CS Professional Master’s Program
The CS Professional Master’s Program (PMP) is designed for professionals who want to pursue an MS degree for more specific CS education, to obtain cutting edge knowledge in the fast-moving field of IT, apply what they’ve learned in their jobs, and who seek career advancement. Students in the program earn an MS degree within two years and can take coursework in many areas: artificial intelligence, computational biology, computer architecture, computer graphics, computer networks, computer security, database systems, human-computer interaction, numerical analysis, optimization, performance analysis, programming languages and compilers, systems research, and theoretical computer sciences.
Students admitted to PMP take coursework in the renowned and highly ranked Computer Sciences department at UW-Madison, a world-class institution.
Current UW-Madison undergraduate students may consider the Plus One Pathway (POP) as a means of transitioning to PMP.
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Overview
Our flexible program allows students to take 30 credits of CS coursework in the areas which most interest them.
Our full list of requirements can be found on the Guide.
PMP students are not permitted to take non-CS coursework, unless approved by our Professional Programs Committee.
Admission to our program is competitive, and we encourage any qualified applicant to apply.
Prospective students can find more information on admissions for PMP–as well as other graduate programs in the department–on our comprehensive admissions page.
PMP students are strongly encouraged to pursue internships during their time with us, though we don’t require them. Current and former PMP students have interned at a number of organizations, such as PayPal, Amazon, Google, Fetch, Roku, Qualcomm, and more.
Students can earn credit for internships that are directly related to their degree through our CS 702 course. F-1 visa-holding international students who need work authorization should review Curricular Practical Training (CPT) information in its entirety to understand expectations and avoid complications.
Students interested in earning credit for internship or co-op experience should review our CS 702 enrollment information.
Students in the program are assigned both a faculty advisor and staff academic advisor. The faculty advisor is typically the one to make course recommendations, whereas the staff academic advisor is usually better able to answer questions regarding policies.
Please see our funding and cost of attendance page for more information.
Since PMP is a coursework-based program, there is no thesis requirement.
Students may choose to write a master’s thesis (6 credits of CS 790) or project report (3 credits of CS 790). If pursuing the thesis, it is recommended that the student split the 6 credits over two semesters to give enough time to complete their work. Keep in mind the restrictions on the number of CS 790 credits that can be taken to meet program requirements, which can be found on the Guide.
The responsibility for finding a thesis or project advisor lies solely with the student. The advisor must be a full-time or affiliate faculty member of the Department of Computer Sciences.
If a student is interested in an MS thesis or project, they should email the PMP Graduate Program Manager for more information after having reviewed the information below.
Master’s Thesis
A master’s thesis (6 credits) is expected to be a substantial piece of work, e.g., a comprehensive survey of a particular area. In contrast to a doctoral thesis, a master’s thesis need not contain original research work, but might well serve as a basis and major first step toward subsequent doctoral work. There are no rules regarding the format of a master’s thesis. The student should consult with their thesis advisor and can also review the Graduate School’s Guide to Preparing Your Master’s Thesis.
The student should send a copy of the thesis including the title page signed by the thesis committee to the PMP Graduate Program Manager. In addition the thesis needs to be published as a departmental technical report. Depositing a copy of the thesis in the Memorial Library is optional.
The thesis committee consists of the advisor and a minimum of two additional members; at least one of the additional members must be a full-time faculty member of the department.
Project Report
A project report (3 credits) is carried out under the supervision of a faculty member. The report should be submitted in electronic form, along with a title page signed by the project advisor, to the PMP Graduate Program Manager. The report is kept on file in the department but is not made public.
UW-Madison offers a wealth of career preparation resources. Here are a few that we recommend:
- The Graduate School’s Office of Professional Development
- Beyond Graduate School
- SuccessWorks (note that PMP students cannot receive individualized career advising from SuccessWorks career advisors)
The Plus One Pathway in Computer Sciences (POP) is for UW-Madison CS majors graduating in a fall semester who want to continue their CS journey directly into PMP the following spring, making them more competitive when they enter the workforce. POP students can earn their professional master’s degree in about three semesters, compared to the “standard” two years.
While earning your professional master’s degree, you can take coursework to specialize in particular areas such as network security, data analytics, software development, and artificial intelligence–all areas that are growing quickly.
Program FAQs
Yes. International Student Services (ISS) maintains additional F-1 OPT STEM Extension information.
All students at UW-Madison enroll for courses through the Course Search & Enroll app. (Enrollment tutorials can be found on the Registrar’s website.)
Students are given an enrollment appointment for each term, and are expected to enroll–and make changes to their enrollment–with respect to the enrollment deadlines.
The department also has internal course enrollment FAQs that students should review before enrollment.
Graduate students have certain enrollment requirements.
Our program’s recommendation is that full-time students take 9-10 credits per semester to balance their schedules and workload. The usual graduation timeline is 4 semesters (2 years), though some students will graduate earlier depending on credit load and/or transferred credits from prior coursework.
For eligible part-time students, at least 2 credits must be enrolled in each fall and spring term to maintain graduate student status. Most of our “standard” courses are 3 credits.
International students on F-1 or J-1 visas are expected to maintain full-time enrollment. Credit load requirements may be different in certain cases, such as with reduced course load (RCL) approvals in the final semester of study or appropriate CPT authorization and CS 702 enrollment. Students should check with the Graduate Program Manager if they have questions regarding their enrollment requirements.
Yes. While PMP is a coursework-based program–not a research-based program–PMP students are eligible to participate in research with any faculty member who would like to work with them.
PMP students may count up to 6 research credits–CS 790 and CS 799–toward degree requirements. See the Guide for complete requirement information.
Since PMP is a coursework-based program, there is no thesis requirement. Students may choose to write a master’s thesis (6 credits of CS 790) or project report (3 credits of CS 790). If pursuing the thesis, it is recommended that the student split the 6 credits over two semesters to give enough time to complete their work.
There is additional information in the Overview section of this page.
It depends on which program you took the coursework during, as well as how long ago. Our prior coursework policies can be found on the Guide. Note that eligible CS coursework must be numbered CS 400+.
No. Please review the PMP policies in the Guide for more information.
Contact
Please reach out to pmp-admissions@cs.wisc.edu with any questions about the program.