Immerse yourself in a comprehensive curriculum designed to elevate your expertise across the full spectrum of computer science. Whether your focus is theory and cryptography, software and formal methods, or socio-technical computing, this master's program equips you with the tools to advance your career. Guided by distinguished faculty at the leading edge of research, you will seamlessly integrate rigorous advanced study with real-world discovery.
Your academic journey should be as unique as your professional vision. This highly adaptable program allows you to tailor your coursework perfectly to your goals—whether that means building a powerful, multidisciplinary foundation or diving deep into a specialized track. Offering the flexibility of both spring and fall enrollments, the program is built to accelerate your success on your schedule.
To be awarded the degree of Master’s of Science (ScM) in Computer Science (CS) students in our program must complete, typically within 2 years, a structured study plan of eight (8) graduate-level elective courses that have been taken for a grade with an average grade of B or higher and that have been approved by the student’s Program Advisor as well as our program’s Director of Graduate Studies (DGS).
Formally described in a Master’s Contract, study plans are divided into a six-course Basic Component and a two-course Advanced Component, accompanied by rules for a flexible Course Selection and Completion and an optional Professional Track. By design, study plans allow for specialization and generalization: Students are able to choose coursework that focuses on a given CS area, that enables a broader survey of CS subjects, or that explores CS-related fields. Also, students can gain research experience by completing a Master’s Project and industry experience by completing an internship.
Basic Component
The Basic Component consists of six (6) graduate-level (i.e., 1000- or 2000-level) CS or CS-related courses, which must be selected so that:
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At least three (3) courses must be 1000- or 2000-level CS courses (i.e., offered by our department under a CSCI code); and
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Upon DGS approval, up to three (3) courses may be 1000- or 2000-level non-CS courses (i.e., offered by other departments), as long as they relate to CS; where
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Upon DGS approval, one (1) such non-CS course may be a transfer (i.e., non-Brown) course, taken
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Either concurrently at RISD or Harvard through Brown's cross-registration agreements with these universities, as long as it is a graduate-level course;
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Or previously at another institution, as part of a graduate program (i.e., post the Bachelor's degree) but without being used towards any degree, as long as it is equivalent to a graduate-level Brown course.
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Advanced Component
The Advanced Component consists of two (2) advanced-level (i.e., 2000-level) CS courses, which must be selected as one of:
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Two (2) 2000-level elective CS courses, taken towards advanced coursework, neither of which being CSCI 2980; or
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Two (2) instances of CSCI 2980, taken towards completing a Master’s Project:
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These independent-study (a.k.a. Reading & Research) courses must be taken in distinct (typically, consecutive) semesters with the same CS faculty member, chosen by the student as the Research Advisor under whose supervision the student works on a research project;
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Upon the completion of the research project, the student must submit a project report that has been approved by the Research Advisor and that represents two semesters of work (in addition to the two earned course grades).
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Course Selection and Completion
The eight courses in the combined Basic and Advanced components must:
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Be taken
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At the graduate level (i.e., 1000-level or 2000-level courses) and for a grade, and receive a C or higher (i.e., S’s or NC’s may not be used) for a total average grade of B, or higher (i.e., any C must be countered by an A); and
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In any order, either in a 2/2/2/2 schedule (2 courses per semester for a total duration of studies of 2 years) or in a 2/3/3 schedule (2 in the 1st semester and 3 in the 2nd & 3rd semesters, for a total duration of studies of 1.5 years).
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Include no more than
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Two (2) Arts/Humanities/Policy courses without approval by the Program Advisor and the DGS.
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Three (3) instances of CSCI 2980.
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Professional Track
The Professional Track is an optional requirement that allows on-campus students to gain extra-curriculum professional experience by engaging in off-campus employment opportunities via one or more full-time internships of total length 1 to 5 months. Please refer to the Internships page for more information.
Master's Contract
Each student creates and maintains a Master’s Contract that describes their individual plan to complete the degree requirements. At all times during the studies in our program, a student’s individual study plan must be accurately recorded in their Master’s Contract, which must be:
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Updated at the beginning of each semester, as needed, to accurately reflect the student’s transcript and planned course enrollments; and
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Approved by the student’s Program Advisor and the DGS after any update.
Note to 5th-Year students: The above program requirements apply to all program versions, subject to a key difference in our 5th-year Master’s program: 5th-year students may have (up to) two (2) of their undergraduate courses (completed with a grade A or B) also count towards their Master’s degree requirements, where each such undergraduate course can be transferred into the Master's program as a course of either component, Basic or Advanced, subject to course eligibility as explained above. Therefore, 5th-year students can complete the program by taking (at least) six (6) courses, for instance, in a 3/3 schedule (3 per semester, for a total duration of studies of 1 year). Because such undergraduate courses count as transfer courses, 5th-year students who make use of this benefit are not eligible to take a transfer course via cross registration.
