Graduate Studies
The Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Computer Science offers Certificate, M.S. and Ph.D. programs. For information on how to register, visit the graduate application website.
Applicants to the M.S. program may request a waiver of the GRE exam requirement. To submit the request, email csgrad@vcu.edu and attach undergraduate transcripts that include all course grades and the GPA.
The Master of Science in Computer Science emphasizes continuing self-development of individuals currently engaged in science, technology and engineering-related fields and prepares those who have completed undergraduate majors in these fields for entry into a career in computing technology.
The department also offers a Ph.D. in Computer Science. Applicants for this research-intensive doctoral program must provide a statement of intended research (approximately one page in length) with his or her application. It is strongly recommended that applicants discuss their research proposals with VCU Computer Science faculty in advance.
The department financially supports a limited number of graduate students, and such awards are made on a competitive basis. For details on graduate admission procedures, please refer to the information provided by the College of Engineering and the VCU Graduate School websites.
For more information about the programs email csgrad@vcu.edu. More information about tuition at VCU Monroe Park Campus is available. International applicants should also visit VCU Global Education Office website.
Cybersecurity, Certificate in (Post-baccalaureate graduate certificate)
Data Science, Certificate in (Post-baccalaureate graduate certificate)
Computer Science, Master of Science (M.S.)
Data Science, Master of Science (M.S.)
Computer Science, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) with a concentration in computer science
Graduate Certificates
Cybersecurity
We are designated as NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and as NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research (one of 4 in Virginia)
Students enrolled in computer science M.S. and Ph.D. programs can specialize in cybersecurity.Students specializing in cybersecurity must complete five graduate courses in the area of cybersecurity. The following courses count toward the cybersecurity specialization (at least 5 of these will be offered over a four-semester period):
- CMSC 502. Parallel Algorithms.
- CMSC 512. Advanced Social Network Analysis and Security.
- CMSC 525. Introduction to Software Analysis, Testing and Verification.
- CMSC 612. Game Theory and Security.
- CMSC 615. Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Techniques.
- CMSC 618. Database and Application Security.
- CMSC 620. Applied Cryptography.
- CMSC 622. Network and Systems Security.
- CMSC 623. Cloud Computing.
- CMSC 628. Mobile Networks: Applications, Modeling and Analysis.
- CMSC 654. Memory and Malware Forensics.
Data Science students enrolled in computer science M.S. and Ph.D. programs can specialize in data science.Students specializing in data science must complete five graduate courses in the area of data science. The following courses count towards the data science specialization (at least 5 of these will be offered over a four-semester period):
- CMSC 510. Regularization Methods for Machine Learning.
- CMSC 516. Advanced Natural Language Processing.
- CMSC 601. Convex Optimization.
- CMSC 603. High Performance Distributed Systems.
- CMSC 630. Image Analysis.
- CMSC 635. Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining.
- CMSC 636. Artificial Neural Networks and Deep Learning.
- CMSC 678. Statistical and Fuzzy Learning.