Paul Buis, Chair
Department of Computer Science
RB 455
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306 Phone: (765) 285-8641 Fax: (765) 285-2614 00pebuis@bsu.edu
Non-Thesis Option CoursesIf you plan to begin your career after earning your master's degree, and do not plan to go on to get your Ph.D., selecting the non-thesis option in computer science may be right for you.
This option is 34 credit hours, which includes 21 hours of electives. Required courses and electives are listed below.
Mathematical logic; alphabets and languages; finite automata, regular and nonregular languages, and Kleene's theorem; regular grammars; pushdown automata and context-free grammars; Turing and Post machines; recursive and recursively enumerable languages; the Chomsky Hierarchy. Prerequisite: CS 324 or permission of the instructor. Not open to students who have credit in CS 470.
Computability and decidability; introduction to the theory of computational complexity; the classes sP and NP; NP-completeness; examples of some NP- complete problems; nondeterminism and parallel computation; proving the correctness of programs. Prerequisite: CS 570.
Discussions on research areas in computer science, scientific methods of research, and dissemination of research. Requirements include presentations and written reports that demonstrate proficiency in presentation tools and techniques, statistical and experimental design techniques, and library and literature searches. Prerequisite: CS 570.
Invited presentations on topics of current interest in computer science. Students must attend a minimum of 75 percent of the presentations in each of two semesters in order to earn credit.
Software engineering principles and concepts. The software life cycle, structured specifications, design tools and techniques, software reliability, and verifying program correctness. Prerequisite: CS 232 and three graduate courses in computer science. Not open to students who have credit in CS 497.
21 Hours of electives from the list below (including at least two 600–level courses, other than CS 699)
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