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Academic Catalog 2022-2023

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  • Computer Science, MSCS

Computer Science, MSCS

2022-2023 Edition

  • Undergraduate
  • College of Professional Studies Undergraduate
  • Graduate
    • General Admission and Transfer Credit
    • Information for Entering Students
    • Financial Information
    • University-​Wide Academic Policies and Procedures
    • PhD Programs
    • College of Arts, Media and Design
    • D'Amore-​McKim School of Business
    • Khoury College of Computer Sciences
      • Academic Policies and Procedures
      • Computer Science
        • Computer Science, PhD
        • Network Science, PhD
        • Artificial Intelligence, MS
        • Data Science, MS
        • Game Science and Design, MS
        • Internet of Things, MS
        • Robotics, MS
        • Computer Science, MSCS
        • Cloud Software Development, Graduate Certificate
        • Computer Science, Graduate Certificate
        • Data Analytics, Graduate Certificate
      • Cybersecurity
      • Health Informatics
      • Interdisciplinary
    • College of Engineering
    • Bouvé College of Health Sciences
    • School of Law
    • College of Professional Studies
    • College of Science
    • College of Social Sciences and Humanities
    • Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership
    • Additional Programs
    • Faculty
    • Appendix
  • Course Descriptions
  • Catalog Archives
  • Overview
  • Standard Program Requirements
  • Align Program Requirements

Northeastern University’s Master of Science in Computer Science is designed to prepare students for a variety of careers in computer science. The program combines both computing and important application domains—enabling you to increase your broad-based knowledge in the field while allowing you to delve deeper in specific areas through elective courses.

Master of Science in Computer Science—Align students come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with undergraduate majors including math, biology, history, engineering, and classics. The program begins with a two-semester introductory sequence, which provides the foundational knowledge for students from non-technical backgrounds to succeed.  Students have an opportunity to acquire both the knowledge needed to transition into a new career and the practical skills to build the next great app.

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Students should refer to the course numbering table for graduate course leveling.

Core Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
Programming
CS 5010Programming Design Paradigm4
Algorithms
CS 5800Algorithms4

Breadth Areas

Course List
Code Title Hours
Complete three courses from two of the three following breadth areas:12
Systems and Software
CS 5400
Principles of Programming Language
CS 5500
Foundations of Software Engineering
CS 5520
Mobile Application Development
CS 5600
Computer Systems
CS 5610
Web Development
CS 5700
Fundamentals of Computer Networking
CS 6410
Compilers
CS 6510
Advanced Software Development
CS 6650
Building Scalable Distributed Systems
CS 6710
Wireless Network
Theory and Security
CS 6760
Privacy, Security, and Usability
CS 7805
Complexity Theory
CY 5770
Software Vulnerabilities and Security
CY 6740
Network Security
CY 6750
Cryptography and Communications Security
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
CS 5100
Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
CS 5150
Game Artificial Intelligence
CS 5200
Database Management Systems
CS 5330
Pattern Recognition and Computer Vision
CS 6120
Natural Language Processing
CS 6140
Machine Learning
CS 6200
Information Retrieval
CS 6220
Data Mining Techniques
CS 6240
Large-Scale Parallel Data Processing
CS 7140
Advanced Machine Learning

Electives

Course List
Code Title Hours
Complete 12 semester hours from the following: 12
CS 5100 to CS 7880
CS 5097
Mixed Reality
CS 8674
Master’s Project
CS 8982
Readings
CS 7990
Thesis
CY 5010
Foundations of Information Assurance
CY 5130
Computer System Security
CY 6120
Software Security Practices
DS 5110
Introduction to Data Management and Processing
DS 5230
Unsupervised Machine Learning and Data Mining

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

32 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Align Bridge Coursework 

Students are required to take all bridge courses unless otherwise determined by the program.

A grade of B or higher is required in each course.

Course List
Code Title Hours
Fundamentals
CS 5001
and CS 5003
Intensive Foundations of Computer Science
and Recitation for CS 5001
4
Discrete Structures
CS 5002Discrete Structures4
Object-Oriented Design
CS 5004
and CS 5005
Object-Oriented Design
and Recitation for CS 5004
4
Additional ALIGN courses
CS 5008
and CS 5009
Data Structures, Algorithms, and Their Applications within Computer Systems
and Recitation for CS 5008
4

Core Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
Algorithms
CS 5800Algorithms4

Breadth Areas

Course List
Code Title Hours
Select three courses from two of the three following breadth areas:12
Systems and Software
CS 5400
Principles of Programming Language
CS 5500
Foundations of Software Engineering
CS 5520
Mobile Application Development
CS 5600
Computer Systems
CS 5610
Web Development
CS 5700
Fundamentals of Computer Networking
CS 6410
Compilers
CS 6510
Advanced Software Development
CS 6650
Building Scalable Distributed Systems
CS 6710
Wireless Network
Theory and Security
CS 6760
Privacy, Security, and Usability
CS 7805
Complexity Theory
CY 5770
Software Vulnerabilities and Security
CY 6740
Network Security
CY 6750
Cryptography and Communications Security
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
CS 5100
Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
CS 5150
Game Artificial Intelligence
CS 5200
Database Management Systems
CS 5330
Pattern Recognition and Computer Vision
CS 6120
Natural Language Processing
CS 6140
Machine Learning
CS 6200
Information Retrieval
CS 6220
Data Mining Techniques
CS 6240
Large-Scale Parallel Data Processing
CS 7140
Advanced Machine Learning

Electives

Course List
Code Title Hours
Complete 12 semester hours from the following.12
CS 5100 to CS 7880
CS 5097
Mixed Reality
CS 7990
Thesis
CS 8674
Master’s Project
CS 8982
Readings
CY 5010
Foundations of Information Assurance
CY 5130
Computer System Security
CY 6120
Software Security Practices
DS 5110
Introduction to Data Management and Processing
DS 5230
Unsupervised Machine Learning and Data Mining

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

36-44 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required

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