Master of Science in Computer Engineering
About This Program
The purpose of the graduate program in Computer Engineering is to facilitate the student's continued professional and scholarly development. The Master of Science in Computer Engineering is designed to extend the student's knowledge and emphasize a particular area of concentration.
The thesis option is designed to develop the scholarship and research skills of the student. It requires 30 credit hours of which six are thesis credits. The non-thesis option provides professional development to students with an engineering baccalaureate degree. This option is intended to serve the needs of students who, through their work, have experience doing projects but who do not wish to do a thesis. It requires 36 credit hours.
Competencies
- Upon graduation, students will be able to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems in computer systems by applying computer engineering principles.
- Upon graduation, students will be able to apply computer engineering design to build and analyze combined hardware and software systems that meet specified needs of real-world tasks and applications.
- Upon graduation, students will be able to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
Admissions Criteria
The CSE graduate admissions committee bases its admission decision on the following criteria (in no specific order):
- An undergraduate degree, preferably in an area related to computer science, computer engineering, or software engineering.
- An overall GPA of 3.0 or higher in undergraduate coursework.
- A 3.2 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) on the last two years of undergraduate coursework. In particular, performance on Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Software Engineering related courses are emphasized.
- Relevance of the student’s degree (background) to the CSE curriculum.
- Rigor of the student’s Bachelor’s degree. A three-year degree is not considered rigorous. Note: International applicants with a “3+2” Master’s degree will be evaluated as equivalent to a 4-year Bachelor’s degree.
- Reputation of the University/College from which the student has received his/her previous degrees.
- A sum of verbal plus quantitative scores of at least 305 on the GRE. Additionally:
- GRE quantitative score of at least 160
- GRE verbal score of at least 145
- The department does not require the advanced computer science test. A passing score on the Engineering in-Training (EIT) exam is also given consideration for admission decisions.
- Students may be accepted with a GRE score of 300, but may be required to complete additional coursework for their MS degree (see degree requirements found later in this document). In this case:
- GRE quantitative score of at least 155
- GRE verbal score of at least 145
- Students may also be accepted with up to three deficiency courses, but may be required to do additional coursework for their MS degree (see degree requirements found later in this document).
- International Applicants will need to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and score at least 83 with no area score of less than 20, or take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and score at least 6.5 in all areas.
Note:
- Applications with significant mathematics deficiencies may be deferred/denied pending completion of the required courses.
- We neither require nor review letters of recommendation or a statements of purpose from MS applicants.
- Students with (or completing in the near future) a BS awarded by the CSE department at UTA or a comparable degree from another accredited U.S. university who have a GPA of at least 3.2 should contact the graduate advisor regarding a GRE waiver. UTA CSE students with a GPA of at least 3.5 should contact the graduate advisor regarding nomination for Advanced Admission (i.e. admission without application and fee). Baseline criteria for GRE waiver and Advanced Admission are established by the Graduate Dean and can be found in the current version of the UTA Graduate Catalog.
Unconditional Admission
Applies to an applicant who meets the first six criteria above to a degree satisfactory to the graduate admissions committee.
Probationary Admission
Applies to an applicant who meets at least five of the six criteria to a degree satisfactory to the graduate admissions committee and whose record shows promise for success in the program or to an applicant who does not fulfill all the deficiency course requirements.
Denial of Admission
Applies to an applicant who does not meet five of the first six criteria to a degree satisfactory to the graduate admissions committee.
Waiver of Graduate Record Examination
Upon recommendation of the Graduate Advisor, outstanding UT Arlington graduates may qualify for waiver of the requirements for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). To qualify, the applicant must meet the following minimum requirements:
- The student must have graduated from a commensurate bachelor's degree program at UT Arlington no more than three academic years prior to admission to the graduate program (as measured from the start of the semester for which admission is sought). A commensurate bachelor's degree program is one that is a normal feeder program for the master's degree program to which the student seeks admission. Undergraduate students in their final year of study are also eligible; in such cases, admission with the GRE waiver is contingent upon successful completion of the bachelor's degree.
- as calculated for admission to the Graduate School ;
- overall;
- in the major field; and
- in all upper-division work.
