Welcome to the MCS Online program!
This page is intended for students who are newly admitted to one of the MCS Online programs. Students admitted to the Tempe campus program should review this page.
Congratulations on your admission to ASU!
Advising Contact Information
SCAI Advising functions as a team. SCAI Academic Advisors can assist with registration or academic-related queries. The following advisors work with students in the MCS Online program:
Ariane Both
Diane Brayman
Jennifer May
All emails must be sent to mcsonline@asu.edu. Make sure you include your 10-digit ASU ID number in all correspondence.
You may view advisor availability and schedule an appointment here: https://fultonapps.asu.edu/advising/calendar/
Note: You are not required to schedule an advising appointment prior to registering for classes.
Students are encouraged to complete the mandatory onboarding course before meeting with an advisor (see below).
Next Steps
Your admit letter is available on My ASU. Make sure you download and save this document for future reference as it will only be available via My ASU during your first semester. If you were assigned any deficiencies, they are listed in your admit letter. The options for completing deficiency courses are outlined below.
It may be necessary for you to work with multiple offices to complete the admissions steps and finalize your registration. Below are different items you may have questions about and who to contact.
Accepting Admission
You do not need to formally accept your admission to ASU. You need to clear any holds and priority tasks and register for courses to show your intent to join.
Clear priority tasks in MyASU
Click on the item in your MyASU and you will find the details of what needs to be done and who to contact if necessary.
The process for submitting degree certificates and official transcripts is outlined here: https://admission.asu.edu/transcripts
Questions regarding official transcripts or the degree certificate need to be sent to Graduate Admissions: gograd@asu.edu
ASU Email Account
The main method of communication used by the university and the school to correspond with you is through your ASU email account. Make sure you register for your first course as soon as possible. This will ensure you have access to your ASU email account and are receiving important communication.
It is important to regularly check your ASU email account. It is not recommended to forward your ASU email to another account. All official communications from ASU will go to your ASU email address.
Manage your ASU email via the Profile tab on My ASU. For assistance with your ASU e-mail account, visit: https://contact.asu.edu/.
Mandatory Onboarding Course
There will be a mandatory onboarding course that will need to be completed prior to the start of your first course. Degree requirements and other important information will be covered. You will receive an email notification to your ASU email when you have been added to the course on Canvas (monitor your inbox and spam folders).
The Spring & Summer 2024 Onboarding course is now available. If you did not receive a notification, you can access the course by clicking on the Canvas link in My ASU. You may also self-enroll for the course here.
The Fall 2024 Onboarding course will be available in July.
Deficiency Courses
At the time of application your transcript and supporting documentation is evaluated and it is determined if you are lacking any of the deficiency courses. If you have been assigned a deficiency course, it is listed in your ASU Admission letter. Deficiency courses are the priority and must be completed by the deadline listed in your admit letter.
Were you assigned a deficiency that must be completed "prior to enrollment"? If yes, then please read this document for guidance.
You have the following options to meet your deficiency requirements:
Option 1 - Petition for Reevaluation of Deficiency Course: If you believe you have previously completed a course that is equivalent to the deficiency that was assigned then you can submit the deficiency waiver form here: https://fultonapps.asu.edu/deficiency/. You will need to upload the Petition for Reevaluation of Deficiency Course form and supporting documents, such as syllabus, catalog description, and university transcripts (including the grade scale), to prove that you have met the requirements. Be advised that the documents you uploaded during the admission application have been evaluated, so a reevaluation petition should only be submitted if you have new information to provide. Once the petition has been reviewed, the decision is final. Deficiency petitions may only be submitted during your first semester in the program.
Option 2 – Non-credit refresher course and exam: You can take deficiency topic exams offered through ASU’s CareerCatalyst platform to satisfy the deficiency requirement during your first two sessions in the program. These non-credit, self-paced courses include a high-level overview of the prerequisite topic, practice quizzes, and a final exam. The following courses are available:
Computer Organization & Assembly Language Programming (230)
Data Structures & Algorithms (310)
Operating Systems (330)
Principles of Programming Languages (340)
A student must pass the final exam to complete the course.
A maximum of two attempts is allowed for each course topic to receive a Certificate of Completion. Each attempt requires the student to enroll and pay for the course.
The exam may only be taken prior to attempting the for-credit course.
Once you have passed the final exam, you will need to submit the Deficiency waiver form and upload your certificate here: https://fultonapps.asu.edu/deficiency/
The certificate will only be accepted if the exam was taken during your first two sessions in the program (deadlines).
You can learn more about the Computer Science prerequisite exams and sign up on ASU’s CareerCatalyst website here.
Note: CareerCatalyst courses are non-credit bearing, and cannot be counted for credit to any degree program at ASU. Use of these courses as will only apply to deficiencies assigned at admission.
Option 3 - Take the course: You may take for-credit, graded courses to satisfy assigned deficiencies. These courses will appear on your ASU transcript, but do not count toward your MCS degree requirements.
