Master of Science Program
Computer Science
The Master of Science (MS) program is intended for students planning to pursue a professional career directly after finishing the MS program, rather than continuing into a PhD program. The MS program is also suitable for students interested in undertaking a research project but who are not sure yet whether they want to make the multi-year commitment to a PhD program.
The purpose of the program is to expand the student’s depth of knowledge substantially beyond the BA/BS in Computer Science or related field. The department offers a one-year MS degree and a two-year MS degree.
Please read the following information carefully. For questions not answered below or by the FAQ at the end, contact Prof. Holly Rushmeier.
One Year MS Degree
The one-year program is the most common terminal MS degree in Yale Computer Science. In the one-year Master of Science (MS) program, a student must pass eight courses from an approved list of courses. A student in the one-year MS program on a visa must take a full course load of four courses per semester that count towards the MS requirements. A student who does not require a visa may study part time and complete the degree over a period of up to four years. CPSC692, a one-term independent project course, may also count towards the eight-course requirement provided that the M.S. adviser approves and a faculty member is willing to supervise the project applying the same standards as for a PhD student project. The faculty members are under no obligation to supervise independent projects for MS students.
There is no commitment to provide financial assistance to students in the one-year MS program. Occasionally there are teaching fellow positions available for one-year MS students. For students studying full time, because of the time commitment required for teaching, such positions are reserved for students in their second term who have established a strong academic record at Yale. Standard 10-hour teaching fellow (TF) positions are paid a small stipend, but do not cover the cost of tuition.
Two-Year MS Degree
In the two-year MS program, a student must pass six courses from an approved list of courses, serve as a 20 hour per week Teaching Fellow for all four terms, and complete a research thesis. Typically, a very small number of students will be accepted into the two-year program. While there is no process to automatically transfer into the PhD program, students who successfully complete the two-year program with thesis will be eligible for consideration for admission with acceleration to the Computer Science Department doctoral program.
Year One
In the first year of the two-year program the student must take two courses from the list of approved courses each term. The student must also serve as a 20 hour per week Teaching Fellow each term. The combination of the two courses and the teaching requirement is defined as full time study in the two-year program. In the first year the student should also identify an adviser for their second-year thesis project.
Year Two
In the second year of the two-year program the student must take one course from the list of approved courses each term. The student must continue to serve as a 20 hour per week TF each term. The student must a complete a research thesis. If the student fails to be accepted by a thesis adviser by the beginning of the second year they may complete the MS degree by taking two approved courses in each term instead of one.
Teaching Requirement
English Language Proficiency is required to serve as a Teaching Fellow. Students are required to document proficiency in their application materials in order to be accepted into the two-year program. Methods to document proficiency are given in English Language Proficiency Pathways.
Applications
Students should apply to the MS program through the Yale Graduate School. Students in the MS program may enter the Yale PhD program. However, students who wish to continue for a doctoral degree after completing the MS must apply separately for the PhD program, using the standard forms and procedures required for applicants from outside of Yale. The MS is not a prerequisite for the PhD program, and students may apply to the PhD program directly after finishing their undergraduate degree.
Answers to many common questions are given in this FAQ. If you have additional questions about the MS program that are not already answered in the FAQ, contact Prof. Holly Rushmeier.
FAQs About the MS Program
The details are given at provided here.
There are no absolute cut-offs. Accepted students generally score in the 90th percentile on the GREs. If TOEFL is required we generally look for total scores well above 100.
Everything is considered. As well as scores and GPA, strong recommendation letters from people who know the applicant and the personal statement describing the applicants motivation are important. This is not a research degree, so research experience is not required.
Costs can be found here.
There is not any financial aid for MS students in the one-year program. There is a tuition fellowship and small stipend for students in the more selective two-year program.
The program takes two terms, with 4 courses each term.
Students who are on a visa must take 4 courses that count towards the degree each term to be considered full time. Students on visa who complete the 8 course requirement can choose to stay for a third term to take additional courses. However, note that CPT cannot be used between the second and third terms.
Students who do not require a visa can study part time, with their tuition pro-rated (i.e. one course is 1/4 the full tuition.)
The number of applications varies year to year. Recently on the order of 500 applications have been received each year. The acceptance rate also varies, but has been at about 15%.
Most students go on to work in industry, some at large companies (i.e. Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc.) and some at small companies (including start-ups). A few choose to go on to a PhD program. We do not have statistics on the specific post-degree choices for students from the program. Employment services are offered by Yale's Office of Career Services.
You don’t need a CS degree, but you need to have taken courses beyond a basic programming course and a data structures course that builds on basic programming. In particular you need advanced algorithms and systems programming and architecture. We can only evaluate your experience from graded courses from accredited programs (i.e. not from MOOCs. )If you don’t have any formal computer science beyond programming, consider applying to a bridge program or post-bac program at another institution before applying to the MS program. Unfortunately we are currently unable to offer a bridge program at Yale.