Professional Master’s in Computer Science (MSCPS) Projects Requirement

 

Overview

  • The Professional MS in Computer Science (MSCPS) requires all students to complete a two-semester project course sequence to provide industry experience in preparation for the next step in their professional journey.
  • The MSCPS project courses serve as the capstone to the program and provide a robust opportunity to gain experience in software development within an industry or entrepreneurial context, depending on the option selected by the student. Both course options require students to participate in teams for two semesters, result in a deliverable project / product, and incorporate industry connections into the courses.
  • The project courses are only offered once per year. For each course sequence, the first course is offered each Fall semester and the second course is offered each Spring semester.

Eligibility

  • The MSCPS project courses are restricted to students in the Professional MS in Computer Science program.
    • MSCPS students must be in their second year in order to be eligible to take the courses. This means MSCPS students must complete two semesters, Fall and Spring, in order to be eligible.
      • MSCPS students cannot start the project courses after completing only one semester in the MSCPS program, even if they started in a Spring term.
      • MSCPS BAM students, once they transition to Graduate status, can meet this eligibility requirement.
      • J-1 exchange students should contact the MSCPS graduate advisor to verify if they are eligible.
      • CS PhD students should contact the MSCPS graduate advisor to request to enroll in the Entrepreneurial Project courses (CSCI 5340 & CSCI 5350).
    • Students in any other program are not eligible to enroll in these project courses.
      • Research-based MSCS, MS Network Engineering, and MS Artificial Intelligence are NOT eligible for any of the project courses.
      • CS PhD students are NOT eligible for the Professional Masters Project courses (CSCI 5040 & CSCI 5050).

Project Course Options

Option 1 - CSCI 5040 & CSCI 5050  Professional Masters Projects 1 & 2 (6 credit hours) 

  • This is the most common option for MSCPS students. The Professional Masters Project course sequence focuses on applied best practice in all facets of software engineering in industry and the application of those practices. Students are part of a development team involved in a two-semester project. Each student has a specific role on the project, and all will be responsible for some level of actual software development. The outcome of the two-semester cycle is a final project delivery of a software product for an institutional or industrial partner and/or for entry into software development competitions.
    • CSCI 5040 - The first semester focuses on design, requirements, and prototyping and is based on common waterfall project practices with gate reviews and project artifacts. Testing, soft skills for teamwork, project management, and other supporting aspects will be driven throughout the semester.
      • This course is only offered in the Fall semester each year.
    • CSCI 5050 - The second semester focuses on development, code construction, and delivery, using agile-based project management for development. Students work in both Scrum and Kanban agile project cycles. Testing, soft skills for teamwork, project management, and other supporting aspects will be driven throughout the semester.
      • This course is only offered in the Spring semester each year and requires a ‘B’ or better grade in CSCI 5040.

Option 2 - CSCI 5340 & CSCI 5350 Startup Essentials: Entrepreneurial Projects in Computing 1 & 2 (6 credit hours)

  • This is for MSCPS students interested in establishing their own technical startup business or exploring the working environment for this type of employer. The Entrepreneurial project sequence provides students with the tools to be successful technical co-founders of their own startups. Students are part of a team for two semesters and will result in a minimum viable product.
    • CSCI 5340 - The first semester explores the initial stages of founding a startup, including team formation, idea validation, pivoting and pitching, while employing an iterative methodology. Student teams will develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), pitch their final startup concept and be evaluated on product/market fit. CS coding concepts relevant for startups, including potentially cloud programming, mobile programming and agile software engineering, will be taught.
      • This course is only offered in the Fall semester each year.
    • CSCI 5350 - In the second semester of this entrepreneurial project capstone, student teams will seek to find market traction for a high-fidelity Minimum Viable Product (MVP), software and/or hardware, that they will develop as part of their startup project. Teams will further learn to incorporate principles of marketing, business finance and legal issues into the business model for their startup concept.
      • This course is only offered in the Spring semester each year and requires a ‘B’ or better grade in CSCI 5340.

