With four specializations, you have different core and elective course requirements
If you have long been searching for the right degree program high on quality and something you can do without quitting your job, then there cannot be a better option than OMSCS. Launched in 2014, it is a joint effort between AT&T and Udacity.
Georgia Tech OMSCS Specializations
Students enrolled in the OMSCS program have to choose one from these four specializations.
- Computational Perception & Robotics
- Computing Systems
- Interactive Intelligence
- Machine Learning
Time Commitment Towards The Specialization
- The specialization would demand an effort of thirty hours where you study 10 courses.
- Students have to declare a specialization, cluster of five to six courses, demanding 15-18 hours of effort.
- The remainder of four to five courses are free electives that take an effort of between 12-15 hours are free and can be any Gatech OMSCS courses included in the program.
OMSCS Specializations – Understanding Each of Them In Detail
One of the standout features of OMSCS is that the students have the flexibility to personalize their education by choosing one of the four specializations. The knowledge you get here helps you streamline the process of bagging the degree.
At present, you can choose from the below-listed four specializations:
Computing Systems
If you wish to opt for the Specialization in Computing Systems, you will have to put in an effort of 18 hours. You can pick from the below-listed Georgia Tech OMSCS courses that you can opt for to finish your Computer Science Specialization, irrespective of on-campus and online format:
A. The Core Courses – Time Needed for Completion is Nine Hours
- CS 6515 Introduction to Graduate Algorithms or CS 6505 Computability, Algorithms, and Complexity
- In addition, you will pick two Gatech OMSCS courses from the listed options:
- CS 6210 Advanced Operating Systems
- CS 6241 Compiler Design
- CS 6250 Computer Networks
- CS 6290 High-Performance Computer Architecture
- CS 6300 Software Development Processor CS 6301 Advanced Topics in Software Engineering
- CS 6390 Programming Languages
- CS 6400 Database Systems Concepts and Design
Please remember that any core courses in the OMSCS specializations you take over the nine-hour duration will count towards your Elective study.
B. The Elective Courses – Time Needed for Completion is Nine Hours
- You can opt for any three courses from:
- CS 6035 Introduction to Information Security
- CS 6200 Graduate Introduction to Operating Systems
- CS 6220 Big Data Systems and Analytics
- CS 6235 Real-Time Systems
- CS 6238 Secure Computer Systems
- CS 6260 Applied Cryptography
- CS 6262 Network Security
- CS 6263 Intro to Cyber-Physical Systems Security
- CS 6291 Embedded Systems Optimization
- CS 6310 Software Architecture and Design
- CS 6340 Software Analysis and Testing
- CS 6365 Introduction to Enterprise Computing
- CS 6422 Database System Implementation
- CS 6550 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
- CS 6675 Advanced Internet Computing Systems and Applications
- CS 7210 Distributed Computing
- CS 7260 Internetworking Architectures and Protocols
- CS 7270 Networked Applications and Services
- CS 7280 Network Science
- CS 7290 Advanced Topics in Microarchitecture
- CS 7292 Reliability and Security in Computer Architecture
- CS 7560 Theory of Cryptography
- CSE 6220 High-Performance Computing
- CS 8803-FPL Special Topics: Foundations of Programming Languages or CS 8803-O13: Quantum Computing – The Special topics you study here also consider an elective course in this OMSCS specialization, provided you learn with the faculty member whose name appears here.
C. The Free Elective – Time Needed for Completion is Twelve Hours
It will include all courses covered under the program. You can check the list here.
Computational Perception & Robotics
If you wish to opt for the Specialization in Computational Perception and Robotics, you will have to put in an effort of 15 hours, and you can pick from the below-listed Georgia Tech OMSCS courses:
A. The Core Courses – Time Needed for Completion is Six Hours
You have to select one from the below-listed options:
- CS 6505 Computability, Algorithms, and Complexity
- CS 6515 Introduction to Graduate Algorithms
- CS 6520 Computational Complexity Theory
- CS 6550 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
- CS 7520 Approximation Algorithms
- CS 7530 Randomized Algorithms
- CSE 6140 Computational Science and Engineering Algorithms
In addition, you will have to choose one course from the following two courses in the Georgia Tech OMSCS specializations:
- CS 6601 Artificial Intelligence
- CS 7641 Machine Learning
B. The Elective Courses – Time Needed for Completion is Nine Hours
You can opt for three courses from the below-listed Perception and Robotics option, provided there is at least one course from both sections:
Perception
- CS 6475 Computational Photography
- CS 6476 Computer Vision
- CS 7499 3D Reconstruction
- CS 7636 Computational Perception
- CS 7639 Cyber-Physical Design and Analysis
- CS 7644 Machine Learning for Robotics
- CS 7650 Natural Language
- CS 8803 Special Topics: Multiview Geometry in Computer Vision
Robotics
- CS 7630 Autonomous Robotics
- CS 7631 Autonomous Multi-Robot Systems
- CS 7633 Human-Robot Interaction
- CS 7638 Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Robotics
- CS 7648 Interactive Robot Learning
- CS 7649 Robot Intelligence: Planning
C. The Free Elective – Time Needed for Completion is Twelve Hours
Under this, you can pick any of your preferred OMSCS Gatech courses. You can check the list here.
