san francisco state university's master of science in computer science prepares students for a wide variety of careers in computing or related industries as well as for advanced study toward ph.d. degrees. this program combines a solid and practical curriculum with high-quality research and project-based activities. in addition to a general core covering the breadth of the computing discipline, students may focus on software engineering in globally distributed environments, computing applications for biotechnology and the life sciences, data mining/big data, and business applications.