Computer Science Department

Graduate Degrees

The Graduate Engineering programs are designed to enhance the student’s research capabilities and to make the student more competitive in professional practice. They are the continuation of the intellectual, scholarly, and professional development of the individual producing technological leaders and creative engineers and computer scientists devoted to the discovery, development, and refinement of knowledge and methodologies associated with the various engineering and computer disciplines. Each degree candidate is expected to have demonstrated the highest degree of professional ethics and standards. The College of Engineering provides excellent facilities in support of its graduate programs.

The Master of Science Degree in Engineering is a general engineering program with four areas of concentration including:

• Computer Science
• Computer Information Systems

Each area of concentration has an option of a thesis or non-thesis degree plan. Each option includes 12 semester credit hours of graduate courses in general engineering with the remaining hours to be determined by the student and their academic advisor during the first semester of acceptance to the graduate program as a degree status student.

Information about the Five-Year BS/MS Programs

The B.S. and M.S. degrees offered through this option are identical to the individual B.S. and M.S. degrees offered in each Department. The combined five-year degree plan provides students with the opportunity to obtain these degrees in less time than would be required when pursuing them independently. Junior and senior engineering majors who are within 30 semester-credit hours of completing the requirements for an undergraduate degree may, upon being recommended

by the department head and their respective dean of their College, register for up to six semester-credit hours of graduate courses. These graduate courses may be used to meet undergraduate upper-level technical electives requirements as well as be used to meet graduate requirements at Prairie View A&M University.

Minimum Requirements

1. Current undergraduate engineering student with junior or senior class standing within 30 hours of completing an undergraduate degree
2. Current GPA is a 3.0 or above
3. Student willing to take six hours of graduate courses as the electives for BS degree

Click the following links for more information and the application process

• Info from the University Catalog
• Info at the College of Engineering website

The new CS course numbers (TCCNs) that will be effective starting the fall 2021 semester

• Click here for the course number mapping between old ones and the new ones

Policy About master thesis plagiarism check – follow Graduate School policy (<= 10%)

Policy About master project report plagiarism check

Once the student finishes the report, the advisor needs to use TurnItIn through eCourse to compare the contents with existing literature in professional libraries and Internet resources. The appendix of the report (e.g. source code) can be excluded from TurnItIn examination. If the report has less than or equal to 20% similarity to existing work, the writing is acceptable. Otherwise, the report needs to be returned to the student for rewriting. Before fixing the writing, the student will not be allowed to do the final presentation.

Source code plagiarism checks will be conducted separately. Advisors, coordinator and department head can use available tools such as Codequiry to examine it.