New Student Information

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 18th, 7:00 - 8:00 pm CST
• Sample Lecture on "Analyzing Risk in a Software System", March 24th, 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm CST.
• Zoom Drop-in Hours with MPCS Admission Staff (various dates and times)

All incoming students should plan to arrive in Chicago and be prepared to take placement exams by Monday, September 13, 2021. 

MPCS Orientation will be held during the week of September 13th -or- September 20th.  

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.  

If you’re planning to come to 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. 

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.

Join the University of Chicago Masters Program in Computer Science Students & Alumni (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1657179814325623/) for MPCS students! Feel free to introduce yourself, ask questions and/or start a discussion.

Please reach out to any of the housing options as soon as possible. Information about graduate student housing is available at the UGrad website.

UGrad offers Housing Webinars to help students learn more about the housing options in Chicago. 

• You can register for a Housing Webinar through UChicago GRAD here: https://apply-grad.uchicago.edu/portal/housingwebinar 
• To watch the 2020 Housing Webinar, please click here
   

Limited graduate housing may be available through the University Residential Properties.

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.

Welcome to the MPCS! We would like to know more about you. Within a week of the beginning of your start-date, you will receive an email with the MPCS New Student Survey. Students who complete the survey will receive a MPCS t-shirt at the new student orientation. 

Students must provide proof of their previous degree(s) by the first Friday of their 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 karin@cs.uchicago.edu.    

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.

Details for Autumn 2021 Orientation will be posted here once they are available.

UChicagoGrad Orientation (Autumn Quarter Only)

 Additional information can be found at the UChicagoGrad website.

Students who have a solid background in programming and/or Discrete Math can waive the prerequisite courses by taking placement exams at the start of studies.

Placement Exam Dates and registration information will be announced closer to that start of the Autumn 2021 Quarter.

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 21-22. Please see the UChicago Academic Calendar for additional information.

• Summer Quarter 2021 (6/21/21 - 8/28/21)
• Autumn Quarter 2021 (9/27/21 - 12/11/21)
• Winter Quarter 2022 (1/3/22 - 3/12/22)  
• Spring Quarter 2022 (3/21/22 - 6/4/22)

Registration for MPCS students will take place in September 2021 (exact dates TBD). There will be space available for new students in both Immersion classes, Core Programming and Algorithms as needed. You may want to register early to have your choice of class or section. 

MPCS Full-Time, Part-Time and Pre-Doctoral students will be able to select their classes by using the student portal. If you will be taking the placement exams, you can select classes based on the results of your placement exams. If you are planning to take the immersion classes without taking the exams, you can register for those classes at that time.  

Joint MBA/MPCS students will receive a link to the MPCS Registration Form. The form will be live in late September (date TBD) . DO NOT enter registrations in the student portal because of your Booth status. We will enter your registrations as they come in.  

If you need assistance with registration, please contact us at masters-admin@cs.uchicago.edu.

Join the CS Slack Community (using your CNETID@cs.uchicago.edu address) at https://cs-uchicago-slack.herokuapp.com/. The Slack Channel for incoming students is titled: #mpcs-2021-22. Please review the MPCS Slack policy before joining the channel: https://masters.cs.uchicago.edu/page/mpcs-community-cs-slack

Detailed information is available here: https://masters.cs.uchicago.edu/page/mpcs-community-cs-slack

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 $6,157 per course for the 2021-2022 academic year. 

Tuition and fees for the 2021 - 2022 academic year are posted here and 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.

All initial quarterly EBills (excluding Summer) reflect and deduct pending financial aid from the total amount due.  All subsequent EBills for an enrollment period will expect all pending financial aid to be disbursed to your student account and will no longer be deducted from the total due.

2020 - 2021 Bill Dates are posted below. 2021 - 2022 Bill Dates will be updated here and on the Bursar's website when available. 

UNIX Bootcamp

The UNIX Bootcamp is recommended for all students in the MPCS who do not already have a background in UNIX and did not take 
MPCS 50101 Concepts of Programming.

The next UNIX Bootcamp will be offered TBD.
Date: TBD
Time: TBD

Registration information will be available here once dates and times are set.
To view the UNIX Bootcamp information, please see here.

Git Bootcamp

Git is the industry standard for collaborating in software development.  Furthermore, the majority of MPCS courses will use Git for homework submissions and group projects.  This workshop will provide the necessary competency to use Git in the MPCS and beyond.  

The next Git Bootcamp will be offered in TBD.
Date: TBD
Time: TBD

Registration information will be available here once date and times are set.
To view the Git Bootcamp information, please see here.