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SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

• Complete a total of 30 points (Courses must be at the 4000 level or above)
• Maintain at least a 2.7 overall GPA. (No more than 1 D is permitted).
• Complete the Columbia Engineering Professional Development & Leadership (PDL) requirement
• Satisfy breadth requirements
• Take at least 6 points of technical courses at the 6000 level
• At most, up to 3 points of your degree can be Non-CS/Non-pathway if they are deemed relevant and sufficiently technical in nature. Please submit the course syllabus to your CS Faculty Advisor for review, and then forward the approval confirmation email to ms-advising@cs.columbia.edu

1. Breadth Courses

Visit the breadth requirement page for more information.

2. Fundamental Courses

Students complete the following three courses: COMS W4115, COMS W4118, and either COMS W4152 or COMS W4156. Students who have taken equivalent courses in the past and received grades of at least a B may apply for waivers and take other CS courses instead.

Course ID	Title
COMS W4115	Programming Languages and Translators
COMS W4118	Operating Systems I
COMS W4152* OR COMS W4156*	Engineering Software as a Service OR Advanced Software Engineering

*W4156 is offered only in the fall.  W4152 not offered in 2024-2025.

Check the registrar’s website for definitive information as to which courses are offered in a given semester.

3. Secondary Courses Part I

Students complete at least two 4000-level courses (6 credits) selected from the following list of courses. Note: some of the 4000-level electives are offered every semester, and some are offered only one semester per year, while others are not offered regularly. If you have questions about courses or your course plan, reach out to your CS Faculty Advisor.

Course ID	Title
COMS W4111	Introduction to Databases
COMS W4112	Database System Implementation
COMS W4113	Fundamentals of Large-Scale Distributed Systems
COMS W4117	Compilers and Interpreters
CSEE W4119	Computer Networks
COMS W4130	Principles and Practice of Parallel Programming
COMS W4153	Cloud Computing (Fall 2024 and beyond)
COMS W4170	User Interface Design
COMS W4181	Computer Security I
COMS W4444	Programming and Problem Solving
CSEE W4840	Embedded Systems
COMS W4995**	Topics in Computer Science (Visit the topics courses page to see which COMS 4995 courses apply)

**Topics in Computer Science (4995) sections must be approved as qualifying “Software Systems” courses by your Software Systems Faculty Advisor. Typically, this would mean topics offered by a software systems faculty member or by an affiliated adjunct.

COMS W4187 Security Architecture and Engineering is no longer offered; students who took 4187 when it was offered in the past may include it as a 4000-level course. It has been replaced by COMS W4181 Computer Security I. Students who completed COMS W4186 Malware Analysis and Reverse Engineering prior to Fall 2020 may include it as a 4000-level elective course. It has been replaced by CSEE W4840 Embedded Systems.

Check the registrar’s website for definitive information as to which courses are offered in a given semester.

4. Secondary Courses Part II

Students complete at least two 6000-level courses (6 credits) selected from the following pre-approved list. Note: some of the 6000-level electives are offered only one semester per year, while others are not offered regularly. If you have questions about courses or your course plan, reach out to your CS Faculty Advisor.

Course ID	Title
COMS E6111	Advanced Database Systems
COMS E6113	Topics in Database Systems
COMS E6114	Advanced Distributed Systems
COMS E6117	Topics in Programming Languages and Translators
COMS E6118	Operating Systems II
COMS E6121	Reliable Software
COMS E6156	Topics in Software Engineering
COMS E6156	Cloud Computing (Prior to Fall 2024)
COMS E6178	Human-Computer Interaction
COMS E6184	Anonymity & Privacy
COMS E6424	Hardware Security
CSEE E6863	Formal Verification of Hardware and Software Systems
COMS E6901**	Projects in Computer Science (Advisor approval required)
COMS E6998**	Topics in Computer Science (Visit the topics courses page to see which COMS 6998 courses apply)

**Projects in Computer Science (6901) and Topics in Computer Science (6998) courses must be approved as qualifying “Software Systems” electives by your Software Systems Faculty Advisor. Typically, this would mean topics/projects offered by a software systems faculty member or by an affiliated adjunct. COMS E6900 Tutorial in Computer Science (with an appropriate faculty member) can be substituted for E6901 with the advisor’s approval.

Check the registrar’s website for definitive information as to which courses are offered in a given semester.

5. General Electives

Students complete the remaining credits of General Elective Courses at the 4000 level or above. At least three of these points must be chosen from either the Electives listed above or from the CS department at the 4000 level or higher.

Students may also request to use at most 3 points of Non-CS/Non-pathway coursework if approved by the process listed below.

• At most, up to 3 points of your degree can be Non-CS/Non-Pathway if they are deemed relevant and sufficiently technical in nature. Please submit the course syllabus to your CS Faculty Advisor for review, and then forward the approval confirmation email to ms-advising@cs.columbia.edu

Please note:

• Students who waive requirements by using previous courses must still complete 30 graduate credits. This can be done by expanding their elective selection to include courses listed as fundamental and elective courses, or by taking other graduate courses

• Due to a significant overlap in course material, MS students can only take 1 of the following courses – COMS 4771, ELEN 4903, IEOR 4525, STAT 4240, STAT 4400/4241/5241 – as part of their degree requirements

• The Degree Progress Checklist should be used to keep track of your requirements. If you have questions for your Faculty Advisor or CS Advising, you should have an updated Checklist prepared

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PROGRAM PLANNING

Please visit the Directory of Classes to get the updated course listings. Please also note that not all courses are offered every semester or even every year. A few courses are offered only once every two or three years or even less frequently.

Please note that some Data Science Institute courses, such as COMS/CSEE W4121 (Computer Systems for Data Science), do not count towards the CS MS degree. If you have any questions, please contact your advisor or CS Advising.

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Last updated on: 08/18/2025