MS CS Admission Stats (Particularly CMU)

[psycho_killer]

Does anyone know what the acceptance rate is (at least so far) for CMU's new MS program in CS? I've heard they want to enroll 25 students and got 800+ applications, but don't know how many they've admitted. They can't really know what their yield will be since it's the first year, but supposedly there are ~10 people on the waiting list. If they expect and get a high yield, it seems their acceptance rate would be somewhere around Berkeley's, which is supposedly the lowest.

I've gathered together some admission stats from last year for other top schools below for comparison. Feel free to add more.

Stanford:

MS: 667 applications, 123 accepted, 92 enrolled (18.4% acceptance rate)

Source: https://cs.stanford....ment-newsletter

Berkeley:

For EECS overall, not broken down by degree: "3100 applicants for about 100 slots". Their yield is probably high. They also say the MS CS program "admits very few students." Rough guess: <5%

Source: http://www.eecs.berk...Competition.htm

UT-Austin:

MS: 365 applications, 55 accepted (15% acceptance rate)

Source: it was on their site, but it seems to have been taken down...they say they have 68 total MS students so it sounds roughly correct.

UIUC:

For the department as a whole, "Each year the Department of Computer Science at Illinois receives around 1500 applications and admits around 150 students between the PhD, MS, MS Bioinformatics, and Professional MCS for the summer/fall term." Hard to say for just the MS program. Rough guess: <10%

Source: http://cs.illinois.e...mics/admissions

Wisconsin-Madison:

Stats are for PhD and MS together but they say they do not differentiate between the two applicant pools and offer funding to almost everyone. 1052 applications, 85 accepted, 78 enrolled (8.1% acceptance rate).

Source: http://www.grad.wisc...ofiles/229.html

[cartel]

I asked a friend at CMU in ECE to see if he could find out any information about this. I know there are 9 on the waitlist, but I don't know any other information. I'll update if I find out anything worthwhile.

[wirru]

where did you hear that they want to enroll 25 students? I know that someone posted about that in the results section, but it seemed like conjecture rather than anything concrete.

[psycho_killer]

where did you hear that they want to enroll 25 students? I know that someone posted about that in the results section, but it seemed like conjecture rather than anything concrete.

I originally saw it here, but I don't know if it's accurate of course:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/innovation/2011/10/cmu-launches-new-computer-science.html

[wirru]

I originally saw it here, but I don't know if it's accurate of course:

http://www.bizjourna...er-science.html

Ah okay, nice find. Also, good job finding the stats on those other schools -- I had no idea that the Stanford MS acceptance info was out there.

I'd be interested to hear more about CMU's acceptance rate as well, though I'm doubtful we'll get any concrete info since this is the first year of the program.

[cartel]

One thing to consider is that CMU might be accepting PhD applicants into the Masters program and rejecting them from the PhD program -- so assuming those applicants get offers elsewhere (and there'd be a good chance that they would considering they're good enough for CMU masters at the very least), then they'll likely turn down the Masters offer. So the question is: does CMU accept extra applicants with this in mind? Or is that what the wait list is for? We'll see, I suppose...

[ssk2]

Thanks for sharing - makes me feel a little better after receiving two rejections from CMU for the MS in Robotics and MS in CS. Supposedly they had 800+ applicants for the MS in CS.

As for the MS in Robotics, the email is phrased as 'over 600 applications to the Robotics institute this year', which I surmise considers all of their programs. Having looked through their students directory, it seems that they have 33 (or so) Masters students and given that there is a two year course, this would roughly imply a ratio of 600 to 15 - or 40 to 1.

[Adamah]

Does it distinguish between MS applicants and PhD applicants? If not it probably includes both. Also, 33 students doesn't mean 33 people were given offers. The number is probably 20 or 25 accepted. I would guess around 10% acceptance then.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Adamah

[euclid_1729]

Got a reject from this program two weeks back. The mail said that they had more than 800 applicants and batch strength is 25.

[Adamah]

Some more info on the MS in Robotics at CMU: About 40-50 students are accepted each year, and about 20 enroll. A small number, maybe 3-5, are offered full funding before enrolling. Funding for the rest is not guaranteed. That said, apparently all the students for last year received at least tuition waivers for the second semester. I think it's strange they don't mention this fact publicly. Perhaps they don't want to give students a false sense of security.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Adamah

[Pauli]

There are many outstanding robotics programs. Why not apply to one of those other strong programs with higher acceptance rates? Plus, even if you had gotten accepted in CMU for CS, that doesn't guarantee that you would be accepted in their robotics research lab(s). It's better to find a strong robotics research lab that is willing to accept you.

[psycho_killer]

Anyone know how many people have gotten in off the waiting list for CMU's MS in CS? Have they started that yet?

[cartel]

I don't know how many people got off the wait list, but I do know the number is at least one -- I was accepted off the wait list on April 17. I have no idea what overall admissions statistics are, though.

[krok]

CMU's new MS in CS is NOT a research program. It is course-based only. Applicants to the PhD program in CS would not get bumped to this as this is NOT a PhD track MS program. Carnegie Mellon does not have an MS in CS that is research focused and leads to the PhD program. This MS is solely for those people that want to take some random classes in CS (there is no specific curriculum) and walk away with the CMU CS brand on a degree certificate. It is NOT considered to be the same quality as the PhD program. You don't even need a bachelor's in CS to apply for this program and if you are lacking in some skills you can take bridge courses (it says this on their website). On-campus this program is generally seen to be a money-maker for the CS dept. Some faculty have even expressed concerns on the quality of this particular program (and dilution of the brand). Generally speaking the more specialized programs at CMU have the reputation for which CMU is known (MS Robotics, HCI, Software Engineering, Information Networking, Security, etc). I guess it realy just depends on your goals though and what you want.

[BeginnerAmongBeginners]

In the source given for Stanford, it is stated there is a "coterminal" program where the acceptance rate is 88/91.

"Our special "coterminal" program, where undergraduates apply to extend their stay at Stanford and receive an MS degree along with their BS, accepted 88 out of 91 applicants this year."

I am just wondering if the 123 accepted applications for Stanford include accepted applications from this special "coterminal" program.

If that is the case, Stanford's masters program seems extremely difficult to get into for students outside of Stanford despite having the highest acceptance rate.

It would be great if anyone could clarify on this point.

Thanks in advance!

[ssk2]

I think the 123 accepted applications excludes those from the coterminal program

My reasoning is that I've heard they take about 200 Master's students per year - confirmed by a friend who completed his MS there.

Edited December 16, 2012 by ssk2

[fdhkjal]

I think the 123 accepted applications excludes those from the coterminal program

My reasoning is that I've heard they take about 200 Master's students per year - confirmed by a friend who completed his MS there.

http://cs.stanford.edu/masters_students seems to confirm this. 420 students in a 2 year program would mean about 200 new master's a year.

[ab2013]

What are the stats like at Cornell for CS MS?

[palmishr]

I have been waitlisted for CMU SCS MS program. They mentioned that they have put a very small number of candidates on their wait list this year. Wondering how long the queue is for fall 2013 and what my chances are. Final decision on 17Apr or before.

[ab2013]

I contacted Maryland at College Park today. It sounds like they're close to releasing results. 

[Andrewknudsen96]

For acceptance statistics, look at this folks:

 

http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-admission-statistics-for-top-schools-in-computer-science-information-science-and-electrical-engineering

[ace6904]

This one has lots of data! the link is here... http://www.albert.cm/blog/001-cs-grad.html