Computer Science
Earn an M.S. in Computer Science to gain problem-solving and software skills. Graduates hired by top companies, high job growth.
Computer Science, M.S.
The Master of Science in Computer Science is a broad-based degree offering students strong problem-solving, communication, and team skills to design, implement, and document computer software systems.
MTSU's Computer Science Master's program sends well-prepared students into a lucrative job market. Employers ranging from tech titans such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, to big companies like HCA, Schneider Electric, Deloitte, and Caterpillar, value MTSU graduates.
Employment in the field is projected to grow at a rate of 25% percent between 2021 and 2031 with a median annual pay of $109,020 at 2021 based on the report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Students, who choose from the thesis and non-thesis options, are able to concentrate on specific areas or begin preparation for Ph.D. work. Master's students also gain experience working with systems administration and helping create apps for the university.
Well-equipped computer labs are available for extended hours and also provide 24/7 remote software access. Video conference attendance is possible in some classes. A limited number of graduate assistantships are available.
News Briefs
Google taps MTSU computer science for new hires
Computer Science M.S. graduates Nathan Reale, Matt Houglum (pictured), and Anthony Mills are the latest MTSU alumni hired by Web giant Google. Houglum and a student team developed an Android mobile app to provide students easy access to a wide variety of university information, while Mills and Reale helped create an online Schedule Planner to assist with class planning. They also had systems administration responsibilities as grad students, experience that sold Google recruiters on him, Houglum says. "It is very difficult to get hired at Google, and the fact that a major company like Google is hiring our students is indicative of the quality of the education being offered," department chair Chrisila Pettey says. Reale and Mills are working at Google headquarters outside San Francisco, while Houglum is an enterprise technical solutions engineer at the Seattle operations center. All three also earned bachelor's degrees from MTSU. Reale applied the day after Google employee and MTSU alum Micah Chasteen spoke to the Association for Computing Machinery student chapter. "Google was my dream job from high school through college," Reale says.
Student works on Greek papyrus research at Oxford
Master's candidate Alex Williams (B.S., Computer Science) landed a job at the University of Oxford in England a year before his scheduled 2015 graduation, programming with a research team identifying ancient Greek papyrus fragments. Williams created a version of BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool), which is used in computational biology with genetic/DNA sequences, to align Ancient Greek papyrus fragments to known manuscript texts. His Greek-BLAST adaptation helps dramatically accelerate the tedious process of manual identification of a timeframe from days, months, or years, into minutes. "Students are usually given the option to study what interests them. Had I not been given these options, I would be weeks behind in my work here at Oxford," Williams says. "I'm only halfway through the program and I've already got the best job imaginable." He also had two undergraduate internships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory while at MTSU. His research there focused on finding new attributes in mammograms that could be used in an automated fashion by software to detect early signs of breast cancer.
News Briefs
Google taps MTSU computer science for new hires
Computer Science M.S. graduates Nathan Reale, Matt Houglum (pictured), and Anthony Mills are the latest MTSU alumni hired by Web giant Google. Houglum and a student team developed an Android mobile app to provide students easy access to a wide variety of university information, while Mills and Reale helped create an online Schedule Planner to assist with class planning. They also had systems administration responsibilities as grad students, experience that sold Google recruiters on him, Houglum says. "It is very difficult to get hired at Google, and the fact that a major company like Google is hiring our students is indicative of the quality of the education being offered," department chair Chrisila Pettey says. Reale and Mills are working at Google headquarters outside San Francisco, while Houglum is an enterprise technical solutions engineer at the Seattle operations center. All three also earned bachelor's degrees from MTSU. Reale applied the day after Google employee and MTSU alum Micah Chasteen spoke to the Association for Computing Machinery student chapter. "Google was my dream job from high school through college," Reale says.
Student works on Greek papyrus research at Oxford
Master's candidate Alex Williams (B.S., Computer Science) landed a job at the University of Oxford in England a year before his scheduled 2015 graduation, programming with a research team identifying ancient Greek papyrus fragments. Williams created a version of BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool), which is used in computational biology with genetic/DNA sequences, to align Ancient Greek papyrus fragments to known manuscript texts. His Greek-BLAST adaptation helps dramatically accelerate the tedious process of manual identification of a timeframe from days, months, or years, into minutes. "Students are usually given the option to study what interests them. Had I not been given these options, I would be weeks behind in my work here at Oxford," Williams says. "I'm only halfway through the program and I've already got the best job imaginable." He also had two undergraduate internships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory while at MTSU. His research there focused on finding new attributes in mammograms that could be used in an automated fashion by software to detect early signs of breast cancer.
Computer Science, M.S.
Computer science graduates with an advanced degree should enjoy excellent job prospects, with businesses reporting difficulty in finding highly skilled employees in the field. Computer scientists are problem-solvers who teach themselves new technologies and are able to work individually and in teams. They write programs ranging from mobile apps to complex databases to websites to high-performance scientific computing and more. Possible positions with this degree include:
- Computer programmer
- Applications or systems software developer
- Database administrator
- Web developer
- Computer systems analyst
- Information security analyst
- Computer systems administrator
- Computer and information research scientist
Students graduating from this program are well qualified to pursue Ph.D. degrees at prominent universities. In the past, our students have been accepted to the Ph.D. programs at Vanderbilt University, North Carolina State University, University of Waterloo, Indiana University--Bloomington, and Â鶹ӰÒô.
Employers of MTSU alumni include
- Arnold Engineering Development Center
- Asurion
- Blackbaud
- Bondware
- Buzz Wireless
- Caterpillar Financial
- Decision Source
- Dell
- Disney
- Ebay
- Edgenet
- Gibson Guitar
- Harris Corporation
- HCA
- Ingram Digital Group
- Intel
- Japanese American National Museum
- Mercury Intermedia
- Microsoft
- Northrop Grumman
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Passport Health
- Riptide Software
- Schneider Electric
- State of Tennessee
- Vanderbilt University
MTSU’s Career Development Center
MTSU offers a comprehensive Career Development Center that serves students throughout the full student experience and beyond. They collaborate with faculty and staff to equip students with the tools to be marketable to the world of work and continuing education.
Students can schedule an appointment or check online resources and job boards at mtsu.edu/career.
Students can find current internship opportunities by talking to faculty and visiting the University job and internship board called .
Wondering what you can do with your major? Check out our guides.
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