Learn More and ApplyLaw/Computer Science - Joint Degree (JD/MS)

Menu

CDM 2024 - Computing Faculty

Offered jointly with DePaul’s Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM), the JD/MS in Computer Science/Information Systems/Cybersecurity integrates legal education with graduate study in computer science and allows students to complete a professional and graduate degree concurrently in less time than it would take to complete each program separately, typically within four years.

The program is structured for students who seek to develop technical expertise alongside legal training in areas such as software development, high-technology innovation, information processing, internet and telecommunications services and digital media.  

Coursework addresses legal and technological issues involving intellectual property acquisition and licensing, the assertion and defense of intellectual property rights, regulation of information use and protection and contractual and business practices in technology-driven sectors. Areas of study may include, information technologies, e-discovery, network security, digital media and related computer science fields.

Patent Bar Eligibility

Some students in the program may seek to qualify for the patent bar. Membership in the patent bar is required only to file and prosecute patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is not required for general patent law practice. The MS in Computer Science does not itself confer eligibility to sit for the patent bar examination, but relevant coursework may assist students in meeting applicable requirements. 

Students should consult the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s General Requirements Bulletin for current eligibility standards.

Program Requirements Semester Hours
JD Requirements 76
Total hours required 76
Program Requirements Quarter Hours
MS Requirements 36
Total hours required 36

JD students will be able to:

  • Solve legal problems by applying foundational knowledge of civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, property law, and torts.
  • Solve legal problems by applying foundational knowledge of the rules regulating the legal profession.
  • Identify and apply relevant legal authority.
  • Communicate clearly in speech and writing.
  • Demonstrate the fundamental professional lawyering skills for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of cross-cultural competence in the legal profession and the obligation of lawyers to promote a justice system that provides equal access and eliminates bias and all forms of invidious discrimination, including racism, in the law.

Computer Science students will be able to:

  • Model a computational problem, select appropriate algorithms and data structures for a solution, justify the correctness of the algorithm, and implement an application solving the problem.
  • Demonstrate proficiency with fundamental concepts in algorithms, programming languages, software engineering, distributed systems, and databases.
  • Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge in at least one area of Computer Science.
  • Demonstrate the ability to independently learn and master new software development paradigms, algorithms, APIs, and programming languages.

Core Required Courses

Course Title Semester Hours
LAW 101APPLIED LEGAL SKILLS *1
LAW 105CONTRACTS *4
LAW 112LEGAL ANALYSIS RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION I *2
LAW 115LEGAL ANALYSIS RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION III3
LAW 119LEGAL ANALYSIS RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATIONS II *3
LAW 120CIVIL PROCEDURE *4
LAW 130PREPARING TO PRACTICE I *0
LAW 131PREPARING TO PRACTICE II *0
LAW 140CONSTITUTIONAL LAW *4
LAW 160PROPERTY *4
LAW 170TORT LAW *4
LAW 481LEGAL PROFESSION3
or LAW 252 APPLIED LEGAL ETHICS
LAW 506CRIMINAL LAW *3
*

Courses that are counted toward the BA for students in the 3+3 (BA/JD) program.  These courses will be completed in the combined final year of the undergraduate degree and first year of the law degree.

Experiential Education Requirement 

Students must complete at least six credit hours of experiential education courses from the list of approved courses below. Most, but not all, courses are offered for three credit hours.  A single course may not be used to satisfy both the Experiential Education and Advanced Writing requirements.

