Preferred qualifications for admitted OMSCS students are an undergraduate degree in computer science or related field (typically mathematics, computer engineering, or electrical engineering) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants who do not meet these criteria will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

For all applicants, domestic and international, the following is required for admission:

• Before you can matriculate at Georgia Tech, the Institute requires that you must have earned the appropriate academic credentials:  "Evidence of award of a bachelor's degree, its equivalent, or higher degree (prior to matriculation) from a regionally accredited institution; demonstrated academic excellence; and evidence of experience in the selected field of graduate study." (Institute Catalog Reference)
• In no case can work experience substitute for having earned an academic degree.

For international applicants, satisfactory scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS-Academic are required. Please visit the OMSCS Summary page for further information regarding our TOEFL and IELTS requirements.

Please see the Preparing for OMSCS page for full information. The best advice is to take (and pass) courses in computer science from an accredited institution. If you don’t have a computing background, passing these courses will present its own challenges and give you a preview of what the OMSCS curriculum will be like. If you have a computing background (either academically or professionally) and just need to plug a few holes, such courses are a great way to do it. All applicants to OMSCS or other graduate degree programs must meet the Georgia Tech minimum admission criteria (see above). However, admission is not guaranteed for those who meet the minimum criteria.

No applicant is automatically admitted. All applications are reviewed by a faculty committee to ensure that those admitted can succeed in the program. Applicants who are selected for admission will be conditionally admitted into the degree program and must pass two OMSCS foundational courses with a grade of B or better within a year from when they matriculate to be fully admitted.

They are indicated by asterisks in the course listings on the Current Courses page of this website.

For more information on accepted proof of citizenship, please visit the Georgia Tech graduate admissions website.

Yes, subject to U.S. export control policy.

Prospective students will have to furnish materials commonly required for graduate admissions (prior degrees, transcripts, etc.). For full information about application requirements, please visit the Deadlines, Decisions, Requirements, and Guidelines page of this website.

No.

Application periods, including deadlines, will be announced on the OMSCS website under the Deadlines, Decisions, Requirements, and Guidelines page.

First, review the information on the Deadlines, Decisions, Requirements, and Guidelines page, which explains the relevant dates, costs, and student information necessary for application. During application windows, a link to the OMSCS application site will be posted on the Deadlines, Decisions, Requirements, and Guidelines page.

Exceptions are given to the applicants from countries where English is the SOLE OFFICIAL language of instruction (Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada-except Québec province, England, Ghana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Trinidad, Tobago, Uganda and Wales). An applicant is exempt from TOEFL and IELTS only if they are a naturalized citizen, a Green Card holder or have spent at least one year in residence and enrolled at a U.S. college or university.

Please visit this OMSCS page for further information regarding the TOEFL and IELTS requirements for the OMSCS program.

No. TOEFL or IELTS scores are due upon completion of your application.

Under Policy 4.1.6, the lawful presence of any student applying to an institution must be verified before a final offer of admission can be extended. This policy applies to any student admitted for the Georgia Tech Fall 2011 semester or any semester thereafter. If the student will remain living outside of the U.S. and will be enrolling only in distance education courses, then it is not necessary to verify lawful presence. International students residing outside the United States do not need to submit proof of lawful presence. All other applicants must submit proof of lawful presence. Please visit the Lawful Presence page of our website for a complete list of acceptable lawful presence documents.

Official transcripts can be delivered in several ways. Most common are those delivered directly to Georgia Tech from your academic institution. Some institutions also provide certified PDFs to alumni for use in graduate applications, as well as sealed, physical transcripts. If you are accepted to OMSCS, you will be asked to verify your unofficial transcript provided at the time of application with an official copy through one of these methods.

You will be asked to provide an unofficial English translation of your transcript AND native language transcripts upon application. If your undergraduate institution does not grade on a 4.0 scale, you do NOT need to convert your GPA. The Office of Graduate Studies does not accept self-converted GPAs and will do their own conversion.

Applicants must procure recommendations from three individuals. As part of the application, applicants will provide their recommenders' email addresses. Those individuals will be contacted through email and provided instructions on how to submit their recommendations online. A physical letter will not be required.

On the OMSCS application, you will be asked to report your own history to be verified by Georgia Tech's Office of Graduate Admissions.

There is no hard cap on admissions; however, Georgia Tech controls enrollments until the necessary infrastructure is in place to deliver a high-quality, supported degree program to enrolled students.

All relevant dates are maintained on the Registrar's website.

The curriculum in the OMSCS represents a subset of the on-campus curriculum, allowing for a full MS in computer science but with only some of the specializations available in the on-campus program. The OMSCS curriculum will expand as more courses come online.

Georgia Tech grants graduate admission only to applicants who have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent prior to matriculation.

No, Georgia Tech does not currently offer OMS courses for credit to students not enrolled in the degree program.

