've had their interview.
Minimum Admission Requirements:
- C or better in CS 2420 Data Structures and Algorithms (or equivalent) at an ABET accredited University.
- Extensive experience in modern programming languages.
- Understanding of Calculus and Statistics
- 3.0 Cumulative GPA in your BS program
- Three satisfactory Letters of Recommendation from past instructors and/or employers.
Credits: 34
Additional requirements: Successful completion of a project. No grades of B- or lower will be counted toward your credits of completion.
If you do not meet these mimimum requirements, please wait until you do and then apply.
Funding is not available.
School of Graduate Studies requirements for completion of degree.
See also Additional Information at the bottom of this page.
Professional Degree. Plan C
Coursework only program.
No thesis.
Application Deadline:
- Fall semester: June 1
- Spring semester: December 1
- No summer admission
- Decisions emailed to students on a rolling basis.
Please be aware that for many international students, it can take up to 6 months to secure a student visa even after they've had their interview.
Minimum Admission Requirements:
- C or better in CS 2420 Data Structures and Algorithms (or equivalent) at an ABET accredited University.
- Extensive experience in modern programming languages.
- Understanding of Calculus and Statistics
- 3.0 Cumulative GPA in your BS program
- Three satisfactory Letters of Recommendation from past instructors and/or employers.
Letter of Recommendation Waiver
Students who attended USU and graduated with a major in Computer Science, and meet the minimum admission requirements, can request a "Letter of Recommendation" waiver from the GPC, Taryn Sommers taryn.sommers@usu.edu.
Before you apply
If you are currently in the Computer Science BS program at USU, please fill out a Split Form before graduation..
Credits: 33
Additional requirements: No grades of B- or lower will be counted toward your credits of completion.
If you do not meet these minimum requirements, please wait until you do and then apply.
Funding is not available.
School of Graduate Studies requirements for completion of degree.
See also Additional Information at the bottom of this page.
Application Deadline:
- Fall Semester: June 1
- Spring semester: December 1
- No summer admissions
- Decisions emailed to students on a rolling basis.
- If you are a USU Computer Science BS student and missed this deadline, please contact the GPC, Taryn Sommers taryn.sommers@usu.edu.
*Please be aware that for many international students, it can take up to 6 months to secure a student visa even after they've had their interview.
Minimum Admission Requirements:
- C or better in CS 2420 Data Structures and Algorithms (or equivalent) at an ABET accredited University.
- Extensive experience in modern programming languages.
- Understanding of Calculus and Statistics
- 3.0 Cumulative GPA in your BS program
- Three satisfactory Letters of Recommendation from past instructors and/or employers.
Credits: 30
Additional requirements: Successful completion of a thesis. No grades of B- or lower will be counted toward your credits of completion.
If you do not meet these minimum requirements, please wait until you do and then apply.
Funding:
GTA Funding is not available to MS students.
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs) are sometimes available. They come directly from individual faculty members who are in need of students for research. Contact the faculty via email. Find faculty's research areas here.
School of Graduate Studies requirements for completion of degree.
Application Deadline:
- Fall Semester: January 1
- Spring semester: October 1
- No summer admissions
- Decisions emailed to students on a rolling basis.
- To be accepted into the program you must find a faculty member to be your mentor.
*Please be aware that for many international students, it can take up to 6 months to secure a student visa even after they've had their interview.
Minimum Admission Requirements:
- MS or BS in Computer Science (or related areas)
- Undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or Graduate GPA of 3.5
- B- or better in CS 2420 Data Structures and Algorithms (or equivalent) at an ABET accredited University.
- Extensive experience in modern programming languages.
- Understanding of Calculus and Statistics
- Three satisfactory Letters of Recommendation from past instructors and/or employers.
Credits: 40-70 and Dissertation Defense
PhD students with a BS need to complete 70 credits. PhD students with an MS need to complete 40 credits.
Funding:
Funding, in the form of a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA), is offered for up to 3 years to our top PhD applicants, contingent on available department funding.
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs) are sometimes available. They come directly from individual faculty members who need students for research. Contact the faculty via email. Find faculty's research areas here.
School of Graduate Studies requirements for completion of degree.
If you do not meet these minimum requirements, please wait until you do and then apply.
See also Additional Information at the bottom of this page.
Additional Information
Contacts:
- School of Graduate Studies (admissions, application issues, deferrals)
- Office of Global Engagement (I-20 Visa questions)
- Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC), Taryn Sommers taryn.sommers@usu.edu (Graduate plans, courses, schedules)
Other locations:
- Computer Science Plan A, Plan B, and MCS programs are available at statewide campuses throughout Utah via USU's Distance Education program. This is a live broadcast.
- The PhD program is not available as an online degree.
Funding:
- Other types of funding on campus.
Deferring:
- If you have been accepted to one of our programs, you may defer up to 2 semesters. Be aware that any funding you may have been promised does not automatically move to the new semester.
International Students:
- TOEFL internet-based (iBT) exam score of 79 or paper-based exam score of 550.
- The institution school code for Utah State University is 4857.*
- IELTS score of 6.5 overall band score with a minimum of 5.0 on each subscale.*
- The Michigan English Test (MET) score of 55.
- Cambridge English Exam results of B2 First, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency score of 176.
- Duolingo English test scores as a measurement of English language proficiency. NOTE: Duolingo English Test (DET) score of at least 105.
- Applicants who have completed two years of college in one of the countries listed here, will not be required to provide additional evidence of English language proficiency. Please email GPC, Taryn Sommers taryn.sommers@usu.edu to waive this requirement after you have paid the application fee.
Deemed Export Control:
The U.S. federal government highly controls and scrutinizes any interactions with T5 countries, which are sanctioned countries. The current T5 countries are Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. This applies to students applying for Computer Science Degrees. There are limitations for these students as far as what they can research and funding they can receive. Visas are also challenging to obtain and can take more than a year to receive. All students must be mentored by faculty to be accepted into any MS or PhD program.
Transcripts:
- An unofficial transcript from your university is acceptable for your application.
If accepted into the program, you will have to request an official transcript be sent to the School of Graduate Studies from your university. This transcript should include your completed program(s) and the date the degree(s) was awarded.
Non Computer Science Background:
- If your BS is not in Computer Science, you may still apply if you 1) meet the minimum requirements for GPA and 2) have taken or can show completion of courses similar to: CS 1400, CS 1410, and CS 2420. These classes can be completed at another accredited institution or through USU Continuing Education.
- Email GPC, Taryn Sommers taryn.sommers@usu.edu if you have taken similar courses and would like those evaulated before you complete your application.
CS Undergraduate Students:
- If you complete a Computer Science BS or CS Minor with a GPA of 3.0 or more, you do not need to provide letters of recommendation on your MCS program application. Please email GPC, Taryn Sommers taryn.sommers@usu.edu to waive this requirement after you have paid the application fee.
- Before you graduate with your CS Bachelor's degree, fill out the SPLIT form to transfer up to twelve 5000-level credits from your undergraduate degree to your graduate degree.
- Courses that are dual listed (e.g., CS 5000/6000-level courses) or were included in the student’s undergraduate program cannot be retaken at the graduate (6000) level.