Units required for Major (both BS and MS): 96-99
Total units required for Blended BS/MS: 138
Program Description:
The Blended BS/MS program in Computer Science provides an accelerated route to a graduate professional degree, with simultaneous conferring of both Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Students in the blended program can progress from undergraduate to graduate status without applying for admission through the Office of Graduate Studies. Students are required to complete all requirements for both degrees, including senior project for the Bachelor’s degree.
Admission Requirements
Students majoring in Computer Science will be eligible to apply to the program if they meet the following criteria:
- Completion of the WPJ or equivalent, eligible for WI course, and completion of the prerequisites for CSC 190 (Senior Project I);
- Completion of 60 Undergraduate Units
- Have not yet enrolled in CSC 190 or need one academic year to meet the BS requirements;
- Have a minimum overall GPA of 3.3; and
- Have a minimum GPA in CSC 130-139 of 3.3
Please note: Students must complete their application while in undergraduate status and with at least 30 semester units remaining until graduation
Application Procedures
Students interested in applying to the Blended BS/MS Program should follow the following procedure:
- Prior to Week 4 during the semester before taking CSC 190, students must complete the department application.
- Applicants do not need to pay the graduate program application fee.
- Electronic applications will be submitted to the CSC Graduate Coordinator for review.
- Upon acceptance to the program, the department forwards the approved application to the Office of Graduate Studies who will inform the Registrar’s Office of the student’s change in status.
- When completing 12 units of graduate courses as specified in the program of study and other BS requirements, the student must apply for a change to graduate status and the BS degree can be awarded.
Program of Study
In the two semesters of their senior year (Year 4), students admitted to the program are required to take the following courses:
- CSC 200 Professional Writing in Computer Science (3 units)
- Three graduate-level courses (200-level) in Computer Science (3 units each)
The graduate courses listed above substitute for 3 units of the BS required upper division courses and 9 units of the BS electives. When completing 12 units of graduate courses listed above and other BS requirements, the student must apply for a change to graduate status and the BS degree can be awarded. Students will be eligible to receive the MS degree when the remaining requirements for the graduate degree are completed (i.e., the requirements for the MS degree are the same whether taken separately or blended).
Pre-Major Requirements
Students requesting to become Computer Science majors must first complete the lower-division (pre-major) courses listed in this section. If a student requests to become a Computer Science major but has not yet completed these courses, they should change their major to pre-Computer Science. Changing to the pre-Computer Science major requires either completion of or enrollment in MATH 30 and a Sacramento State and overall GPA of at least 2.5. Changing to the Computer Science major requires a GPA of at least 2.7 in the courses listed in this section.
To change to the Computer Science or pre-Computer Science major, students are required to complete and submit a Change of Major form to the Computer Science Department Office along with transcript copies.
Registration in Computer Science courses numbered 133 and above is restricted to Computer Science and Computer Engineering majors. Other students need to obtain approval from the CSC Department Chair.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CSC 15 | Programming Concepts and Methodology I | 3 |
| CSC 20 | Programming Concepts and Methodology II | 3 |
| CSC 28 | Discrete Structures for Computer Science | 3 |
| CSC 35 | Introduction to Computer Architecture | 3 |
| MATH 30 | Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 31 | Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 11A | General Physics: Mechanics | 4 |
Minimum Units and Grade Requirement for the Degree
Units Required for the Blended BS/MS: 138
A grade of "C-" or better is required in all undergraduate-level courses (199-level and below) applied to the Computer Science major.
A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a grade of "C" or better are required for all graduate-level courses (200-level and above).
Note: Only those graduate courses completed within seven years prior to date of graduation will satisfy course requirements.
Advancement to MS Candidacy
No later than the second week during their first semester in graduate status (Year 5), the students taking the culminating experience are required to submit to the department a thesis/project proposal approved by their committees and apply for Advancement to Candidacy (ATC). The application for ATC must be submitted at least one semester prior to registering for CSC 500/502.
Each student must file an application for Advancement to Candidacy with the Office of Graduate Studies indicating a proposed program of graduate study for the completion of the graduate portion of the BS/MS program. This procedure should begin as soon as the classified graduate student has:
- completed or currently enrolling with a minimum of 12 units of CSC 200 level courses in the graduate program with a minimum 3.0 GPA; and
- taken or currently enrolling with CSC 200 with a grade of at least B.
Each student must be advanced to candidacy prior to registering for CSC 500/502. Advancement to Candidacy forms are available on the Office of Graduate Studies website.
