How to Apply - Computer Science, MS | University of San Francisco

Application Instructions

The application process is entirely online. Please complete and/or upload all of the items listed below to your application account. There is no need to mail items to our office.

Bachelor's Degree

A bachelor's degree is required, preferably in CS or related field. The program accepts three-year bachelor's degrees from international applicants. There is no strict GPA requirement for admission. Applicants with a GPA of 3.0 or higher (on 4.0 scale) have more competitive applications and a higher chance of scholarship award.

For applicants with a non-CS degree, you must demonstrate through prerequisites a high aptitude for CS coursework. Applicants that don’t meet these requirements are encouraged to apply to our three-year MSCS Bridge program.

Required Prerequisites:

CS 110 High-Level Programming (e.g. C, Python)
CS 112 Object-Oriented Programming (e.g. Java, C++, C#, Objective-C)
CS 245 Data Structures and Algorithms
CS 315 Computer Architecture or CS 326 Operating Systems
MA 201 Linear Algebra and Probability
MA 202 Discrete Math

Test Requirements

For international applicants, an English Language exam score is required. For more information on accepted test formats and exceptions please visit the English Language Proficiency page. The GRE general test is optional.

USF school code for GRE and TOEFL is 4850.

Transcript (Academic Record)

Upload a copy of your transcript from each university and college attended. Please ensure the institution’s name and your name is on the document you upload. Transcripts from any schools and study abroad programs must be submitted since Bachelor's Degree institutions typically do not list transfer and study abroad courses with grades. If still enrolled in your Bachelor's program, submit a copy of your transcript showing in-progress courses. If admitted, an official transcript with proof of graduation is required.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose is an essay that describes your background in computer science and software development. We encourage applicants to include in their statement:

Significant software development projects, including your role and contributions.
Research projects and any publications in which you have been involved.
Professional experience, including leadership roles.
Experience in public or community service projects.
If you have low grades in your Bachelor's degree, explain why you believe you will be able to maintain a 2.0 GPA or higher in the program.

The statement should be one to three pages, single-spaced in 12-point font, and with one-inch margins. Essays that do not conform to these specifications will not be read.

Resume or CV

Your current resume or CV lists and describes your educational history, work or job history, coursework related to this graduate program, and any experiences relevant to your pursuit of graduate studies.

Letters of Recommendation

A minimum of two recommendation letters are required for your application (four letters maximum). Follow the instructions in the online application to provide the contact information for your recommenders.

You may submit your application before your recommenders upload their letters.

Scholarship Eligibility

All students, including international students, are considered for MSCS scholarships at time of admission review.

Accelerated Path

The MSCS program can be completed in 1.5 years for qualified students. You can qualify by your interview performance, academic performance after the first semester of the program, and a character recommendation from faculty. You can indicate your interest in your application or if you have questions please email ComputerScience@usfca.edu.

International Applicants

There are additional items and instructions for international applicants.

International Students

Visa Application

International admitted students are encouraged to apply for a visa as soon as you receive your I-20. Students may need to try several times before successfully obtaining a visa, so we encourage students to try multiple times if necessary.

Work Eligibility

Most international students are able to work on-campus, and are eligible to work off-campus in the practicum option in the second academic year.

Learn more on ISSS

Notification of Admission Decision

Applicants are contacted about an admission decision approximately six weeks after the final application date.

Prerequisites

It is feasible for students already in the United States to take some of our undergraduate CS courses as a visiting student. However, many of these courses have prerequisites and our undergraduate majors have registration priority. We cannot guarantee space in those courses, or admission into our program.

Visiting Students
We prefer to see transcripts for required background courses from state-level universities or community colleges, but additional elective courses taken freely online at places like Coursera, Udacity, or EdX will help strengthen your application.
Experience with web, script, and markup languages such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, MySQL, or PHP will help strengthen your application. However, they do not count as high-level or object-oriented programming languages for the required background.
We do not have conditional admission at this time. Whether or not you have a formal CS background, you need to be prepared to take and pass the same set of core courses as everyone else if admitted.
No, applicants interested in switching programs must follow the same application procedure as everyone else. However, we will consider the courses you have already taken at another program in your application.
No, as a general rule we do not offer transfer credits for graduate courses. This is a university-wide policy.

Application Requirements

See our How to Apply page for more information.
There is no strict GPA (grade point average) requirement for admission to the graduate program. However, applicants with a GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a scale of 4.0) will have more competitive applications and a higher chance of receiving a scholarship.
Yes, you may still apply if you have a low GPA. Please address your GPA in your essay and provide an argument that, if admitted, you will be able to maintain the minimum 3.0 GPA necessary for our graduate program.
International applicants must provide a TOEFL or IELTS score. The USF school code for the TOEFL and the GRE is 4850. See below for more details. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) general exam is optional.
Yes. For details on the waiver policy for TOEFL or IELTS scores, please see the International Students page (look for the "Exception Policy" listed under "Test Scores"). Please contact the Office of Graduate Admission for the College of Arts and Sciences for questions.
The USF school code for the TOEFL and the GRE is 4850.
The USF school code for the TOEFL and the GRE is 4850.
The average TOEFL score of our Fall 2014 cohort is 86. The minimum required TOEFL score is 79.
No, you need at least two letters of recommendation. Applications missing this requirement will not be reviewed.
Yes, you can send in a recommendation letter from a supervisor (but not colleague). However, we recommend at least one recommendation letter be from a professor if possible.

Application Process

Applications are submitted online. Please see the Office of Graduate Admission for the College of Arts and Sciences How to Apply page for more information.
You can check the status of your application by logging into your online application account. You will also receive an email when an admission decision is posted.
Submitted and completed applications are reviewed by the MSCS Admission Committee, which is chaired by the graduate director. The entire application is considered during review, including transcripts, test scores, recommendation letters, and the essay. We typically begin reviewing applications in late December and early January. During that time, it usually takes between four to six weeks for an admission decision to be made.

Unsubmitted or incomplete applications remain in the Office of Graduate Programs, and are not reviewed until the application is submitted, all of the letters of recommendation are received, and the application is marked as complete.
We usually begin accepting applications for fall admission in September, but do not begin reviewing applications until much later. We do not admit students for the spring semester.
We typically begin reviewing applications in late December and early January.
The final application deadline is March 1st. We do not admit students for the spring semester.
Yes, we will consider applications until the program is full and maintain a waitlist until mid-summer. Please note that international applicants should apply early so that there is ample time for the visa application process.
No, only submitted and completed applications are reviewed for admission. Submitted but incomplete applications are not reviewed for admission. Please check your application status frequently, and please contact the Office of Graduate Admission for the College of Arts and Sciences for questions.
Please contact the Office of Graduate Admission for the College of Arts and Sciences with application questions.
Many, but not all applicants are invited to interview. Those invited to interview complete an online technical interview with a member of our faculty. The interview consists of questions drawn from our prerequisite subjects and also serves as a chance for applicants to ask questions about the program.

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