Yes, many of the videos for OMSCS courses are available for free on the Current Courses page or on the Udacity website. These free courses do not carry college credit.

Your diploma will read "Master of Science in Computer Science", exactly the same as those of on-campus graduates. There will be no "online" designation for the degrees of OMSCS graduates.

You can request an appeal if your application is rejected. The rejection letter will explain how to submit an appeal—do NOT submit an appeal until you receive those instructions. If you do, your right to appeal will be forfeited.

All relevant dates are maintained on the Registrar's website.

Course offerings are listed on the Current Courses page.

Georgia Tech's M.S. in Computer Science requires a minimum of 30 credit hours for completion. Specializations require 15-18 hours of coursework, and the remaining 12-15 hours are “free” electives.

Specialization offerings are listed on the Specializations page of this website.

Technical requirements are listed on the Technical Requirements page.

Yes. International students applying to OMSCS are required to submit a TOEFL score (Test of English as a Foreign Language) of at least 100 as part of their application.

The OMSCS program has a tiered structure of human support for students, typically involving electronic (email, discussion board) interaction with course personnel, including the instructor of record.

By default, the maximum number of letter grade courses a student may take during a Fall or Spring semester is two, and the maximum number of letter grade courses a student may take during a Summer semester is one. Depending on enrollment patterns and their own progress through the program, students may sometimes be permitted to apply to take a single additional course; when available, this application process is announced by the academic advisers. Be advised that each course is just as rigorous as its on-campus equivalent. We recommend that OMSCS degree-seeking students working full-time while taking courses enroll in no more than one course in their first semester.

This is difficult to estimate, since all students have different backgrounds, familiarity with online learning, prior experience in computer science, and so on. A general rule is three hours per week of work per credit hour, in addition to viewing the course videos. Therefore someone taking two courses at three credit hours each can expect to spend roughly 18 hours per week on coursework.

Possibly. Most course materials will be provided free of charge online; however, some courses may require additional purchases for materials.

The total workload is the same as the residential program. The weekly or hourly workload depends on how quickly students wish to complete the program, as well as their own prior background and readiness.

The typical time for students to complete the OMSCS program is about three years, though we will allow for longer enrollments for those students who need greater flexibility. Credits earned are good for 6 years from the semester in which they are earned.

Across the program, we use a variety of technologies and techniques to ensure students are receiving credit only for their own learning. Specific details vary from course to course but include digitally proctored exams, originality scans for essays, and abstract syntax tree checks for code. All checks for academic honesty are at the direction of course faculty, but penalties for misconduct are at the discretion of the institute's Office of Student Integrity.

All course grading takes place at the direction and supervision of Georgia Tech instructors. Each class is staffed by a team of Georgia Tech faculty and teaching assistants who grade student work, configure automated evaluation tools, and write assignments. MOOC technology is used to scale and automate certain portions of the grading process, although the large majority of student work is graded in whole or part by faculty and teaching assistants. Similar techniques are already in use at Georgia Tech to handle grading in classes with very large enrollments.

Yes. OMSCS is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate the work/life situations of many types of students.

No. International students applying to OMSCS are not offered visas, so they do not qualify for OPT.

Admitted degree-seeking students are expected to continue making progress through the program and can take up to 6 credit hours for a letter grade in Fall and Spring semesters and 3 credit hours for a letter grade in Summer semesters. OMSCS staff and faculty recommend a maximum of 6 hours per semester for students who are also working full time.

OMSCS students are welcome to participate in the Graduate Commencement Ceremony that is held on campus for Fall and Spring graduates. Participation is not required but is welcomed. There is no Summer commencement ceremony.

The name "Online Master of Science" is an informal designation to help both Georgia Tech and prospective students distinguish the delivery method of the OMSCS program from the on-campus degree. The degree name in both cases is "Master of Science in Computer Science".

Tuition and fees are set by the University System of Georgia and can be found on the USG's Fiscal Affairs web site as part of the E-Tuition Rates and Mandatory Fees documents. Generally, students pay tuition per credit hour of enrollment, as well as fees per semester of enrollment. 30 credit hours are required to graduate. Total cost depends on a number of factors, such as how many courses a student takes per semester, whether the student must repeat any classes, and whether the student takes any extra classes or seminars.

Yes. All federal financial aid benefits and restrictions apply to enrolled OMSCS students. Federal aid enrollment requirements apply.

For all program costs and schedules, please see the Program Information page.

No. Georgia Tech will not support visas for OMSCS students. International students do not require U.S. residency to enroll in OMSCS.

Graduate students may not "transfer" to Georgia Tech in the same manner that undergraduates can transfer; however, you are free to apply to the OMSCS program. The Institute limits the number of M.S. transfer credits to 6 hours, subject to the approval of the College of Computing. Please review this document for more information.

You must reapply for admission to OMSCS and meet all program requirements. Please speak with your on-campus M.S. CS advisor about this request.