Plan to pursue graduate studies in computer science or computer engineering? The Fast Track program speeds up the process, if you're committed to earning a master's degree from our department. With Fast Track, you can begin graduate studies at the end of your junior year. This means you could complete the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees within five years.
Fast Track identifies specific pairs of advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, helping excellent undergraduates avoid repetition and move further into advanced studies during their undergraduate days.
Starting fall 2023, computer science and computing undergraduate students can earn up to 12 credits of graduate credit, and computer engineering undergraduate students can earn up to 9 credits of graduate credit. This can reduce the time needed to obtain a graduate degree. This credit is received by taking a graduate course and other work that may be required by the instructor. At the end of the semester, the student is also awarded Credit by Examination by the professor based upon satisfactory academic performance of an A or a B grade in the graduate course.
To be eligible, you must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Fast Track Course Pairs
The set of course pairs was expanded starting in fall 2023. Courses with an asterisk (*) must be taken in fall 2023 or later to be used for Fast Track. Courses with a double asterisk (**) must be taken in spring 2025 or later to be used for Fast Track.
- CSCE 606 - Software Engineering - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 431, Software Engineering.
- CSCE 608 - Database Systems* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 310, Database Systems.
- CSCE 611 - Operating Systems* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 410, Operating Systems.
- CSCE 612 - Applied Networks and Distributed Processing* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 463, Networks and Distributed Processing.
- CSCE 614 - Computer Architecture - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 469, Advanced Computer Architecture.
- CSCE 616 - Introduction to Hardware Design Verification* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 416/ECEN 416, Hardware Design Verification.
- CSCE 625 - Artificial Intelligence - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 420, Artificial Intelligence.
- CSCE 627 - Theory of Computability - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 433, Formal Languages and Automata.
- CSCE 629 - Analysis of Algorithms - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 411, Analysis of Algorithms.
- CSCE 633 - Machine Learning* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 421, Machine Learning.
- CSCE 640 - Quantum Algorithms - is taken for Graduate Credit. it is paired with CSCE 440, Quantum Algorithms.
- CSCE 652 - Software Reverse Engineering** - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 451, Software Reverse Engineering.
- CSCE 653 - Computer Methods in Applied Sciences* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 442, Scientific Programming.
- CSCE 656 - Computers and New Media - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 445, Computers and New Media.
- CSCE 662 - Distributed Processing Systems* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 438, Distributed Systems.
- CSCE 664 - Wireless and Mobile Systems* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 464, Wireless and Mobile Systems.
- CSCE 665 - Advanced Networking and Security* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 465, Computer and Network Security.
- CSCE 670 - Information Storage and Retrieval - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 470, Information Storage and Retrieval.
- CSCE 671 - Computer-Human Interaction - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 436, Computer-Human Interaction.
- CSCE 679/VIZA 676 - Data Visualization* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 447/VIST 476, Data Visualization.
- CSCE 702/CYBR 602 - Law and Policy in Cybersecurity* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 402/CYBR 402, Law and Policy in Cybersecurity.
- CSCE 703/CYBR 603 - Cybersecurity Risk* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 477/CYBR 403, Cybersecurity Risk.
- CSCE 704/CYBR 604 - Data Analytics for Cybersecurity* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 439, Data Analytics for Cybersecurity.
- CSCE 713 - Software Security* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 413, Software Security.
- CSCE 735 - Parallel Computing - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 435, Parallel Computing.
- CSCE 748 - Computational Photography* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 448, Computational Photography.
- CSCE 752 - Robotics and Spatial Intelligence* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 452, Robotics and Spatial Intelligence.
- CSCE 765 - Network Security* - is taken for Graduate Credit. It is paired with CSCE 465, Computer and Network Security.
Requesting Placement in a Fast Track Course
To request placement in one of our CSCE graduate courses, you must complete the Undergraduate Request to Enroll in Graduate CSCE Courses form, which will be open throughout the registration period.
Remember that placement is not guaranteed, so you should register for a backup class if the request cannot be accommodated. Placements will not be made until two weeks before a semester begins.