Second Bachelor's in CS or Master's in CS

[homtanks]

Hello everyone!

I graduated with a Biology degree from UCLA but I want to go back to school to learn CS. What would be wiser?: Applying for a second Bachelor's in CS or just going straight for a Master's program? I've taken Calculus and Statistics during undergrad (which I got As in) and some CS courses in high school (Comp Sci A and AB which I earned a 5 and 4 in respectively). I've heard that there isn't much point in getting another BS, but I'm also worried that graduate programs will not look favorably on the lack of prerequisites (ie college level CS class, higher math, etc.). If I do get accepted to a master's program I am prepared to take a bunch of those prerequisites, however. Overall, I do have a genuine interest in the subject and I'm not really aiming at top CS schools (or even upper tier) though it would be an unexpected surprise if I did get accepted. Most likely I'd apply to the Calstates or the "lower tier" UC schools unless I really stood a chance for some better schools.

My stats:

3.17 Overall GPA

3.08 Major GPA (I switched majors after getting manhandled by Neuroscience, my bio GPA is much higher)

GRE: 163V 165Q 4.5W

Work: Calteach Internship, part time tutoring

Thanks for any input!

[vertices]

It depends. What do you want to do after you learn CS? (e.g. software engineer in industry, college instructor, research etc) Is there a particular branch of CS you want to study? Would you be interested in computational biology/bioinformatics given your bio background?

Do you need funding? Masters programs tend not to be funded. Sometimes second Bachelor's cost the same as Master's programs anyway, but there may be more scholarship opportunities available to them as well as fellowships if you decide to later apply for a PhD. Given California's budget problems over the last several years, some schools might not be accepting second Bachelor's -- but this might make it easier to get into their Master's program. You might want to contact the offices of the programs you are interested and see if you can talk to an advisor there and figure out what is best for your goals.

[Shostakovich]

Long time ago I thought about doing this and did some research, even went in to discuss this with a counselor at my institution. What I concluded is that it would be better to go for a masters since the programs are very catering to your background, i.e. most of them would give you something like a year to catch up with masters level CS work. True masters programs are generally not funded, but the same is true for second bachelors where you can only take out limited loans and can't receive grants. Plus, I would think having a masters in CS is a better qualification than having a bachelors, whether you are applying for jobs or applying to PhD programs.

Good luck!

[victor.s.andrei]

(I switched majors after getting manhandled by Neuroscience, my bio GPA is much higher)

Manhandled, LOL.

[victor.s.andrei]

True masters programs are generally not funded, but the same is true for second bachelors where you can only take out limited loans and can't receive grants. Plus, I would think having a masters in CS is a better qualification than having a bachelors, whether you are applying for jobs or applying to PhD programs.

You are correct: a master's degree is better to have than a second bachelor's degree.

As for funding, once you find a good employer with sufficient tuition assistance, you're set.