Thesis Requirement
Students may choose to write a thesis or not.
Students who choose the thesis option must complete CSCI 700, M.S. Thesis, in addition to 24 credit hours, and defend their thesis at an oral examination, open to the faculty and to whomever else the department may invite.
Students who do not choose the thesis option must include CSCI 710, Research Project, as part of their 32 credit hours.
Students electing to satisfy M.S. requirements by taking 24 credits and writing a thesis may not count credits received in 690 toward the required 24. Students electing to satisfy M.S. requirements by taking 32 credits may count credits received in only one offering of 690 toward the required 32.
Satisfactory Progress
To be eligible to graduate, all students must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all courses undertaken for graduate credit at William & Mary after admission to a degree program. Students who have taken twelve or more credits in courses leading to a graduate degree must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Students with less than a 3.0 average may appeal in writing to the department’s Committee on Admission, Retention, and Financial Aid to remain in the graduate program. The committee normally rejects appeals from students with less than a 2.75 grade point average. No credit toward a degree will be allowed for a course in which a student receives a grade below C (grade point = 2.0).