Course Title Semester Hours
Select at least six credit hours of the following:6
ADVANCED BRIEF WRITING
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PRACTICUM
PATENT & TRADEMARK SEARCHING
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLINIC (Spring Only)
ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLINIC (Spring Only)
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW FIELD WORK
ANATOMY OF A DEAL: FROM INCEPTION TO CLOSING
TRIAL ADVOCACY II
PROSECUTING & DEFENDING CRIMINAL CASES
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
LITIGATION LAB
BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS AND DOCUMENTATION
LITIGATION STRATEGY: PRE-TRIAL, CIVIL
LEGAL CLINIC I
MEDIATION
TRIAL ADVOCACY I
COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION
BUSINESS PLANNING
LITIGATION STRATEGY: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
NEGOTIATIONS
LEGAL CLINIC II
EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM
NATIONAL TRIAL TEAM
ADVANCED LEGAL RESEARCH
EXTERNSHIP SEMINAR
FIELD CLINIC SEMINAR
FIELD CLINIC PRACTICE
PRACTICAL LEGAL RESEARCH
THE PRACTICE OF HEALTH CARE LAW
HEALTH LAW MOOT COURT

Advanced Writing Requirement

A single course may not be used to satisfy both the Experiential Education and Advanced Writing requirements.

Course Title Semester Hours
Select one of the following:
SENIOR RESEARCH SEMINAR
CHILDREN'S HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
WOMEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
APPELLATE TECHNIQUE
INDEPENDENT STUDY
LEGAL CLINIC I (Advanced Criminal Appeals ONLY)
LEGAL DRAFTING
LEGAL CLINIC II (Advanced Criminal Appeals​ ONLY)
FOREIGN EXCHANGE: MADRID, SPAIN (Master's Thesis)

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Requirement

JD students must complete one course from the list of approved courses below.  These courses include substantial engagement with the legal system's relationship with social inequality, racism, and/or other forms of bias; and/or include substantial opportunities for students to learn about and practice skills in cross-cultural competence.

Courses that meet both the Diversity Requirement and the Experiential Education Requirement can be counted for both requirements.  Courses that meet both the Diversity Requirement and the Advanced Writing Requirement can be counted for both requirements.

Course Title Semester Hours
Select at least one of the following:2-3
EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
SEX, GENDER, AND THE LAW
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PRACTICUM
CHILDREN'S HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE & THE LAW
SENIOR RESEARCH SEMINAR (Critical Race Theory; Citizenship; Crimmigration; Feminist Jurisprudence; When Justice Fails; or other approved topic)
WOMEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLINIC
SPECIAL TOPICS IN LAW ( Trauma-Informed Lawyering; Human Rights in Latin America; Transnational Criminal Law; Reproduction and the Law; or other approved topic)
JUVENILE JUSTICE
ADOPTION LAW
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
ELECTION LAW
ANTISEMITISM, THE HOLOCAUST, AND THE LAW
POST-CONFLICT JUSTICE
LEGAL CLINIC I (Asylum and Immigration Law; Civil Litigation; Civil Rights; Croak Civil; Croak Criminal; Criminal Appeals)
PUBLIC HEALTH LAW
PREDATORY LENDING
FIRST AMENDMENT: FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGION
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS I
HOUSING LAW
EDUCATION LAW & POLICY
RACE, RACISM AND UNITED STATES LAW
HATE CRIME LAW
CIVIL RIGHTS
LEGAL CLINIC II (Asylum and Immigration Law; Civil Litigation; Civil Rights; Croak Civil; Croak Criminal; Criminal Appeals)
IMMIGRATION LAW AND POLICY
ASYLUM AND REFUGEE LAW AND POLICY
MISSION-BASED LAWYERING: LEGAL PRACTICE IN THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR
CHILDREN & THE LAW
POVERTY LAW
FIELD CLINIC PRACTICE (Family Law)
STUDY ABROAD: MADRID, SPAIN
STUDY ABROAD: HEREDIA, COSTA RICA
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE DURING TIMES OF CRISIS
STUDY ABROAD: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
STUDY ABROAD: HAVANA, CUBA
ELDER LAW
HEALTH POLICY AND THE LAW
HEALTH EQUITY AND THE LAW
DISABILITY LAW

Electives

Elective courses are open to all students who meet the prerequisites for the course in question. For information on specializations, see the section on Certificates.​​​​