Enrolling in the MSCPS Projects Courses

  • Eligible MSCPS students, in their second-year, are given permission by their advisor to enroll in CSCI 5040 and CSCI 5340 for the Fall of their second year. 

Procedure

  • When their enrollment window opens, students can register for the option of their choice.
  • Eligible MSCPS students will be able to enroll for the second course in their project course sequence without needing their advisor to provide permissions because the first course in each sequence serves as a prerequisite requirement for the second course in the sequence.
    • A grade of ‘B’ or higher in CSCI 5040 is a prerequisite requirement for CSCI 5050.
    • A grade of ‘B’ or higher in CSCI 5340 is a prerequisite requirement for CSCI 5350.

Course Availability

  • CSCI 5040 & CSCI 5340 are ONLY offered in the Fall semester each year.
  • CSCI 5050 & CSCI 5350 are ONLY offered in the Spring semester each year.

Satisfying the MSCPS Projects Requirement 

  • In order to satisfy the projects requirement (6 credit hours) of the MSCPS degree, student must satisfy each of the following conditions:
    • Students must complete both courses from one of the project course sequences.
      • Students may not take one course from each sequence to satisfy this degree requirement.
    • Students must earn a grade of ‘B’ or better in both courses from one project course sequence.
      • A grade of ‘B-’ or lower will mean the course cannot count towards the MSCPS degree at all.
        • For example, if a student earned a ‘B-’ in CSCI 5040, they would not be able to count CSCI 5040 for ANY degree requirement (Elective, BIN, or subplan).
      • A grade of ‘B’ or higher in the first course in each sequence is a prerequisite for the second course in each sequence.
        • Not earning a grade of ‘B’ or higher will prevent enrollment in the second course of that sequence.
        • For example, if a student earned a grade of ‘B-’ in CSCI 5340, they would be unable to enroll in CSCI 5350. This student must wait until the next Fall term to take a project course.

Waiving the MSCPS Projects Requirement

  • MSCPS students with sufficient full-time work experience in the software development industry may find it beneficial to waive the projects requirement. Students in this circumstance may request to waive the projects requirement and instead take two additional Elective courses to advance their career and professional development.
    • MSCPS students interested in graduating early (in fewer than 4 semesters) must waive the projects requirement per the following requirements.

Waiver Options

  • Students interested in requesting a project course waiver must meet the requirements for at least one of the following options:
  • Waiver Option A: 5 or more years of full-time industry work experience in software development.
    • MSCPS students with a minimum of 5 years of full-time software industry experience may request a waiver of the two-semester project courses.
    • If approved, the student must take an additional 6 credit hours of approved Elective courses instead of the project courses.
  • Waiver Option B: 2 or more years of full-time industry work experience in software development AND 3 earned credit hours of CSCI 6930.
    • MSCPS students with a minimum of 2 years of full-time work experience in software development AND who successfully complete 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930 Professional Internship may request a waiver of the two-semester project courses.
      • Students must have completed 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930 by the time the first project course starts.
      • If a student requests this waiver but has not completed 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930, they would not be eligible for this waiver.
        • If, for example, a student in Summer is enrolled in 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930 and has sufficient work experience, they may request the waiver. However, they may only be granted tentative approval pending successful completion of CSCI 6930 in the Summer. Once they receive a passing grade in CSCI 6930, their waiver would be fully approved.
    • If approved, the student must take an additional 6 credit hours of approved Elective courses instead of the project courses.
  • Waiver Option C: Students who completed similar classes during their undergraduate program at CU Boulder automatically receive a waiver from this requirement.
    • Students who earned their undergraduate Computer Science degree (BS, BA, Post-Bacc) at CU Boulder, including BAM students, AND successfully completed one of the following two-semester Senior Capstone course sequences, automatically receive a waiver for the MSCPS Projects requirement:
      • CSCI 4308 & CSCI 4318 Software Engineering Project 1 & 2
      • CSCI 4348 & CSCI 4358 Entrepreneurial Project 1 & 2
      • CSCI 4368 & CSCI 4378 Multidisciplinary Design Project 1 & 2
    • Students need a passing grade in both courses in order to receive a waiver.
    • Students do NOT need to submit a petition to receive this waiver. 

