How can I best prepare my application for a switch in Major for Master's programs?

Question

I am currently a software developer in India and have been working for 3 years. I also have a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering. I have been shortlisting universities for my Master's degree and I am going for universities that offer an MCS/MEng program or a Course/Project-based MS CS program.

Please can you guys tell me how I can best prepare my application to counteract the preference universities have towards Computer Science graduates and prepare a good application?

Here is what I have done so far:

1. 3 years of solid experience in a startup as a software developer, with multiple leadership positions held.
2. Final year project in Embedded Systems involved a lot of concepts from CS and could be accepted as a good CS Final year project as well.
3. Pet projects which showcase the skills I use in my full-time job (should I be focussing on technologies I don't use on my job? What looks better here?)
4. Azure Certifications - started with the fundamentals, planning to do more once I apply - should be visible on my website and Linkedin
5. Competitive coding - I have picked it up, will be putting more time into this once the application is complete. Links to Codeforces, CodeChef, Leetcode profiles in resume so that the committee always has the latest info.
6. Helped teach coding to students in underprivileged societies via NGO once COVID-19 hit.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I can only speak for the US, not Canada, but here it is pretty common to switch majors/fields when entering graduate school. While there may be a "preference" for those with the undergraduate knowledge that you get in a major in the same field, it isn't considered essential. But, it is easier to switch if you are entering a doctoral program, since there will be more opportunity to fill in any blanks.

And, FWIW, I don't find your undergraduate major/degree all that distinct from CS as to be a barrier.

But for your situation, I don't find any of the six items to be especially helpful to an application (US). They basically all say "I can program effectively", but programming is just the base level skill that is acquired in an undergrad CS degree. Programming, even effective programming, isn't the goal, but only a tool for exploring deeper things; especially theoretical things.

None of the six are negative, but they are just a bit "marginal". If you have the knowledge required of a CS graduate (or most of it) they would be helpful, but not so much if you have serious gaps. In particular, they don't substitute for required knowledge.

You may actually have the required additional knowledge and just don't state it here, but you need to be "up" on data structures and algorithms, operating systems, database theory (not just use) and probably a few additional things (Network theory...). Your undergrad degree certainly suggests you have some, perhaps much, of it. In that case the "preference" for a CS graduate may not apply to you.

To see what you might be missing, look at the undergraduate curriculum of a good CS program and ask which of those courses you are missing knowledge. Find a way to get any remaining knowledge. The best way is to take actual university courses that provide a transcript, not just online courses that provide less evidence of actual competence.

---

Note that in the US, a MS isn't a requirement to enter a doctoral program. If such is your ultimate goal, you might think about applying for a PhD directly.