FAQs on MS Degrees Offered by the CS Department

All applicants are required to submit:

• Transcripts. 
• At least one Letter of Recommendation.

All international applicants are required to submit scores for the following standardized tests:

• GRE.
• TOEFL, or  IELTS, or Duolingo.

Score reports do not have to be submitted directly by the companies that administer the tests (e.g. ETS etc.) The scores can be reported by the applicant, by either uploading a pdf with the official score report or by sharing a link to their score report.

Test Waiver. International applicants who hold a degree from an accredited US institution can ask for a waiver of standardized tests. To request a waiver, please first submit your application and then contact NJIT admissions, by directly emailing our staff responsible for international recruitment.

• A 4-year undergraduate degree from an accredited US institution, or an equivalent degree from non-US institutions. The degree must be related to computing.
  
  In particular applicants are expected to have taken undergraduate courses equivalent to
  CS 113, CS 114, CS 252, CS 332, CS 356, CS 431, CS 506, MATH 111, MATH 112, MATH 333, as described in the CS catalog and the MATH catalog. 
   
• 3.0 Cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale  - (or 80/100 for international students)

Applicants that have an undergraduate degree not related to computing or do not meet the CGPA requirement may be considered for the CS Certificate program.

Certificate Programs are an excellent vehicle for acquiring and enhancing knowledge and skills as a precursor to a degree at NJIT or elsewhere.

In particular, they are recommended as a precursor to the CS in MS program for students without a previous degree in computing, and/or for students with an undergraduate CGPA that falls below 3.0/4.0. Certificate programs have a 4-course requirement. If the CGPA in these courses is higher than 3.0, the student can ask to be admitted automatically in the MS program. Certificate courses count towards the 10-course requirement of the MS program.

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. Here is how to pursue non-degree studies at NJIT.

For these and other questions on admissions, please visit the NJIT admissions FAQ.

All applicants are automatically considered for financial support by the academic department at the time of admission. There is no separate form required.

Currently, guaranteed financial support is extremely limited for MS students; such opportunities are usually reserved for doctoral students. After joining, several campus jobs (including grading/tutoring positions, or research assistant roles) are available to MS students and can partly cover their expenses. However, these jobs are not guaranteed, so prospective students are advised to plan accordingly.

A bridge course is a graduate-level course intended to provide knowledge that a computer science graduate should know from an undergraduate degree. These courses supply the student with the knowledge so they can successfully complete the MS degree. Bridge courses may be part of the Certificate programs. In rare cases, they may be recommended to MS students by the academic advisors, and in certain cases they can count towards the 30-degree requirement.

It is highly recommended that you take 3 courses per semester. 

For your course planning it is best to use Degree Works. See how to use it here. If a course falls under "Not Used" in your Degree Works, then it is not counting towards your graduation credits and you must get it approved by an academic advisor or choose another course to take

Please also the MS catalog to review the course requirements.

In general, students are advised to finish their Core courses in the 1st and 2nd semester, and take their two Advanced courses in the 3rd and 4th semester. Students are also advised to look at the course descriptions and choose their Core and Elective courses in a way that enables them to take their preferred Advanced courses.

Here are some additional guidelines that an MS student may want to take into account:

• CS 635 or CS 602 is recommended as a 1st elective for students who want to acquire better knowledge object-oriented programming, needed in other later courses.
• CS 506 should be taken in the 1st semester whenever possible, when needed as a bridge course. 
• CS 630, CS 631, CS/DS 675 are common Core course choices for the 1st semester. 
• CS 610, CS 656 are common Core course choices for the 2nd semester.

Core courses are offered in all academic semesters, and occasionally in the summer terms. Other courses may not be offered as often.  You can consult the recent history of course offerings to have an idea about what courses were offered, and how often. 

All campus jobs are announced and handled on the Cornerstone portal. In the case of grader positions, it is advisable that you contact the instructors during the two weeks before the semester begins; please take a look at the upcoming course schedule and keep in mind that preference is given to students who have already taken the corresponding course.  Note that in order to apply, a student has to have a Full Time Status. 

If you are an F1 international student, you can also read about the eligibility requirements to work.

Yes. Tuition for 12 credits or more is roughly the same as that for 9 credits. This link provides the exact schedule of tuition charges. However, it is highly recommended that you take 3 courses per semester.  Please be aware that your GPA is calculated on all courses you take. Attempting multiple courses simultaneously may be difficult, and that could hurt your GPA, which must be 3.0 or higher so that you maintain good standing in the program. 

Domestic students can take up to four distance learning classes per semester.

International students must take at least two on-campus courses, other classes can be distance learning.

No. Please check section ‘Academic Probation’ in this document on Academic Policies and Procedures

Please read read this page.

Please read the corresponding section ‘Master’s Project and Master’s Thesis’ of the MS catalog.

Note that availability of professors for MS Projects and Theses is not guaranteed, so you should always have alternative plans for taking two regular Advanced courses instead of CS 700B/701B.