How to Request a Waiver

  • Students must submit the online petition to request a waiver.
    • Submitting a waiver request does not guarantee that your request will be approved.
    • Waivers may not be requested retroactively.
  • If a student has started a project course or missed the deadline to request a waiver, they are no longer eligible and must complete the projects requirement.

Impact of a Waiver on MSCPS Degree Requirements

  • Students with an approved waiver are required to complete an additional 6 credit hours of Elective coursework because an approved waiver does not reduce the total number of credit hours required for the MSCPS degree.
    • An approved waiver ONLY waives the projects requirement.  It does NOT reduce the number of hours needed to earn the MSCPS degree.
  • Every MSCPS student must earn 30 credit hours of applicable graduate coursework to earn the MSCPS degree.

Important Deadlines

  • MSCPS students should contact their graduate advisor to verify the deadlines for their specific term.
  • Project Enrollment Deadline - typically, MSCPS students must enroll in their first project course by May 31st of the previous Spring semester (unless they have a fully approved waiver).
    • Students who plan to take 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930 Professional Internship in the following Summer semester, even if their waiver has been tentatively approved pending successful completion of 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930, must still enroll in one of the project course options by May 31st. These students should only drop their project course when they receive a passing grade for CSCI 6930.
    • Late add requests are not guaranteed. Students are responsible for enrolling in the courses they need to graduate.
  • Project Waiver Deadlines
    • Waiver Option A (5 yrs) - typically, April 1st of the prior Spring semester.
    • Waiver Option B (2 yrs & CSCI 6930) - typically, the add deadline of the previous Summer BD2 Semester.
    • Late waivers may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis until the add deadline of the relevant Fall semester. Late waiver requests are not guaranteed.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

  • The project courses are regular courses, therefore, they count if you need to meet the 5-credit hour minimum to be a full time student.
  • International students have typically been able to count their project course towards their on-campus residency requirement if their section is In-Person. The project courses are, by default, in-person.
  • International students should always verify their specific circumstances with ISSS as they are the final authority on visa related requirements and the department will follow whatever guidance ISSS provides.
  • You should talk with the MSCPS graduate advisor to verify the deadline for the relevant semester.
  • Generally, waivers for the Waiver Option A (5 years of full-time experience) are required to be submitted by April 1st of the prior Spring semester, and waivers for Waiver Option B (2 years plus 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930) are required to be submitted by the add deadline of the Summer BD2 Semester.
  • Waivers submitted after the relevant deadline may be considered on a case-by-case basis only.  

YES, for the same reason as the early deadlines. It is easier to drop an enrolled course than it is to wait to enroll.

All eligible MSCPS students will be given class permissions so they can self-enroll once their Fall enrollment window opens. Talk to the MSCPS graduate advisor if you have questions or issues.

  • You should talk with the MSCPS graduate advisor to verify the deadline for the relevant semester.
  • Typically, unless you have received a fully approved waiver, students must enroll by May 31st of the prior Spring semester.
  • Students who are enrolled in 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930 in the Summer semester should still enroll in a project course and then drop once they successfully complete 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930.
  • You should talk with the MSCPS graduate advisor to verify the deadline for the relevant semester.
  • Typically, it is the same as the project enrollment deadline: May 31st of the previous Spring semester.
  • Students who are enrolled in 3 credit hours of CSCI 6930 in the Summer semester should still enroll in a project course and then drop once they successfully complete the CSCI 6930 course.
  • The reason for the early deadline is that the CS Advancement team has to look for sponsors all Summer. Our program is large, so the team regularly needs to find a large number of industry sponsors, so we need to have an accurate enrollment count as soon as possible. This will be a great help to our department AND will help you have a better experience in your project class.

YES. If you waive the project courses, you STILL need 30 hours. Instead of a project course sequence, you would instead take 2 approved Elective courses.