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So I have a horrible GPA of 3.33/4 in Masters in Computer Science. I also have a Bachelors's degree in Computer Science as well. I was 21 years old when I flew into America to get a Masters's Degree. Back then I had no idea what Masters's is or what Grad school is. I did it to get a high paying job and only because everyone else around me was doing it too. Back then my only concern was to maintain a 3.00 GPA so my visa wouldn't be canceled and somehow make enough money working a minimum wage job to pay my house rent. For all practical intents and purposes, I did not take my master's degree seriously.

Now. I am 29 years old and I want to do a Masters in Robotics. I work as a software engineer. My employer will most likely pay for the second master's. I want to become a Robotics engineer or follow up the masters with a Ph.D. in Robotics. Do I need to disclose that I already have a master's degree? I am simply not proud of my GPA and I don't feel it is even relevant to the application process. In most of the place, a Masters in Robotics is offered by the Mechanical engineering department not the computer science department.

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    What will you say if they ask you what you were doing that whole time? Best not to obfuscate the truth. Besides, even if you didn't enjoy it, it probably gave you some valuable skills anyway. At the very least you can say something like "doing a Master's in CS helped me to realise my true interest is in robotics".
    – astronat supports the strike
    Commented Jan 1, 2021 at 9:54
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    Honestly, nobody cares. 3.3 isn't that bad and matters even less if you're not asking for funding.
    – FourierFlux
    Commented Feb 19, 2021 at 23:38

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Yes, you should reveal that you already hold an MS in CS. Don't be overly concerned about the GPA, but be prepared to explain your priorities at the time that had something to do with your grades. Hiding things is generally bad practice and most such things can be checked and any time gaps will certainly be questioned.

But your overall application, including letters of reference, has to be sufficient to allow someone to predict that you will be a success.

The time gap is probably in your favor here as people understand that others can change. Make sure that your statement of purpose is forward looking and points to success and clear goals.

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  • I mean, I have two questions I want to ask. Firstly. I have a Oracle certified Java programmer 6 and I have IBM DB2 fundamentals certificate. The thing is, I never mention these anywhere in the first master's application. How is an OCJP different from a MS in CS? I am not required to have an OCJP to apply for an MS CS program and yet I did have an OCJP, I made the decision to not mention it in my application, cause I felt it was not relavant.
    – Aditya
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 2:38
  • Secondly, who will ask me about the time gap? When I was applying to MS CS programs, I already had two years gap in my CV. One year between Highschool and College. Another year between College and the master's program. Rutgers University where I got my MS in CS from, never asked me about those gaps nor did any of the professors at Rutgers.
    – Aditya
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 2:41
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    I am not trying to be disrespectful, but I am just genuinely curious. Having a Bachelors's degree is a mandatory requirement to apply to a master's program, but having a master's already is not a requirement to be able to apply to a master's. Why am I required to divulge this information about this degree I got that I neither value nor is required to be able to apply to the degree that I am actually interested in? My GPA in MS CS is private personal information, just like my salary, my visa status, or the count of the times I flunked my driving test. I shouldn't have to disclose this right?
    – Aditya
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 2:47

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