The Computer Science Graduate Studies Program offers a Master of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Software Engineering. Both degree programs are offered at Loyola’s Graduate Centers in Columbia and Timonium.

The Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) degree offers a practitioner-oriented curriculum, which includes the study of advanced algorithms, computer networking, programming languages, operating systems, software engineering, and database systems. You may choose courses in object-oriented analysis, programming, and design as well as contemporary software engineering techniques. In addition to an Independent Study course, courses in graphics and human-computer interaction are among the advanced courses available to the interested and motivated student. The degree requirements include six graduate Computer Science (CS) core courses and five elective graduate CS courses. This degree program will accept qualified students with any undergraduate degree; a sequence of courses is available to prepare students for graduate study.

Professionals who obtain the Master of Science in Software Engineering (MSSE) degree will gain advanced skills in project and personnel management, modern analysis and design methods, and contemporary quality assurance techniques. Students will have many opportunities to develop these skills in project-based courses and in their respective workplaces. The process of developing and maintaining large-scale software-based systems is complex. It involves detailed analysis, sophisticated techniques and the knowledge of how the system interacts with other components. Software engineers are the professionals charged with this task. Besides being familiar with the fundamentals of computer science, a software engineer must know the technical and management techniques required to construct and maintain such complex software systems. Just as in the case of the MSCS degree, six core graduate CS courses are required. However, of the five elective courses, four must be chosen from CS, while one must be chosen from a list of approved graduate business (GB) courses offered by the Sellinger School of Business and Management.

A student wishing to pursue both degrees must complete all degree requirements for each degree. Some courses for the first degree may satisfy requirements for the second degree. If so, they need not be repeated. However, only three common courses may be counted to satisfy the requirements of a double degree.

Students who began their graduate studies in the Computer Science Track of the Master of Engineering Science degree may complete the program they started by registering for courses with an EG prefix or appropriate courses with a CS prefix. Students who elect to complete one of the new programs should take CS-prefix courses, but they should consult the program director to insure a smooth transition. Students who began their graduate studies in the Computer Engineering Track or Electrical Engineering Track of the Master of Engineering Science degree may complete the program they started by registering for courses with an EG prefix or appropriate courses with a CS prefix. These students should consult their engineering advisor.

Course of study for Master of Science in Computer Science

Degree Requirements: 33 Credit Hours

Preparatory Courses are to be taken by the students who do not have a computing background.

CS 610 Discrete Mathematics and Algorithm Analysis
CS 620 Foundations of Computer Architecture
CS 622 Computer Networks
CS 630 Computing Fundamentals I
CS 631 Computing Fundamentals II

Required Courses:

CS 700 Advanced Data Structures and Algorithm Design
CS 701 Principles of Programming Languages
CS 702 Operating Systems
CS 730 TCP/IP Architecture
CS 762 Database Systems
CS 770 Software Engineering

Electives:

Five CS Courses at the 710-level or above. A maximum of three of these courses may be selected from those numbered 771 or above.
Note: All 700-level courses have all 600-level courses as prerequisites unless otherwise noted. All 600-level courses are not applicable toward degree.

Computer Science Electives:

CS 718 Graphics	CS 771 Engineering Systems Analysis
CS 720 Modern Programming Languages	CS 772 Object-Oriented Analysis & Design
CS 722 Object-Oriented Programming	CS 773 Software System Specification
CS 732 Local Area Networks	CS 774 Human-Computer Interaction
CS 734 Wide Area Networks	CS 780 Software Reliability and Testing
CS 750 Special Topics	CS 790 Software Architecture & Integration
CS 751 Independent Study	CS 791 Cost Estimation and Management
CS 760 Advanced Operating Systems	CS 792 Software Maintenance & Evolution
CS 764 Advanced Networks

Course of study for Master of Science in Software Engineering

Degree Requirements: 33 Credit Hours

It is assumed that all students starting the program have completed the equivalent of CS700 Advanced Data Structures and Algorithm Design, CS701 Principles of Programming Languages and CS702 Operating Systems.

Required Courses:

CS 762 Database Systems
CS 770 Software Engineering
CS 773 Software System Specification
CS 774 Human Computer Interaction
CS 780 Software Reliability and Testing
CS 790 Software Architecture and Integration

Electives:

At least one approved Sellinger School of Business and Management course.
Two Courses at the CS 750 level or above.
Two courses at or above CS 710 or two approved Sellinger School of Business and Management courses.

