FSU Computer Science Department Graduate Study Application Materials
Thank you for your interest in the Computer Science department's graduate programs. Please be sure that you refer to the section that applies to you, depending upon whether you are a US Applicant or an International Applicant.
If you have any questions, please contact
Kristan McAlpin:Computer Science Graduate Coordinator
Email:admissions@cs.fsu.edu
Phone: 850-645-4975
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents:
- 1. Submit the Florida State University Online Application: https://admissions.fsu.edu/gradapp/ with the required attachments (See 2-4 below).
2. Statement of Purpose - Must be uploaded in the Online Application.
3. Resume or Curriculum Vitae - Must be uploaded in the Online Application.
4. Three Letters of Recommendation - Within the Online Application, there is a section where applicants will input the names and contact information of those who will be writing the letters. Recommenders will receive e-mails asking them to upload their letters directly to the application.
5. Application Processing Fee of $30.00. You will receive an e-mail from the Office of Graduate Admissions requesting the fee within two business days after submitting your application.
6. Official Graduate Records Exam (GRE) scores. The minimum GRE scores required for admission are a 145 on the verbal section and a 150 on the quantitative section. For the old scoring system, the minimum GRE score required for admission is a 1100 (Verbal and Quantitative combined) with a minimum of 650 on the Quantitative. Please request ETS to send your official test scores to the university. Our institution code is 5219.
7. One official copy of Transcripts of academic record. Official transcripts must be sent from every College or University that you have attended. If you happen to be a FSU undergraduate and all of your transcripts from the previous institution(s) are on file, then you will not need to request transcripts. Transcripts should be mailed directly to the University Admissions Office at the following address:
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Office of Graduate
Admissions Florida State University 282 Champions Way PO Box 3062400 Tallahassee, FL 32306-2400 USA Phone: (850) 644-6200 FSU Graduate Admissions e-mail: graduateadmissions@admin.fsu.edu URL: http://admissions.fsu.edu/ |
All supporting documents MUST be submitted via the Online Application, with the exception of official transcripts (mailed to the Office of Admissions) and test scores (sent from ETS to the Office of Admissions). An application must be complete before it can be considered for admission.
International Applicants:
- 1. Submit the Florida State University Online Application: https://admissions.fsu.edu/gradapp/ with the required attachments (See 2-4 below).
2. Statement of Purpose - Must be uploaded in the Online Application.
3. Resume or Curriculum Vitae - Must be uploaded in the Online Application.
4. Three Letters of Recommendation - Within the Online Application, there is a section where applicants will input the names and contact information of those who will be writing the letters. Recommenders will receive e-mails asking them to upload their letters directly to the application.
5. Application Processing Fee of $30.00. You will receive an e-mail from the Office of Graduate Admissions requesting the fee within two business days after submitting your application.
6. Official Graduate Records Exam (GRE) scores. The minimum GRE scores required for admission are a 145 on the verbal section and a 150 on the quantitative section. For the old scoring system, the minimum GRE score required for admission is a 1100 (Verbal and Quantitative combined) with a minimum of 650 on the Quantitative. Please request ETS to send your official test scores to the university. Our institution code is 5219.
7. Official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): A minimum score of 80 (internet-based) is the minimum requirement for graduate admission to the Computer Science Department. However, the Computer Science Department considers a score of 100-105 competitive, especially when students are seeking assistantships. The ability to lecture in English will be a major consideration in the selection of students for Teaching Assistantships. International applicants whose native language is not English must submit official TOEFL results in order to be admitted to the Computer Science graduate program. Students with a 4-year Bachelor's or a graduate degree from an accredited university in an English-speaking country can be exempt from the TOEFL for admissions purposes. However, exempted students are strongly encouraged to submit TOEFL scores if they seek support from the department. Please request for ETS to send your test scores directly to the university. Our institution code is 5219. The department code is not required.
