The University of Chicago Computer Science Professional Program

CSPP is the Computer Science Professional Program, the professional masters program in Computer Science at the University of Chicago.

Students completing the CSPP earn a Masters of Science in Computer Science. The degree is awarded by the University of Chicago through the Division of Physical Sciences, Department of Computer Science.

Academic Year 2007–2008 Statistics

• 82% Part-time Students
• 23% Women
• 21% International Students
• 50% have 5 or more years post-undergrad work experience
• 30% have other graduate degrees (J.D., M.B.A., Ph.D)
• Average Student Age: 28
• Program Retention Rate: 95% complete their degree in 3 years or less
• Average GRE Scores: Upper 25th percentile in the quantitative section and upper 50th percentile in the verbal section of the GRE, upper 30th percentile in the analytical writing section.

The full-time CSPP program can be completed in one year. The part-time program can be completed on your schedule, with most students completing the program in 2 years.

All CSPP classes are held on the University of Chicago’s main campus in Hyde Park.

Unless specifically noted on the course schedule, each class meets once per week from 5:30–8:30 p.m.

The University of Chicago operates on a quarter system. Each quarter is 10 weeks long, with the exception of the summer Immersion Phase, which is 13 weeks long. Please visit the University’s Academic Calendar for additional information.

Students can begin their studies in the CSPP in any of the four academic quarters. However, please note that the Immersion Phase classes are only offered in the Summer quarter. If you waive the Immersion Phase, you are eligible to start the CSPP in with Fall, Winter or Spring or Summer. If you need to take the immersion Phase, you must start in the Summer quarter.

Yes, in fact, about 80% of the students in the CSPP also work full-time. The flexibility of the program and the evening class schedule makes it very easy to schedule classes and plan your studies according to your professional obligations.

Students can complete the program either part-time or full-time, or a combination of the two. A full-time class load is 3 courses per quarter. Part-time is 1-2 courses per quarter. Students can switch from part to full-time and vice-versa as their personal and professional obligations dictate.

Yes! We welcome prospective students to come and visit the campus, meet our director, counselors, and even sit in on a class. Feel free to contact us at questions@cs.uchicago.edu to set up a time.

Graduate tuition at the University of Chicago is $4278 per course for the 2008–2009 academic year. The CSPP requires a minimum of 9 courses to graduate (in addition to the immersion phase courses). Please consult The University of Chicago’s Bursars Office for complete tuition information.

The CS department does not offer any financial assistance, scholarships or funding for the CSPP. To find out about student loan information visit the Student Loan Administration website.

GRE General Test scores are required except in the following cases:

• You earned a master’s or equivalent degree from an accredited U.S. university in physical or biological science. Prospective applicants with MBAs or other MA/MS level degrees from recognized US schools may also have the GRE requirement waived. We review these petitions on a case-by-case basis.
• You earned a Ph.D. or equivalent degree from an accredited U.S. university in any field.
• International applicants with graduate and professional degrees from recognized universities abroad may also qualify for a GRE waiver. Such waivers are granted on a case by case basis.
• You have extensive work experience and/or proven IT or quantitative expertise. We review these petitions on a case-by-case basis.

If you feel you qualify for a GRE waiver based on one of the conditions outlined above, please send a petition request, along with a copy of your resume and transcripts (unofficial) to cspp.director@cs.uchicago.edu.

No. GRE Subject Test scores are not required.

The CSPP does not have minimum GRE requirements, however, on average, our students have earned the following scores in the General GRE test:

• Verbal: 50th%-tile and above
• Quantitative: 75th%-tile and above
• Analytical: 75th%-tile and above

Please note: We take into consideration the entire application, so lower than average GRE scores does not necessarily mean you would not be admitted to the program.

International applications are required to take the TOEFL and achieve minimum scores in accordance with the University’s policy found on the website for the Office of International Affairs

GRE and TOEFL scores should be sent to us by ETS. Our institution code is 1832 and the department code is 0402.

In order to expedite the review process we do accept unofficial copies of transcripts and test scores. If an offer of admission is extended it will be conditional on receipt of official copies of all the required documents.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and an admission decision is made within 1–2 weeks from receiving a completed application. Priority is given to applicants with proposed earlier start dates so occasionally the review process will take longer than 2 weeks.

We often receive emails describing a prospective student’s experience and coursework, and asking what are the chances of admission to the CSPP based on that description. The only way to determine your chances of admission is to submit a completed application and offer us the opportunity to formally review your credentials and skills.

The Immersion Phase is a quarter-long introduction to the fundamentals of CS including a course in programming (in the C language), with notions of the Unix operating system, a course in Discrete Mathematics, and a course in Basic Probability and Statistics.

The three immersion phase classes are offered in the Summer quarter.

For the most part, those with an undergraduate computer science degree have covered the required material in the immersion phase. Applicants should review the immersion waiver and submit it along with their online application. We will look at your transcripts and work experience to verify the waiver as part of the application process.

Whether or not you qualify for the Immersion waiver is going to be dependant on your professional and academic background. Most working programmers can easily waive the Immersion Programming class, but without any advanced math classes, you still may need to take the Immersion Math courses. However, those that work in IT don’t always know enough programming, so your exact background and knowledge will need to be evaluated. The best way to do this is by reviewing the Immersion Program waiver.

The immersion classes are specifically designed for those that do not have a previous background in CS.

After careful review of the Immersion Program waiver, if you are still unsure if you need to take the immersion phase, you are welcome to meet with either our math or programming counselor to discuss your knowledge and the best course of action.

Applicants may request a full or partial waiver for the immersion phase during the online application process.

The University of Chicago does not allow the transfer of credits from any other University. However, if you are a transfer student, while you will still need to take the required 9 courses proscribed by the University and the CSPP (in addition to immersion courses, if necessary) to earn an MS degree from the University of Chicago, we don’t feel it is beneficial to take redundant courses while in our program. If you took courses equivalent to ours in another program, we will work with you to plan your courses accordingly to further enhance your understanding of computer science.

To graduate, students are required to take nine courses in addition to the immersion courses. Students should take at least one course in each of the following five areas of computer science:

• Foundations of CS
• Databases
• Networking
• Programming
• Systems and Applications

On the course schedule the department publishes details about the requirements that each course satisfies. A grade of C+ or better is required for the course to count toward the nine required courses.

Yes, students in the CSPP may take up to two courses from outside the CS department and have them count toward their degree requirements as electives. This includes courses from other divisions and schools (e.g., Business School, Law School).