Master’s degree in computer science

Registration for Semester Spring 24 or Semester Fall 24/25 in Computer Science is open for BSc., MSc. and PhD. Students.

Computer Science Master’s Degree

Admissions Requirements for a MSc. Studies in Computer Science:

Grade Average - the Department of Computer Science will consider the candidacy of holders of a BSc. in Computer Science from an academic institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education with a grade of at least 86.

The candidates must provide a formal academic transcript (including your average degree grades) from the academic institution where they learn their BSc Degree.

The cut-off for admission for the master’s in computer science may change from year to year and in practice may be higher than the threshold required to apply for the Master’s.

Rank - the candidates must attach formal confirmation of their rank in the class where they completed their BSc. studies.
Resume - the candidates must include a resume with the registration.

Registration without eligbility for the Bachelor’s:

Students who have not yet completed the requirements for a bachelor’s degree when registering for a master’s in computer science:

They must complete the degree and present an approval of eligibility for a bachelor’s by the end of the first semester of their studies.

Students may only apply for MSc. in Computer Science if they lack at most four academic credits to complete their Bachelor’s (eight semester hours).

A candidate who, at the time of registration, still doesn’t have approval of eligibility for the degree must present the approval of eligibility for the BSc. and their final academic transcript by the end of the first semester of studies and apply to become a full-time student.

Conversion Classes in Computer Science:

The Department of Computer Science will consider the candidacy of students seeking to complete their studies in Computer Science if they have a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Physics, or Engineering from an academic institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education, who have completed their bachelor’s degree with at least a 90-grade average.

Acceptance in these cases is conditional on completion of the conversion studies according to the requirements to be set by the official in charge of the Master’s in the department.

Conversion courses are part of the bachelor’s courses in Computer Science.

These courses are a prerequisite for receiving the master’s with a regular candidacy.

You must finish the conversion studies with an average of at least 85.

If you do not complete these courses and/or if your grades are not received before you register for the master’s in computer science, your candidacy may be rejected automatically (even if you meet the grade average requirements).

After passing the conversion courses with the required grade, you must submit a request to switch from being a student on probation to a full-time student and send an email to masters@cs.biu.ac.il.

Students with special status:

During the first year you must finish the conversion classes with the required grade average.

In this case, finding a supervisor is done only after becoming a full-time student.

Students with ‘special’ status are not eligible for department scholarships.

Conversion courses - You must take the courses set by the department from the list of conversion courses.

Exemption from prerequisite courses:

Students who took a parallel course to a prerequisite course before beginning studies can submit an inquiry via the Inbar system (one-click service - requests and approvals), and choose the category: request for exemption/recognition of previous studies.

Exemption from Degree Courses:

Students who studied courses in a Master’s Computer Science program at another academic institution, or courses considered extra courses as part of a Bachelor’s, can apply to have previous studies recognized via the Inbar system (one-click service - requests and approvals - submitting a request). Choose the category: request for exemption/recognition of previous studies.

In your application, note the requested exemptions, including the name and number of the course, and attach a syllabus and academic transcript.

The exemptions are limited to a maximum of 50% of the obligatory courses for the Computer Science Master’s.

Exemptions cannot be given for courses that are obligatory for the Bachelor’s.

Course Specializations:

- Algorithmic & Computational (Theory)

- Cryptography & Security

- Artificial Intelligence

- Data Science & Artificial Intelligence

- Without specialization - general (only open for non-thesis).

Each course specialization has different requirements for prerequisite, elective, and required courses.

You must choose a course specialization and follow the study program of your chosen specialization.

When choosing the general track, during the first year you must take at least three of the required courses of other specializations, at least one from each specialization.

Each course specialization has different requirements for prerequisite, elective, and required courses.

You must choose a course specialization and follow the study program of your chosen specialization.

When choosing the general track, during the first year you must take at least three of the required courses of other specializations, at least one from each specialization.

For students on the thesis track with an area of research that includes subjects from different course specializations (for example, theory and security), a specific study program can be built (with the approval of the supervisor and the Master’s advisor), which will replace the elective and obligatory course requirements of the specialization they originally chose.

A necessary condition is that it must include at least one required course from each course specialization included in the research.

Course details can be viewed on the Bar-Ilan website: course catalog.

There are two tracks:

“Thesis Track”

A master's degree in computer science that focuses on research and presenting a thesis.

26 seminar hours (26 academic credits) according to the following breakdown:

18 seminar hours (18 academic credits) according to the following breakdown: At least 12 seminar hours (12 academic credits) from course specializations, including required courses from the course specializations (including prerequisite courses, not including conversion courses for the Computer Science Master’s).

You must complete a quota of 18 seminar hours from the master’s courses offered by the department.

Two Master’s seminars (each seminar is two semester hours (two academic credits) = a total of four academic credits).

At least one seminar in a course specialization.

Departmental colloquium - Guest lectures in computer science (four seminar hours = four academic credits).

With the supervisor’s approval, other accredited courses of the department can be recognized as prerequisite courses for your track.

Requests are conditional on the approval of the School of Graduate Studies.

The main focus of the Computer Science Master’s thesis track is the research project - finding a research problem, using scientific tools to address it, and publishing the results.

Most of the final grade (75%) in the degree is given on the basis of an evaluation of the research project, and the remainder (25%) on the basis of the courses.

To encourage a focus on research, the department offers scholarships to students on the Computer Science Master’s thesis track.

Students who don’t work beyond a limited scope can submit a request for a department grant that includes funding of tuition fees and a monthly maintenance scholarship.

This scholarship is sometimes supplemented by an additional scholarship, according to the supervisor’s considerations.

The main stages of the Computer Science Master’s thesis track:

Finding an adviser for the thesis:

- You must find aמ adviser by the end of semester A and no later than the end of semester B of the first year of studies*.

You must receive the approval of a senior member of the department, who agrees to supervise the research project.

We recommend identifying and approaching the department staff member as early as possible, to check their suitability and requirements. In particular, we strongly recommend choosing electives recommended by your advisor.

“Non-Thesis Track”

A master's degree in computer science that focuses on courses, without a thesis.

(students have a research project in the department instead).

Quota of Hours and Seminars:

44 seminar hours (44 academic credits) according to the following breakdown:

36 seminar hours (36 academic credits) according to the following breakdown: At least 16 seminar hours (16 academic credits) from course specializations, including required courses from the course specializations (not including prerequisite courses).

You must complete a quota of 36 seminar hours from the Master’s courses offered by the department.

Students studying for a Master’s in Computer Science without an area of specialization: You must take three required courses from different specializations.