Credit Hour Limitations

Non-Classroom Credit Hours: 12-Credit Limit

A JD student may earn a maximum of 12 credit hours for non-classroom (indirect instruction) courses. Courses that count toward the 12-credit non-classroom limit include the following:

Course Title Semester Hours
Limit of 12 credit hours of the following:12
LEGAL ANALYSIS RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATIONS TEACHING ASSISTANTS
LAW REVIEW
JOURNAL FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
ASP TA
JOURNAL OF SPORTS LAW AND CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS
GENERAL TEACHING ASSISTANT
BUSINESS AND COMMERCIAL LAW JOURNAL
JOURNAL OF ART TECHNOLOGY & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY EDITORIAL BOARD
GUIDED RESEARCH
INDEPENDENT STUDY
JOURNAL OF HEALTH CARE LAW EDITORIAL BOARD
EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM
NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
INTERSCHOLASTIC COMPETITION
FIELD CLINIC PRACTICE
INTENSIVE EXTERNSHIP

​Distance Education Credit Limit 

JD students may earn a maximum of 28 credit hours toward the JD degree for distance education courses. The College of Law offers both fully online and hybrid courses. A hybrid course is a course in which some, but not all, of the instructional time is online. All fully-online courses, and some hybrid courses, qualify  as distance education courses. ​​ ​

Degree Requirements

The following rules apply to this joint degree:

  • Students may substitute up to 16 CDM credit hours for up to 10 of the 86 required law semester hours, reducing their law course requirements to 76 semester hours. However, students cannot substitute CDM credit hours for required courses in the College of Law, such as Legal Profession or Advanced Writing Requirement courses.
  • Only CDM courses taken after enrollment in the College of Law may be substituted for law courses.
  • Students may substitute up to 8 law semester hours for up to 3 CDM master's degree courses, reducing their CDM course requirements to 9 courses plus any necessary introductory courses.
  • Students must graduate from both schools on the same date, in the same semester/quarter, and in the same year. Double counting of credit hours occurs only after the student concurrently completes both degree programs. Students should consult with the joint degree advisors regarding any questions about coordinating the completion of the two degrees.
  • Students must adhere to CDM introductory course grade requirements as specified for their CDM major.
  • Students also adhere to CDM grade and GPA requirements as specified for their CDM major in all CDM courses beyond the introductory courses.
  • CDM requires that students must maintain a GPA of 2.50 or higher while pursuing their joint degrees.

Graduation Requirements

The joint degree candidate must complete all CDM requirements at the end of the fall quarter and all law requirements at the end of the fall semester to be eligible for a December degree award. Students who plan to graduate in spring must complete their CDM coursework by the end of the spring quarter and their law requirements by the end of the spring semester to be eligible for a spring degree award. Students who complete CDM requirements in the spring that they expect to graduate may not have their degrees granted in time to be certified for the July bar exam. Students cannot be certified for admission to the Bar and sit for the bar exam until all degree requirements are completed for both degrees. ​

Course Requirements

Full-time students must complete the regular first year JD program with a minimum GPA of 3.0 before being admitted to the Joint Degree. Part-time students must complete at least three law semesters with a minimum GPA of 3.0 before being admitted to the Joint Degree. The second and third years provide some flexibility to tailor a student’s program. For example, students might take three law courses in the Fall Semester and two law courses in the Spring Semester, while taking one CDM course in the Fall Quarter, two CDM courses in the Winter Quarter, and two CDM courses in the Spring Quarter. The fourth year might consist of three law courses in the Fall Semester, one CDM course in the Fall Quarter, three CDM courses in the Winter Quarter, and three CDM courses in the Spring Quarter.

