Can You Get a Masters in Computer Science Without a Bachelor
Information science is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.South.: Employment is expected to grow 16 percent from 2022 to 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—faster than the average of all other fields in the land.
The need for qualified computer science professionals is increasing speedily. Past 2020, an estimated ane million computer programming related jobs are projected to become unfilled , as the number of chore openings continues to exceed qualified applicants.
Now, more than ever, there is a swell opportunity for individuals from varied backgrounds to advance in computer scientific discipline. Given the industry's explosive growth and pervasiveness across sectors, people with diverse educational and professional backgrounds are seeking advanced degrees in computer science in order to meet the demand.
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Whether y'all have a technical or non-technical background, here's what y'all need to know.
"Students may have taken one informatics class equally an undergraduate and their interest was piqued," says Ben Hescott , education professor and acquaintance dean of students for Northeastern University's Khoury College of Calculator Sciences.
"We also have professionals who may have majored in something unrelated, like English or mathematics, who are looking for a career alter. At that place are others who have found that a computer science degree is useful or necessary to grow professionally."
Not having a background in information science shouldn't deter y'all from pursuing a master's degree in the field, Hescott says. Here are four steps y'all can take to help yous succeed.
iv Steps to Earning a Master's in Informatics for Non-CS Majors
one. Determine how a master's in reckoner science aligns with your career aspirations.
People interested in Northeastern's Align Master of Science in Computer science (MS in CS) program come from a diversity of backgrounds, according to Hescott. 1 worked in media and illustration, for instance, but was interested in pursuing a principal's caste to "see nether the hood" of the programs he uses and larn how to lawmaking—a skill he wanted to integrate into his work, Hescott says.
Another student studied English equally an undergraduate. She was ever interested in information science, but didn't run across herself pursuing a career in technology at the time.
Fortunately, the Align plan is specifically designed for students similar these, offering a direct path to a master of science degree for individuals who have no prior programming feel.
Hescott has also spoken with potential students who have degrees in mathematics and are working every bit a statistician or in finance. They utilise algorithms to predict behaviors and could meet how a degree in calculator science would heighten their everyday piece of work.
"More than and more than people are finding that informatics is pervasive in their everyday lives and they're feeling a connection to it either personally or in their daily piece of work," Hescott says.
Whether you are pursuing a chief's in computer science to change careers, or you program to use the caste to go more marketable in your current career, understanding your stop-goal is an important first step in deciding which programme you choose.
two. Choose the right plan.
Enrolling in graduate school—whether it's full- or office-time—is a large commitment, Hescott says. Some students decide to quit their job to pursue a master'due south in computer science full-fourth dimension, while others enroll as a function-time student .
"A grad programme is challenging and tin can be done part-time, simply more than 50 percent of students at Northeastern decide to quit their job and get full-time," Hescott says. "You demand to ask yourself where you are with the commitment and detect a program that supports that. Hither at Northeastern, it'south easy to put a toe in the water because you tin can try it function-time before you brand a full commitment."
Finding a programme that works with your schedule and abilities is critical. Northeastern's Align program, for example, is designed for not-majors.
"At that place's a difference when you're sitting in an intro to programming class with adults instead of the general undergrad population with students of differing abilities," Hescott says. "Being in a classroom that'due south designed for adults who generally have no experience in estimator science makes for a smoother transition."
Additionally, seek out a plan that aligns with your cease-goal. For many pursuing a graduate degree, that ways a new job. Wait for programs with a stiff career services office that will aid you with your search.
Northeastern's co-op plan integrates academics with a semester of full-time employment in positions related to your bailiwick. This opportunity provides easily-on, real-globe paid experience, which is especially central for students who don't have prior work experience in computer science.
"This is a huge differentiator for all our students," Hescott adds.
3. Utilise.
Once you've found a plan that suits your needs and goals, it's time to apply. Pay special attention to the essay, Hescott says, which sets you apart from other applicants.
