Degrees and Requirements

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering administers degree program leading towards the degree, Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering (MSCSE), and the degree, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

• Master of Science
• Doctor of Philosophy

Master of Science

All new graduate students are admitted to the Master's program unless they hold an equivalent degree. This program requires a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester hours of course credit beyond the Bachelor's Degree, plus one semester of research seminar. These requirements can be completed by a full-time student in two regular academic semesters plus the summer, although the majority of students take three to four semesters. In addition to the course work, the student must successfully pass the Ph.D. candidacy exam or, upon acceptance of the M.S. thesis, successfully pass an Oral M.S. Thesis Defense Exam.

Doctor of Philosophy

Students who have completed the Master's program at another university or who are enrolled in their final semester of a Master's study at Notre Dame may apply for admission into the doctoral program. Doctoral students are normally required to accumulate a minimum of thirty-six (36) semester hours of satisfactory course credit beyond the Bachelor's Degree, plus two semesters of research seminar (12 additional hours beyond the Master's Degree, plus one additional semester of research seminar). The student must also pass the Qualifying Examination plus the PhD Candidacy exam and successfully defend the PhD dissertation to be awarded the PhD degree. It should be expected that this degree will take a minimum of two to three years beyond the MS degree.

It must be emphasized that research lies at the heart of the graduate program. Any student enrolled in the Department has a responsibility to contribute to his/her research program. For this reason, students are required to participate in departmental seminars and other departmental functions.


Further information can be found in the Graduate Handbook.