Master of Science in Computer Science

The Department of Computer Science offers a Master of Science degree in Computer Science with three high-demand concentrations: (1) Data Science, (2) Cybersecurity and Networking, and (3) High-Performance Computing and Bioinformatics.

The program provides graduate students with a broad-based knowledge in various contemporary computer science fields including data science, cybersecurity, computer networks, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, high-performance computing, databases, advanced computer programming, algorithm design, mobile app development, and enterprise computing,

Our mission, commensurate with the mission of the University and the College of Engineering, is to provide quality Computer Science education, to pursue theoretically and applied research in the critical areas of computer science, and to engage in service to its constituents.

The Program Educational Objectives of the Computer Science Graduate Program are:

To systematically identify, formulate, and solve computer science problems. To apply fundamental knowledge of computer science to develop computing systems for solving real-world problems or to pursue graduate studies. To utilize communication and analytical skills to work collaboratively and effectively, including supportive and leadership roles on interdisciplinary teams. To understand and demonstrate professional and ethical conduct in the global society and to demonstrate the desire for professional growth and life-long learning.

Why Master's Degree in Computer Science?

MS in Computer Science at TSU is a signature program. We offer high-demand concentrations in (1) Data Science, (2) Cybersecurity and Networking, and (3) HPC and Bioinformatics. Nashville is the capital of the healthcare industry with over 400 healthcare companies in Middle Tennessee. There is a very strong local, national, and global job market. TSU Computer Science has established partnerships with Google, Amazon, Oracle, IBM, Bank of America, 5/3 Bank, HCA, and many more global companies. TSU Computer Science has exceptional faculty. They attracted about $6,000,000 grant fundings in the last 7 years as Principal Investigators from the Department of Defense, NASA, NIH, NSF, US Army, AFRL, and USDA. Diversity is one of the core values of the University.

Student Services

The program provides various opportunities for students to participate in discipline-specific activities outside the classroom so that in-class learning is augmented.

The Department has strong and long-standing relationships with major IT companies such as Google and Bank of America and numerous opportunities are provided for students to have internship positions in the industry. Students participate in multiple hackathons organized by partner companies. The College encourages all graduate students to present their research at the University Research Symposium that has been held annually at TSU for over 40 years. The College has a well-established monthly seminar series and experts from various disciplines in the field of computing are invited to deliver an hour-long speech that is open to all graduate students in the program. The Department has a regular study abroad program every summer. As part of this program, a graduate course will be on offer and there is high demand among graduate students to participate in this program. A list of courses offered as a study abroad is as follows: 2020 (Turkey): COMP 5900 Deep Learning 2019 (Turkey) and 2017 (South America): COMP 5600 Mobile App Development 2018 (Turkey): COMP 5900 Game Programming

Founded in 1912, TSU is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant institution in Nashville, Tennessee. The university has been served by seven presidents, including Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover, who is currently serving as our eighth president.

SACS Accreditation

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted accreditation to TSU in 1946. In August 1951, the Tennessee State Board of Education approved university status. The resulting reorganization of the institution’s educational program created the Graduate School, the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Education, and the School of Engineering. Provisions were also made for the later addition of other schools in agriculture, business, and home economics.

Land-grant University Status

Under the name Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State University, the institution achieved full land-grant university status in August 1958. The Land-Grant University Program included the School of Agriculture & Home Economics, the Graduate School, the Division of Extension and Continuing Education, and the Department of Aerospace Studies. The School of Allied Health Professions and the School of Business were created in 1974, and the School of Nursing was established in 1979.

Name change: Tennessee State University

After Walter Davis retired as president in 1968, another TSU alumnus, Andrew Torrence, was named the University’s third president. During his relatively brief tenure, the state legislature dropped “Agricultural & Industrial” and officially changed the name to Tennessee State University.

Merger with UT of Nashville

When Frederick Humphries became TSU’s president in 1975, Nashville was also home to a second public four-year university. The Knoxville-based University of Tennessee began offering extension credit in Nashville in 1947 and expanded its programs throughout the 1960s. By 1971, it was accredited as a degree-granting institution that occupied new quarters at the corner of Tenth and Charlotte Avenues. But in 1968, TSU faculty member Rita Sanders filed a lawsuit, which became known as Geier v. Tennessee, alleging a dual system of higher education in Tennessee based on race. On July 1, 1979, the case was settled by a court order merging the former University of Tennessee at Nashville with TSU. As president, Humphries was the first to face the challenge of maintaining the balance between TSU’s role as one of America’s preeminent historically black universities and its emerging status as a comprehensive national university.

The Geier v. Tennessee case, however, remained alive for 32 years. Rita Sanders Geier was joined by the U.S. Department of Justice and by TSU professors Ray Richardson and H. Coleman McGinnis as co-plaintiffs in the suit. After numerous court-ordered plans failed to produce progress, all parties achieved a mediated consent decree that was ordered by the court on January 4, 2001.

Capital Improvements and Progress

Following a year as interim president, Otis Floyd became TSU’s fifth chief executive in 1987 and continued moving the university forward, initiating efforts that resulted in the state general assembly providing an unprecedented $112 million for capital improvements in 1988. Under this plan, nearly all campus buildings were renovated and eight new facilities were constructed, including the Floyd-Payne Campus Center, the Ned McWherter Administration Building, the Wilma Rudolph Residence Center, and the Performing Arts Center.

Then, in 1990, the Tennessee Board of Regents appointed Dr. Floyd its chancellor, opening the way for James Hefner to become TSU’s sixth president in 1991. Hefner supervised additional improvements to campus facilities and fostered enrollment growth to an all-time high of 9,100 students. The Otis Floyd Nursery Crops Research Station in McMinnville was dedicated in 1996, and, in 1999, researchers at the TSU Center for Automated Space Science were the first to discover a planet outside our solar system.

Melvin N. Johnson became the university’s seventh president in June of 2005 and was instrumental in continuing to bring national attention to the university by recognizing the Freedom Riders 14, engaging the university in the Tennessee Campus Compact, receiving national awards for community service and engagement, awarded $8 million for Race to the Top Funds by President Glover and Pat HairstonPresident Obama, opening the university’s doors to flood victims and businesses, and obtaining Community Engagement Classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

In the University’s 100-year history, Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover became president in January 2013 and continues making changes to further emphasize the excellence for which TSU is known worldwide.