This schedule allows for completion of the JD as well as completion of 11-15 CDM courses (the MS program plus 2-6 introductory courses) in four years. It is possible that, because of prerequisite coursework, the program may take some students more than four years. Since each student will require a different number of CDM introductory courses and each student will select courses based on semester/quarter availability, any particular curriculum might be different from the above-described curriculum. Students are encouraged to select courses with the assistance of the program advisors at both the College of Law and CDM.

CDM Requirements for an MS Degree

For the CDM portion of the joint degree,  the student must complete the MS degree requirements as listed in the catalog for that degree program.

Twelve graduate quarter hours taken from elective courses in the degree must instead be fulfilled by courses from the Certificate in Intellectual Property.  These courses will also count toward the JD degree.  (If the MS degree program has fewer than twelve quarter hours of elective courses, the student's CDM MS program advisor may approve additional advanced courses to be fulfilled by the IP certificate courses to reach a total of 12 quarter hours.)

Students with a GPA of 3.9 or higher will graduate from CDM with distinction.

College of Law Certificate Programs

In addition to the Joint Degree, students may obtain one of the Certificates offered by the College of Law, providing that they have met the requirements for the Certificate.

For DePaul's policy on repeat graduate courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Graduate Handbook.

Degree Requirements

Course Requirements

No Introductory Course may be substituted for any other course at any level.

Introductory Courses

Introductory courses may be waived for any of the following conditions:

  • The student has the appropriate course work to satisfy an Introductory Course.
  • The student has appropriate and verified professional experience to satisfy an Introductory Course.
  • If an exam is available, the student passes a Graduate Assessment Examination (GAE) in the Introductory Course area.

Introductory Courses

Course Title Quarter Hours
CSC 400DISCRETE STRUCTURES FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE4
CSC 401INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING4
CSC 402DATA STRUCTURES I4
CSC 403DATA STRUCTURES II4
CSC 406SYSTEMS I4
CSC 407SYSTEMS II4

Foundation Courses

Course Title Quarter Hours
CSC 421APPLIED ALGORITHMS AND STRUCTURES4
CSC 435DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS I4
CSC 447CONCEPTS OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES4
CSC 453PRINCIPLES OF DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS4
SE 450OBJECT-ORIENTED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT4
or SE 456 ARCHITECTURE OF REAL-TIME SYSTEMS

Major Electives

Twenty-eight credit hours of Major Electives are required. Graduates of the MS in Computer Science program must be proficient in at least one broad area of Computer Science listed below. For this reason students will take the remaining twenty-eight credit hours as follows:

  • Twelve credit hours (typically taken as three 4-credit courses) from one area
  • SIxteen credit hours (typically taken as four 4-credit courses) from any area, including the option to take the SE Studio Capstone, the 2-course GAM studio sequence, the 1-course CS capstone, the Research Colloquium course, or write an MS Thesis, or develop an MS Research Project.

The courses in each area are listed below. The Master's Research course (CSC 695) may be repeated for up to 8 credit hours and at most 4 credit hours of CSC 695 can count towards the chosen area.

Areas

Software and System Development Area

Course Title Quarter Hours
WEB APPLICATIONS
FRAMEWORK FOR WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
COMPUTER SECURITY
INTRODUCTION TO OPERATING SYSTEMS
COMPILER DESIGN
OPTIMIZED C++
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF SAFE SYSTEMS PROGRAMMING
VIRTUALIZATION AND CLOUD COMPUTING
PROGRAM ANALYSIS
MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR IOS
MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR ANDROID
MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR IOS II
MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR ANDROID II
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FOR LIMITED AND EMBEDDED DEVICES
DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS II
ADVANCED COMPILER DESIGN
DATABASE SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
DISTRIBUTED DATABASE SYSTEMS
CONCURRENT SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
ADVANCED DATABASE CONCEPTS
OPTIMIZED C++ MULTITHREADING
REAL-TIME MULTITHREADED ARCHITECTURE
TOPICS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS I
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS II
INTRODUCTION TO ROBOTICS (FORMERLY CSC 475)
DIGITAL FORENSIC TECHNIQUES
SECURITY TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
ADVANCED CYBER ATTACK RESPONSES AND DEFENSES
GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIO I
GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIO II
AI-AUGMENTED SOFTWARE DELIVERY AND OPERATION
OBJECT-ORIENTED ENTERPRISE COMPUTING
AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
AI-DRIVEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEERING FOR PRODUCTION (MLOPS)
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING STUDIO
SOFTWARE SECURITY ARCHITECTURE
SOFTWARE SECURITY ASSESSMENT
CLOUD NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES
INFORMATION STORAGE AND MANAGEMENT
SCRIPTING FOR NETWORK MANAGEMENT
NETWORK MANAGEMENT

