FAQ

Our department imposes no minimal score requirements, but please do note that the Rutgers Graduate School publishes minimal requirements for English proficiency. See http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/information/international-students. During the admission process, we look at all the submitted material. Clearly, the better the test scores, the better the chances to get admitted.

University or Department funding can not be offered to MS students at Rutgers. We expect MS students to make their own financial arrangements. However, individual research groups are sometimes able to provide funding on a case-by-case basis to admitted MS students through their research grants. Your academic advisor can give you advice about contacting individual faculty members about opportunities for support in their research group.

No, that doest not impact your chances of getting accepted.

No, while it is helpful to have a degree in Computer Science, we look for the coursework you completed, not the name of your degree.

During the application process, you may provide unofficial transcripts and score reports via the supporting materials portal. You will be required to provide official documents upon admission.

No. We review applications twice per year, once each after the Fall and Spring deadlines.

You can request a deferral of your admission for another semester by sending an email to the cs-ms-program office and depositing a deferral fee of $1500. This fee will be refunded only if you join the program. For details and instructions, please send an email to

The application process is done online only through the web site http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu. You can find general information about the Graduate School New Brunswick at http://gsnb.rutgers.edu. If you want to apply to Rutgers-Newark or Rutgers-Camden, you need to contact their respective Graduate Schools.

Students can register only after having been officially admitted.

If you are a newly admitted foreign student, the registration material will be sent to the Graduate Program Assistant of the department, in Room 302, Hill Center, Busch Campus. All other students will receive registration material by mail at their home address. When you come to register you must have your certificate of admittance, as well as the instructions and course registration form that were sent to you. You will find out your advisor either by mail or by calling 848-445-7065.

The schedule of all graduate classes can be obtained from the department web site http://www.cs.rutgers.edu.

Changes in the schedule, new courses and special seminars not listed in this book, specific procedures for registration (such as the touch tone system), exact dates for registration, drop/add dates, etc. can all be found on the bulletin board outside Room 390 or on the above web site.

We request three letters of recommendation.

No.

There is no particular preference. We will be looking for evidence that you will meet your goals in our program and can succeed in all the work involved. Your letter writers should know you and be able to assess your accomplishments and potential.

Yes, we still may consider your application, although your case may be weaker.

Unfortunately, we do not have any application fee waivers.

Application

GRE Scores**

TOEFL Score**

Transcripts from all previous universities

Resume

Any certificates of completion for courses that do not appear on your transcripts

Contact information for three letters of recommendation

See Sections Admission Requirement of this document for details.

For the Spring semester: International, September 15th. MS applications only ; United States citizens as well as green card holders: October 15th.

For the Fall semester: February 1st for International MS applicants; United States citizens and green card holders MS applicants: March 1st.

University or Department funding can not be offered to MS students at Rutgers. We expect MS students to make their own financial arrangements. However, individual research groups are sometimes able to provide funding on a case-by-case basis to admitted MS students through their research grants. Your academic advisor can give you advice about contacting individual faculty members about opportunities for support in their research group.

Students may take CS graduate courses without being enrolled in our graduate degree programs (non-degree). There are two options:

1) Students with prior undergraduate degree in CS or related fields may apply to the CS graduate program, choosing the non-degree option. All MS admissions requirements apply, including MS application deadlines.

2) Students without undergraduate degree in CS or related fields may apply to the undergraduate CS program. Once admitted as a CS undergraduate, you are allowed to take a CS graduate course if you have taken the prerequisites and have obtained permission from the course instructor.

1) Take the General Graduate Record Examinations (GRE): [verbal, quantitative, analytical writing]

2) Obtain 3 letters of reference.

3) Obtain transcripts of all academic work at college level, both undergraduate and graduate.

4) Prepare a personal statement.

5) Fill out and submit an online application, and pay the required application fee

Please see the information about tuition and fees provided by Student Accounting, Billing, and Cashier Services:

https://studentabc.rutgers.edu/tuition-fees/tuition-fees-rates

We are the first column of the second page of the linked PDF

https://studentabc.rutgers.edu/files/graduate-school-nbpdf

Typically, our students take nine credits per semester for four semesters and pay the per-credit tuition rate.

Use institution code 2790 to send scores to Rutgers. Rutgers does not use ETS department codes. We will forward your scores to the correct department and update your status.

The Main MSCS site: https://www.cs.rutgers.edu/academics/graduate/m-s-program

Our department imposes no minimum score requirements, however, it is recommended to achieve the following GRE scores: 150 verbal and 160 quantitative. Please note that the Rutgers Graduate School publishes minimal requirements for English proficiency. See http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/information/international-students. During the admission process, we look at all the submitted material. Of course, the better the test scores, the better the chances to get admitted.

As a student can have at most 2C's /grades below it as well. If the student's GPA is above 3 and he/she has no more than 2C's he/she should be able to graduate

No, the essay or thesis must be written in English (except for some portion that may require a computer language, with English documentation).

You need 36 total credits to graduate. Each course grants 3 credits and a thesis grants 6 credits.

No. When working on your resume or career profile, you may mention that your courses were focused on a particular specialization/concentration. Sometimes, companies will ask for verification. Our MSCS Office can provide the appropriate verification letters when needed/requested.

The "practical experience" requirement is relaxed, meaning that the MSCS Program highly encourages students to acquire practical experience through CPT, but it is not needed for graduating with an MSCS degree.

Yes, the essay or thesis must be the student's own work. Incase of group project you need to declare which part of the project is implemented by you.

No. You do not need to take courses on your "Study Plan" to graduate with an MSCS degree. MSCS students have a lot more flexibility in choosing courses so long as they are following the MSCS degree requirements.

The Thesis Option requires students to write a Master's Thesis and register for 6 credits of 198: 704-706. A faculty member must agree to supervise the thesis and the student must provide written confirmation to the MS Director. The thesis must be a written account of a critical and scholarly investigation in an area of computer science and be approved by a thesis committee. The advisor and members of the thesis committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty in Computer Science. The student must also follow all thesis formatting, content, and submission guidelines from the School of Graduate Studies.

There are several forms that must be filled out and submitted by the appropriate deadlines in order for the student to receive a Master's Degree. It is the student's responsibility to complete all necessary paperwork on time. Information and forms can be obtained from the M.S. Administrative Assistant. Please check the modules of Computer Science course in Canvas for latest announcements and requirements or reach out to .

There are several forms that must be filled out and submitted by the appropriate deadlines in order for the student to receive a Master's Degree. It is the student's responsibility to complete all necessary paperwork on time. Information and forms can be obtained from the M.S. Administrative Assistant. Please check the modules of Computer Science course in Canvas for latest announcements and requirements or reach out to .

The essay must be approved by a member of the Graduate Faculty of the Department of Computer Science and the M.S. Director. The thesis must be approved by the student's thesis committee, which consists of the thesis supervisor and two other faculty members.

You can attend the advising sessions by visiting - https://www.cs.rutgers.edu/resources/reservations/index.php?viewwho=knpcslnub8e1q0hq5dklvhsb44

You can ask for the course approval by sending an email to

No. Concentrations purely exist as templates for students who wish to take certain classes related to their academic/professional interests. So long as you meet the rest of the MSCS degree requirements, you can graduate with an MSCS degree without taking some of the courses categorized under a given concentration.

Only if it's part-time (at most 20 hours). There is a GPA requirement of maintaining a 3.0 or higher, and you must have at least 18 (two semesters worth) in order to process CPT.

Only during summers. There are no GPA requirements, but you must have at least 18 credits (two semesters worth) in order to process CPT.

The Computer Science department enforces a maximum limit of 20 hours for part-time work during full semesters (spring and fall). Students are prohibited from exceeding this limit, whether the work is in the form of CPT, on-campus employment, or a combination of both.

Yes. Keep in mind that up to 12 credits from courses outside of the Rutgers CS department can be used to contribute to your MSCS degree requirements.

Linked here is a list of approved courses: https://www.cs.rutgers.edu/academics/graduate/m-s-program/course-categories

If you wish to apply for a non-Rutgers CS Department course that isn't listed above (courses from other Rutgers departments, Princeton-Rutgers Graduate Student Exchange Program, etc.), send an email to the cs-ms-program email address asking for approval along with the course description and syllabus.

 

If the non-Rutgers CS Department course contains course material that is already being taught in the MSCS Program, it will not be approved unless there is no more room for registration.

Students may take CS graduate courses without being enrolled in our graduate degree programs (non-degree). There are two options:

1) Students with prior undergraduate degree in CS or related fields may apply to the CS graduate program, choosing the non-degree option. All MS admissions requirements apply, including MS application deadlines.

2) Students without undergraduate degree in CS or related fields may apply to the undergraduate CS program. Once admitted as a CS undergraduate, you are allowed to take a CS graduate course if you have taken the prerequisites and have obtained permission from the course instructor.

Typically, students can take 4 courses (12 credits) per semester if they have a GPA of at least 3.5 with no grades lower than B, though they'll need Program Director/office approval first. However, you cannot take more than 4 courses (more than 12 credits). No exceptions.

Two of the four additional courses must be taken from Category A OR Category B, while the other two courses may be used for Essay Option (Category A or Category B) OR Thesis Option.

Yes, Thesis Option may also satisfy the credit requirements under "Four additional courses."

An essay OR thesis is required for graduation. Keep in mind that many courses in the MSCS Program have project assignments where project reports can be used as essays. However, you must receive a grade of B or higher on that project/project report for it to qualify as your graduation essay. Furthermore, the project report may only be used for one student who wishes to use it for graduation if it was a group assignment.

There are no concentration requirements

Badri Nath. However, use the cs-ms-program email address when filling out the CPT form.

Two years or four semesters of full-time study.

MSCS students are allowed to take at most one independent study course as part of the "Four courses from the list of courses acceptable for MSCS credit."

MSCS students must take two courses from Category A, two courses from Category B, four additional courses from Category A OR Category B, and four courses from the list of courses acceptable for MSCS credit.

https://www.cs.rutgers.edu/academics/graduate/m-s-program/course-categories

Rutgers Global Student and Scholar Services

https://global.rutgers.edu/international-scholars-students