NEW AGREEMENT PUTS UNK STUDENTS ON THE FAST-TRACK TO GRADUATE SCHOOL

Dr. Sherri Harms
UNK Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, 308-865-8123

A new agreement between the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will put some students on a fast-track to graduate school.

The UNK Department of Computer Science and Information Systems (CSIS) and the UNL Department of Computer Science (CSE) and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will speed up the admissions process for UNK students who enter the UNL-CSE graduate program.

Dr. Sherri Harms, UNK CSIS chair, sees the MOU as an opportunity for both universities and the state. “The MOU offers a high-quality graduate program for UNK students,” she said. “It provides UNL with in-state students prepared for graduate-level research, and it provides Nebraska with computer science professionals who will likely stay in the state.”

Dr. Harms pointed out that there is a high demand for computer science professionals in Nebraska. “For the past several years, we have had 100 percent placement rate for our students,” she said.

This trend can be seen in the growth of the CSIS program at UNK. According to Dr. Harms, there has been a 71 percent increase in student credit hour production since 2007.

UNK computer science students with a 3.65 GPA or higher after their junior year will be eligible for the program and will have the Graduate Record Evaluation (GRE) requirement waived. In addition, the UNL application fee will be reimbursed once the students join the UNL-CSE graduate program.