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Required Lower Division Courses (15 Units) | ||
| CSC 15 | Programming Concepts and Methodology I | 3 |
| CSC 20 | Programming Concepts and Methodology II | 3 |
| CSC 28 | Discrete Structures for Computer Science | 3 |
| CSC 35 | Introduction to Computer Architecture | 3 |
| CSC 60 | Introduction to Systems Programming in UNIX | 3 |
| Required Mathematics and Science Courses (21-24 Units) | ||
| MATH 30 | Calculus I 1 | 4 |
| MATH 31 | Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 11A | General Physics: Mechanics 1 | 4 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 - 4 | |
| Introduction to Probability and Statistics | ||
| Statistics For Engineers | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Linear Algebra 2 | ||
| Applied Linear Algebra 2 | ||
| Combinatorics | ||
| Number Theory | ||
| Introduction to Numerical Analysis | ||
| Deductive Logic II | ||
| Intermediate Statistics | ||
| Introduction to Probability Theory | ||
| Introduction to Techniques of Operations Research | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 - 5 | |
| Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology 1 | ||
| Basic Biological Concepts 1 | ||
| General Chemistry I | ||
| General Chemistry for Engineering | ||
| General Physics: Heat, Light, Sound, Modern Physics | ||
| General Physics: Electricity and Magnetism | ||
| Required Upper Division Courses (30 Units) | ||
| Select 30 units from the following in consultation with the graduate coordinator: | 30 | |
| Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis | ||
| Computer Software Engineering | ||
| Object-Oriented Computer Graphics Programming | ||
| Database Management Systems | ||
| Computability and Formal Languages | ||
| Computer Organization | ||
| Computer Networking Fundamentals | ||
| Operating System Principles | ||
| Senior Project - Part I | ||
| Senior Project - Part II | ||
| Business and Computer Ethics 1 | ||
Include two units from the following: | ||
| Career Planning | ||
| Web Programming | ||
| Computer Science Seminar | ||
| Fieldwork in Computer Science | ||
| Professional Practice | ||
| Co-Curricular Activities in Computer Science | ||
| Special Problems | ||
| Seminar in Peer-Assisted Learning | ||
| Undergraduate Electives | ||
| Three 200-level graduate courses taken during the last year of study in the BS program substitute for 9 units of the BS electives. | ||
| Required Graduate Courses (16 Units) | ||
| CSC 200 | Professional Writing in Computer Science | 3 |
| CSC 201 | Programming Language Principles | 3 |
| CSC 205 | Computer Systems Structure 3 | 3 |
| CSC 206 | Algorithms And Paradigms 3 | 3 |
| CSC 209 | Research Methodology | 1 |
| CSC 290 | Preparation for Culminating Experience | 3 |
| Graduate Breadth Requirement (9 Units) | ||
| Select three courses from at least TWO of the following areas: | 9 | |
| Computer Architecture/Computer Engineering | ||
| Microprocessor Systems Architecture | ||
| Computer-Aided Systems Design and Verification | ||
| Hierarchical Digital Design Methodology | ||
| Advanced Computer Architecture | ||
| Data Science | ||
| Bioinformatics: Data Integration and Algorithms | ||
| Machine Learning | ||
| Human-Computer Interface Design | ||
| Database System Design | ||
| Distributed Systems | ||
| Information Assurance and Security | ||
| Computer Security | ||
| Cryptography Theory and Practice | ||
| Computer Forensics | ||
| Network Security | ||
| Distributed Systems | ||
| Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Machine Learning | ||
| Computer Vision | ||
| Deep Learning | ||
| Networks and Communications | ||
| Computer Networks | ||
| Distributed Systems | ||
| Advanced Data Communication Systems | ||
| Software Engineering | ||
| Software System Engineering | ||
| Software Engineering Metrics | ||
| Software Requirements Analysis and Design | ||
| Advanced Software Engineering Project Management | ||
| Software Verification and Validation | ||
| Software Architecture | ||
| Formal Methods in Secure Software Engineering | ||
| Human-Computer Interface Design | ||
| System and Networks | ||
| Advanced Operating Systems Principles and Design | ||
| Performance Modeling and Evaluation | ||
| Computer Security | ||
| Principles of Compiler Design | ||
| Computer Networks | ||
| Distributed Systems | ||
| Advanced Data Communication Systems | ||
| Theory and Practice of Parallel Programming with GPUs | ||
| Computer Graphics Theories and Algorithms | ||
| Graduate Restricted Electives (3 Units) | ||
| Select 3 units 4 | 3 | |
| Culminating Requirement (2 Units) | ||
| Select one of the following: | 2 | |
| Master's Thesis 5 | ||
| Master's Project 5 | ||
| Total Units | 96-99 | |
- 1
Course also satisfies General Education (GE)/Graduation Requirement.
- 2
Computer science students choosing between MATH 35 and MATH 100 should normally choose MATH 100 because it is more applied. MATH 35 at Sacramento State is designed for math majors.
- 3
Students whose undergraduate preparation has covered a significant amount of the material in CSC 205 or CSC 206 may be given a waiver by the Department from taking one or more of these courses. In this case, for each course waived with department approval, the student must take three additional units from the list below.
- 4
Students should choose their electives according to the following guidelines:
a.) Any 200-level CSC courses not already used to satisfy the Breadth Requirement, with the exception of CSC 295 and CSC 299.
b.) Related 200-level courses from outside the Computer Science Department may only be taken with prior department approval and may not have been used in another program.- 5
Students are required to conduct an oral defense of their master's projects or their master's thesis. The recommended department-level deadline in each semester for submitting an MS project or thesis signed by the committee chair and its members to the Graduate Coordinator's office is 10 working days prior to the University deadline.
Opt-Out Option
Students who wish to opt out after completing the four graduate courses and other BS requirements may do so and the four graduate courses substitute for 3 units of the BS required upper division courses and 9 units of the BS electives.
The total number of units required for the BS degree will be the same (120 units) as for students who are not in the blended program.