Mar 29, 2024  
Undergraduate Catalog ARCHIVED 2015-16 
    
Undergraduate Catalog ARCHIVED 2015-16 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Fast-Track (4+1) Graduate Program (Computing)


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Program description, goals, and benefits

The Technology FastTrack program at DSU provides a unique opportunity for high achieving undergraduate students to obtain both a Bachelors and a Master’s degree in five years. This is accomplished by allowing these students to take selected graduate courses during their senior year. These courses will also count towards their undergraduate course requirements thereby accelerating completion of a graduate program. In effect, students will be able to:

  • Leverage their presence on campus to complete some of the requirements of the graduate program during the last semesters of their undergraduate degree, thus reducing completion time by at least one semester. In effect, obtaining a BS and a MS degree in five years.
  • Save on tuition cost by taking up to 9 credits of graduate course work that will count towards undergraduate and graduate program requirements.

Specific Undergraduate and Graduate Programs for Fast Track Requirements

The fast track programs are specifically for the Masters of Science in Information Assurance, Information Systems, Computer Science and Health Informatics graduate programs in the College of Business and Information Systems.

Undergraduate students in:

  • Network and Security Administration (NSA) would select the MSIA program
  • Cyber Operations (CyOp) would select either the MSIA or MSACS programs
  • Computer Science (CSC) would select either the MSIA or MSACS programs

Admission requirements

Students with a identified majors may be admitted to the Fast Track program upon completion of their junior year. Accordingly, they can apply to the program in the last semester of their junior year. To be considered, the student will have to meet the following requirements:

  • Have senior status by the time they commence their joint undergraduate/graduate program.
  • Have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher after grades have been posted from their junior year.

Application requirements

A 4+1 application can be picked up in either the College of Business & Information Systems or the College of Computing, the Office of Graduate Studies & Research, or on the graduate website. A completed application package is required once a student has earned his/her BS degree. See program information for specific application requirements.

Sample Program of Study for College of Computing


Cyber Operations/Network and Security Admin/Computer Science with MSIA Program of Study


Students will be allowed to take up to 3 graduate courses during their senior year.  Substitute three specific INFA core courses to replace three elective (a total of nine credits).

Recommended selection:

  • INFA 701 Principles of Information Assurance
  • INFA 713 Managing Security Risks
  • INFA 715 Data Privacy

Cyber Operations/Computer Science with MSASC Program of Study


Students will be allowed to take up to 3 graduate courses during their senior year.  Substitute three specific CSC graduate level core courses to replace three electives (a total of nine credits).

Recommended selection:

  • CSC 705 Design and Analysis Computer Algorithms
  • CSC 714 Database Systems
  • CSC 718 Operating Systems and Parallel Programming

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