Computer Science Master's Degree - Vision, Graphics, Interaction and Robotics

Degree required for admission: Most candidates have completed an undergraduate degree in computer science. Applicants with degrees in other disciplines and a record of excellence are encouraged to apply; these applicants are required to have completed at least six prerequisites: 4 computer science courses covering the foundations of the field and 2 math courses. 

Examples of computer science courses would be courses offered through an undergraduate computer science program: Intro to Computer Science (COMS W1004 or COMS W1007), Advanced Programming (COMS W3157), Data Structures and Algorithms (COMS W3134 or W3137), which is a prerequisite for most of our graduate-level courses, or/and Discrete Math (COMS W3203).  For the math prereqs, students are encouraged to take linear algebra and differential equations. 

Please note that these must be taken at a university (can be online) and must be grade- and credit-bearing.  MOOCs such as courses on Coursera and edX do NOT meet this requirement. These courses are not offered here at Columbia Video Network, but may be taken at another online institution or your local university.  Work experience does not waive this requirement.

GPA required: Most students admitted have earned a grade point average above 3.5 (out of 4.0); a GPA of at least 3.3 is required. 

GRE requirements: General test required. A subject GRE test is not required but may be helpful in strengthening your application. 

Competence in English: If you have not earned a degree from an undergraduate or graduate institution in which the instructional language was English, you may be required to take the TOEFL/IELTS.

Other application requirements: 3 recommendation letters, transcripts, resume, and a personal-professional statement are required. All application requirements in the Graduate Application must be completed as specified in the application. For answers to your most common admissions questions, please review our FAQ page here.

Students must complete all core courses and selected electives for a total of 30 graduate points of academic work via CVN while maintaining a minimum grade point average of 2.7. All degree requirements must be completed within 5 years of the beginning of the first course credited toward the degree. This includes courses taken in the non-degree program.

Overall Requirements

Students must complete at least 30 points of graduate coursework as outlined below.

• Breadth coursesRequired Track courses (6 points)Track Electives (6 points)General Electives (6 points)
• Two required track courses (6 points)
• Two electives from the Elective Track Course list (6 points)
• Six points of General Electives, three points of 6000 level and three points at the 4000 level or above

Students must complete all core courses and selected electives for a total of 30 graduate points of academic work via CVN while maintaining a minimum grade point average of 2.7. All degree requirements must be completed within 5 years of the beginning of the first course credited toward the degree. This includes courses taken in the non-degree program.

For the most up to date course information, visit the CS Vision, Graphics, Interaction, and Robotics page.

Breadth Requirement

All students must complete the Breadth Requirement. Visit the breadth requirement page for a list of courses.

Required Track Courses

Students are required to complete 2 of the following 7 courses. Students who have taken equivalent courses in the past and received grades of at least a B may apply for waiver and take other CS courses instead.

• COMS W4160: Computer Graphics
• COMS W4167: Computer Animation
• COMS W4170: User Interface Design
• COMS W4172: 3D User Interfaces and Augmented Reality
• COMS W4731: Computer Vision
• COMS W4733: Computational Aspects of Robotics
• COMS W4735: Visual Interfaces to Computers
• COMS W4771: Machine Learning or COMS W4721: Machine Learning for Data Science*
• COMS W4737: Biometrics

* Due to significant overlap, students can receive credits for only one of these courses (either COMS W4771 Machine Learning or COMS W4721 Machine Learning for Data Science).

Elective Track Courses

Students are required to complete 2 courses from the following list. At least 1 of these courses must be a 6000-level CS course.

• COMS W4160: Computer Graphics
• COMS W4162: Advanced Comptuer Graphics
• COMS W4165: Computational Techniques in Pixel Processing
• COMS W4167: Computer Animation
• COMS W4170: User Interface Design
• COMS W4172: 3D User Interfaces and Augmented Reality
• COMS W4731: Computer Vision
• COMS W4733: Computational Aspects of Robotics
• COMS W4735: Visual Interfaces to Computers
• COMS W4737: Biometrics
• COMS W4771: Machine Learning or COMS W4721: Machine Learning for Data Science*
• COMS W4772: Advanced Machine Learning
• COMS W4995: Visit the topics courses page to see which apply for this track
• COMS E6160: Topics in Computer Graphics
• COMS W6161: Rendering
• COMS E6174: Interaction Design: A Perceptual Approach
• COMS E6176: User Interfaces for Mobile & Wearable Computing
• COMS W6731: Humanoid Robots
• COMS E6732: Computational Imaging
• COMS E6733: 3-D Photography
• COMS W6734: Computational Photography
• COMS E6735: Visual Databases
• COMS W6737: Biometrics
• COMS E6901: Projects in Computer Science
• COMS E6998:  Visit the topics courses page to see which apply for this track
• MECE E6615: Advanced Robotic Manipulation

General Elective Courses

Remaining points from any qualifying Computer Science graduate course (4000- and 6000-level). At least 3 of these points must be at the 6000-level. Students may take up to 3 points of non-CS/non-track course approved by the advisor. Please complete a non-track approval form, get your advisor’s approval, and forward it to CS Student Services.

2022 - 2023 Tuition & Fees

Please note that all tuition and fees are in U.S. dollars and are estimated. Tuition and most fees are prescribed by statute, and are subject to change at the discretion of the Trustees.

CVN Credit Tuition: $2,362 per point (Credit Hour)
CVN Fee: $395 non-refundable fee per course
Transcript Fee: $105 non-refundable one-time fee
Tuition Deposit: $1000 (More information on our Resources page)

Estimated cost of one nondegree course: $7,586
Estimated total cost of certification (four courses): $30,029.00

Estimated total cost of MS (ten courses): $74,915.00
*Estimated total cost of DES (ten courses plus a minimum of 12 research credits): $104,049.00

Graduate Admission Application Fee: $150 non-refundable one-time fee
Certification Program Application Fee: $150 non-refundable one-time fee

Late Registration Fee: $100 non-refundable fee

CVN Withdrawal Fee: $75, plus prorated tuition and all non-refundable fees
For example: A three-credit course would be $7,086 + transcript fee $105 (one-time) + CVN fee $395 = $7,586

*Assumes DES student enrolls in two six-credit research courses.

For Drop/Withdrawal fees and dates, refer to the Academic Calendar for the current term.

Please note: CVN no longer offers courses for audit.

Payment should be mailed to:

Columbia University
Student Account Payments
P.O. Box 1385
New York, NY 10008-1385

Before you mail your check or money order, please take careful note of the following requirements to ensure the timely processing of your payment: https://sfs.columbia.edu/content/pay-mail.