Theory Area

Course Title Quarter Hours
SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING
CRYPTOLOGY
AUTOMATA THEORY AND FORMAL GRAMMARS
THEORY OF COMPUTATION
PARALLEL ALGORITHMS
MONTE CARLO ALGORITHMS
COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION
INTRODUCTION TO BIOINFORMATICS
FORMAL SEMANTICS OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
FOUNDATIONS OF COMPUTER SECURITY
ADVANCED TOPICS IN PROGRAM LANGUAGES
TOPICS IN ALGORITHMS
SOFTWARE VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION

Data Science Area

Course Title Quarter Hours
PROGRAMMING INTERACTIVE DATA VISUALIZATION FOR THE WEB
INTRODUCTION TO IMAGE PROCESSING
APPLIED IMAGE ANALYSIS
MINING BIG DATA
INTELLIGENT INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
ADVANCED DEEP LEARNING
TOPICS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
TOPICS IN DATA ANALYSIS
DATA ANALYSIS AND REGRESSION
ADVANCED MODELING AND ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
TIME SERIES ANALYSIS AND FORECASTING
SCRIPTING FOR DATA ANALYSIS
FUNDAMENTALS OF DATA SCIENCE
MACHINE LEARNING I (FORMERLY DSC 540)
DATA VISUALIZATION
PROGRAMMING MACHINE LEARNING APPLICATIONS
SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS
WEB DATA MINING
MACHINE LEARNING II
DATA SCIENCE CAPSTONE

Database Systems Area

Course Title Quarter Hours
DATABASE PROGRAMMING
DATABASE ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT
SPATIAL DATABASES & GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
DATABASE SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
DISTRIBUTED DATABASE SYSTEMS
ADVANCED DATABASE CONCEPTS
ADVANCED DATABASE MANAGEMENT
MINING BIG DATA
INTELLIGENT INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
TOPICS IN DATABASE
SCRIPTING FOR DATA ANALYSIS
MACHINE LEARNING I (FORMERLY DSC 540)
PROGRAMMING MACHINE LEARNING APPLICATIONS

Artificial Intelligence Area

Course Title Quarter Hours
SYMBOLIC PROGRAMMING
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE I
INTRODUCTION TO IMAGE PROCESSING
APPLIED IMAGE ANALYSIS
APPLIED DEEP LEARNING
ETHICS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
COMPUTER VISION
VISION SYSTEMS
INTELLIGENT INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
RECOMMENDER SYSTEMS
ADVANCED DEEP LEARNING
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE II
NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING
COGNITIVE SCIENCE
TOPICS IN COMPUTER VISION AND PATTERN RECOGNITION
TOPICS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
FUNDAMENTALS OF DATA SCIENCE
MACHINE LEARNING I (FORMERLY DSC 540)
WEB DATA MINING
PROGRAMMING MACHINE LEARNING APPLICATIONS
SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
GIS FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Software Engineering Area

