Dec 07, 2025  
2025-2026 Academic Catalog 
    
2025-2026 Academic Catalog

Computer Science and Engineering, MS


Contact Information

Dr. Christer Karlsson, Program Coordinator
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
McLaury 109A
Dept: (605) 646-3130
E-mail: Christer.Karlsson@sdsmt.edu

Department Website

Students are responsible for checking with their advisors for any program modifications that may occur after the publication of this catalog.

MS in Computer Science and Engineering

The Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) offers both a thesis option and a non-thesis option.

SD Mines students admitted to the Accelerated MS option may apply up to 12 credits of 500/600 level courses taken as an undergraduate to both the BS and the MS degrees.

Degree requirements for thesis option


Distribution of credits


Core requirements: 2 credits
Research or project requirements: 6-8 credits
Elective requirements: 20-22 credits
Total credits: 30

A minimum of 15 credits of the 30 required must be taken at the 600 level or above.

Core requirements


  • Seminar Credits: 2 *

*Students may fulfill the seminar requirement with two credits of either CSC 690 Seminar  or CSC 790 Seminar   or one credit of both.  

Research or project requirements


The completion of a master’s thesis based on individual research, approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee and the Dean of Graduate Education, is required for this degree.

  • Credits: 1 to 9 **
  • ** At least 6 credits of 798 are required.  No more than 8 credits of CSC 798 may be counted toward the degree.

Elective requirements


  • This degree requires 20 to 22 credits of elective coursework

All electives must be approved by the student’s advisor and advisory committee.

Examinations


A thesis prospectus, thesis defense, and oral final examination are required for this degree. Consult the department for details.

Additional requirements


In addition to these degree-specific requirements, the student must also meet the requirements and policies applied to all graduate degrees  by the Council of Graduate Education.

Degree requirements for non-thesis option


Distribution of credits


Core requirements: 2 credits
 Research or project requirements: 0 to 4 credits
Elective requirements: 27 to 31 credits
Total credits: 33

A minimum of 17 credits of the 33 required must be taken at the 600 level or above.

Core requirements


  • Seminar Credits: 2 *

*Students may fulfill the seminar requirement with two credits of either CSC 690 Seminar  or CSC 790 Seminar  or one credit of both.  

Research or project requirements


No research or project is required for the non-thesis option. Students may use up to four credits of CSC 788 Research Problems/Projects  as elective credit.

Elective requirements


All electives must be approved by the CSE program coordinator.

This degree requires 31 credits of elective coursework:

  • 27-28 credits of Departmental Electives
    • 17-18 credits from CSC/CENG  (500 level and up)
    • 10 credits from CSC/CENG/EE/Math  (500 level and up)
  • 3-4 credits of Professional Electives
    • Management, Finance or Business coursework

The student may petition the CSE Graduate Coordinator to take courses in other departments or at the 4xx level depending on the educational goals of the student. The Professional Electives, are subject to the approval of the CSE Graduate Coordinator.

Examinations


No final degree examination is required for the non-thesis option. Individual courses may hold final examinations as part of the course.

Additional requirements


In addition to these degree-specific requirements, the student must also meet the requirements and policies applied to all graduate degrees  by the Council of Graduate Education.