UCSB MSCS
Program Overview
The MSCS program is typically 2 years long, but can be extended up to 4 years — the I-20 issued by the school reflects this timeline. Job-hunting friendly: as the saying goes, as long as you are still in the game, there is always a chance.
Life is very comfortable. UCSB is incredibly beautiful — right by the ocean, with sunshine and sandy beaches. Whether you are here for a PhD or an MS, you will have a wonderful 5 or 2 years.
This is a minor disadvantage of the UCSB MSCS program. The campus is right on the coast, the scenery is gorgeous, and the surrounding town is very tranquil. It is hard to feel the "grind" atmosphere here — everyone goes at their own pace. Most master's students want to find jobs after graduation, but the overall LeetCode-grinding and resume-submitting atmosphere is not as strong as at CMU or NEU. People rarely discuss it — when you see classmates, you might occasionally ask how things are going, but job hunting is entirely self-driven here.
Admission Preferences & Representative Data Points
For the 22 Fall cohort, about 30 master's students were admitted, with roughly 16 Chinese students. Essentially only admits students from UC-system schools — see the chart for details. Applying from a mainland Chinese undergrad has extremely low ROI — do not apply unless you have exceptional qualifications.
- UCSB CS undergrad, GPA 3.98
- UCSB CS undergrad, GPA 3.90
Job Outcomes & Data Points
There have been students who landed at Meta and LinkedIn.
- UCSB CS undergrad, Instagram internship, landed Appfolio new grad
- UCSB CS undergrad, no internship, landed Meta
PhD Transfer
Friendly — many students transfer from MS to PhD within the school.