Contents

  1. Applicants
  2. Multiple Degree Programs
  3. Transfer Credits
  4. Graduation
  5. Semester Course Offerings
  6. Concentrations

Applicants

Please see https://onlinemscs.utk.edu for more program and recruiting information.

Applicants: Please see our topics list before you apply. Please see our website to speak with an enrollment advisor.

This page is to assist students who have been accepted into the program and are looking for a quick reference of which courses they should take. Courses will be offered to allow students to take both a depth of courses and a breadth across concentrations. Students should take their core and focused courses as soon as they are offered.

Students should review the course descriptions at https://catalog.utk.edu.

Multiple Degree Programs

If you are taking additional classes for a separate concentration or certificate, those courses do not count towards this degree. Only the courses listed below in your selected concentration will count towards the degree.

Transfer Credits

If you have already taken some classes towards an MS in Computer Science from an accredited university or institute, up to nine (9) credit hours may be transferred to use towards your MSCS degree. However, these courses must be approved by your advisor (typically, me) and will be documented on your MS candidacy form.

Only courses that are close to the courses you need to take for your concentration can be transferred. For example, an industrial engineering class cannot be transferred since it doesn’t closely resemble any of the courses you need for your master’s degree. The close enough will be judged by your advisor. This is why a syllabus and typical topics are important when making the decision on whether to accept a transfer course, or not.

Restrictions

The following restrictions apply (from the graduate catalog). The course you wish to transfer must…

  • Be taken for graduate credit.
  • Be a course transcribed for graduate credit and in which the student earned at least a grade of B.
  • Not have been used for a previous degree.
  • Be approved by the student’s graduate committee and the Dean of the Graduate School on the Admission to Candidacy form.

NOTE: Courses transferred to any graduate program will not affect the minimum residence requirements for the program, nor will they be included in calculating the student’s UT grade point average.

Graduation

Please see https://gradschool.utk.edu/academics/graduation/graduation-deadlines/ to know when to file for graduation.

See https://gradschool.utk.edu/academics/graduation/steps-to-graduation/ for the steps to graduation. The online MSCS program is a course-only, non-thesis degree program, which you can find under the “Master’s/EdS Non-Thesis Programs and Graduate Certificates” heading.

When you have all of your semester grades, excluding the semester you plan on graduating, please email me (Stephen Marz, your advisor: sgm AT utk.edu) the following:

  1. Your admission to candidacy form, properly filled out.
    • The form must list all of your courses you plan to apply to your degree in chronological order (oldest first, most recent at the bottom).
    • Double check your UT student ID.
    • Use your UT email address: netid@vols.utk.edu.
    • The form must be e-signed. Please see https://gradschool.utk.edu/forms-central/applying-electronic-signatures/ for help applying an e-signature to a PDF document.
    • If you have any courses you want to transfer from another institution, please see below under Transfer Courses.

I will forward the signed form for the second signature, and if everything is correct, it will be forwarded and submitted to the graduate school.

Transfer Courses

NOTE: If you plan on transferring courses from another school, please include the following in your email to me. You will also add the classes you want to transfer on your admission to candidacy form at the bottom after you list all of your UT courses. There’s a section for transfer courses.

  1. The syllabus of each and every course you plan on transferring.
  2. The online MSCS degree course you plan on substituting for your transferred course.
  3. A copy of the transcript for which you took the course.
    • The transcript must clearly show the grade you received for the course.
    • The transcript’s course number and year must clearly match the syllabus.
  4. State plainly and clearly your certification that the course(s) you plan on transferring was not used for any other conferred degree.

Course Offerings

Register for classes at https://onestop.utk.edu/class-registration/add/.
Registrar calendars can be found at the registrar’s office: https://registrar.utk.edu.

Course schedules can be found here: https://tiny.utk.edu/mscs_schedule (Login w/ UT ID)
Course information for some offerings can be found here: https://tiny.utk.edu/mscs_courses (Login w/ UT ID)

Registration Requirements

Students are required to register for at least one (1) course in the fall or spring semesters. Students are not required to register for courses in the summer.

