xfer123

I'm in a rather interesting situation. I am a Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) major minoring in Computer Science at UC Berkeley (unfortunately go into CS too late and can't double major because of unit restrictions). I have loads of great research experience in MCB and can get great letters of recommendation on my work ethics, productivity, ability to learn etc.

My question is, what do you think my chances are of getting into a masters program for CS? After completing the minor I would have completed the core lower division courses and three upper division courses (as opposed to the major which has 2 more lower divs and 3 more upper divs). I'm hoping to get a job in the CS field this summer to boost the experience portion of my possible grad school application. I know that research is important in a grad school application but seeing as I got into CS late, I haven't had much time to gain experience since I have to take the courses to learn first (I'm starting and completing my minor within a 1.5 year time frame). Do you think my experience in MCB and letters of recommendation from those PIs would help me in my application still? Or would it just look unrelated and hurt my application for putting irrelevant information? Research is still research as papers are also published in the MCB world as they are in the CS world. I'm hoping this demonstrates my ability to do research in general since I haven't had time to gather as much experience in the CS field.

I may just be stretching things here though. What do you think my real shot is at getting into a CS masters program with a minor in CS from Berkeley? Name any range of school ranking, I'm just curious before I decide to go balls to the wall on this.

vader1990

Dear OP,

You definitely have a chance of getting accepted! Most CS MS programs will want to make sure you know all the basic undergrad level CS stuff; which you do because you took all the relevant classes under the minor.

A big thing is research, but it's more important for PhD than it is for a non-thesis based MS. In fact, granted you have proven yourself in MCB research, you should be ok.

Now, a big factor is GPA and GRE. UC Berkeley helps, but only if GPA/GRE are good.

One idea can be to try to get into "computational biology" or something like that. It's a prefect blend of MCB and CS and may help you. But only if you're interested in that kind of thing. There are often CS Profs that look to recruit students for Comp Bio and can help funding wise (if that's an issue).

Depending on your grades, scores, letters and interests, you can try applying to UC Berkeley and Stanford. Both have excellent name recognition and can help open a lot of doors for you. There's always MIT, CMU, etc. but honestly all of this is based on your grades, etc.

Best wishes,
-DV

xfer123

Thanks for your reply. Yea I've thought about computational biology but it doesn't really interest me too much. I was going to use it as maybe a last resort as sort of a stepping stone to crossover from the MCB world into the CS world.

I actually didn't know there were thesis based and non thesis based MS programs. Are the non thesis based ones easier to get into? Do they still require doing research while in the program? I ask because I'm wondering if this summer I should go for a CS internship of some sort or if I should reschedule my course plans to add in linear algebra and an extra upper division CS course that I would not take if I decide to try and get an internship this summer.

vader1990

Dear xfer123,

The answer of thesis-based vs. non-thesis-based varies a lot from one school to the next. Generally speaking, most programs require you to take 10 classes, with the option of replacing two of those classes for a master's thesis. SOME programs REQUIRE a thesis. The thesis-based option/requirement is desirable for people that a) want to go on to PhD, b) get some research job, or c) are just better at hands-on/research than lecture-nased coursework.

The one big benefit for *many* (read: not all) thesis-based programs is that you need to find a lab (and hence a thesis advisor) and they will often pay your tuition or pay you as a research assistant (RA) and/or teaching assistant (TA). This can make a MS (often) free or very cheap.

Obviously getting into a thesis-based program (and hence a prof that hires you) requires that you have a lot of research under your belt that is a) looked upon favorably by the committee, b) is relevant enough to get you accepted, and c) something a PI will think is good enough to offer you a RA/TA. For non-thesis programs, if your GPA is very high, and you have some senior-design projects, or internships, then you should get in. Of course, for the top program, you probably need to have research anyway.

As far as your question in concerned: Thesis or not, an internships is much much better than taking those two classes. Practical work experience is valued above classes (generally) by both kinds of MS programs, b/c ultimately its a good test of what you can and cannot do. It will help you much more than classes can (especially if your GPA is already high enough).

Best wishes,
-DV

Thomas_

vader1990 is right.

Programs do not necessarily look for published research (though that'd be great), but more for "research potential". If you can demonstrate that you have the ability to produce good research that'll be looked favorably upon, and you experience from MCB will carry over to CS.

If you're planning to get into a top-tier program then work experience will also be looked favorably upon. You may want to take a year off after your graduation and work full time before applying to grad school. Internships don't carry as much weight as full time positions.

In general (read: this is an overgeneralization) non-research-oriented Master's are easier to get into and more often require you to pay yourself. Research-oriented programs often have the goal of transitioning into a PhD program and pay for you. With your research experience I think you have a shot at both, but you may want to add more work experience.

Hope that helps.

xfer123

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I would love to take a year off to work, but I was just worried that my job choices may be very slim due to only having a minor in the field. Do you think that will hinder me from getting interviews? Especially since I don't have any experience yet either.