Admission Requirements
To be admitted to a master's program, all applicants must meet Graduate School requirements, as well as Cybersecurity and Cyber Systems Program requirements.
Graduate School Requirements
The Graduate School requires that the applicant holds a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or have completed all undergraduate degree requirements prior to the beginning of the classes for the term for which admission is sought. The applicant must have earned a grade point average (GPA) of 2.70 or better (A = 4.00)*. Applicants to master's degree level study may begin the admissions process when they need no more than 32 semester hours beyond the credit shown on their transcript at the time of application to complete all requirements for the bachelor's degree.
An applicant who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and whose GPA is below 2.70 may be admitted as an unclassified student and may later apply to a degree program when 12 or more semester hours of graded graduate work at SIU have been completed. A minimum GPA of 3.00 is required in courses for which grades of A, B, C, D, F have been assigned.
Any applicant who has completed 12 or more semester hours of graded graduate work at an accredited U.S. educational institution, and who has a GPA of 3.00 or better on all graduate work, may be exempted from the 2.7 undergraduate grade point average requirement.
Any student with fewer than 12 hours of graduate work may be admitted to the Graduate School on the basis of undergraduate GPA only.
International students must submit a TOEFL score. Applicants should have minimum TOEFL score: 550 (paper), 213 (computer), 80 (iBT); or minimum IELTS score 6.5.
* on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework.
*Domestic students (U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents)
Program Requirements
Applicants with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Information Systems or equivalent degrees will be admitted directly as long as their GPA satisfies Graduate School requirements. The MS degree requires 30 credit hours. Students can select among the concentrations in cybersecurity or in cyber systems. For applicants lacking the required specific background, we offer conditional admission status until completing prerequisite courses.
Admission to the MS program is based on the following factors: grade point average of 2.75 or higher on a scale of 4.0 on approximately the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate coursework, class ranking, and faculty recommendation letters. Although GRE scores are not required for admission, they are important to qualify for the High Achievers Tuition Rate. See also http://tuition.siuc.edu/highachievers2.html The minimum TOEFL score requirement for international applicants is 550 (paper based) or 80 (computer based).
Any student whose cumulative grade point average falls below 3.0 on courses that count towards the degree will be placed on computer science program academic probation. Any graduate student on academic probation whose grade point average remains below 3.0 on courses that count towards the degree for two consecutive semesters in which she or he is enrolled will be permanently suspended from the program, unless the computer science program grants an exception.