Bachelor and Master of Science in Computer Science

Students in their junior or senior year may be eligible to earn a Master of Science degree in Computer Science with only one additional year of study. Portland State offers a 4+1 pathway called the Bachelor's + Master's or B+M that allows students to share up to 18 graduate credits between their Bachelor and Master degrees. Graduate credits taken in a student's senior year will be applied to both degrees.

1. Admission Requirements

• Must have “opted in” to the Computer Science upper division.
• Must have completed 16 or more credits of upper division Computer Science courses and have at least a 3.3 GPA over these courses.

2. Program Requirements

• At most, 18 credits of CS 5xx courses can be shared between the BS and MS degrees.
• Students must start their MS program within one academic year of graduating with their BS degree in order to obtain MS credit for shared coursework.

3. Advising

Advising for the Computer Science BS + MS program is a joint effort between the undergraduate and graduate advisors.

The undergraduate advisor (uccs@pdx.edu) can:

• Help you map out a tentative course plan for your Junior and Senior years.
• Assist with course enrollment and handle DARS exceptions for using 500-level courses toward your BS degree requirements.

The graduate advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) can:

• Review your BS + MS program application and notify you of admission decisions.
• Guide you on selecting 500-level courses that fulfill future MS requirements while keeping your undergraduate workload manageable.
• Process future DARS exceptions for applying 500-level courses toward your MS degree.

During your senior year, both advisors can help ensure your course selections meet the requirements for both degrees without any overlap or credit issues.

4. Timeline and Process

• Students apply to the BS + MS program after completing 16 credits of upper-division CS courses, typically by the end of winter of their junior year and before the beginning of their senior year in order to have adequate time to take six 500-level courses before graduating.
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and students will be notified of an admission decision within two weeks of application submission.
• Admitted students must then get approval from the undergraduate advisor to enroll in 500-level courses that are appropriate for their BS degree. Students should also consult with the graduate advisor to make sure their 500-level course selections are appropriate for their eventual MS program. For 4/5xx dual-listed courses, it is essential to enroll in the 5xx version of the course in order for it ultimately to count towards the MS.
• Students must apply for the MS program to begin within one academic year following graduation from the bachelor’s program.

5. Course Plan

5.1. First Year

5.2. Second Year

5.3. Third Year

Third Year Milestone: Opt-in to major via the department during fall term prior to week 8.

5.4. Fourth Year

5.5. Fifth Year (standard MS program)