Chances for MS programs in Statistics/Data Science/CS

First, allow me to ask… are you planning to stop at a master’s degree and not pursue a doctorate?

I ask this because there tend to be 2 different kind of M.S. programs out there… more traditional academic/research-oriented ones, and more professional development ones… when it comes to Computer Science degrees.

The more traditional M.S. programs in Computer Science tend to be more tailored in preparing someone for later doctoral study and… well… research, with a more theoretical curriculum.

On the other hand, more professional development-oriented M.S. programs in Computer Science tend to teach a more applied rather than theoretical curriculum, and are more intended to be a terminal degree.

It is sometimes the case that the traditional M.S. programs have more stringent admissions requirements than the professional development-oriented M.S. programs.

Boston University example…
As an example, B.U. offers a traditional one (http://www.bu.edu/cs/graduate/masters/) and a more professional development M.S. in Computer Science (http://www.bu.edu/met/programs/graduate/computer-science/).

In the case of the traditional one, the GRE is a requirement for admission. However, the other one has no standardized test requirement.

Johns Hopkins University example…
J.H.U. also offers similar options for a Masters in Computer Science… the traditional Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.) in Computer Science (http://www.cs.jhu.edu/graduate-studies/masters-program), and the professional development-oriented M.S. in Computer Science (http://ep.jhu.edu/graduate-degree-programs/computer-science).

Note that, similar to Boston U., Johns Hopkin’s traditional Computer Science master’s program has more stringent admissions, requiring the GRE, while the profession development-oriented program does not require the GRE.

My point is, while your GPA might make getting into some traditional M.S. programs a little rough, it is more than adequate for getting into most professional development-oriented M.S. programs.

For most employers, they won’t distinguish between an M.S. in Computer Science that was more traditional-focused and an M.S. in Computer Science that was more geared towards professional development coming from the same university. It really only becomes a factor if you are planning to pursue later doctoral study or a highly academia/research-oriented profession.

And even then, just because a particular M.S. degree is more professional focused rather than research/academia focused does not mean that earning such a master’s degree prevents you from pursuing a doctorate afterwards. It is just that the professional development-oriented master’s programs tend to be less suited for preparing you for doctoral study.