College of Science, Engineering & Technology
Department of Computer Science

Accelerated 4+1 Bachelor & Master
General CS Concentration

The 4+ 1 academic program is open to students in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology seeking a B.S. degree in Computer Science with General CS Concentration.  Admission to this graduate programs is not automatic.  The principal eligibility factors are the student’s cumulative GPA and the Computer Science courses GPA.  The five-year program includes 141 academic hours of coursework.

Students entering the Master’s program through the 4+1 are not required to complete the GRE.

Designed for the dedicated and driven TSU student, the accelerated 4+1 program combines graduate course work with  advanced undergraduate course work, enabling students to earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree within five years. It provides top undergraduate students the flexibility to begin taking classes toward their master’s degree during their senior year of undergraduate studies. It also allows students to share nine credit hours between their bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

The accelerated 4+1 programs in Computer Science (CS) is available for students currently admitted in the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Computer Science program. Students entering the 4+1 accelerated program will be admitted to the Master’s of Science in Computer Science thesis program or the Master of Computer Science non-thesis program.  Due to the research required for the thesis based program, it may take more than one year of graduate work to complete the Master’s degree.

The integration between the two programs occurs when students select their CS elective courses. The courses elected to double count (CS5XX) will apply toward the 31-hour master’s degree (in addition to applying toward the 121-hour bachelor’s degree). Once the bachelor’s degree is completed, students will need an additional 22 credit hours to earn the master’s degree.

Students interested in this program must meet the following eligibility requirements to be considered for admission:

  1. Have at least 90 credits completed.
  2. Have a cumulative TSU GPA of 3.0.
  3. Have grades posted for all 300 level required courses.
  4. Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for computer science courses.
  5. Have two semesters left in undergraduate program at time of admission to the master’s program (senior year course work).

Students earning a B.S. degree can use up to nine credits of course work which must be CS 5XX courses.

Students in the 4+1 accelerated program must follow all course requirements pertaining to both programs. Satisfactory progress in the program is achieved if the student maintains a 3.00 GPA in overall graduate course work in the student’s master’s program. The student may drop out of the 4+1 accelerated program and return to a regular B.S. program at any point of time. Students opting to not continue with the 4+1 accelerated program will no longer be able to double count the nine hours towards their graduate degree.  Those nine hours will only count for undergraduate credit for their B.S. degree.

Students who are dismissed, or voluntarily withdraw, from the 4+1 accelerated program and return to undergraduate status, are eligible to apply for admission to the stand-alone master’s program in Computer Science.

Degree Plan - Total Credits:

First Year

First Semester Second Semester
CS 120 Introduction to Computers and Problem Solving 3 CS 124 Fund of Machine Comp 3
MATH 136 Precalculus 3 CS 140 Computer Programming in Java 3
CHEM 131 or BIOL 143 General Chemistry & Lab I, Survey of Life Science 3 MATH 241 Calculus & Analytic Geometry I 4
ENG 131 Freshman English I 3 ENG 132 Freshman English II 3
MUSIC 136 or ART 135 (3) Music Appreciation, Topics in Contemporary Art and Culture 3 SC 135 or 136 Business & Professional
Communication or Public Address
3
FS 102 Freshman Seminar 1
16 hrs 16 hrs

Second Year

Third Semester Forth Semester
CS 241 Object Oriented Using C++
3 CS 246 Data & File Structures 3
CS 243 Computer Organization 3 CS 248 Theory of Computation 3
MATH 242 Calculus & Analytic Geometry. II 4 POLS 235 American Political Systems I 3
PHYS 213 College Physics Lab I 1 MATH 250 Linear Algebra 3
PHYS 237 College Physics I
3 PHYS 214 College Physics Lab II 1
ENG 2XX Any 200 Level ENG may be selected 3 PHYS 238 College Physics II 3
17 hrs 16 hrs

Third Year

Fifth Semester Sixth Semester
CS 342 Programming Languages and Design
3 CS 346 Database Management Systems 3
CS 343 Microprocessors Design 3 CS 300 / 400 CS Elective 3
MATH 345 Applied Math for Scientists or MATH 473 Probability and Statistics I 3 POLS 236 American Political Systems II 3
HIST 231 Social & Political History of the United States to 1877 3 HIST 232 Social & Political History of the United States since 1877 3
ENG 2XX Any 200 Level ENG may be selected
3 ECON 231 Principles of Economics I 3
15 hrs 15 hrs

Fourth Year

Seventh Semester Eighth Semester
CS 444 Operating Systems
3 CS 456 Software Engineering 3
CS 415 Computer Ethics and Society 3 CS 499 Capstone Project 3
CS 4XX (Elective) 3 CS 5XX (Core) 3
CS 5XX (Core) 3 CS 500/600 Elective 3
CS 500/600 Elective
3
15 hrs 12 hrs

Fith Year

Ninth Semester Tenth Semester
CS 5XX (Core)
3 CS 697 or CS699 Thesis 3
CS 5XX (Core ) 3 CS 500/600 Elective 3
CS 599 1 CS 500/600 Elective 3
CS 500/600 elective OR CS698 Thesis 3
10 hrs 9 hrs
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