Accelerated Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Program for W&M CS Undergraduate Students (4+1)

The department offers a program designed to enable particularly well-prepared students to obtain an M.S. in Computer Science 12 or 15 months after receiving their bachelors degrees.

Plan of Study

Take CSCI 141, 241, 243, 303, 304 and 312 (thereby obtaining a minor in computer science). You must have earned a B or better in these courses, and have an overall GPA of 3.0 by the end of your Junior year to qualify for this program.
By the end of your Junior year, register your interest in the Accelerated Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Program for W&M CS Undergraduate Students (4+1) with the Department of Computer Science. Following registration, a computer science advisor will be assigned to you, if needed.
In your Senior year take any two of the following courses for graduate credit: CSCI 520, 523, 524, 526, 527, 534, 535, 542, 544. (All of these are cross-listed as 400-level courses and are offered once per year.)
During the Fall semester of your Senior year, apply for regular admission to the Computer Science Graduate Program, clearly indicating an interest in the Accelerated Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Program for W&M CS Undergraduate Students (4+1).
If admitted, you will select a research advisor. You will work with this advisor to complete the remaining M.S. requirements.

The Accelerated Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Program for W&M CS Undergraduate Students (4+1) is based on the standard 32-hour, non-thesis M.S. degree option. Two of these 32 hours must be satisfied by passing CSCI 710; the other 30 hours correspond to 10, three-credit computer science graduate courses. To complete a M.S. degree in just one year of study two of these ten courses must be taken for graduate credit while still an undergraduate [pdf]. The other eight courses would be taken, four per semester, in two intensive semesters of graduate study. CSCI 710 may be completed either in your final semester or in the summer after you complete the coursework.