The MS program in Computer Science offers students the opportunity to prepare for careers in several areas of emphasis including software engineering, computer architecture, programming languages, theory of computing, operating systems, database systems, distributed computing, computer networks, artificial intelligence, computer graphics, and human computer interaction. The program is designed for maximum flexibility to allow students to concentrate in one or more areas of study. The program consists of 20 units of graduate coursework (500-level), 16 units of advisor approved electives (400 or 500-level), and 9 units of thesis. The CSSE department only offers a thesis option for the MS degree. There is no test-only option.

The course catalog, available at https://catalog.calpoly.edu/, details all the degree requirements.