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Admission to the Graduate Program

Admission to the M.S. Program

Admission to the graduate program in Computer Science requires acceptance into the Graduate School at Clemson University. Applicants must possess a four-year degree from a recognized undergraduate institution. The Graduate School, not the Department, is responsible for determining whether a specific undergraduate degree satisfies this requirement. Acceptance is based upon letters of recommendation, transcripts of previous undergraduate and graduate studies, and scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants whose native language is not English must provide official scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination. Submission of Test of Spoken English (TSE) scores is not required but is recommended for international applicants seeking teaching assistantships. The GRE subject test in Computer Science is also not required but the score will be considered if it is provided. Accepted applicants who apply during their last year of undergraduate study are granted conditional admission which is contingent upon the successful completion of the undergraduate program of study.

Applications from capable and motivated students with an undergraduate degree in field other than Computer Science will be considered. However, full acceptance into the program requires not only strong computer programming skills but also a demonstrated mastery of intermediate level computer science topics including: computer organization and data representation; machine and assembly language programming; data structures; operating systems; and programming systems. A student who enters the program with a deficiency in one or more of these areas will be required to complete not-for-credit pre-requisite courses in the area(s) of the deficiency.

Applicants who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States and have major deficiencies in their Computer Science backgrounds may be admitted as Post Baccalaureate(PB) students. A PB student who successfully completes the required undergraduate prerequisites becomes eligible to join the M.S. program. United States immigration law does not permit us to grant PB admission to international students.

Admission to the Ph.D. Program

Applicants to the Ph.D. program must submit the same materials as applicants to the M.S. program. However, applicants to the Ph.D. program should possess a B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or in a closely related field. Applicants holding only the B.S. degree may be directly admitted into the Ph.D. program or initially admitted to the M.S. program based upon the strength of their records as evaluated by the admissions committee.

The Application Procedure

Applications are accepted for both fall and spring semester admission, and they are considered until all slots are filled. International applications should be completed at least three months before the anticipated date of enrollment because of delays involved in issuing immigration documents. Applicants who hope to receive financial aid should also apply as early as possible. The recommended procedure for applying is the on-line application procedure available from the Graduate School website. If on-line application is not possible, paper application forms may be requested by sending the following information to grdapp@mail.clemson.edu
  • Your Name
  • Address
  • US Social Security Number (if applicable)
  • Date of Birth
  • Gender (Female or Male)
  • Country of Citizenship
  • Degree Sought (MS or PhD)
  • Intended Major (Computer Science)
You should also indicate that you have been in contact with the Department of Computer Science at Clemson University and have no way to use the on-line application procedure. You may also contact graduate admissions by surface mail at the following address:
Graduate Admissions
Martin Hall
Clemson University
Box 345120
Clemson, SC USA 29634-5120
Phone: (864)656-3915

Costs and Financial Aid

Financial support for graduate students is available through research assistantships associated with grants and contracts, teaching assistantships and graduate fellowships. Students with assistantships generally are expected to work an average of 20 hours each week while taking nine credit hours per semester In addition to a stipend, students with an assistantship receive a tuition waiver. Alternative employment opportunities for well qualified applicants are sometimes available. Applications for financial assistance should be received before February 1 for full consideration. Thus, it is advantageous to apply as early as possible. For more information on costs: consult the information page of the Graduate School.

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