Interactive Intelligence
If you wish to opt for the Specialization in Interactive Intelligence, you will have to put in an effort of 15 hours, and you can pick from the below-listed courses:
A. The Core Courses – Time Needed for Completion is Nine Hours
Algorithms and Design – You have to select any one option from the stated Gatech OMSCS courses:
- CS 6300 Software Development Process
- CS 6301 Advanced Topics in Software Engineering
- CS 6505 Computability, Complexity, and Algorithms
- CS 6515 Introduction to Graduate Algorithms
In addition, you also need to include two courses from:
- CS 6601 Artificial Intelligence
- CS 7620 Case-Based Reasoning
- CS 7637 Knowledge-Based AI
- CS 7641 Machine Learning
B. The Elective Courses – Time Needed for Completion is Six Hours
You can select two OMSCS Gatech courses from:
Interaction
- CS 6440 Introduction to Health Informatics
- CS 6460 Educational Technology: Conceptual Foundations
- CS 6465 Computational Journalism
- CS 6471 Computational Social Science
- CS 6603 AI, Ethics, and Society
- CS 6750 Human-Computer Interaction
- CS 7632 Game AI
- CS 7634 AI Storytelling in Virtual Worlds
- CS 7650 Natural Language
- CS 8803 Special Topics: Advanced Game AI
Cognition
- CS 6795 Introduction to Cognitive Science
- CS 7610 Modeling and Design
- CS 8803 Special Topics: Computational Creativity
C. The Free Elective – Time Needed for Completion is Fifteen Hours
Under this, you can pick any of your preferred courses from the OMSCS specializations. You can check the list here.
Machine Learning
If you wish to opt for the Specialization in Machine Learning, you will have to put in an effort of 15 hours, and you can pick from the below-listed Georgia Tech OMSCS courses:
A. The Core Courses – Time Needed for Completion is Six Hours
Algorithms – You can select from any one of the listed options:
- CS 6505 Computability, Algorithms, and Complexity
- CS 6515 Introduction to Graduate Algorithms
- CS 6520 Computational Complexity Theory
- CS 6550 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
- CS 7510 Graph Algorithms
- CS 7520 Approximation Algorithms
- CS 7530 Randomized Algorithms
- CSE 6140 Computational Science and Engineering Algorithms
In addition, you can opt for one course from the following:
- CS 7641 Machine Learning
- CSE 6740 Computational Data Analysis: Learning, Mining, and Computation
B. The Elective Courses – Time Needed for Completion is Nine Hours
These courses from the Georgia Tech OMSCS specializations should comprise at least thirty-three percent of the graded content on Machine Learning:
You can select any three courses from:
- CS 6220 Big Data Systems & Analysis
- CS 6476 Computer Vision
- CS 6603 AI, Ethics, and Society
- CS 7535 Markov Chain Monte Carlo
- CS 7540 Spectral Algorithms
- CS 7545 Machine Learning Theory
- CS 7616 Pattern Recognition
- CS 7626 Behavioral Imaging
- CS 7642 Reinforcement Learning and Decision Making(Formerly CS 8803-O03)
- CS 7643 Deep Learning
- CS 7644 Machine Learning for Robotics
- CS 7646 Machine Learning for Trading
- CS 7650 Natural Language
- CS 8803 Special Topics: Probabilistic Graph Models
- CSE 6240 Web Search and Text Mining
- CSE 6242 Data and Visual Analytics
- CSE 6250 Big Data for Health(Formerly CSE 8803)
- ISYE 6416 Computational Statistics
- ISYE 6420 Bayesian Methods
- ISYE 6664 Stochastic Optimization
C. Under this, you can pick any of your preferred courses. You can check the list here.
Getting Into OMSCS
Admission prerequisites
Online Master of Science in Computer Science or OMSCS is a master’s degree program. So, there are some prior requirements or mandatory eligibility criteria you shall fulfill before you decide on the Georgia Tech OMSCS specializations. These include:
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science from an accredited institution
- Strong undergrad background in Computer science, particularly C programming
- 6 hours at the 4000-level with a subject code other than CS or CSE
- Students who do not have a bachelor’s degree in computer science but graduated in any other subject can also apply for the course, provided they take remedial course work beyond the other MS CS degree.
- Proof of English proficiency
- US Citizens and Permanent Residents can present their Lawful Presence Documents.
- Non-immigrant visa holders will have to provide:
- Transcript from a regionally accredited college or university in the US showcasing a minimum of 1-year of full-time enrollment.
- Citizenship proof from the approved country
- Transcript from a college or university in their stated countries showcasing a minimum of 1-year full-time enrollment
But, if the applicants do not meet this proficiency criterion and have not taken a year of university/college level education in these nations, they will be required to appear for IELTS or TOEFL exam.
Beyond this, you need to understand that the seats available for the OMSCS specializations are relatively lesser than the number of qualified applicants. Hence, the college has to choose applicants from several qualified professionals.
Thus, they account for several compelling reasons to accept candidates. In addition, before enrolling the students in their selected Gatech OMSCS courses, they also assess:
- Test scores – grades below C will not count towards registrations.
- Letters of Recommendations
- Statement of Purpose
- GPA – Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 to graduate
- Minimum scores of 153 in the Verbal, 155 in the Quantitative, and 3.0 in the Analytical sections
Fee
The fee you pay depends on how quickly you finish the program. If you are a working student taking two courses per term, your total cost will be $6600 in five terms.
How do I declare a specialization in OMSCS?
Students need to declare their OMSCS specializations before or at the time they apply for graduation. It is done via the official BuzzPort Georgia Tech site.
Before we part…
10k+ students from 100+ countries – What’s stopping you?
Over 10,799 students from 100+ countries have enrolled in Georgia Tech’s online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) program. The program has around 20+ courses. So, you will find one that fits your needs and specialization. Enroll now to not lag!
