3

As mentioned, I have an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering but my work experience (>3 years) is in server-side software development including development of horizontally scalable and distributed services. I am interested in getting a graduate degree in Computer Science. However, most of the programs I have looked at require an undergraduate degree with computer science courses. There are a few programs that do not have this requirement and I shall be applying for.

My question is; will it be possible for me to prove my eligibility purely on the basis of my work experience and thus get admitted into a graduate program? I am fairly confident that I have (most of) the required skill-set and knowledge base and that I can catch up on the rest easily.

Improve this question
8
  • "graduate degree" - masters or PhD?
    – ff524
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 17:42
  • Upon re-reading your question, are you possibly applying to a part-time Master's program?
    – Compass
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 18:31
  • @ff524 I'm looking to get into an MS program
    – nansari
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 19:36
  • @Compass No, I intend to get into a full-time program. Although, I'd probably settle for a part-time one
    – nansari
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 19:37
  • 3
    We really need a boilerplate question "Can I get into frad school in X with an undergraduate degree in Y?" The answer is yes, you can.
    – JeffE
    Commented Dec 3, 2014 at 4:18

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
0

There are cases where you can get admitted even though you have another (closely related) degree because some programs give students a chance to study things on their own, though this usually varies between countries and universities.

Another thing that could affect your chances is the type of computer science that you want to apply for: it's probably going to be difficult to get into a theoretical computer science program (some of my colleagues at my current university have been rejected from a computer science master's program at a respected university because their undergraduate degrees contain the word "engineering"), but it might be easier to get into some more applied field.

The best thing would be to contact someone at your target universities; they are usually able to tell you if you have a chance to be admitted.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    That sounds like reasonable advice, thanks! I'd upvote your response but I do not have any reputation points at the moment so I'll mark it as the answer.
    – nansari
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 19:43
  • 2
    it's probably going to be difficult to get into a theoretical computer science program — [citation needed] This depends on your interests and experience, not so much on what degree you have.
    – JeffE
    Commented Dec 3, 2014 at 4:20

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .