M.S. Requirements FAQ

I am an incoming M.S. student registering for my first semester. What should I do to start planning my program?
In general, you can follow the following "game-plan":

1. Review the general M.S. program description & requirements;
2. Choose your M.S. concentration Track;
3. Plan your required and elective courses relevant to your chosen track;
4. Identify any previously-taken courses you can import to substitute for required courses;
5. Meet with your track advisor to discuss your course choices;
6. Fill out an on-line Track Plan in MICE indicating which courses you will take and in which semesters;
7. Validate your course scheduling with CS-listed course offerings and the Registrar's Online Bulletin
8. Keep track of your progress through Student Services Online and your MICE account.

What are the overall requirements of the program?
You must complete a total of 30 or more graduate credit points at Columbia while maintaining a minimum grade point average of 2.7. You have a maximum of 5 years from your first registration to complete the program.

What are the core course requirements?
You have to take at least four core courses from the following six: COMS W4115 Programming Languages & Translators, W4118 Operating Systems 1, W4156 Advanced Software Engineering, W4231 Analysis of Algorithms 1, W4701 Artificial Intelligence, and W4824 Computer Architecture.

What are my program options?
Students select a concentration track in a field of their interest. The department offers tracks in Computational Biology, Computer Security, Foundations of Computer Science, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Network Systems, Software Systems, and Vision and Graphics. Each track has its own set of requirements and choice of elective courses. There is also the option of designing a Personalized Track with a M.S. advisor if your interests fall outside of the concentration tracks offered, or an MS Thesis Track with a faculty advisor to concentrate on research.

Can I pursue a personalized Track? 

This track allows you to develop a specialized program not covered in the Concentration Tracks described above. You must find an advisor who agrees to supervise your pgoram before you declare the track, and you need to work with that personalized track advisor to construct the program.  Courses include the 12-point core, at least 6 points of 6000-level Computer Science courses, and may include up up to 3 credits of relevant non-technical electives.

Can I do a thesis during my master’s degree?
Yes, you can pursue the MS Thesis track. For this you will need to find your own faculty thesis advisor and develop your MS program with the advisor. You will have to take the 12-point core, 9 points of thesis (E6902), and 9 points of other graduate CS courses selected together with your advisor. A thesis proposal is presented to your thesis committee at least three months before your defense and a publication-quality thesis document is published as a CS department technical report. You defend your thesis in a public presentation.

When and how do I select a Track?
You should select a track at the begining of your MS studies. Even if you are not entirely certain about the track, you should still select one that is closest to your interests. You are allowed to change your track later, if your interests shift. You can officially indicate your track choice and plan via your MICE account. Click here for more information. For the Personalized and Thesis track, you must have an advisor who agrees to supervise your program. Once you've identified the advisor, please contact . At the end of your studies, the important condition for graduation is the fulfillment of all the requirements of your track, as approved by your advisor.

I am a US citizen. Can I be a part-time student?
If you are a US citizen or a permanent resident of the US, it is usually possible to obtain all or a substantial part of the credit requirement for the master’s degree through part-time study. You must register for at least 3 points each semester.

How can I find out which courses are offered this Fall and Spring semesters?
The Registrar’s Online Bulletin lists all courses offered by semester. The current semester is up-to-date, but future semesters will be updated nearer the start of the semester in question. Courses that are expected to be offered by the CS department are made available to students for planning purposes as soon as they are available from faculty.

I want to drop a course after the Change of Program period. Is that possible?
You can drop a course after the “Change of Program period” until the last day to drop a course (Sometime in late November for Fall and sometime in late March for Spring), but after the Change of Program period, you are responsible for paying the tuition for the course that you dropped. If you want to avoid financial penalty for dropping a course, do all the course-related transactions during the regular registration period or during the Change of Program period.

This also applies to MS-TAs and MS-GRAs who are funded by the department. If you decide to drop a course after the Change of Program period, you are personally responsible for the tuition of the course that you dropped. The department will not cover the cost. If you have any questions, please contact .

Who is my Track Advisor?
Track advisors are allocated depending on which track you persue. See the track descriptions for which advisor is allocated with which track.

How many non-technical courses can I take as part of the program?
Up to 3 points of advisor-approved, non-technical CU graduate courses can be included.

All M.S. students can take a maximum of 12 project and research credits, 9 of which can be thesis credits if you are on the M.S. Thesis track.  There is another research course, E9910 Graduate Research I, which can only be taken by appointed MS GRAs and appointed MS TAs, up to 6 points per semester; this course can ONLY be used to bring an appointed MS student up to full-time status (12 points) and can NOT be applied to the 30 points required for the MS degree nor applied to any track, including thesis or personalized track. Students who registered for E9910 during the Spring 2007 semester or earlier may, however, receive credit towards the degree with the advisor's approval.

Should I register for COMS W4901 or COMS E6901? They are both graduate project courses, so I am not sure for which one I should register.
All MS students should register for COMS E6901. 

Can I transfer graduate credits for courses taken at another university?
No, but you can substitute required courses by importing previous courses via the MICE system. You can find the instruction here. You need evidence of your course grade (must be B or better) and that your previous course content was equivalent to that of the CS course you are substituting for. Forms are electronically transferred to the relevant course instructor for approval and you will be notified by email of their decision. If approved, you still have to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours to receive your degree, but you can substitute those required courses for other electives. [EXCEPTION: if you are on the old M.S. program, you can get credit for non-Columbia, non-core graduate courses using Advanced Standing with approval from your advisor.]
Note that class imports must be completed during your first semester only.

