Funding opportunities for masters in CS

Colleges & Universities University of South Florida
1

My profile
1)3.86/4.00 (in CS in undergrad) with a minor in Physics 2)Relevant TA experience in undergrad( worked as a TA for departments of CS and department of Physical Sciences) 3)Publications - 0; however, I have research interest in ML/AI and would like to do a master’s in CS . 4)Internship - Academic Internship at a reputed software company . 5) Personal and academic projects in my GitHub. 6) GRE score : 320

How would my profile look for a fully funded master’s at USF for a 75%-fully funded masters?

Are publications necessary for here to apply to be considered for a funded master’s? Should I apply now or make some publications and then apply after 1/ 2 years .

Please kindly reply

2

I think that your profile looks quite good for a master’s degree.

For a master’s degree at least in my experience publications are not necessary.

I do not think that any of us can be sure whether or not you will get accepted, nor whether or not you will be funded. In most cases for graduate programs there probably is no such thing as a true safety. I am actually not familiar with funded master’s degrees in the US. I also am not sure which USF you are referring to (South Florida or San Francisco). Strictly speaking I could probably figure this out by searching to see which is better and has funding for your intended major. We also do not know where you got your bachelor’s degree (which admittedly does not matter much at all) nor how your GRE breaks down between math versus English.

However, to me you look like a competitive applicant for a master’s degree. An undergraduate GPA of 3.86 is quite good (noting that for a bachelor’s degree you typically need to take classes outside of your core strength, and a few B’s somewhere along the way is inevitable for nearly all of us). Having a background in CS and Physics to me looks good, assuming that there is a reasonable amount of mathematics included in this (which should be needed for either CS or Physics). I also think that AI and machine learning is a reasonable and interesting area in which to get a master’s degree and is an area where having a master’s degree is likely to be helpful.

I might add: Having some work experience that is relevant to your preferred major can be helpful, but is not completely needed particularly since it sounds like you already have relevant internship experience. For many of us, getting a job or continuing to work at a job, and hopefully a relevant job, is the “safety” when we are applying to graduate programs.

If this were me, assuming that you are sure you want to do this, I would apply on the first available application period. To me it looks like you are doing very well.

Best wishes.

3

Thank you so much for your reply . I will be applying to University of South Florida as an international student for masters. I have recently completed all my credits from my university but I did not have my convocation ceremony yet, and I am thinking of doing some relevant research work at my university under a known professor, as there are many funding opportunities at my university for researches and making at least publications before I apply as it can potentially increase funding opportunities.

4

Funded Masters are much less common than PhDs. Be sure you’re looking at research focused masters that require a thesis. Especially in CS, a lot of masters are professional/classroom focused and do not include funding. I am not familiar with USF specifically so can’t chance you. As funded masters are essentially always research focused, having a publication would certainly help, but what is essential is strong relevant research that the institution is looking for - that is what they’ll pay for.

5

That’s what I am looking for - a thesis/research-based Master’s which USF does have but the problem is that will a high CGPA of 3.86, where I got several academic honours and awards, combined with the Magna Cum Laude honour that I will receive at my graduation, along with my undergrad TA roles at my university and a GRE score of 320 + make a good candidate for funded masters through receiving Graduate Teaching Assisstantship and Graduate Research Assisstantship provided that I have strong interest in AI/ML based research.

6

I have two children in CS.

They have both been offered funding by their employers to continue their education through their companies.

Neither is taking advantage of that funding because they like what they’re doing and the rate of what they’re learning, on the job, is so much faster and more advanced than what they could be doing at a university with a masters.

My daughter started a program but then realized that her year and a half of additional education would not make much of a difference with progression and industry standards and needs. She has speedily moved up the ranks with her employers.

She and my son have both indicated that the programs seem to be more opportunistic for self funded international candidates who hope to secure employment positions in the US.

Currently, in this industry, there has been a downturn in availability for work positions. Some of the laid off workers are going to be applying for MS degrees to maintain their skills. I imagine it’s going to be very competitive for funding.

You should apply but you need to know that there are no guarantees that you’ll be funded.

Typically, masters degrees aren’t funded for some majors.
If it’s a state-funded university, the funding comes from state taxpayers. Because of that, the universities have to stretch and budget their dollars and cover their state residents first.

So if you are a state resident, you may be eligible for a number of state programs and scholarships.

If you’re not a resident then you need to find out if you would be eligible for any funding as an international candidate.

