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UMD MSCS

Program Overview​

UMD has excellent CS rankings: top #2 for AI, #7 for NLP, #8 for Vision. MSCS is a research-oriented program. MS and PhD applicants are reviewed in the same pool, making it ideal for students looking to transfer to a PhD. For master's students, the program offers relatively little support for job hunting, and the department's LeetCode grinding and job hunting atmosphere is also relatively weak. Generally, admitted students can find TA/RA positions -- TA positions being more common because there are too many undergrads and the department needs TAs. Almost everyone can get one. Getting a TA/RA position means tuition is waived, plus you receive a stipend.

UMD is a program with extremely strong research but decent job outcomes. It admits few students and places significant weight on research experience. Fall admission is especially competitive; Spring admission for current students is relatively easier.

Admission Threshold & Data Points​

Reddit says "UMD MSCS has ~20 seats each year, with ~2K applying each year." Average GPA is 3.8. This program places the most weight on your research. Having top-venue publications or very strong recommendation letters greatly helps your admission. Most admitted Chinese students are US undergrads. Students from mainland China may need strong credentials to get in. It's not uncommon to see admits from Tsinghua/Peking undergrads or top-ranked 985 students, people with years of work experience, or those with first-author publications at top venues. In 18 Fall, there were 2000+ applicants for MS+PhD combined. About 190 offers/admissions were issued, and 79 ultimately enrolled -- 19 MS and 60 PhD. Specifically, the MS acceptance rate was ~4% and the PhD acceptance rate was ~20%. Among enrolled students, Chinese, Indian, and American students each made up about 30%, with European + others at 10%.

  1. Rutgers University Math undergrad, GPA 3.8, one year of research with a strong recommendation letter

Job Outcomes & Data Points​

  1. UMD CS undergrad, landed Google new grad
  2. UMD CS undergrad, had bank internship, landed Capital One intern
  3. UMD CS undergrad, had two AWS internships, summer landed Jane Street, fall landed Citadel -- both SWE intern