Applied Computing, MAC

Program Description

The Master of Applied Computing (MAC) program is designed for students without a computer science background who wish to obtain that background, as well as a sequence of graduate-level courses in a specific interest area and to combine those studies into a single degree. The program is designed for entry in a fall semester, and completion as a full-time student normally requires two academic years and the intervening summer. Part-time students should plan to complete the degree within six calendar years.

Admisson

Students with a baccalaureate degree in any field may apply. However, students who want to follow the Visual Computing track should have a good background in mathematics, including linear algebra. Students who want to follow the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning track or the Data Science track should have a course in statistics in their background or take a statistics course at Clemson in their first semester.

Summary of Degree Requirements

The MAC program combines the 12 credit hours of computer science background of the MSCS Ready program with 30 credit hours of advanced coursework for a total program requirement of 42 credit hours. At least half of the 42 total credit hours must be at the 8000-level, and at least 27 of the 42 credit hours must be taken as CPSC and HCC courses. Courses from other departments must be preapproved by the MAC Program Coordinator in order to apply them to the degree.

Core Coursework

Students must pick one of six tracks within the degree. Each track is 15 credit hours, and individual track requirements are given below.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Track

• At least three courses selected from:
• CPSC 6300 - Applied Data Science 3 Credits  
• CPSC 6420 - Artificial Intelligence 3 Credits  
• CPSC 6430 - Machine Learning: Implementation and Evaluation 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8420 - Advanced Machine Learning 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8430 - Deep Learning 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8650 - Data Mining 3 Credits  
• Up to two other courses can be applied to this track from a list of optional courses maintained in the Graduate Student Handbook for this track.

Cybersecurity Track

• At least four courses selected from:
• CPSC 6180 - Usable Privacy and Security 3 Credits  
• CPSC 6200 - Computer Security Principles 3 Credits  
• CPSC 6240 - System Administration and Security 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8570 - Security in Advanced Networking Technologies 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8580 - Security in Emerging Computing and Networking Systems 3 Credits  
• CPSC (ECE) 8830 - Malware Reverse Engineering 3 Credits  
• CPSC (ECE) 8860 - Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks 3 Credits  
• At most one other course can be applied to this track from a list of optional courses maintained in the Graduate Student Handbook for this track.

Data Science Track

• Two courses are required:
• CPSC 6300 - Applied Data Science 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8650 - Data Mining 3 Credits  
• Three other courses should be applied to this track and selected from a list of optional courses maintained in the Graduate Student Handbook for this track.

Human Computer Interaction Track

• Three courses are required:
• CPSC 6140 - Human and Computer Interaction 3 Credits  
• Two HCC graduate-level courses
• Two other courses should be applied to this track and selected from a list of optional courses maintained in the Graduate Student Handbook for this track.

Software Engineering Track

• One course is required:
• CPSC 8710 - Foundations of Software Engineering 3 Credits  
• At least two courses selected from:
• CPSC 8700 - Software Design 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8720 - Software Specification and Design Techniques 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8730 - Software Verification, Validation and Measurement 3 Credits  
• CPSC 8750 - Software Architecture 3 Credits  
• Up to two other courses can be applied to this track from a list of optional courses maintained in the Graduate Student Handbook for this track.

Visual Computing Track

• Two courses are required:
• CPSC 6040 - Computer Graphics Images 3 Credits  
• CPSC 6050 - Computer Graphics 3 Credits  
• Three other courses should be applied to this track and selected from a list of optional courses maintained in the Graduate Student Handbook for this track.

Outcomes, Learning Objectives and Graduation Requirements

Students develop an understanding of computer systems and the ability to make effective use of those systems. Learning Objectives include:

• Design and test procedural and object-oriented computer programs.
• Compare the performance and storage requirements for different data structures.
• Identify and explain the functions and operations of the hardware and software components of a computer system.
• Formulate requirements for a computational problem.
• Select algorithms and programming tools appropriate to problem solution.
• Apply and evaluate computer-based systems for problem solution.