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Northwest Missouri State University

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M.S. in Applied Computer Science

The Master of Science in Applied Computer Science offers students with strong undergraduate background in a technical computing discipline an opportunity to increase their technical expertise and to complement that expertise with fundamental business concepts related specifically to information technology. By increasing students’ knowledge in high demand areas, such as network security, web services, intelligent systems, human-computer interaction, component-based software engineering, and data warehousing, graduates of this program will be well-prepared to succeed in a very competitive job market. A year-long, six-credit hour Master’s Project will give students an opportunity to apply their knowledge. Graduates of this program will:

Full-time students with no deficiencies can expect to complete this program in two academic years.

Departmental Admission Requirements

Candidates for the M.S. in Applied Computer Science should meet the following requirements:

  1. Compliance with all of the eligibility requirements of the Graduate School as set forth in this catalog.
  2. Acceptance to graduate study by the Dean of the Graduate School.
  3. Completion of a four-year undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university with an undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale. Applicants are expected to have an undergraduate major or minor in a technical computing discipline, including coursework in
    • data structures
    • computer networks
    • software engineering or systems analysis and design
    • database systems
    • discrete mathematics
    • statistics
    Applicants who do not satisfy these requirements may take undergraduate level courses to remove any deficiencies except for Data Structures. The applicant must satisfy the requirement for Data Structures to be admited.
  4. Minimum verbal GRE score of 300 of better; quantitative score of 610 or better, a total score of 1000 or better; 3.0 or better on the analytical writing portion. 
  5. Two letters of recommendation on the student's ability to do graduate work, submitted with the student's application for admission to the Graduate School.

Applicants who do not meet these requirements may be admitted provisionally.

The Department of Computer Science/Information Systems reserves the right of final decision in accepting students to graduate degree candidacy in the department. Criteria for admittance to the program and acceptance to degree candidacy may include academic qualifications and performance, letters of recommendation, number of applicants, and available resources.

Advisement

A member of the graduate faculty of the Department of Computer Science/Information Systems will serve as the major advisor. The signature of the major advisor will be required on the Approved Program Form. The advisor must approve any changes to the student's Approved Program.

Research Project

The student, in consultation with his or her major advisor, will select graduate faculty members to serve on his/her research project committee. The committee will consist of three faculty members, two of whom must be graduate faculty members of the Department of Computer Science/Information Systems.

The degree candidate must submit a research project proposal to his/her research project committee. The committee members must approve the proposal.

Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination will be scheduled, administered, and evaluated by members of the graduate faculty in the department of Computer Science/Information Systems. The degree candidate must pass all portions of the examination.

Degree Requirements

Thirty-three hours of graduate credit are required for completion of the M.S. in Applied Computer Science, with at least 16 hours at the 600-level.

Computer Science Core Courses

Course No. Course Name Hours
44-542 Object Oriented Programming 3
44-555 Server Applications and Network Security 3
44-560 Advanced Database Systems 3
44-563 Web Services Technologies 3
44-611 Information Technology Systems and Cost Management 3
44-618 Project Management in Business and Technology 3
44-663 Component-Based Software Engineering 3
44-664 Human Computer Interaction 3
44-667 Intelligent Systems 3
44-696 Directed Graduate Project 6
Total Credit Hours: 33

For more information about this program, contact

Dr. Merry McDonald, Professor
Department of Computer Science/Information Systems

Northwest Missouri State University
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468
Phone: (660) 562-1600
E-mail: merry@nwmissouri.edu