Software Engineering Electives:

CS 718 Graphics	CS 751 Independent Study
CS 720 Modern Programming Languages	CS 760 Advanced Operating Systems
CS 722 Object-Oriented Programming	CS 764 Advanced Networks
CS 730 TCP/IP Architecture	CS 771 Engineering Systems Analysis
CS 732 Local Area Networks	CS 772 Object-Oriented Analysis & Design
CS 734 Wide Area Networks	CS 791 Cost Estimation and Management
CS 750 Special Topics	CS 792 Software Maintenance & Evolution

Sellinger School of Business and Management Courses.
Other courses may be elected with the approval of the program director.

GB 700 Ethics and Social Responsibility
GB 701 Operations and Process Management
GB 705 Leadership and Management
GB 754 Information Systems Security
GB 895 Quality Management

Course Descriptions

• CS 610 Discrete Mathematics and Algorithm Analysis - 3 credits

A survey of mathematical topics common to many areas of computer science. Topics include logic and proof techniques, sequences and summations, set theory and combinatorics, probability, recurrence relations and asymptotic growth of functions, graph theory, finite-state machines, and Turing machines.
• CS 620 Foundations of Computer Architecture – 3 credits

Covers basic concepts of digital logic including logic gates, flip flops, registers and counters. Discusses elements of design including Karnaugh maps and sequential theory. A glimpse of different microcomputer systems. Compares assembly language techniques for different microprocessors.
• CS 622 Computer Networks – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 620. The course begins with an overview of data and computer communications including an introduction to the TCP/IP protocol architecture. Necessary areas of mathematics, science, and engineering are presented in preparation for a review of the underlying technology of networking. The area of data communication is surveyed including data transmission, transmission media, data encoding, data communication interface, data link control, and multiplexing. Wide area networking, including both circuit-switched and packet-switched implementations, is considered. Local area networking technology and implementations are reviewed. The course concludes with a look at Internet protocols, transmission control protocols, and security issues.
• CS 630 Computing Fundamentals I – 3 credits

An introduction to the basic concepts of computer organization and programming. Algorithms are defined and used. Numeric and character manipulation is carried out. File handling, recursive functions, and elementary data structures are studied. Computer use required.
• CS 631 Computing Fundamentals II– 3 credits

Prerequisites: CS 630. Intermediate programming in C/C++ emphasizing structured methodologies for development, debugging, testing, and verification of programs. Topics include recursion; pointers; dynamic memory allocation; and elementary data structures such as stacks, queues, linked lists and binary trees.
• CS 700 Advanced Data Structures and Algorithm Design– 3 credits

Prerequisites: CS 631, CS 610. A study of the design and analysis of efficient computer algorithms and data structures. Topics include recurrences, sorting, order statistics, dynamic programming, graph algorithms, and NP-completeness. May include additional topics from the current literature.
• CS 701 Principles of Programming Languages – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 700. Concepts and structures governing the design and implementation of modern programming languages. Run-time representations of traditional block structured languages, typing systems, abstraction and procedure mechanisms, and storage management. Special emphasis on object-oriented and functional languages, their type systems, and operational and denotational semantics.
• CS 702 Operating Systems – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 700. Considers processes, process synchronization and mutual exclusion, and techniques for memory allocation, scheduling, and disk management. Surveys current computer operating systems and discusses research in distributed operating systems.
• CS 718 Graphics – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 700. A comprehensive analysis of the techniques and algorithms used to develop graphical images using computer generated data. Covers the mathematical concepts required to produce two- and three-dimensional text and graphics on raster and vector displays. Examines and evaluates hardware and software design considerations relative to current display technology. Explores techniques for three-dimensional photorealistic graphics, as well as advanced methods in object modeling and animation. Emphasis on the algorithms and mathematical principles that underpin programming techniques. Includes ray tracing, hidden surface elimination, radiosity, physics-based modeling for animation, and other topics as possible.
• CS 720 Modern Programming Languages – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 701. Use of API’s for elements such as menus, accelerators, icons, bitmaps, and dialog boxes; timer basics; multitasking and multithreading; multiple-document interface; dynamic-link libraries; client-side technologies and dynamic object models; server-side technologies: configuration and administration, forms processing with CGI programs and Servlets; and special topics which may include web database management, JSP, XML, and multi-tiered architectures.
• CS 722 Object-Oriented Programming – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 701. Surveys major concepts in object-oriented analysis, design, and programming such as encapsulation, information hiding, inheritance, and polymorphism. Covers how these ideas are implemented in Smalltalk and C++. Students are assigned programming projects in these two languages.
• CS 730 TCP/IP Architecture – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 622. Students develop the following TCP/IP Layers: Link, Network, Transport, and Application. Use of diagnostic tools to watch constructed protocols in action.
• CS 732 Local Area Networks – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 730. Fundamentals of LAN Architectures. Topics include OSI layers 0, 1, and 2; 10BASE-5, 10BASE-2, 10BASE-T, 100BASE-T, TOKEN RING and FDDI. Students develop LAN strategies through case studies, ranging from actual implementation to business models.
• CS 734 Wide Area Networks – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 730. A survey of wide area networks which includes traditional telephone networks, frame relay networks and ATM, and asynchronous transfer networks, switched, fast, and gigabit ethernet. In addition, dynamic routing protocols are studied and applied through laboratory experiments.
• CS 750 Special Topics in Computer Science or Software Engineering – 3 credits