My understanding would be that it is going to be very difficult to fund a nonresident, who applying to a state University for funding.

1 Like
7

@aunt_bea wrote everything I was going to write. PhD’s tend to be funded and sometimes students can get a master’s as pert of a PHD program.

Why are you pursuing a master’s? My son did CS at a good school undergrad and has been working at jobs he loves for 18 years now. He never did grad work and I don’t think any of the people he works with did either.

The field is changing as you know. I am wondering if you are well aware of this and want to retool your education in CS with skills in AI given the current situation.

8

I am interested in research and academia/ teaching so I want to pursue a masters and gather more experience in research work so I can apply for a PhD later . I am not really interested in coporate jobs and I did the internship as part of my academic internship .

9

The problem is that if you’re in academia, you have to intimately know what the corporate world is doing out in the business world and how that transfers to corporate dollars. These are businesses. They expect to be compensated and understood by academics.

They expect future employees to have the benefit of professors who have worked in the industry. Internships are not the same.

You don’t get to “stay and play” as a Ph.D. Limiting your work to research. That’s for professors who have a history of teaching for 25+ years and have embedded grants.

The departments on university campuses have very finite budgets for each department.

The university tells you what to teach and when. They tell you if your proposal for new equipment will be funded.

You will be expected to submit various grant proposals. And most of the time, you need to do this to get any new equipment in your lab while teaching, writing and submitting constantly with low pay. Grant Requests are often rejected.

You have to teach classes based on, not only the subject matter but also your working experiences and how to apply what has been learned in the classroom to the real world employers. Students and staff expect you to have links/ resources to corporate employers.

My daughter can immediately refer a junior executive to a work colleague. Because of her history of professional experiences, working alongside colleagues, she has a strong network of contacts.

Son is developing his network. He has already established himself in a specific area of CS.

While being in a vacuum, on a campus, and never really “working” in this industry, how could you legitimately use your limited work experience resources to teach others about this industry?

If you have no “real world” long term work experiences, then you can’t really expect to be effective in teaching students what they will be asked to do in their CS work environments.

Both my daughter and son have a LOT of business meetings. They discuss: clients, budget ramifications of contracts, labor hour usages, and the cogs of getting a project done and submitted for review.

Yes, they have had internships, but these are limited by time and security issues. Future employers expect their employees to have significant educational experiences and be able to adapt to work environments based on the conditions presented by their corporate clients.

If you’re an international student, you’re not eligible for security clearance. How will you explain to future students, without real world knowledge nor experience, and no concept of what it’s like to meet the industry security requirements?

1 Like
10

Again, pay attention to @aunt!bea. I will echo her post by saying all of my son’s CS professors had worked in the industry.

If you want funding and wnat a doctorate, work first, then apply to a doctorate and get your master’s along the way. Funding is more likely that way. You could also consider a master’s somewhere other than the US.

But much better to work and get some experience under your belt.

Consider also what is going on with higher education. Tenure track jobs are being replaced with adjuncts. There is a demographic decline and schools and programs are closing or being cut. There are a lot of PhD’s out there who are well qualified, who cannot find a tenure trach job. Adjuncts have no benefits like health insurance. Let’s hope that science funding comes back.

I am wondering (again) if you are a CS grad who is facing the AI impact on hiring CS grads and are thinking that getting a master’s in machine learning/AI might somehow make the path you have taken worthwhile.

1 Like
11

Your profile looks great, but if the school doesn’t have the funds for a funded masters degree, it can’t be funded. You can ask them if they have any funds, and how many students they can fund.

And the funding might only be tuition, or part tuition and not . ‘Fully funded’ rarely means full COA. My daughter’s was considered fully funded but was only tuition. She still has to work at Starbucks to pay for rent and food. And do side gigs. Plus teach her TA classes.

FYI, my daughter got her funding letter with her acceptance. Not in CS but history.

I also recommend trying for a job and seeing if that job will pay for the masters or even just courses. It would take longer but I, too, think the work experience might be better than just the course work. My SIL did his masters online while working and had a new job that he started about 6 weeks before he graduated. That worked out really well for him salary wise.

1 Like
12

Just to add a quick note that a “funded” program with teaching assistant positions often means free tuition and health insurance, and a stipend that is actually not enough to pay for rent and food. There have been grad student strikes in the US over the level of funding offered, especially when grad students may do the bulk of teaching work.