Hi Everyone,
I graduated from an Ivy League school last year with a social science major and an economics/language minor. During the fall semester of my senior year I took an intro to CS class on a whim and ended up enjoying it far more than what I majored in - I decided to keep at it and for my last semester of school, I also signed up for discrete math and a more advanced programming class.
Since graduating, I got a full-time job in my major and gradually completed several other CS classes - through Harvard Extension and at a local school - in the evening. So far I’ve completed: Intro to OO Programming I, OO Programming II, Discrete Math, Data Structures, Computer Organization & Assembly Language and Database Systems. This fall I’m planning on completing Operating Systems, Analysis of Algorithms and maybe Software Engineering. I’m also going to take the GRE this fall and would like to apply to masters programs by the end of the year. So far, the CS grades I’ve received have been 2 As, 2 A-s and 2 B++s.
Because of my non-CS background, I’m not sure I’m doing all the right things to get into a good CS masters, nor am I sure what masters programs I’d even be able to reasonably get into. When I was doing my social science undergrad degree, I maintained a 3.7+ gpa, completed several internships and did some interesting research, but now it all seems irrelevant. When it comes to CS, I’ll have about 9 classes on my transcript, most of them post-bac,
I’m not sure how I’d be able to stack up against applicants that majored in Computer Science and were involved in research/co-ops during undergrad. Is there anything I can do to make myself a stronger candidate? Also, what kind of programs might be worth looking into for someone like me?
Thanks!!!
It sounds to me like you are doing the right thing. You can see specific requirements on various pages for MS programs if they list them. Sure many serious MS programs with research/thesis expect a CS undergrad and they often expect related degrees but you are essentially doing a core program, maybe missing programming languages theory?
I guess one question is what do you intend to do with the MS so you pick the program that suits your aims.
Penn MCIT especally is meant for those that do not have undergrad CS degrees and you can see a sample of types of jobs, although they recomend students do MCE who have undergrad. U Chicago also has one for non CS undergrads and you have done the kind of quant background they expect for students to be successful. Perhaps more than needed.
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/about-people/alumni-mcit.php
For straight programs you might look at Brown. I don’t get the impression it is that hard to get admitted to the MS as is representative of how good the program is and the PhD program would be so much harder. Same with Stanford, even, I’m not sure the MS is that difficult, they take in a large pool of them ca-ching. Other CS in engineering schools might be more difficult. I know that at UW Madison, just for instance, MS and PhD compete in the same pool so I think it is very hard to get in the grad school and they have like 1500 applicants. I think UT is very hard. Don’t be shy though, there are so many programs that want your money. Just research who does MS and who does not. And Professional MS vs regular MS.
Thank you so much for your informative response! I was actually considering Penn and UChicago, but I’ll definitely check Brown out now too. Brandeis gives off the impression of being more open to people of different backgrounds as well. I think that I’d want to jump straight into the workforce after completing a Masters, so a Professional MS would probably be more suitable, but at the same time I don’t want to close myself off to the possibility of doing a more advanced degree.
Another thing I was worried about was recommendations, since I never got a chance to get to know CS professors at my alma-mater through classes and research. I guess I can try to remedy that now!
Oh I thought of another, Tufts has such a MS. But you have taken so many CS classes I don’t think you have to limit yourself entirely.
I think the idea of a professional masters is a good one if you want to move into the workforce immediately. There is no thesis or requirement for doing research and the emphasis in courses is often more applied than theoretical. Make sure thatthe schools you are looking at have this more applied approach if you choose to go this way. These will be the programs from which you can most easily find a job. As far as preparation, is seems that you have taken most all of the courses that such a program would expect to have as prerequisites.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I might end up applying to a mix of professional and regular masters programs - I might end up changing my mind about what to do after graduation once I have more exposure. I’m trying to think of what kinds of programs would be a reasonable target. Do you think it would be worth trying any in the top 20/top 50?
As usual you need to have a mix of programs. First you will need to take the GRE and see what your score is in the quantitative section. Your GPA is good and I am sure you can get good letters of reference but the bestones may not be from CS professors and that will be a bit of a liability. Do a little homework and find the programs that you would like to attend and then make sure you have one which is a safety (you can call or email to discuss it).