Free TOEFL practice tests can be found at the following: http://www.testpreppractice.net/TOEFL/Default.aspx and http://www.testpreppractice.net/TOEFL/Free-Online-TOEFL-Practice-Tests.aspx
**Please note that we will accept an IELTS score (minimum 6.5) for admission consideration. However, we do not award any assistantships based on an IELTS score.
8. One official or certified of all transcript(s), diploma(s), and/or degree certificate(s) from every college or university attended. Transcripts are considered official when they are sent directly from a college or university to the FSU Office of Admissions and contain an official seal and/or signature. All academic records that are not in English must be accompanied by a certified English translation. If you are an FSU undergraduate and all of your transcripts from previous institutions are on file, then you will not need to request transcripts. Transcripts should be mailed directly to the FSU Office of Admissions at the following address:
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Office of Graduate
Admissions Florida State University 282 Champions Way PO Box 3062400 Tallahassee, FL 32306-2400 USA Phone: (850) 644-6200 FSU Graduate Admissions e-mail:graduateadmissions@admin.fsu.edu URL: http://admissions.fsu.edu/ |
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9. The Certificate of Financial Responsibility (CFR) & Photocopy of Passport.
The CFR must be completed after submitting your application, even if your
available funds are $0.00. The form is available on the FSU Center for Global
Engagement website (http://www.cge.fsu.edu/forms/CFR_GradStudentForm.pdf).
The CFR and passport photocopy should be mailed directly to the Center for
Global Engagement. Contact information for the Center for Global Engagement is available on the CFR document.
All supporting documents MUST be submitted via the Online Application, with the exception of official transcripts (mailed to the Office of Admissions), test scores (sent from ETS to the Office of Admissions), and CFR/Copy of Passport (mailed to the International Center). An application must be complete before it can be considered for admission.
Admission Deadlines
For US Citizens and Permanent Residents
| Desired Starting Term | Complete Application Deadline |
| Fall Semester | July 1st |
| Spring Semester | November 1st |
| Summer Semester | March 1st |
For ALL students seeking Assistantships and International Students
| Desired Starting Term | Application Deadline |
| Fall Semester | March 1st |
| Spring Semester | September 1st |
| Summer Semester | New Admissions Assistantships not awarded in the Summer term |
All students interested in support from the department should complete their applications before the deadline for assistantship consideration.
Incomplete applications or applications completed after the department deadlines may be denied. There is no deferring of admission or assistantship offers.
Minimum Admission Criteria for Graduate Degree Programs
The following are the minimum criteria for admission to the graduate programs offered by the Computer Science Department. Satisfying these minimum criteria does not guarantee admission. All students admitted to the program significantly exceed these criteria in at least some areas.
Computer Science (CS) MS and Ph.D Program Admissions Requirement
The Computer Science program offers a M.S. degree in Computer Science, Information Security, and Software Engineering, as well as a Ph.D degree in Computer Science. The following are the minimum admissions requirements for such degrees:- Required Degrees: To be admitted to the Department of Computer Science as a CS graduate student you should have an undergraduate or graduate degree in Computer Science or related field from an accredited university. Students without an undergraduate degree in CS will be required to complete undergraduate prerequisites not on their undergraduate transcript before graduating with a graduate degree in CS. Students without a prior undergraduate or graduate degree in computer science should have at least 18 semester hours of credit in upper level undergraduate computer courses to be considered competitive for admissions.
- GRE Scores:The minimum GRE scores required for admission are a 145 on the verbal section and a 150 on the quantitative section. For the old scoring system, the minimum GRE score required for admission is 1100 (Verbal and Quantitative combined) with a minimum of 650 on the Quantitative.
- TOEFL Scores: The minimum required score on the IBTOEFL for admission consideration is 80 (213 computer-based, 550 paper-based). However, the Computer Science Department considers a score of 100-105 competitive, especially when students are seeking assistantships. The ability to lecture in English will be a major consideration in the selection of students for Teaching Assistantships.
