The Computer Science Department at NMSU currently has approximately 85 graduate students including approximately 35 doctoral students and 13 faculty members (and approximately 220 undergraduate students). Students closely interact with the computer science faculty members in classes, in research labs, and in a variety of academic events. Students also receive advising from the school’s individual faculty members.
The Computer Science Department offers three graduate degree programs. For more information, visit the degree programs page . We also have several scholarships that are restricted to CS majors only. For more information, visit the scholarship page . Finally, if you are curious about becoming a CS student at NMSU, visit the Why CS at NMSU page .
We hope to see you soon!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Check list before and after you arrive at NMSU
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Questions related to application submission
Q1. How can I contact you?
A. If you have any questions when you apply for our graduate program (Master’s or PhD), please send emails to csgrad-director AT nmsu.edu.
Q2. What is the deadline to apply for your PhD and Master’s programs?
A. There is no specific deadline for the applications. The department generally processes applications within about 1-2 weeks after we receive your complete application package and submit the recommendation to graduate school. The graduate school may take some time to issue the formal admission letter. The graduate school can be reached through email gradinfo AT nmsu.edu .
Q3. What materials are required if I want to apply for your PhD or Master’s programs?
A. Please have the following documents ready before you apply.
- Your transcripts (undergraduate or graduate (if available))
- Personal statement
- English test results (TOEFL/IELTS) for international students
- Names of three reference providers
Then, please go to the application website (https://gradschool.nmsu.edu) and use the “Apply to Graduate School” button.
Please note that the computer science department does not require any hardcopy of your documents. Thus, please do NOT submit any hardcopy of the materials to the computer science department. If you are requested to submit hardcopy of any documents, please make sure to ask for the right address and the right person to send your documents to.
Q4. Do you require official transcripts and official English test score? Or, are the unofficial documents sufficient?
A. At the application stage, we do not require official transcripts and English test scores. After you are admitted, you need to provide the official documents to graduate school.
Q5. Can you waive application fee?
A. No.
Q6. How can my referees send their recommendation letters?
A. When you submit your applications on line (see the previous question), you need to submit the names and email addresses of three referees. Once you provide your referees’ information, your referees will automatically receive an email from our system. They can use the link in the email to upload your recommendation letters.
Please do NOT send any hardcopy of the recommendation letters (if not requested). Please do NOT email your recommendation letters (if not requested).
Q7. What is the GPA requirement?
A. Please find the GPA requirements from https://catalogs.nmsu.edu/nmsu/graduate-school/#admissionstext.
Q8. Is GRE required?
A. No.
Q9. (International student) What is the requirement on my English (e.g., TOEFL/IELTS) scores? Can I waive my TOEFL/IELTS exams?
A. Please find the requirement on English exams from https://gradschool.nmsu.edu/future-students/International.html. Note that students from some countries can have their TOEFL/IELTS exams waived. You can find the list of such countries from the previous link.
Q10. (English waiver) I am a US citizen now. However, I got my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from a foreign country. Am I required to take the TOEFL/IELTS test?
A. If you are an American citizen, there is no English language test requirement.
Q11. Am I eligible to apply if I do not have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science?
A. Yes. You will be assigned with deficiency courses.
Q12. What are the starting dates of the Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters?
A. Please find the university calendar from https://academiccalendar.nmsu.edu .
Q13. I was admitted to your graduate program. However, I need to change my enrollment semester. What should I do?
A. There is a change of admission semester form which can be found here . You need to complete the form and send it to csgrad-director AT nmsu.edu. The department will process it and forward it to Graduate School. The Graduate School will update your enrollment semester. When it has gone through, you will receive an updated admission letter indicating the new semester.
Q14. How many years/semesters are needed to finish my degree?
A.The degree requirements can be found from https://catalogs.nmsu.edu/nmsu/arts-sciences/computer-science/#degreestext . To get a degree, you need to finish the required courses and the total number of credits. Thus, the time depends on you. For example, the Master’s in Computer Science degree requires 33 credits. If you take 9 credits per semester, then you will need at least 4 semesters to finish your degree. If you need to take English courses or other deficiency courses, the time will be longer.
Questions related to financial support, tuition, and graduate assistant (GA) salaries
Q101. What is the tuition?
A. The tuition and fee information can be found from https://uar.nmsu.edu/tuition-fees/ . For example, for non-resident, the rate per Credit (1 – 14 Credits) when enrolled in >6 credits in Spring 2020 is 985.70. Then, the total cost of one semester taking 9 credits will be 8871.3. The total cost of finishing a degree then depends on the total number of credits that you need to finish.
Q102. How much will I be paid if I get graduate assistantship (GA)?
A. Please go to https://hr.nmsu.edu/employment/salary/ and click the “Graduate Assistants Salary Table” link.
Q103. What are the GA opportunities?
A. The department selects excellent applicants to give them teaching assistantships (TA). We will make the decisions in April for applications that we received in the Spring semesters and in November for applications that we received in the Fall semester. If you are not selected to get TA, you are welcome to contact department faculty members for a potential graduate research assistantship (RA). Even you are not offered TA/RA in the first semester, both graduate teaching and research positions are possible in future semesters if you show strong academic performance.
Q104. Should I contact the professor before applying for the Research Assistantship (RA) or it could be done after the first semester?
A. You can do it either way. If you want to get RA support, you need to contact professors earlier.
Q105. I am not sure whether I am eligible for in-state tuition. Who should I ask?
A. Please contact University Student Records for information about whether you would be eligible for in-state tuition. Their email is records@nmsu.edu or phone (575) 646-3411.
Q106. I would be categorized as a spouse of an active-duty military. Are there any funding opportunity for me?
A. For information about what is available to you as a military spouse, please contact the Military and Veteran’s Programs at mvp@nmsu.edu or (575) 646-4524.
Questions related to visa application
Q104. How can I get my visa application materials?
A. The Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS, isss@nmsu.edu , https://isss.nmsu.edu/ ) will process your I-20 form for Visa application. Please contact the ISSS office if you have any questions related to this.
Q105. I may need to be late to come to the university because I may not get my visa on time. What should I do?
A. If you will be no more than two weeks later than the starting date of the semester, you can request a letter from the graduate advisor to support your late arrival by sending an email to csgrad-director AT nmsu.edu. If you will be much later, you are suggested to defer your admission semester because you may not be able to catch up your courses.
Check list before and after you arrive at NMSU
Q201. What do I need to do after I arrive at NMSU?
A. (1) Attend graduate students’ orientation organized by Graduate School.
(2) Talk with the department graduate advisor (the current graduate advisor is Dr. Mingzhou (Joe) Song). Please make an appointment first before talking to the graduate advisor by writing to gradcs@cs.nmsu.edu.
(3) Read the FAQ page for the new coming and current graduate students.
Q202. Where can I find my deficiency courses?
A. Please talk with (or email) the department graduate advisor (the current graduate advisor is Dr. Mingzhou (Joe) Song).
