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Admissions

Most aspects of the application process, aside from the admissions decision, are handled by the Graduate School. Please refer to their Application Process page for additional information. International applicants may want to explore the international admissions page provided by the International Center.

Application Requirements

  • Personal Statement: which should address the applicant’s topical interests and any of the admissions criteria, listed below, that are not clearly satisfied based on the provided transcript(s)

  • Transcript showing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Students from a non-CS major may be required to take preparatory CS courses before they can be admitted into the program.  

  • Three letters of recommendation

  • GRE scores: GRE is not required, but it is recommended. Submitted scores must be no more than 5 years old.

  • TOEFL/IELTS scores (always accepted) or Duolingo scores (only accepted for the 2021-2022 academic year): submitted scores must be no more than 2 years old. We follow the guidelines defined by the University of Kentucky Graduate School. If you have questions about exceptions to the language testing requirements, please contact the appropriate admissions officer. For Fall 2020 they were defined as follows: All applicants whose native language is not English will be asked to self-report one of these scores on their application. The minimum acceptable TOEFL score is 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based), or 79 (internet-based). The minimum IELTS score is 6.5.

  • CV/Resume (Optional)

Admission Criteria

  • (required) An undergraduate GPA of 3.0, or greater, on a 4.0 scale.
  • (required) Successful completion of a course on calculus (comparable to the UK course MA 113)
  • (required) Successful completion of two courses on programming (comparable to UK CS 115 and UK CS 215)
  • (recommended) Successful completion of a course on linear algebra (comparable to UK course MA 322)
  • (recommended) Experience with several general-purpose programming languages (e.g., Python, Java, C)

Exceptions for the GPA and prior-experience criteria may be made by the admissions committee if persuasive evidence of applicant’s potential is presented. In some cases, applicants will be conditionally admitted, which could require successful completion of foundational mathematics, statistics, or programming coursework before the student is officially admitted.

Application Fee Waiver

  • MS students and students who do not have a CS degree are not eligible for an application fee waiver.
  • Financial hardship is not a factor considered when providing an application fee waiver.
  • Students who have completed BS or MS degrees at a US college or university with a GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible for applying for an application fee waiver.
  • International students: to be eligible for a waiver students should either have already secured an RA position with a faculty member or be top candidates for a TA position. Top TA candidates must be seeking a Ph.D. degree, have a strong academic record, high GPA, strong computer science background, and excellent language scores. 

Contact the Director of Graduate Studies Dr. Silvestri if you meet these requirements and attach your transcripts and language scores to your email.

Admission Deadlines

Fall Semester

  • International: March 15
  • Domestic: July 15

Spring Semester

  • International: August 15
  • Domestic: November 30

Codes

  • GRE institution code 1837
  • GRE department code 0402
  • TOEFL institution code 1837
  • TOEFL department code 78

Additional Information