Course Title Quarter Hours
OBJECT ORIENTED MODELING
SOFTWARE TESTING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
AI-AUGMENTED SOFTWARE DELIVERY AND OPERATION
OBJECT-ORIENTED ENTERPRISE COMPUTING
ARCHITECTURE AND FRAMEWORKS FOR DEVELOPING CLIENT APPLICATIONS
ARCHITECTURE OF REAL-TIME SYSTEMS
AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
SERVICE-ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE
MANAGING GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
SOFTWARE AND SYSTEMS PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE I
REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING
REAL-TIME SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT I
GPU Architecture
REAL-TIME SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT II
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING STUDIO
SOFTWARE SECURITY ARCHITECTURE
SOFTWARE SECURITY ASSESSMENT
SOFTWARE VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION
SOFTWARE-INTENSIVE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT

Game and Real-Time Systems Area

Course Title Quarter Hours
OPTIMIZED C++
REAL-TIME NETWORKING (FORMERLY GAM 490)
OPTIMIZED C++ MULTITHREADING
REAL-TIME MULTITHREADED ARCHITECTURE
APPLIED 3D GEOMETRY
PHYSICS FOR GAME DEVELOPERS
TOOL PROGRAMMING FOR GAME DEVELOPMENT
RENDERING AND GRAPHICS PROGRAMMING
REAL - TIME SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR COMPUTER GAMES
REAL-TIME SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT II
GPU ARCHITECTURE
GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIO I
GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIO II
ARCHITECTURE OF REAL-TIME SYSTEMS

Human-Computer Interaction

Course Title Quarter Hours
WEB APPLICATIONS
FRAMEWORK FOR WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR IOS
MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR ANDROID
MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR IOS II
MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR ANDROID II
DATA VISUALIZATION
INTRODUCTION TO USER-CENTERED DESIGN
PROTOTYPING AND IMPLEMENTATION
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE AND CONTENT STRATEGY

As part of their electives, students have the option of completing a Research Project, or writing a Master's Thesis, or participating in a Graduate Internship.

Master's Research

Students interested in a more in-depth study of a particular area can choose to work with a faculty member (not necessarily their academic advisor) on an independent study or research project. The work involved may include system development, empirical studies, or theoretical work. The student will register for up to 4 credit hours of CSC 695. 4 credit hours of CSC 695 replaces one major elective course in the MS in Computer Science program. CSC 695 can be taken multiple times for up to 8 credit hours. At most 4 credit hours of CSC 695 can count towards the chosen area in the program. Students must successfully complete the Foundation courses prior to their first enrollment in CSC 695. Students interested in the Master's Thesis option will typically take 8 credits of CSC 695.

Master's Thesis

A student who has made an original contribution to the area (typically, through work done by CSC 695) may choose to complete a Master's Thesis. The student and the student's research advisor should form a Master's Thesis Committee of 3 faculty. The student will need to submit to the committee a thesis detailing the results of the research project. After a public defense, the committee will decide whether to accept the thesis. In that case, the student will be allowed to register for the 0 credit course CSC 698 and the transcript will show the thesis title as the course topic.

Graduate Internship

In cooperation with local employers, the graduate program offers students the opportunity to integrate their academic experience with on-the-job training in computer related work areas. Students may take CSC 697 for up to four credits. Admission to the internship program requires consent of the instructor and a student services advisor. International students may complete curricular practical training (CPT) through this class provided they first obtain CPT authorization from International Student and Scholar Services (ISS) before beginning the internship.

Degree Requirements

Students in this degree program must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete a minimum of 48 graduate credit hours in addition to any required introductory courses of the designated degree program.
  • Complete all graduate courses and requirements listed in the designated degree program.
  • Earn a grade of C- or better in all courses of the designated degree program.
  • Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.
  • Students pursuing a second (or more) graduate degree may not double count or retake any course that applied toward the completion of a prior graduate degree. If a required course in the second degree was already completed and applied toward a previous degree, the student must meet with a faculty advisor to discuss a new course to be completed and substituted in the new degree. This rule also applies to cross-listed courses, which are considered to be the same course but offered under different subjects.
  • Students pursuing a second master's degree must complete a minimum of 48 graduate credit hours beyond their first designated degree program in addition to any required introductory courses in their second designated degree program. 

