Computer Science, BS - Fast Track to MSDA

Program Contact: Hong Lin, PhD
S717, 713-221-2781, cset@uhd.edu

In response to the need for advanced education in Computer Science and Data Analytics, a Fast Track option is made available to well-qualified UHD undergraduate Computer Science majors. The Fast Track option is designed to accelerate a student’s education so that both BSCS and Master of Science in Data Analytics (MSDA) degrees can be earned in lesser time. Exceptional undergraduate students in their junior and senior year can apply to include approved MSDA’s level courses as part of the Computer Science undergraduate degree plan. When Fast Track students graduate with a bachelor’s degree, they receive prioritized consideration for acceptance into to MSDA program at UHD without need to take the Graduate Records Exam (GRE).

Admission Requirements
An undergraduate student in Computer Science qualifies to be admitted to the Computer Science Fast Track if he or she meets all of the following qualifications:

Is currently a junior or senior, and has completed at least 15 semester credit hours at UHD
Has repeated no more than 3 courses at UHD and has repeated no course more than once
Has an overall GPA for all college courses of at least 3.0
Has completed the following benchmark courses, with an average six course GPA of at least 3.20: CS1410, CS2301, CS2302, CS2410, CS3304, CS3306

Fast Track application deadlines for the following terms:

Summer Term - First Friday in March
Fall Term - First Friday in May
Spring Term - First Friday in October

Applications are processed by the Computer Science program.

Fast Track students take the following 2 MSDA courses (6 graduate semester credit hours) that may be used to complete the baccalaureate degree and also to satisfy requirements for the MSDA degree if these courses are completed with grades of B or better. These students would have only 30 semester credit hours of graduate coursework still needed to complete the MSDA degree when they are enrolled in the MSDA program:

Degree Requirements

Common Core Requirements (42 hours)

See the Common Core Requirements section of the catalog for Undergraduate Academic Programs. Observe that MATH 2305 satisfies both the mathematics requirement of the Common Core and a mathematics requirement for the computer science degree and the 6 of the 8 hours of natural sciences required in the major will satisfy the life and physical sciences requirement of the Common Core.

Major Requirements

Students in the Fast Track Degree will complete all requirements of the Computer Science, BS with the following exceptions:

CS5301 Programming Foundations for Data Analytics (will be used as an upper-level elective)
CS5318 Database Management Systems (will be used in place of CS4318 - students cannot receive credit for both)
Fast Track students do not receive credit for taking CS4319 Statistical and Machine Learning, and CS5318 Database Systems.

Free Electives

(Sufficient hours to complete a minimum of 120 hours total)

Total: (120 hours)

Remaining in Fast Track

In order to remain in good standing, a Fast Track student must fulfill the following requirements.

Must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 overall.
Must earn a grade of B or better in all graduate courses. Courses in which a student earns a passing grade below B shall only count towards the BSCS degree and will not count for the MSDA degree.
Must not repeat more than three courses, and must not repeat any course more than once.

If, at any time these requirements are not fulfilled, the student will be put on probation for one semester. A Fast Tack student can be put on probation at most once. The student will be dropped from the Fast Track if these requirements are still not fulfilled during the probation semester. Any graduate credits successfully earned can be applied to the BSCS degree only, and the benefits of the Fast Track option will not apply.

Taking a Break between the Two Degrees
The rules for re-admission apply to students that wish to take a break between their completion of the BSCS degree and continuation of their MSDA studies. Students that take off three long semesters (or more, not counting summers) need to apply for admission to the MSDA program following regular application process and requirements as non-Fast Track students.