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No, the Computer Science graduate program does not pre-screen applicants. CSC provides information on its website to enable prospective graduate students to assess their competitive potential for admission here.

There are several issues to weigh when domestic prospects consider spring versus fall admission. New arrivals in spring miss out on essential components of their introductory experience within CSC and NC State. This places them at an immediate disadvantage with their peers. We also have some courses that follow a fall/spring sequence, and this puts spring enrollees out of sync with course progression.
Furthermore, financial aid is usually of paramount importance to PhD applicants, and the CSC admissions committee considers departmental support only within the fall application cycle, not spring. Although opportunities arise later for continuing students to receive support, the competition for these is especially intense and the odds of success more remote.

We ask prospects not to submit fall applications earlier than October 16. But you can start preparing the online application and begin sending electronic requests for recommendations at any time. Incidentally, you should never submit an application unless all three of your references have submitted their recommendations to the online system.

Applicants to CSC's graduate program must meet the department's deadlines rather than the Graduate School's "priority" deadlines, in spite of what appears to be conflicting information between the two offices.

Yes, we admit many PhD applicants who lack master's degrees. However, we examine their application for evidence of research interests, aptitude, and experience, nonetheless. Naturally, these attributes are more readily demonstrated by an applicant with prior graduate study. But some undergraduates may already show considerable research skills.
If our admissions committee believes an applicant is prepared for graduate study but isn't quite ready for the doctoral program, we may recommend admission to the masters program instead.

Certainly. Many of our applicants are in their last undergraduate year. However, the transcript you upload should reflect at least three years of study, including grades and, preferably, whatever courses are in progress when you apply.

PhD applicants are welcome to contact faculty who might be a close match for their research interests. But note that many CSC faculty prefer to leave admissions and financial aid decisions up to the department's admissions committee. And please, don't e-mail our faculty with requests for support or advice.

Our graduate program doesn’t conduct routine tours for prospective students. Instead, we host an annual recruiting event for top U.S. candidates. This “invitation only” event provides promising doctoral applicants the opportunity to meet our faculty, spend time with current students, and familiarizes them with our campus and the greater Raleigh community.

A bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field doesn't disqualify you from applying to our program. However, it doesn't necessarily qualify you for admission, either. You may want to start by asking yourself, “Is a graduate degree in computer science the logical or preferred path to achieving my goals?” After all, there are more efficient and less costly means to obtain knowledge and skills in a particular discipline without pursuing an advanced degree in it.
The critical consideration for admission is whether you’ve taken the prerequisite computer science and math coursework or their equivalents, and how well you did. Most of our prereqs are offered at NC State in distance education format as part of the department’s Computer Programming Certificate. You should contact CSC’s undergraduate advising office to learn about the CPC. (Take note, the CPC does not incorporate CSC 333 or 456 into its curriculum, or the required math courses, which include MA 141 rather than MA 121.)

Yes, if you’re a U.S. citizen with a degree in computer science or closely related major from a reputable program, you might still be competitive in such a case. Naturally, you’ll want your transcript to reflect whatever coursework you have in progress when you apply.

CSC has been known to admit graduates of 3-year programs in India. However, such credentials place you at a competitive disadvantage within our applicant pool. Also, if the institution is not in Europe or a Bologna Process participant, the applicant is required to provide the Graduate School with a transcript evaluation by an accepted international credential evaluation company.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents may pursue PhD programs with us part-time. However, the department generally discourages this. Doctoral study represents a major commitment of time, money, and creative energy for student and faculty advisers alike. Based on the department's past experience, the odds that a doctoral student will complete and successfully defend a dissertation decline the fewer the hours enrolled. It doesn't mean part-timers don't complete, just that the outlook for doing so is noticeably less promising.
Furthermore, there are requirements at NCSU for what is called "residence credit" for all PhD students, which specify full-time enrollment during a limited period. You may read more about this at http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/handbook/sections/3.15-registration-and-residence.html.

No, CSC only considers one application per applicant. It should be for their primary degree objective.

CSC doesn't set targets specifically for international admission. Our overall admission rate for Fall 2011 was about 38 percent, down from about 45 percent the previous year. And we expect it to decline even further as long as our international applicant pool continues to grow.

