The SDSU graduate bulletin contains the official description of the requirements for admission. The major requirements for admission to the graduate program are given below.

Degree

Applicant must have an acceptable baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution.

Scores

The Computer Science Department no longer uses GRE scores.

Type US Applicant International Applicant
Grade Point Average (GPA) 2.85 3.00

English Proficiency

Students applying to SDSU from an international institution must submit one of the following as proof of English proficiency:

• TOEFL minimum score of 80 iBT/ 550 PBT: Score can be sent electronically from Educational Testing Service (ETS) using the SDSU institution code: 4682. Test score must be from within the past two years.

• IELTS overall score of 6.5 or higher: Score report must be submitted directly to the SDSU Graduate Admissions Office. Test score must be from within the past two years.

• Duolingo English Test score of 105 or higher: Score can be sent electronically from Duolingo, to the SDSU Graduate Admissions Office. Test score must be from within the past two years.

• PTE minimum score of 58 or higher: Score report must be submitted directly to the SDSU Graduate Admissions Office. Test score must be from within the past two years.

• Transcripts/marksheets/diploma have been received indicating English as the principle language of instruction.

The SDSU Testing office gives the GRE at SDSU. Contact www.toefl.org for more information about the TOEFL exam. Contact www.gre.org for more information about the GRE.

The Computer Science Department does not require additional supplemental materials. Please do not send letters of recommendation, statements of purpose, resumes, etc., as they will not be taken into consideration.

Application decisions are made on a rolling basis and once we hit our enrollment limit we will stop admitting applicants into our program.

Computer Science Background

Applicants should have background that is equivalent to the following courses at SDSU. Course descriptions may be obtained by referring to the Computer Science Section of the SDSU General Catalog. Additional information may be obtained by contacting a graduate advisor.

Starting in Fall 2021 the CS Department is offering an updated undergraduate Computer Science curriculum. The list below uses the new Computer Science course names and numbers. The old course numbers are given in parentheses.

Lower division courses may be taken at local community colleges.

  • MATH 150 Calculus I
  • MATH 151 Calculus II
  • MATH 245 Discrete Math
  • MATH 254 Linear Algebra
  • CS 150, 150L Introductory Computer Programming & Lab (old CS 107)
  • CS 160, 160L Intermediate Computer Programming & Lab (old CS 108)
  • CS 210 Data Structures (old CS 310)
  • CS 240 Computer Organization

Upper division courses may be taken at SDSU Global Campus.

  • CS 370 Computer Architecture (old CS 370)
  • CS 460 Algorithms (old CS 560)
  • CS 480 Operating Systems (old CS 570)