Graduate Certificate in Computer Science

Admission Requirements

Applicants external to UD must apply to the Graduate Certificate in Computer Science using the online graduate admission application.

Applicants who are currently enrolled in another program at UD may use the graduate certificate form for UD undergraduate students, or the graduate certificate form for UD graduate students.

Admission to the graduate certificate program is competitive. Those who meet the admission requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet all of the requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

External applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university.

1. A minimum grade point average of 3.2 in the major field of study and an overall grade point average of 3.0 in a 4.0 system is required. Significant relevant work experience or a graduate degree in a relevant technical discipline may be considered in lieu of meeting the GPA guideline.
2. Scholarly competence in the following areas of computer science and mathematics:
   • structured high-level programming (for example, CISC106, CISC 108, or equivalent)
   • systems programming (for example, CISC210 or equivalent)
   • data structures (for example, CISC 220 or equivalent).
   • calculus (for example, MATH 241 or equivalent) or statistics (for example, STAT200 or MATH 205 or equivalent) or discrete math (for example MATH 210 or equivalent)

Note that course work is not the only way to demonstrate scholarly competence.  Students who have not taken the above courses but believe they have the necessary experience are encouraged to contact the program coordinator.

1. International applicants must demonstrate a satisfactory level of proficiency in the English language if English is not their first language. The University requires an official TOEFL score of at least 550 on paper-based or at least 79 on the Internet-based test.
2. A resume or curriculum vita outlining work and academic experience.
3. Two (2) letters of recommendation

Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis as applications are completed. Applications are accepted up to the first day of classes for a given semester.  Start terms for the graduate certificate include Fall and Spring terms.

Program Requirements

The Graduate Certificate in Computer Science requires 9 credits of CISC courses numbered 600 or above. The nine credits may be chosen from the following:

CISC 670 – Programming Languages

CISC 672 – Compiler Construction

CISC 675 – Software Engineering Principles and Practices

CISC 681 – Artificial Intelligence

CISC 682 – Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction

CISC 683 – Introduction to Data Mining

CISC 684 – Introduction to Machine Learning

CISC 685 – Modeling and Simulation for Bioinformatics Systems

CISC 689 – Topics: Artificial Intelligence

CISC 830 – Advanced Topics in Algorithms and Complexity Theory

CISC 844 – Computational Biomedicine

CISC 849 – Advanced Topics in Computer Applications

CISC 850 – Financial Services Analytics Seminar

CISC 852 – Computer Network Performance

CISC 853 – Network Management

CISC 879 – Advanced Topics in Architecture and Software Systems

CISC 882 – Natural Language Processing

CISC 886 – Multi-Agent Systems

CISC 889 – Advanced Topics in Artificial Intelligence

Course offerings are subject to availability but multiple courses will be offered each semester so that the certificate can be completed in as little as one semester of full-time work.

Each certificate program course must be completed with a grade no lower than a B- and students must obtain at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in the program curriculum to receive the Graduate Certificate.

Satisfactory Progress

To be awarded the graduate certificate, complete the Application for Graduate Certificate by the end of the free/drop add deadline at the beginning of the semester in which the student is registered for the last course needed to complete the certificate.