- The student's UT Arlington grade-point average must equal or exceed 3.0 in the following calculations:
Applicants qualifying for waiver of GRE who do not qualify for advanced admission, must comply with all other requirements for admission, i.e., submitting the application for admission, paying fees, providing official transcripts from other institutions, and meeting any requirements established by the admitting graduate program. The GRE waiver must be recommended by the Graduate Advisor at the time of admission. The waiver of GRE program applies to applicants for master's degree programs only. Some programs may require higher grade-point averages to qualify and some will not waive the GRE under any circumstances.
Additionally, some programs may waive the GRE requirement for non-UT Arlington graduates who seek admission as a master's student and meet qualifications listed in those programs' specific admission requirements. Such waivers are not offered by all graduate programs.
Curriculum
| Foundation/Leveling Courses | ||
| Might be required to address deficiencies. | ||
| CSE 5400 | FUNDAMENTALS OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS 1 | |
| CSE 5401 | FUNDAMENTALS OF DIGITAL SYSTEMS 1 | |
| MS CpE Foundation (Core Courses) | 6 | |
| Choose two of the following: | ||
| CSE 5301 | DATA ANALYSIS & MODELING TECHNIQUES | |
| CSE 5306 | DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS | |
| CSE 5311 | DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS | |
| CSE 5317 | DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF COMPILERS | |
| CSE 5342 | EMBEDDED SYSTEMS II | |
| CSE 5350 | COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE II | |
| CSE 5351 | PARALLEL PROCESSING | |
| CSE 5357 | ADVANCED DIGITAL LOGIC DESIGN | |
| Core Specialty Area | ||
| Choose three courses from one of the following two core specialty areas, one of which must be 6000-level | 9 | |
| Systems & Architecture: 2 | ||
| DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS | ||
| DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF COMPILERS | ||
| CLOUD COMPUTING | ||
| MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS | ||
| COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE II | ||
| PARALLEL PROCESSING | ||
| MICROPROCESSOR SYSTEMS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING | ||
| RISC PROCESSOR DESIGN | ||
| GENERAL PURPOSE GPU ARCHITECTURE | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO UNMANNED VEHICLE SYSTEMS | ||
| UNMANNED VEHICLE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN OPERATING SYSTEMS | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING | ||
| FAULT TOLERANT SYSTEMS | ||
| COMPUTER ENGINEERING SYSTEM DESIGN | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN SYSTEMS & ARCHITECTURE | ||
| Embedded Systems: 2 | ||
| EMBEDDED SYSTEMS II | ||
| IoT AND NETWORKING | ||
| REAL-TIME OPERATING SYSTEMS | ||
| ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS AND SENSORS | ||
| SYSTEM ON CHIP (SoC) DESIGN | ||
| ADVANCED DIGITAL LOGIC DESIGN | ||
| MICROPROCESSOR SYSTEMS | ||
| RISC PROCESSOR DESIGN | ||
| GENERAL PURPOSE GPU ARCHITECTURE | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING | ||
| COMPUTER ENGINEERING SYSTEM DESIGN | ||
| Breadth Courses | ||
| Select two CSE courses (5000 or 6000 level). Breadth courses cannot be from any otherwise selected specialty area, nor can they be from the same specialty area as each other. 3 | 6 | |
| Completion Options | 9-15 | |
| Select one of the following completion options. | ||
| Non-Thesis | 15 | |
Select three courses from a second specialty area, including core areas above and the auxiliary areas listed below, one of which must be 6000-level | ||
BigData/Databases: 2 | ||
| DATABASE SYSTEMS | ||
| DBMS MODELS AND IMPLEMENTATION TECHNIQUES | ||
| CLOUD COMPUTING | ||
| DATA MINING | ||
| WEB DATA MANAGEMENT | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN DATABASE SYSTEMS | ||
| SOCIAL NETWORKS AND SEARCH ENGINES | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN DATABASE SYSTEMS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN ADVANCED DATABASE SYSTEMS | ||
| MACHINE LEARNING | ||
Imaging/Bioinformatics 2 | ||
| MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS | ||
| COMPUTER GRAPHICS | ||
| BIOINFORMATICS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN BIOINFORMATICS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN MULTIMEDIA, GRAPHICS, & IMAGE PROCESSING | ||
| DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING | ||
| COMPUTER VISION | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN ADVANCED BIOINFORMATICS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN ADVANCED MULTIMEDIA, GRAPHICS, & IMAGE PROCESSING | ||
Intelligent Systems/Robotics: 2 | ||
| DATA MINING | ||
| ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS AND SENSORS | ||
| ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE I | ||
| ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE II | ||
| SOCIAL NETWORKS AND SEARCH ENGINES | ||
| ROBOTICS | ||
| PATTERN RECOGNITION | ||
| NEURAL NETWORKS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO UNMANNED VEHICLE SYSTEMS | ||
| UNMANNED VEHICLE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT | ||
| MACHINE LEARNING | ||
| DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING | ||
| COMPUTER VISION | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS ADVANCED INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS | ||
Networks/IoT/Communications: | ||
| FUNDAMENTALS OF WIRELESS NETWORKS | ||
| NETWORKS II | ||
| FUNDAMENTALS OF BLOCKCHAIN & CRYPTOCURRENCY TECHNOLOGIES | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN NETWORKING | ||
| IoT AND NETWORKING | ||
| DIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS | ||
| WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN COMMUNICATION NETWORKS | ||
| PERVASIVE COMPUTING & COMMUNICATIONS | ||
| ADVANCED WIRELESS NETWORKS & MOBILE COMPUTING | ||
| EMBEDDED SYSTEM NETWORKING | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN ADVANCED NETWORKING | ||
Security/Privacy: 2 | ||
| INFORMATION SECURITY 1 | ||
| INFORMATION SECURITY 2 | ||
| SECURE PROGRAMMING | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN INFORMATION SECURITY | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN ADVANCED INFORMATION SECURITY | ||
Software Engineering 2 | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING | ||
| SOFTWARE TESTING | ||
| SOFTWARE DESIGN PATTERNS | ||
| SOFTWARE ENGINEERING PROCESSES | ||
| SOFTWARE ENGINEERING: ANALYSIS, DESIGN, AND TESTING | ||
| SOFTWARE ENGINEERING: MANAGEMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE | ||
| REAL-TIME SOFTWARE DESIGN | ||
| TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT | ||
| SOFTWARE ENGINEERING TEAM PROJECT I | ||
| SOFTWARE ENGINEERING TEAM PROJECT II | ||
| SECURE PROGRAMMING | ||
| AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN ADVANCED SOFTWARE ENGINEERING | ||
Data Analytics/Algorithms/Theory: 2 | ||
| DATA ANALYSIS & MODELING TECHNIQUES | ||
| PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE CONCEPTS | ||
| DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS | ||
| COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY | ||
| NUMERICAL METHODS | ||
| MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND SIMULATION OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS | ||
| DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF COMPILERS | ||
| APPLIED GRAPH THEORY AND COMBINATORICS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN THEORY & ALGORITHMS | ||
| ADVANCED COMPUTATIONAL MODELS AND ALGORITHMS | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN THEORETICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN ADVANCED THEORY AND ALGORITHMS | ||
| Thesis | 9 | |
Select one 5000/6000 level from CSE or a related program | ||
Select 6 hours from the following: | ||
| MASTER'S THESIS I | ||
| MASTER'S THESIS II | ||
| Total Hours | 30-36 | |
- 1
This is a leveling course that will be assigned to any CpE students who are missing foundation course(s) from their undergraduate degree. This course is designed to ensure that all CpE students have the necessary computer hardware background required to be successful in the CpE program. This course can be used as an elective.
- 2
Specialty Area courses and course offerings are subject to change.
Program Completion
- Only courses with earned grades of C or better can be used to satisfy degree requirements. No graduate level course in which the final grade was D or F may be used to satisfy a degree requirement. Courses in which a student earned a C, D, or F might be eligible for grade forgiveness under the Graduate Grade Forgiveness policy found in the UTA catalog.
- Students must maintain a cumulative and major GPA of at least 3.0 in all coursework.
- Grades in all courses count in the student’s UTA cumulative GPA unless a course is repeated and grade forgiveness is applied.