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Computer Science & Information Systems
College of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Computer Science & Information Systems

Admission Criteria

 Applicants with various degrees are welcome to apply to this program! Admission decisions will be based on:  

  • Academic Readiness Requirements
  • Grade Point Average (GPA)
  • Statement of purpose
  • Letters of Recommendations
  • English Proficiency Requirements (for International Students or Domestic Students with International Coursework) 

Academic Readiness Requirements 

Admission requires an undergraduate degree with coursework that are required for the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at Cal State San Marcos (refer to the CSUSM Course Catalog for course descriptions), or their equivalents. Here is a list of courses needed to make up undergraduate deficiencies:  

  • CS 311 Data Structures (You must have passed this class before starting the Master's degree)
  • CS 331 Computer Architecture
  • CS 351 Programming Languages
  • CS 433 Operating Systems
  • CS 370 Introduction to Software Engineering 
  • MATH 270 Basic Discrete Mathematics 

For the above courses, if you have 3 courses or less missing, you may be admitted as Conditionally Classified.  Upon completion of the remaining units, your status will change to Classified.  If you are missing more than 3 courses, you cannot be admitted into the program.   

Missing course work can be taken through Open University or at another college. Suggested track to complete missing coursework. Assist.org  provides assistance to evaluate coursework from other colleges within California.  

GPA Requirements 

Admission requires a 3.0 GPA in the upper-division Computer Science courses and at least a 3.0 GPA in the last 60 semester units (or last 90 quarter units) attempted.  

English Proficiency Requirements 

An international Applicant is a student who wishes to study at our university on an F-1 (student) visa, who has received a post-secondary degree from a regionally accredited college or university within the United States or outside the United States that meets our accreditation standards. For International Students or Domestic Students with International Coursework, you must provide scores for English Proficiency Test, unless they possess a bachelor's degree from a post-secondary institution where English was the principal language of instruction. 

  • TOEFL score of 80 iBT or above OR
  • IELTS overall band score of 6.0 with a writing score no lower than 6.0 and no section score below 5.5 OR
  • Duolingo score of 110 or above 

The general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is NOT required but encouraged. The institution code is 4155.  The Department Code is 0402.