About University of Illinois

Since its founding in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation as a global leader in research, teaching, and public engagement. With our land-grant heritage as a foundation, we pioneer innovative research that tackles global problems and expands the human experience. Our transformative learning experiences are designed to produce alumni who desire to make a significant, societal impact. Illinois is a pioneer in innovative distance and online education, led by the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. Illinois Computer Science has a global reputation for groundbreaking research across the spectrum of computer science.

About Illinois’ Computer Science Department

Illinois Computer Science is a U.S. News & World Report top-five CS graduate program.

Building upon a proud legacy stretching back to the 1940s, Illinois Computer Science stands at the forefront of computing innovation. Collectively, our alumni and faculty have birthed new industries, generated billions of dollars in commerce, created tens of thousands of jobs, and revolutionized the way that people communicate, shop, and conduct business. Learn more reasons to choose Illinois Computer Science.

Featured Faculty

Nancy M. Amato

Nancy M. Amato

Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering and Department Head

Nancy M. Amato is Head of the Department of Computer Science and Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously, she was Unocal Professor and Regents Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University where she co-directed the Parasol Lab. She was also Senior Director of Engineering Honors Programs in the College of Engineering and Co-Coordinator of the Computer Science and Engineering Track of Engineering Honors. View full bio.

Matthew Caesar

Matthew Caesar

Professor of Computer Science

Matthew Caesar is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also an affiliate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, an affiliate research professor in the Coordinated Science Laboratory, an affiliate professor in the School of Information Sciences, and a member of the Information Trust Institute. Caesar teaches the Hands-on Internet of Things Specialization. View full bio.

Jiawei Han

Jiawei Han

Michael Aiken Chair

Jiawei Han is a leader of and pioneer in data-mining research. Han’s research interests include text mining, information network analysis, and big data analytics. He has more than 900 publications. He has made a number of important contributions to data mining, among them the development of a set of scalable frequent-pattern mining algorithms, including FPgrowth and PrefixSpan. View full bio.

John Hart

John Hart

Professor of Computer Science

John C. Hart is Professor and Director of Online and Professional Programs in the Department of Computer Science, and the Executive Associate Dean of the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research on computer graphics and data visualization has been supported by Adobe, AT&T, DARPA, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, NVIDIA and the NSF. He has worked with graphics hardware manufacturers, defense contractors, visual effects studios, game developers and a medical imaging startup, and has provided IP expertise for Microsoft, NVIDIA, AMD, Samsung and others. View full bio.

Julia Hockenmaier

Julia Hockenmaier

Professor and Willett Faculty Scholar

Julia Hockenmaier is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her main area of research is computational linguistics or natural language processing. View full bio.

Marco Morales Aguirre

Marco Morales Aguirre

Teaching Associate Professor

Marco Morales Aguirre is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on algorithms for motion planning and control with applications to autonomous robots, machine learning, computational geometry, bioinformatics, and computational neuroscience. View full bio.

Jimeng Sun

Jimeng Sun

Health Innovation Professor

Jimeng Sun is the Health Innovation Professor at Computer Science Department and Carle's Illinois College of Medicine at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare, including deep learning for drug discovery, clinical trial optimization, computational phenotyping, clinical predictive modeling, treatment recommendation, and health monitoring. View full bio.

Application Information

Applications are open three times per year, for cohorts starting in the fall, spring, and summer.

Spring 2024 Application Information:

  • Priority Application Deadline: August 17, 2023

  • Final Application Deadline: October 15, 2023

Prepare for the Entrance Exam: The Accelerated Computer Science Fundamentals Specialization is designed to help applicants prepare for the entrance exam for MCS. Enroll now!

Have questions? Please email the Illinois MCS team at online-mcs@cs.illinois.edu.

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