Should a student not be registered for any courses in the fall or spring semesters, he or she will be considered withdrawn from the program and will require a readmission.

See https://gradschool.utk.edu/admissions/applying-to-graduate-school/readmission/ for information about readmission.

Concentrations

Each concentration requires you take two (2) core courses, at least four (4) focused courses, and several electives for a total of 10 courses. Students may count any additional focused course as an elective.

We recommend that new students take no more than two courses in their admitted semester. Then, as the student becomes accustomed to the format and courses, they could take additional courses.

Students must earn a cumulative 3.0 GPA out of 4.0 to remain in the program. When a student dips below 3.0, he or she will be placed on academic probation. Students who are on probation for too long may be removed from the program.

Students who earn a D or F in a graduate class will not have that class count towards the degree program. The student may apply to retake the course. Students may only retake up to two graduate courses in the program.

Cybersecurity

Core (must take both)

COSC530: Computer Systems Organization
COSC566: Software Security

Focused (must take a minimum of 4)

COSC533: Cloud and Web Architectures
COSC534: Network Security
COSC559: Human-Computer Interaction
COSC561: Compilers and Runtime Systems
COSC562: Operating Systems: Implementation and Design
COSC569: Human Factors in Cybersecurity
COSC583: Applied Cryptography
ECE553: Computer Networks
ECE559: Secure and Trustworthy Hardware Design
ECE569: Mobile and Embedded Systems Security

Electives

COSC522: Machine Learning
COSC523: Artificial Intelligence
COSC524: Natural Language Processing
COSC525: Deep Learning
COSC526: Data Mining
COSC540: Advanced Software Engineering
COSC545: Digital Archeology
COSC557: Visualization
COSC558: User Interfaces
COSC565: Databases and Scripting Languages
COSC581: Algorithms
ECE517: Reinforcement Learning
ECE574: Computer Vision

Data Mining and Intelligent Systems

Core (must take both)

COSC522: Machine Learning
COSC523: Artificial Intelligence

Focused (must take a minimum of 4)

COSC524: Natural Language Processing
COSC525: Deep Learning
COSC526: Data Mining
COSC530: Computer Systems Organization
COSC533: Cloud and Web Architectures
COSC545: Digital Archeology
COSC557: Visualization
ECE517: Reinforcement Learning
ECE553: Computer Networks
ECE574: Computer Vision

Electives

COSC534: Network Security
COSC540: Advanced Software Engineering
COSC558: User Interfaces
COSC559: Human-Computer Interaction
COSC561: Compilers and Runtime Systems
COSC562: Operating Systems: Design and Implementation
COSC565: Databases and Scripting Languages
COSC566: Software Security
COSC569: Human Factors in Cybersecurity
COSC581: Algorithms
COSC583: Applied Cryptography
ECE559: Secure and Trustworthy Hardware Design
ECE569: Mobile and Embedded Systems Security

Software Engineering

Core (must take both)

COSC540: Advanced Software Engineering
COSC581: Algorithms

Focused (must take a minimum of 4)

COSC526: Data Mining
COSC530: Computer Systems Organization
COSC533: Cloud and Web Architectures
COSC545: Digital Archeology
COSC558: User Interfaces
COSC559: Human-Computer Interaction
COSC561: Compilers and Runtime Systems
COSC562: Operating Systems: Design and Implementation
COSC563: Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing
COSC565: Databases and Scripting Languages

Electives

COSC522: Machine Learning
COSC523: Artificial Intelligence
COSC524: Natural Language Processing
COSC525: Deep Learning
COSC534: Network Security
COSC557: Visualization
COSC566: Software Security
COSC569: Human Factors in Cybersecurity
COSC583: Applied Cryptography
ECE517: Reinforcement Learning
ECE553: Computer Networks
ECE559: Secure and Trustworthy Hardware Design
ECE569: Mobile and Embedded Systems Security
ECE574: Computer Vision

Course Materials

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