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MS in Computer Science FAQs
What are the requirements for admission into the MSCS program?
What is a placement exam?
What areas does the placement exam cover, what should I review?
Do the bridge courses count toward my degree?
How soon do bridge courses need to be completed?
Won’t taking the bridge courses delay my graduation?
Do I have to pay for these extra courses when I take more than 12 credits?
May I take courses in computer science prior to applying to the Master’s program?
If my GPA falls below a 3.0, am I dismissed from the program?
What if a course is closed?
Do MSCS students receive financial aid support from the CS department/ NJIT?
What are the guidelines that I should use for submitting my project proposal?
How many distance learning classes may I have in one term?
I tried to register online and there is a hold on my account. What should I do?
Can you remove my hold from another department?
Do I have to meet with an advisor to have my hold removed?
What are the requirements for admission into the MSCS program?
Please follow this link to our graduate catalog and a list of our requirements.
What is a placement exam?
The MS placement exam is a very basic exam that is meant to ensure that are placed in the correct courses so as to improve their ability to do well in the MS program. The test for each subject is short and covers fundamental concepts in a simple way. Experience shows that a student who scores poorly in a subject is at high risk of failing the MS courses that rely on corresponding knowledge. Please see this page for topic information.
What areas does the entrance exam cover, what should I review?
Incoming MS students in Computer Science should have a solid background in:
Programming and data structures (CS 113, CS 114, CS 435),
Operating Systems Principles (CS 332),
Databases (CS 431), and
Foundations of Computer Science (Discrete Mathematics -- CS 241)
For the computer science topics the course numbers in parenthesizes correspond to undergraduate courses in NJIT’s curriculum. The texts used and syllabuses are available on line.
The placement exam will test your knowledge of this information.
Do the bridge courses count toward my degree?
No, the bridge courses do not count towards the credit requirements for your degree. However, courses which are 500 level and higher do contribute toward your cumulative GPA.
How soon do bridge courses need to be completed?
Students must complete all bridge courses within the first two semesters and must receive at least a B in these courses. However, if you have been assigned CS 505 as a result of your CS department placement exam, this must be taken in the first semester or before the student enrolls in CS 610.
Won’t taking the bridge courses delay my graduation?
No. Traditionally students in the course only option, take 2 semesters of 12 credits and 1 semester with 9 credits, for a total of 11 courses, 33 credits. It had been a policy in the past that the maximum number of credits a student could take in their first semester was 12 credits. However, now that we are requiring many students to take these bridge courses, we allow the student to take 15 credits in their first semester if they have bridge courses as one of their courses. After the first semester the student needs to have a GPA of 3.4 or above in order to be approved for 15 credits.
Do I have to pay for these extra courses when I take more than 12 credits?
No. This is the link for fee schedule table. The cost does not change in the 12-19 credit range.
May I take courses in computer science prior to applying to the Master’s program?
Non-matriculated students should contact the Office of University Admissions. for details of admission and registration procedures at least one month before the date of intended enrollment. Students are permitted to register for up to 9 credits of non-matriculated coursework with the written approval of the academic department.
International students on F-1 or J-1 visas are not permitted to register as non-matriculated students.
If my GPA falls below a 3.0, am I dismissed from the program?
No, you are not automatically removed from the program. You have the opportunity during your coursework to repeat two courses. You will need to get the Graduate Studies approval before repeating the course. You can find out more about course repetition on the Graduate Studies web site.
There is a section which deals with course repetition and procedures.
If you choose not to repeat a course, keep in mind you must have a 3.0 or over in order to be certified to graduate.
Please note, that according to the Graduate Catalog, students seeking an MS degree are not permitted to graduate with an “F” on their transcripts.
• We do not schedule appointments to students seeking entrance into closed courses.
• If you come in during walk in hours and argue for admittance into a closed course, your name will be withdrawn from consideration for entry into the closed course. You will be asked to leave the office.
• Please do not go ‘shopping around’ with closed course requests to different advisors, faculty members and CS administrators. If you are not permitted into a closed course, this decision will not be changed by the instructor of the course, the department chairman, another faculty member, the Dean or another advisor.
• The ONLY requests for closed courses considered are for those students who complete the closed course form available at this link . These requests will only be received in this manner. This ensures that everyone receives fair consideration. We will no longer accept hard copies. Please do not come into the department and attempt to hand deliver your request to department personnel; they will not be accepted. The advisors can then address our students’ pressing concerns which require a face to face meeting. Of course, if you need an appointment to discuss your options because a course is closed, we are more than willing to accommodate you. We will consider the requests as a whole in a timely fashion. We would prefer to accommodate all of our students in every class they want; however, rooms at NJIT have limited seating. Please cooperate with the department in this regard to make registration go as smoothly as possible.
Do MSCS students receive financial aid support from the CS department/ NJIT?
Please follow this link to the table containing financial aid/ fees.
What are the guidelines that I should use for submitting my project proposal?
Please follow this link to the CS catalog and scroll down to number 2, Project Option.
The document describing the format is here. This document covers the proposal and project write-up.
How many distance learning classes may I have in one term?
Please follow this link to the Office International Students website and refer to number 3.
I tried to register online and there is a hold on my account. What should I do?
Please follow this link for information regarding online registration. The last section deals with registration holds.
Can you remove my hold from another department?
The only holds that we are permitted to remove are the academic advising holds. If, for example, you have a hold on your account from Health Services they are the only department that can remove that hold.
Do I have to meet with an advisor to have my hold removed?
You are welcome to meet with your advisor whenever you wish. However, it is not necessary. You may email your advisor to have the hold removed. Generally speaking a face to face meeting is not required if a student has a GPA of over 3.0 and does not have any pressing concerns.