"When you're a returning pupil and haven't been in the college surroundings, the personal essay is actually important," he says. "I want to see your enthusiasm and dedication to the program."
In your essay, address why you lot want to be a part of the program and why yous want to pursue a degree in information science; tell a compelling story, Hescott advises. If you don't take experience in computer science, use this equally an opportunity to explain why you're interested in earning the caste.
"It could be, 'I'm an English major, but I'chiliad interested in informatics because I discover solving problems interesting,'" Hescott says. "Then explicate why. That's a actually compelling story you can tell."
Another fundamental to the application process is your undergraduate transcript. Admissions wants to see that you're a serious student, which your transcript can betoken, regardless of whether y'all've studied computer science in the past.
"If you looked at my transcript from college, you'd come across someone who struggled to adapt to higher," Hescott says. "I came from a minor town and went to a large schoolhouse; I wasn't prepared for that. But you'd run into improvement in my transcript from freshman year to senior year, and that's important."
Hescott says yous shouldn't necessarily be worried almost a bad grade or two. If y'all are, however, expect for other stories to tell in your personal essay. This might include an instance of something you did in your job—a particularly difficult problem yous persevered through and helped solve.
"If you took a class here and at that place part-fourth dimension after graduating, that would evidence that you're an independent learner, a serious student, and someone who'due south on the move," Hescott adds. "Don't assume that one bad grade will indicate that you aren't serious or dedicated."
Messages of recommendation are as as important to shed lite on you as a educatee and professional person. Every bit a returning student, information technology's common for many to exist from your employers, just aim to receive at to the lowest degree one from a former faculty member who tin can attest to your dedication and drive in the classroom.
4. Make information technology happen.
Once y'all've been accepted into a program, information technology'southward time to put in the piece of work. The first footstep in your graduate school journeying is to mentally ready yourself for what it takes to achieve a graduate degree in informatics, Hescott says.
"I of the biggest wakeup calls for new grad students is finding the time to practise homework," he adds. For role-fourth dimension students, especially, this can exist challenging: You lot're keeping a full-fourth dimension task and demand to discover time for homework and studying, plus any other personal obligations you already take.
Part-time students in the calculator science plan can expect around ten hours of homework per week, while full-fourth dimension students can expect around double that, Hescott says. Non all of those hours are spent on assignments, however; built into that is fourth dimension for reflection.
"This may be at the gym or on the train, for instance—time to think about what's actually happening in form, and how it informs you and your future career," Hescott says. "That'due south the skilful thing most the computer science program: It'due south very hands-on, very skills-based. When you're taking a database class, you lot're really building databases."
While fourth dimension management is an essential skill for success, information technology's important not to get lost in the coursework, Hescott says. Be open to a wide range of core classes and opportunities for specialization . Yous might find that y'all're actually interested in machine learning and artificial intelligence, when those areas originally might non have been on your radar.
"In that location's a lot of unlike areas within information science and, every bit you're exposed to them, you should be open to them as areas to specialize in," he says.
Finally, understand that this journeying is a marathon and non a sprint: Be careful not to accept too much on within or exterior the classroom to avoid burnout. "Take this class-by-class, day-past-day," Hescott advises.
Charting Your Course to a Career in Figurer Science
The information science field is exciting, always changing, and rife with opportunity. Achieving a master's caste in calculator science is an important step for students with no background in the field to capitalize on all information technology has to offer.
"One of the great things I'm seeing with reckoner scientific discipline and engineering science being so pervasive now is people from all these different disciplines returning to higher," Hescott says. "When you take these different backgrounds and add them to computer science, you go something that's greater than the sum of its parts."
To acquire more about how an Align main'southward in informatics from Northeastern tin aid you interruption into the field, download our free guide beneath.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2017. It has since been updated for accurateness.
Source: https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/how-to-get-masters-in-computer-science-without-cs-background/
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