An on-demand course for a current topic.
• CS 751 Independent Study – 3 credits

Students must submit a written proposal to a member of the faculty of the computer science program prior to the last day of class registration. Proposed topics, which are normally discussed in advance with the professor, should permit study and/or laboratory work in considerable depth beyond the scope of a course offered in the curriculum.
• CS 760 Advanced Operating Systems - 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 702. An in-depth inspection of the UNIX operating system internals via the C programming language. Topics include system calls and their internals, process implementation, communication, and management; file system implementation and management; device management; and networking.
• CS 762 Database Systems – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 700. Discusses major database organizations with emphasis on the relational approach. Topics include physical storage; design tools including entity-relationship modeling and normalization techniques; query processing including formal languages, SQL, QBE, and optimization; transaction modeling; concurrency issues; current trends in DBMS. Includes laboratory experiences with the design and use of DBMS.
• CS 764 Advanced Networks – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 730. Topics include controls, cryptography, IPSEC, intrusion detection, physical and operations security, firewalls, and virtual private networks. Simple network management protocol (SNMP) has been the defacto standard for the management of multivendor TCP/IP based networks. Students study the requirements of a network management system, the models of management systems that have been developed, and the real-world architectural components comprising a total network management system (SNMP, MIBs, and network manager).
• CS 770 Software Engineering – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 700. Covers the field of software engineering: planning, product definition, design, programming, testing and implementation. Covers topics of structured design and programming in depth. Software systems design and program architecture-alternative system types. Module design, coding and language considerations. Considers design team methodology and member makeup. Industry standards, diagrammatic techniques, pseudocode. Programming language alternatives. Class examples are from real-world product situations. A complete overview and exposure to a total product development cycle and project. Real-time systems; design and testing/debugging phases.
• CS 771 Engineering Systems Analysis – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 770. Emphasizes engineering systems and the modern techniques of generating alternatives, evaluation and selection criteria including resource scheduling, decision theory and optimization methods.
• CS 772 Object-Oriented Analysis and Design – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 770. Presents the concepts and techniques necessary to effectively use system requirements captured through use cases to drive the development of a design model. Students use Unified Modeling Language (UML) to represent fundamental object-oriented analysis and design concepts including architecture, objects, classes, components, stereotypes, relationships, and all supporting diagrams.
• CS 773 Software System Specification – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 770. Studies the following as they relate to the construction of large-scale software systems: Axiomatics, Algebraic Specification Languages, Functional Correctness, Predicate Transformers, Denotational Semantics, and Communicating Sequential Processes. Emphasis is on the rigor required to design and build critical systems.
• CS 774 Human-Computer Interaction – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 770. Human factors issues in the development of software, the use of database systems, and the design of interactive systems. Issues include: programming and command languages; menus, forms, and direct manipulation; graphical user interfaces, computer-supported cooperative work, information search and visualization; input/output devices; and display design.
• CS 780 Software Reliability and Testing – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 770. Topics covered include reliability: reliability concepts and design techniques, management techniques, reliability models, issues of software security; testing: formal and informal methods; program analysis: dynamic analysis, static analysis, data flow analysis; selection of test cases; program instrumentation; mutation analysis; and symbolic execution.
• CS 790 Software Architecture and Integration – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 770. Topics include the organization of a software system, the selection of the structural elements and their interfaces and behavior as specified in the collaboration among those elements, the composition of these elements into progressively larger subsystems, the architectural style that guides this organization, these elements and their interfaces, their collaborations, and their composition.
• CS 791 Cost Estimation and Management – 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 770. Covers both traditional and state-of-the-art methods identifying advantages and disadvantages of each and the underlying aspects in preparing cost estimates. Topics: estimation, risk analysis, scheduling, software quality assurance, software configuration management planning and execution.
• CS 792 Software Maintenance and Evolution– 3 credits

Prerequisite: CS 770. Software maintenance, also known as software evolution, is the implementation of consistent changes to an existing system. This difficult task is compounded both by the pressing business constraints which lead to the required change and the inherent difficulty of safely modifying complex systems. This class will examine both the process under which software is changed (e.g., configuration control) and modern techniques for reducing the engineer's effort when making changes (e.g., comprehension strategies, consistent change principles, ripple analysis, and regression test effort).