New Student Information

New students are welcome to schedule a virtual Advising Appointment over the phone or via Zoom with MPCS staff:

• Karin Czaplewski, Associate Director of Student Affairs and Faculty Services: https://calendly.com/masters-admin/current-student-advising-with-karin

All students in the MPCS are required to sign the Academic Honesty & Plagiarism Statement before they begin their studies.  You will sign the statement at the new student orientation.  For more information on the academic honesty policy please read the MPCS Academic Honesty Guidelines.

The AEPP is designed for incoming international degree-seeking students for whom English is an additional language and who have not lived or studied extensively in Chicago. The program features interwoven linguistic, cultural, and academic objectives, and students interact with a range of English speakers as they explore UChicago, Hyde Park, and the City of Chicago. Our curriculum is tiered, which means students will be seriously challenged regardless of their level of English.

You can find additional information here: https://esl.uchicago.edu/aepp/

The MPCS hosts various virtual events to answer questions admitted students may have about the program. We will present some information and have time for questions to be asked and answered.

• Q&A with MPCS Leadership, March 9th, 6:00 pm CST. An FAQ from this event is available here.
• Sample Lecture on "Cybersecurity: The Threat Landscape", March 29th, 5:00 pm Central Time. Recording available.
• Incoming Student Q&A, May 4th, 6:00 pm CST. Recording available here. PLEASE NOTE: The electronic transcript email address on the slides of the Incoming Student Q&A is incorrect. Please refer to the Official Transcript Section below for official transcript instructions. 

All 2022 incoming students should plan to arrive in Chicago and be prepared to take placement exams by Wednesday, September 7th, 2022. Placement Exams will be held in-person on Thursday, September 8th, and Friday, September 9th. 

MPCS Orientation will be held during the week of September 12th.

The UChicago Card is the official University identification card. You can use it for many things, including getting access to department buildings, the Library and checking out library materials, storing credit for dining hall use (for students), and riding certain CTA buses.  

When you arrive on campus, please upload your UChicago Card photo at https://myphoto.uchicago.edu/. More details on picking up your UChicago Card to come!

Your CNetID (Chicago Network Identifier) is a username that you select and will use to access most online services at the University of Chicago. Your email address at the University of Chicago contains your CNetID. Popular services such as wireless, cMore, Chalk, Wiki, file storage, and campus email all use your CNetID and password for access.

To create your account a student ID number is required.

Create your CNetID and password.

Applicants should apply for admission to the MPCS for the academic year and quarter that they intend to start the program. 

If you have been admitted to a quarter when you are not able to begin your studies in the MPCS, you may submit a deferral request by emailing masters-admin@cs.uchicago.edu. Your deferral request should include your name, application reference number, and an explanation of why you are requesting to defer your admissions to the MPCS. The MPCS administration will review requests for deferral on a case-by case basis. There are no guarantees that a deferral will be granted, regardless of the situation. Deferrals are rarely granted, and require extenuating circumstances. 

To be considered for a deferral you will need to be admitted to the MPCS, have accepted your offer of admission and have paid your $1500 non-refundable deposit. If approved, deferrals are granted for a maximum of one year from your original quarter of admission. Ahead of your deferred start quarter, students will be required to reconfirm their intention to begin the MPCS and may be required to pay a secondary non-refundable deferral deposit. The terms of your deferral will be outlined if it is granted.

Students admitted to the Pre-Doctoral MS in CS Program cannot defer their admission to a different academic term. Pre-Doctoral students are only offered admission for the quarter to which they apply. 

Students enrolled in the MPCS receive a user account for the CS computing environment, collectively referred to as the CS domain.

You must use your CS account to log into the computers in CSIL.

Request a CS Account

After requesting an account it may take an hour to an hour and a half for your account to be fully functioning.

You will need to set your email up through Outlook. Instructions below:

Once you have claimed your CNetID, all official communication will be sent to your UChicago email address. Access your UChicago email account through Outlook within Office 365. You can also forward your UChicago email address to another account. 

Please follow the instructions on the ITS website. If you are still having issues, please contact ITS directly.

 Information about graduate student housing is available at the UGrad website.

All students are required to have health insurance.  The SHCS website includes details information about the University Student Health Insurance Plan (U-SHIP) as well as supplemental health care options that are available for purchase by University of Chicago students.

You can enroll or waive U-SHIP coverage online. If you already have health insurance through another provider, it is very important that you waive U-SHIP or you will be enrolled in the plan automatically and responsible for the cost. If you take no action, you will be enrolled in U-SHIP automatically.

Open enrollment ends at 12:00pm (CST) on Friday of the third week of the first quarter you are registered.  Then you will have to submit your waiver or enroll again at the start of every Autumn quarter you are in the program.

The state of Illinois and the University of Chicago requires students to have proof of immunity and/or vaccinations for certain diseases. Proof of immunizations are due before you start the program.  For more information, please visit Student Health and Counseling Services.