Can I transfer graduate credits for courses taken at Columbia?
Yes. Fill out an Advance Standing form available from the CS Student Services office in 450 Mudd. Advance Standing towards the MS degree must be from 4000-level courses or above, taken at Columbia University only, and cannot have been counted towards a previous degree. No more than 15 points of advance standing is awarded.

I've taken some core courses here at Columbia, but I had to use them for my undergraduate degree. What should I do?
If you used these courses toward your undergraduate degree, you can not transfer credits. Yet you can still waive the core requirements. Because you have taken them at Columbia, please enter the course information manually in MICE under "Classes" instead of importing them via MICE. Please remember that you do not get credits for these courses, so you still have to complete a minimum of 30 credits to receive your degree. For more informatio, please

Can I transfer CVN course credits?
Yes.

How many CVN courses can I take as an on-campus M.S. student?
You must be a CVN student to access the online lectures.

How many CVN courses can I take in the summer?
The department does not limit the number of summer CVN classes that students take.  

Can I take courses in the summer?
The 'official' line for the M.S. program is that no summer courses are guaranteed to be offered, but some are occasionally. The bottom line is that there is no guarantee of required courses being offered outside of the Fall & Spring. Most students tend to take research hours in the summer. Details of the summer program for CS studies can be found here.

I need to take a temporary leave from the program, can I do this?
If you have completed at least one full semester in the program, are in good academic standing with a GPA of 2.7 or higher, and will not be away from the program for more than a total of 12 months, then you can complete a Leave of Absence request. Fill out a Leave of Absence request form and submit it to CS Student Services. This will be reviewed by both the department and the SEAS Office of Graduate Student Services. If you either fail to return from your absence or do not register without an approved absence, you will be withdrawn from the program. When you return from an approved Leave of Absence, please make sure you notify both CS Student Services and the SEAS Office of Graduate Student Services.

I have just enrolled as a Masters student this semester. Can I take a Leave of Absence immediately?
No, you can only take a Leave of Absence if you have been in the program for one full semester. If you have to leave before this time, you will need to officially withdraw from the program and reapply for admission. Your online application and official documents are held for at least 12 months from your original submission date and can be reactivated within this time.

I have been out of the M.S. program without an approved Leave of Absence, can I rejoin the program?
You can apply for readmission using the Readmission to Graduate Program application form available from and returnable to CS Student Services. Authorization for readmission is at the discretion of the CS department.

I am on the Old M.S. Program. What are my program requirements?
Your CS requirements for graduation are as agreed with your original faculty advisor and should be detailed on your track plan form. General guidelines for the Old M.S. Program can be found here.

Can I apply for the Ph.D. program while still in the M.S. program?
Yes, you can apply via the online application system in the normal way. Deadline date for fall admission to the Ph.D. program for current M.S. students is January 15th.

Graduation

What do I need to do in order to graduate?
You need to complete the following steps:

1. Fill out an Application for Degree and deliver a hard copy of the completed form directly to the Registrar’s Office in 205 Kent Hall.
   
2. Fill out a SEAS graduation form and return it *. An example of a completed form and instructions are here. Forms are tailored to each track:
1. Security
2. Foundations
3. Machine Learning
4. NLP
5. Networks
6. Software
7. Vision & Graphics
8. Computational Biology
   
9. Thesis
10. Personalized
3. Ensure that your online Track Plan in MICE is up-do-date, complete, and accurate.
4. Meet with your track advisor to ensure that you are fulfilling all of the program requirements and agreed credits listed on your approved track plan.

When do I need to complete graduation paperwork by?
Deadline dates for filing the application are listed here.

I am in my last semester and think I have completed all of my program requirements. How can I check this is so?
Log on to Student Services Online and take a look at your class and grade records. Make sure that all of the courses you think you have taken are correctly recorded. Compare your course record with the M.S. program requirements, the requirements of your chosen track, and your online Track Plan in MICE to make sure you have taken what you need to take to satisfy all requirements. Meet with your track advisor to ensure you are on track for graduation according to your agreed track.

What is the process of graduation clearance?
Once your paperwork has been filed, your Application for Degree is processed by the Registrar. Your official transcript gets forwarded to the CS department and is reviewed. You will be notified whether you are cleared for graduation at the department level or not following this review. Your record is then forwarded to SEAS and Columbia for further review. Be warned that although you may satisfy the department M.S. requirements, you may still be blocked for graduation by any outstanding holds or requirements not yet met at the university level. It is your responsibility to rectify any of these outstanding requirements.

It is the beginning of a new semester and I have fulfilled all of the requirements for my M.S. degree last semester, but I have yet to apply for graduation. Do I need to register as a student to do this?
You do not need to register, but you do need to fill out the Application for Degree and file it with the Registrar as soon as possible and make sure you complete the other steps outlined above.

I am applying for the post-completion Optional Practical Training as part of my F1 VISA. How do I get my OPT approval form signed?
Leave the completed OPT form with CS Student Services, indicating who your CS Track Advisor is. Note that you need to fill out this paperwork as early as possible since authorisation can take longer than three months.