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MS in Computer Science

In all majors, a student must complete thirty-five semester hours in computer science courses numbered 5000 or above, including approved CIS 5930 and CIS 6930. At most, one course outside the department at the 5000 or 6000 level can also count towards the 35 hours if approved by the major professor. Supervised teaching, supervised research, seminars, directed individual study, and courses with prefix CGS are excluded. As part of the thirty-five semester hours, each student is required to take CIS 5935, Introductory Seminar on Research (2). For the Computer Science and Information Security majors, at least one course from each of the following three core areas must be taken to satisfy the area requirements:

Software

COP 5570 Concurrent, Parallel, and Distributed Programming (3)
COP 5621 Compiler Construction (3)
COP 5725 Database Systems (3)

Systems

CDA 5155 Computer Architecture (3)
CNT 5505 Data and Computer Communications (3)
COP 5611 Advanced Operating Systems (3)

Theory

COT 5310 Theory of Automata and Formal Languages (3)
COT 5405 Advanced Algorithms (3)
COT 5507 Analytical Methods (3)

Information Security (InfoSec) Major

A student in the InfoSec major is required to take the following courses, some of which (*) also satisfy the area requirements:

CNT 5412 Network Security, Active and Passive Defenses (3)
CIS 5370 Computer Security (3)
CNT 5505 Data and Computer Communications* (3)
CIS 5371 Cryptography (3) - required for students beginning program Fall 2005 or later

CNT 5605 Computer and Network Administration (3)

plus one of the following courses:

CDA 5140 Fault Tolerance and Reliability (3)
COP 5570 Concurrent, Parallel, and Distributed Programming* (3)
COP 5611 Operating Systems* (3)
COT 5310 Theory of Automata and Formal Languages* (3)
COT 5405 Advanced Algorithms* (3)
COT 5410 Complexity of Algorithms* (3) (considered a core Theory course if enrolled prior to Summer 2004)

This major also includes the award of the Information Security Specialist Certificate. Students are not required to apply to the general CS MS degree beforehand, and are allowed to directly apply into the Information Security MS program.

Computer Network and System Administration Major

CNSA students have to complete certain undergraduate prerequisites, shown below, before graduating, and will likely have to complete a subset of these courses before being admitted to the MS CNSA major.

Undergraduate Prerequisites for the MS CNSA Degree Program

CDA 3100 Computer Organization I (3)
CDA 3101 Computer Organization II (3)
COP 4530 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Generic Programming (3)
COP 4610 Operating Systems and Concurrent Programming (3)

The following courses are the core requirements for the MS CNSA degree.

Required Computer Science Courses for the MS CNSA Degree Program

CDA 5155 Computer Architecture (3)
CNT 5412 Network Security, Active and Passive Defenses (3)
CNT 5505 Data and Computer Communications (3)
CNT 5605 Computer and Network Administration (3)
COP 5611 Advanced Operating Systems (3)
COP 5570 Concurrent, Parallel, and Distributed Programming (3)

In addition to the required courses, the CNSA program has an experience requirement, and students are required to complete system administration internship(s) to complete this requirement. The CNSA program works with various departments and colleges on the FSU campus to provide local system administration internships for students.

It is possible for the MS CNSA students to obtain an NSA-approved training certificate, which facilitates graduates from the program in getting employment with a federal government agency or a government contractor after they graduate. The MS CNSA student can use two of the available elective courses to take COP 5725, Database Systems and CIS 5370, Computer Security to fulfill the requirements. However, this certificate is limited to U.S. citizens only. A description of the training certificate is available at http://www.cs.fsu.edu/current/grad/certificate.php and in the section “Requirements for NSA Training Certificate” below.