We encourage our students to create a LinkedIn account so that you can connect with other students and alumni of the MPCS. To join the MPCS group you must be a registered student or an alum of the program. Approvals to the group will be given after registration in September.

The majority of your MPCS classes will be held in either the John Crerar Library or Ryerson Laboratory. The Computer Science department is located in the John Crerar Library (also referred to as JCL or Crerar). The MPCS administrative offices are located on the third floor of JCL.

JCL:
Located at 5730 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60637
Map available (https://maps.uchicago.edu/location/john-crerar-library/)

Ryerson:
Located at 1100 E 58th St, Chicago, IL 60637
Map available (https://maps.uchicago.edu/location/ryerson-laboratory/)

One resource for navigating campus is the UChicago UGO Shuttle system. Students ride free with their ID cards, and shuttle routes can be explored and tracked here: https://uchicago.transloc.com

More information about University of Chicago transit options is available here: https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/transportation/

Students must provide proof of their previous degree(s) by August 20th for the Autumn quarter. Admitted to the Winter or Spring quarters, official transcript must be submitted by the first Friday of your first quarter in the program.  An official transcript and/or documentation that states you were awarded your degree is required.   

•  International schools provide this proof with a "Certificate of Degree/Diploma".  
•  Electronic copies of transcripts may be sent from your previous school to emkerr@uchicago.edu.    

Physical copies of transcripts should be addressed to:

"Attn: Masters Program in Computer Science

John Crerar Library

5730 South Ellis Avenue

Chicago, IL

60637"

The OIA is available to answer any questions you may have whether you’re on a student or work visa. Visit their website at https://internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu.

The MPCS will hold new student orientation events over the week of September 12th, 2022. More details will be posted soon. 

Information about Placement Exams, including dates, times and study materials, can be found here: https://masters.cs.uchicago.edu/page/placement-exams-0

Math Study Materials
Programming Study Materials

Admitted students may elect to shift from the 9-course MS Program to the 12-course MS Specialization Program (or vice versa). If you will be studying on a student visa, you will be granted an I-20 for the program in which you initially indicated on your application. We will ask you to confirm your program of study before the end of the Autumn quarter.

Below are the dates for the AY 22-23. Please see the UChicago Academic Calendar for additional information.

• Summer Quarter 2022 (6/13/22 - 8/20/22)
• Autumn Quarter 2022 (9/27/22 - 12/10/22)
• Winter Quarter 2023 (1/3/23 - 3/11/23)  
• Spring Quarter 2023 (3/20/23 - 6/4/23)

Registration for Summer 2022 classes will open for new students on Monday, June 6th and remain open for the week. This is the week before classes begin. All immersion classes will have space for new students. New MPCS students have the option to take one or both of the immersion classes in the Summer 2022 quarter. Both of these classes will be offered online. Summer coursework is completely optional - both of these courses are also offered in the Autumn quarter.

MPCS 50101 Concepts of Programming (Monday 5:30pm - 7pm - Online Only) 

MPCS 50103 Discrete Math (Wednesday 5:30pm - 8:30pm - In Person and Online)

If you would like to register for summer coursework, please complete the MPCS Registration Form to be registered for classes. We will need to term activate all new MPCS students and process the registration for you for Summer 2022.  

MPCS Registration Form Summer 2022: https://forms.gle/LDFiEQxC295SPeu4A

If you are planning to take the placement exams, please wait to receive your results before completing this form. Registration will be open until Friday, June 10th at 5 PM CT.

Registration for Autumn 2022 for new MPCS students will take place the week of September 19th and will remain open for the week. There will be space available for new students in both Immersion classes, Core Programming and Algorithms as needed. Students will have the results of placement exams before registration opens. More details to follow over the summer. 

The Slack Channel for incoming students is titled: #mpcs-2022-23. All new students will be invited to join this channel.

The University student portal is myUChicago. The portal allows you to access your student information and a wide range of online University resources.

Once you have your cNetID you can log in to confirm your personal information.  You must confirm your personal information before the end of the first week in your first quarter.

Tuition for the Masters Program in Computer Science is $6,280 per course for the 2022-2023 academic year. 

Tuition and fees for the 2022 - 2023 academic year are posted on the UChicago's Office of the Bursar's Website. 

Tuition is paid per course in the MPCS. Students in the 9-course program will pay for 9 classes (plus the math and/or programming prerequisite classes if necessary). Students in the 12-course program and Pre-Doc program will pay for 12 classes (plus the math and/or programming prerequisite classes if necessary). 

Students in the Joint MBA/MPCS Program with the Booth school of Business are registered as Booth students and pay Booth tuition for the duration of their studies. Please consult with Booth for tuition and fees.

Autumn 2022 Bootcamps will be announced over the summer. All new students will have the opportunity to attend available bootcamps in September.