CSE 310 and CSE 330 are now offered online, but only in C session. Students may also take the equivalent SER courses, which are offered in A and B sessions: SER 222 and SER 334.
CSE 230 and CSE 340 are offered online in the A and B sessions.
Note: Deficiency courses are undergraduate courses and are subject to a higher tuition rate and course fees.
IMPORTANT: Graduate students are required to take at least one graduate-level course every fall and spring semester in order to meet the continuous enrollment requirement. There is an exception if you are taking a deficiency course that is listed on your admit letter. Please contact mcsonline@asu.edu for guidance.
Class Registration
Registration dates can be found in the My Classes box on My ASU. Summer and Fall registration are open now. .
To register:
Log into your MyASU and click on “class search”.
Enter CSE into the subject field
Click on "Advanced Search"
Select "ASU Online" under Location
Optional: Select “Graduate” under Level
Optional for Spring/Fall: Select “A” and/or “B” in the Session box
Click on the gold magnifying glass to search available classes.
Click on the maroon “add” button to add courses to your schedule.
See below for course selection information. If you have any holds please click on the hold item in MyASU to resolve the issue.
Course Recommendations
The courses for MCS Online are offered in Session A and Session B during the Fall and Spring semesters and Session C in the Summer semester. The courses are indicated by the following designation in the class details: Reserved Group: Online degree or non-degree seeking Computer Science, MCS student. MCS Online students can only take the courses with this designation.
Click the drop-down arrow on each course to view the Reserved Group(s) for each course section. You can also hover over the green triangle in the "seats open" column to view the reserved group.
Courses Available for Summer 2024 Session C
CSE 511 Data Processing at Scale
CSE 548 Advanced Computer Network Security
CSE 565 Software Verification, Validation, and Testing
CSE 578 Data Visualization
CSE 579 Knowledge Representation and Reasoning
CSE 598 Advanced Software Analysis and Design
Courses Available for Fall 2024 Session A
CSE 535 Mobile Computing
CSE 539 Applied Cryptography
CSE 551 Foundations of Algorithms
Students assigned CSE 310 as a deficiency should not take this course until the deficiency has been completed.
This course is not recommended for first semester students.
CSE 565 Software Verification, Validation, and Testing
CSE 572 Data Mining
CSE 575 Statistical Machine Learning
Courses Available for Fall 2024 Session B
CSE 511 Data Processing at Scale
CSE 531 Distributed and Multiprocessor Operating Systems
CSE 543 Information Assurance and Security
CSE 548 Advanced Computer Network Security
CSE 568 Biocomputing
CSE 571 Artificial Intelligence
CSE 598 Advanced Software Analysis and Design
More details about the courses are available on the MCS Online website. Closely review the prior knowledge and skills that are required in order to be successful in the course. Make sure you review these and have the appropriate background knowledge/skills for the class.
Computer Science graduate courses do not need to be taken in any particular order. Choose courses based on your interests.
Enrollment requirements and recommended course load
Continuous Enrollment Requirement: You must be enrolled in at least 1 graduate-level course every Fall and Spring semester or you will be discontinued from the program. It is fine to take one class in either session A or B, or multiple classes in each session.
Summer registration is required if it is your first semester, if you are completing a culminating experience, or graduating.
Recommended Course Load: If you will be working full-time while completing the MCS degree, then it is recommended to take only one course in session A and one course in session B.
MCS students are required to have one course in each of the core areas in order to complete the program. Students in the Big Data and Cybersecurity concentrations have additional requirements that must be met. You may reference the degree check sheets below for guidance:
Student Handbook and Course Catalog
Please remember not all courses are offered every session or semester and not every course listed in the course catalog is offered online.
The Computer Science MCS Handbook is available here.
The Planned Course Rotation & Area List lists the MCS online courses and which semester they are planned to be offered. This list is tentative and subject to change.
The catalog is available on the ASU website: www.asu.edu/catalog
Registration Deadlines and Tuition Payment
It is your responsibility as a student to familiarize yourself with dates and deadlines.
Registration and Tuition deadlines are listed on the academic calendar: https://students.asu.edu/academic-calendar
Tuition payment options can be found here: https://students.asu.edu/tuitionandbilling.
Questions regarding tuition and billing should be directed to Student Business Services: https://students.asu.edu/contact-tuition-billing
ASU Photo and Sun card
Online students are required to have an approved photo on file and have the option to purchase a Sun Card, ASU’s official student ID. Directions for completing this task are here.
Financial Assistance
Visit these websites for more information regarding available resources:
https://graduate.engineering.asu.edu/fellowships/
Deferring Admission
Students may defer their initial term of admission to the next term through their My ASU page by using the Request Change link. If you have registered for a class after being admitted to the program, then your deferral cannot be processed. You must first drop all your classes and then request the deferral.
The deadline to request a deferral is 11:59 PM (AZ time) on the session B drop deadline (see academic calendar).
Students may only defer their admission one time.