- Grade Point Average: Students should have at least a B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) average to be considered competitive. Students with a GPA of less then 3.0 in their undergraduate degree fall below both the department and university standards.
Computer Network and System Administration (CNSA) MS Program Admissions Requirements
The Computer Network and System Administration graduate program has different core-course and admissions requirements and is thus a separate program. Below are the minimum admissions requirements for the CNSA MS degree program:- Required Degrees: To be admitted to the
Department of Computer Science as a CNSA graduate student, you should have an
undergraduate or graduate degree in Computer Science or related field from an
accredited university. Students without an undergraduate degree in CS will be
required to complete undergraduate prerequisites
not on their undergraduate transcript before graduating with a graduate degree in CS.
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)
- GRE Scores:The minimum GRE scores required for admission are a 145 on the verbal section and a 150 on the quantitative section. For the old scoring system, the minimum GRE score required for admission is 1100 (Verbal and Quantitative combined) with a minimum of 650 on the Quantitative.
- TOEFL Scores: The minimum required score on the IBTOEFL for admission consideration is 80 (213 computer-based, 550 paper-based). However, the Computer Science Department considers a score of 100-105 competitive, especially when students are seeking assistantships. The ability to lecture in English will be a major consideration in the selection of students for Teaching Assistantships.
- Grade Point Average: Students should have at least a B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) average to be considered competitive. Students with a GPA of less then 3.0 in their undergraduate degree fall below both the department and university standards.
Computer Criminology (CC) MS Program Admissions Requirements
The Computer Criminology graduate program has different core-course and admissions requirements and is thus a separate program. Below are the minimum admissions requirements for the CC MS degree program:- Required Degrees: To be admitted to the
Department of Computer Science as a Computer Criminology graduate student you should have an undergraduate
BS or BA degree in Computer Science or BS degree in Computer Criminology. The program is designed primarily for our
BA Computer Science and BS Computer Criminology undergraduate students who wish to continue on in their
pursuit of their MS degree in this field. Students who do not meet these undergraduate degree
guidelines will be required to complete certain undergraduate prerequisites before graduation with a graduate degree in Computer
Criminology.
Undergraduate Prerequisites for the MS CC Degree Program:
- CDA 3101 Computer Organization II
- CIS 4385 Cybercrime Detection and Forensics
- COP 4530 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Generic Programming
- COP 4610 Operating Systems and Concurrent Programming
- COP 4710 Theory and Structure of Databases
- GRE Scores: The minimum GRE scores required for admission are a 145 on the verbal section and a 150 on the quantitative section. For the old scoring system, the minimum GRE score required for admission is 1100 (Verbal and Quantitative combined) with a minimum of 650 on the Quantitative.
- TOEFL Scores: The minimum required score on the IBTOEFL for admission consideration is 80 (213 computer-based, 550 paper-based). However, the Computer Science Department considers a score of 100-105 competitive, especially when students are seeking assistantships. The ability to lecture in English will be a major consideration in the selection of students for Teaching Assistantships.
- Grade Point Average: Students should have at least a B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) average to be considered competitive. Students with a GPA of less then 3.0 in their undergraduate degree fall below both the department and university standards.
Students Seeking Admission to the Computer Science Department from Other FSU Departments
- Previously Enrolled in CS: Students who enrolled in the CS Graduate Program within the past seven years will need to complete an application for readmission.
- Previously Enrolled in Another FSU Graduate Program: Students who enrolled in another FSU graduate program within the past seven years at FSU must do the following:
- An application for readmission must be completed.
- Academic qualifications must meet or exceed the CS Minimum Admission Criteria described above.
- If the student is wishing to transfer departments without completing their degree program or concurrently pursue a second degree in CS, a signed and sealed letter must be sent from the student's current department at FSU to the CS Department, giving the student permission to do so.
No application will be processed until all four of the above requirements have been met.