Students with a GPA of 3.9 or higher will graduate with distinction.

For DePaul's policy on repeat graduate courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Graduate Handbook.​

Degree Requirements

The following rules apply to this joint degree:

  • Students may substitute up to 16 CDM credit hours for up to 10 of the 86 required law semester hours, reducing their law course requirements to 76 semester hours. However, students cannot substitute CDM credit hours for required courses in the College of Law, such as Legal Profession or Advanced Writing Requirement courses.
  • Only CDM courses taken after enrollment in the College of Law may be substituted for law courses.
  • Students may substitute up to 8 law semester hours for up to 3 CDM master's degree courses, reducing their CDM course requirements to 9 courses plus any necessary introductory courses.
  • Students must graduate from both schools on the same date, in the same semester/quarter, and in the same year. Double counting of credit hours occurs only after the student concurrently completes both degree programs. Students should consult with the joint degree advisors regarding any questions about coordinating the completion of the two degrees.
  • Students must adhere to CDM introductory course grade requirements as specified for their CDM major.
  • Students also adhere to CDM grade and GPA requirements as specified for their CDM major in all CDM courses beyond the introductory courses.
  • CDM requires that students must maintain a GPA of 2.50 or higher while pursuing their joint degrees.

Graduation Requirements

The joint degree candidate must complete all CDM requirements at the end of the fall quarter and all law requirements at the end of the fall semester to be eligible for a December degree award. Students who plan to graduate in spring must complete their CDM coursework by the end of the spring quarter and their law requirements by the end of the spring semester to be eligible for a spring degree award. Students who complete CDM requirements in the spring that they expect to graduate may not have their degrees granted in time to be certified for the July bar exam. Students cannot be certified for admission to the Bar and sit for the bar exam until all degree requirements are completed for both degrees. ​

Course Requirements

Full-time students must complete the regular first year JD program with a minimum GPA of 3.0 before being admitted to the Joint Degree. Part-time students must complete at least three law semesters with a minimum GPA of 3.0 before being admitted to the Joint Degree. The second and third years provide some flexibility to tailor a student’s program. For example, students might take three law courses in the Fall Semester and two law courses in the Spring Semester, while taking one CDM course in the Fall Quarter, two CDM courses in the Winter Quarter, and two CDM courses in the Spring Quarter. The fourth year might consist of three law courses in the Fall Semester, one CDM course in the Fall Quarter, three CDM courses in the Winter Quarter, and three CDM courses in the Spring Quarter.

This schedule allows for completion of the JD as well as completion of 11-15 CDM courses (the MS program plus 2-6 introductory courses) in four years. It is possible that, because of prerequisite coursework, the program may take some students more than four years. Since each student will require a different number of CDM introductory courses and each student will select courses based on semester/quarter availability, any particular curriculum might be different from the above-described curriculum. Students are encouraged to select courses with the assistance of the program advisors at both the College of Law and CDM.

CDM Requirements for an MS Degree

For the CDM portion of the joint degree,  the student must complete the MS degree requirements as listed in the catalog for that degree program.

Twelve graduate quarter hours taken from elective courses in the degree must instead be fulfilled by courses from the Certificate in Intellectual Property.  These courses will also count toward the JD degree.  (If the MS degree program has fewer than twelve quarter hours of elective courses, the student's CDM MS program advisor may approve additional advanced courses to be fulfilled by the IP certificate courses to reach a total of 12 quarter hours.)

Students with a GPA of 3.9 or higher will graduate from CDM with distinction.

College of Law Certificate Programs

In addition to the Joint Degree, students may obtain one of the Certificates offered by the College of Law, providing that they have met the requirements for the Certificate.

For DePaul's policy on repeat graduate courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Graduate Handbook.