Admission Requirements

• A minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75 based upon four years of course work or a 3.0 undergraduate GPA based upon work completed during the junior and senior years
• ​A detailed personal statement explaining the specific interests and experiences in this field, and the career goals
• Three appropriate letters of recommendation
• Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work
• A composite score of 290 or greater on the quantitative and verbal parts of the GRE General Test *

*GRE waiver: The GRE is waived for applicants who meet any one of the following criteria:

• Have earned, or are completing, an undergraduate degree from Bridgewater State University
• Have earned, or are completing, an undergraduate degree in Computer Science
• Have earned, or are completing, an undergraduate degree in any major with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3
• Were previously enrolled in the MS in Computer Science program and are applying for readmission
• Have earned an undergraduate degree outside Bridgewater State University and have completed COMP 151 - Computer Science I  and COMP 152 - Computer Science II  at Bridgewater State University and earned a minimum grade of “B” in both courses.  

All other applicants must submit a GRE test score.

The Master of Science in Computer Science program seeks to attract individuals from various backgrounds who are highly motivated and prepared to meet the challenges of a rigorous advanced degree curriculum. In addition to a bachelor’s degree, applicants should be familiar with the organization of computers and have competencies in:

• a high-level programming language such as C, C++, Python or Java;
• discrete and continuous mathematics;
• data structures and algorithms.

Demonstrated competencies within these areas can be achieved through professional experience, undergraduate study or transitional graduate course work. Students who do not already have a computer science degree should contact the program coordinator to determine their level of preparedness.

Early Admission Requirements

BSU undergraduates in Computer Science and Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics can apply for early admittance in their junior or senior year of undergraduate study. Both Computer Science and Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics BS students should consult with the graduate program coordinator during the sophomore or junior year to ensure proper preparation. Upon acceptance, students may take up to two graduate-level courses during their final year of undergraduate study, and may apply these courses to both the undergraduate and graduate degrees. The two graduate-level courses may be counted as free electives toward the 120 required undergraduate credits. A minimum grade of “B” is required for graduate credit.

Although students may be accepted into the graduate program at this point, they will be classified as undergraduate students until the BS degree has been awarded. They will be classified as graduate students in 
the following semester.

Requirements for early admission are:

• Minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.3 and the completion of three courses of COMP 151 - Computer Science I , COMP 152 - Computer Science II  and COMP 250 - Data Structures and Algorithms   with a minimum grade of “B” in all three courses.
• Junior or senior rank in the Computer Science BS or Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics BS program at BSU
• Enrollment or completion of in the following courses with a minimum grade of “B”:
  • Computer Science BS students:
    • COMP 350 - Operating Systems  
    • COMP 435 - Analysis of Algorithms  
  • Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics BS students: 
    • CYBF 350 - System Security  
    • CYBF 390 - Network Security  
  • Continued enrollment is contingent upon completing these courses with a minimum grade of “B”.
• A detailed personal statement explaining the specific interests and experiences in this field, and the career goals
• Three academic or professional letters of recommendation
• Official transcripts of all undergraduate course work

The application fee for the Master’s Degree Early Acceptance application will be waived

Program of Study