Computer Science Masters

[repatriate]

My loving and dear spouse has moved across the country with me so that I may work on my PhD while he works from home at his job as a programmer for a contractor. He and his employer would like him to a masters degree in CS (more money for both of them) and he has come to me for advice. Now, I, dear GradCafe, have come to you.

My darling spouse has a 2.7 undergrad GPA and even withdrew from undergrad in the middle of a semester and took a year off. Before withdrawing, he was a CS major, but during his time off, the department (a top 15 CS school) switched from C++ to Java and were going to make him retake the entire intro series in Java. It was quicker to finish a degree in math, so that's what he did, and he earned a 3.1 for his final 60 credits. He didn't form any relationships with his professors, so LORs from school are not likely.

Since graduating, he has worked for 3 years at this contractor (where he was an intern during undergrad). He gets good performance reviews and is well-liked by the clients he has worked for. He would likely get very strong professional LORs. I think he could get an awesome GRE score; his SAT scores were very good, he has a great vocab, and he could knock out any of the problems in the math section.

My school has a Top 5 CS department that offers MS and MCS degrees, and it would just be perfect in my mind if he could get his degree there, but he doubts that he has any kind of chance of getting into such a program with his undergrad performance.

I have no idea what CS grad schools are interested in. I think, realistically, we are looking for accredited, online, part-time master's programs, since we will not be moving again until I am finished my program. Via Googling, we've found some such programs, but I have no idea how to evaluate the quality of these programs or to advise him about which ones to consider as appropriate for his background and goals. Any advice on these points (i.e., what makes a good CS master's degree or what schools might be good options) would be greatly appreciated!

[fangsout]

My loving and dear spouse has moved across the country with me so that I may work on my PhD while he works from home at his job as a programmer for a contractor. He and his employer would like him to a masters degree in CS (more money for both of them) and he has come to me for advice. Now, I, dear GradCafe, have come to you.

My darling spouse has a 2.7 undergrad GPA and even withdrew from undergrad in the middle of a semester and took a year off. Before withdrawing, he was a CS major, but during his time off, the department (a top 15 CS school) switched from C++ to Java and were going to make him retake the entire intro series in Java. It was quicker to finish a degree in math, so that's what he did, and he earned a 3.1 for his final 60 credits. He didn't form any relationships with his professors, so LORs from school are not likely.

Since graduating, he has worked for 3 years at this contractor (where he was an intern during undergrad). He gets good performance reviews and is well-liked by the clients he has worked for. He would likely get very strong professional LORs. I think he could get an awesome GRE score; his SAT scores were very good, he has a great vocab, and he could knock out any of the problems in the math section.

My school has a Top 5 CS department that offers MS and MCS degrees, and it would just be perfect in my mind if he could get his degree there, but he doubts that he has any kind of chance of getting into such a program with his undergrad performance.

I have no idea what CS grad schools are interested in. I think, realistically, we are looking for accredited, online, part-time master's programs, since we will not be moving again until I am finished my program. Via Googling, we've found some such programs, but I have no idea how to evaluate the quality of these programs or to advise him about which ones to consider as appropriate for his background and goals. Any advice on these points (i.e., what makes a good CS master's degree or what schools might be good options) would be greatly appreciated!

If his employer is willing to pay, then I would start by taking some classes at the school as a non-degree seeking student while he figures out where he would most likely get in. After getting to know his professors, perhaps he would be admitted to a coursework only program on a probationary basis... I had a 2.9 undergrad gpa with a 3.7 in CS and I was accepted to large public schools in the southeast like Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, Clemson, etc. None of Those Schools are top-50, but I've been very successful with internships(HP, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Intel) "despite" going to Tennessee. This may be too much info, but I just wanted to illustrate the point that if you're getting your MSCS for industry, work performance matters much more than the ranking of the school name on your degree. I would look for internet Master's programs at legitimate universities if there is not a local school he can get into. By "legitimate", I mean schools with physical campuses that are "heard of" in the US.

[repatriate]

Thanks so much, fangsout! I had suggested taking classes as non-degree student (it's what I did, too), but his employer won't pay for non-degree classes. We could afford to foot the bill for a couple of classes, but it seems like my school is in general unfriendly towards non-degree students, and my spouse is so down on his chances he is reluctant to even inquire about it.

I like the idea of his attending here not because of the ranking (ok, a little for the ranking) but mostly because, since he works from home, he could attend daytime in-person classes here, which would give all the benefits of a physical learning community and a social environment. Working from home isn't the best way to meet people, and my friends and I bore him with psych-speak. We're not in a major city, so there aren't tons of schools around to pick from, unfortunately.

So far, the distance programs we've identified are Drexel, Illinois Institute of Technology, and University of Illinois-Springfield.

[emmm]

Johns Hopkins might be another school to look at: http://catalog.ep.jh...38&returnto=482

Specifically (near the bottom of the page):

Online Options

Students may complete the Master of Science in Computer Science online, and all students may take advantage of online offerings. While not all courses are available online, a complete program is offered and additional online courses are being supported each year. Interested students should review the information at http://www.ep.jhu.edu/online-degrees or consult an academic adviser.

Since it is part of a program designed for working professionals, the admissions criteria are not as demanding as for a regular, on-campus, full-time program.

Edited January 14, 2011 by emmm

[starmaker]

I would be careful about any program-for-working-professionals type program that is separate from the normal program and has different admissions standards. Those programs are usually not as prestigious as the normal ones at the same school, and are sometimes stigmatized. I've had to explain to interviewers and such, while job-hunting, that no, I'm a part-time, working-professional student, but my MS program is the same one that the full-time students do and not a night-school deal.

For online programs, you might want to look at Columbia University. They're ranked well, and their online students take the same classes and get the same degree as their resident students. http://www.cvn.columbia.edu/index.php

Unfortunately, MS admissions committees sometimes care more about GPA than PhD admissions committees do. On the plus side, they will care a lot about his industry experience, and at some well-ranked universities the admissions standards for the MS are lower (because MS students tend to bring their own money rather than being supported by the school).

[emmm]

I would agree with your comments, starmaker, but it sounded as if the working professional route might work in this case, as it is a degree the employer is interested in him having, and his stats seemed likely to make admission to a regular program somewhat difficult, given how competitive most of those programs seem to be. So, it's always a case of finding what works best for your situation. Another downside of the JHU option is that each course seems REALLY expensive (But maybe that's the going rate everywhere? I haven't compared prices at all.)

[repatriate]

Thanks, emmmm and starmaker! My spouse and I had a serious conversation yesterday based on your comments about the type of program that is appropriate for him, and we've agreed that he should apply to a range of programs, some more academic and some more industry-oriented, since I think that he might find the more academic programs more stimulating and rewarding (and who knows, find inspiration for even further study). JHU and Columbia have both made our list, now. (As far as expense, we've seen everything from $300/credit to $1,200/credit. Obviously, that will be a factor, but I think that is something we consider at the end, in eliminating programs from our list.)

His GPA is still well below the listed cutoffs from many of the schools (which are around 3.2). I am hoping that once he takes the GRE, he can write inquiries to some schools, asking if his application would be reviewed despite not meeting the stated cutoff. /sigh

I am glad to hear that his industry experience will count.