Because the system is paperless and you upload all required documents, your online account is the appropriate source for status information. By logging in, you can see if recommendations are received (which should always be before you submit the application) and when test data from ETS is matched up. After that, CSC staff inspect everything to make sure it's acceptable, then mark the app "complete"–which, of course, you can see by checking your account.

As of Fall 2011, our non-thesis masters program (abbreviated either MR or MCS) became the default degree into which all the department's admitted MS in CS applicants are placed. Therefore, no change in your degree objective is necessary. Only if you were requesting to change the objective to our specialty master's, the MS in Computer Networking, would you need to have it changed on your application.

NC State University has a rule that prohibits awarding second master's degrees in the same field. However, you might be eligible to apply to the department's master of science in computer networking, our only specialty degree.

At the present time, we do not admit non-resident international applicants to our distance ed programs. However, U.S. citizens who are temporarily residing in foreign countries, such as deployed military personnel, may pursue the MCS-DE or MSCN-DE degrees. Contact Engineering Online to learn about the technical details and limitations to DE study abroad.

If you are a U.S. applicant you may. But we would expect to see something significantly different in your second application, such as an improved retake of the GRE.
International applicants previously denied admission by CSC Graduate Programs for reasons other than an incomplete application may not reapply.

First, you may not reapply for the same entry term.
Second, even if you choose to apply for the next available term (always fall semester, for international applicants), you must submit an entirely new application, upload all required documents again, and have your references resubmit their recommendations. CSC will not retrieve recommendations or other documents submitted for the first application. However, test scores previously reported by ETS remain in our system; there is no need to request they be re-sent.
Lastly, be warned that an applicant's failure to observe our application instructions and deadlines is noted by the department, and reflects unfavorably on his/her potential to succeed as a student in our graduate program.

The minimum GPA standard is applicable only where schools use the 4.0 GPA system common in the United States. Academic performance of applicants from other grading schemes is evaluated differently. When uploading your transcript, be sure to include the legend or page explaining the school’s grading scheme.

There is no magic bullet for admission when an applicant's GPA is below the minimum admission standard established by the Graduate School. Any exception requested by a department must be justified by citing concrete evidence from the applicant's record – academic performance, references, GRE score, professional experience, etc. – as well as comments from our admissions committee. There are no guarantees, and we won’t pre-screen you; we must have a complete, submitted application to make a decision.

You don't; you apply to our graduate program just as anyone who's interested in coming here. That said, it's possible you might transfer a portion of your graduate credits to NCSU. Consult the Graduate School Handbook to learn more about the rules governing transfer of credit.

The institution code 5496 is the only one needed to report scores to NC State University. ETS then electronically transmits test results to a central data system accessible to all departments here. So selecting a department code from ETS's department menu has no effect whatsoever on score reporting.

You can apply, but CSC will automatically deny the application.

Strictly speaking, the Graduate School specifies that a TOEFL or IELTS test must be no older than 24 months prior to the beginning of the requested entry term. CSC generally considers tests that would expire within 60 days of the entry term as valid. Our past experience suggests the Graduate School would also accept this guideline, but you should contact its admissions office to determine if they would be more restrictive than CSC in any specific case.

When applicants report results of multiple GRE or TOEFL/IELTS tests, it’s only the most recent test that we will considered during admission review. (No one required to prove English proficiency with a TOEFL or IELTS test should apply unless his/her scores satisfy the minimums.)

The Master of Science (MS) is a research-oriented degree. The curriculum requires 31 graduate credits, including a maximum of six for thesis research. A student registered full time, nine (9) to fifteen (15) credits per semester, can typically complete the required credits and thesis within two years. Non-thesis master’s degrees, which require no research credits or the preparation of a thesis, are routinely completed within three semesters of full-time study.

Admitted applicants may defer enrollment for up to one year from their original entry term. Simply send an e-mail request to csc_gradadmissions@ncsu.edu stating your full name, student ID#, and the term to which you want to defer. Be sure to drop any classes for which you registered and destroy your I-20, if one was issued.

Up to 12 credit hours of eligible graduate coursework taken through NDS with grades of B or better may count toward the degree. Keep in mind that the “clock” for completion time of your degree begins with the earliest semester courses are credited to it.

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