Skip to main content

UCI MSWE

Program Overview:​

The full name is Master of Software Engineering -- as you can tell from the official website, this is a very job-hunting-oriented program. Located in Irvine's affluent area, it's very safe and comfortable. This is a typical career-change-to-CS program that admits quite a few career changers. UCI has three CS-related programs: MCS, MSWE, and NetSys. MCS is geared toward CS-background applicants, while MSWE is geared toward career changers. The main difference between the two programs is workload -- MCS has a fairly heavy workload, while MSWE has less pressure, giving you plenty of time for LeetCode grinding and projects. MSWE also has a guaranteed internship.

Admission Threshold & Prerequisites:​

The only explicitly stated prerequisite is one data structures course (Knowledge of data structures, such as lists, arrays, trees, and associative arrays) and two programming languages -- relatively easy requirements to meet. Based on previous years, a GPA of 3.7+ gives you a very good chance.

Advantages:​

Free US-region LeetCode premium upon enrollment. UCI email grants free access to Udemy. Program staff are very dedicated in helping with resume reviews. Workload is light, tuition is $60K. I personally think it's also suitable for CS majors. An internship is required -- if you can't find one, the program will help find one for you (though reportedly the quality isn't that great). Rent is under $900/month including water and electricity.

Admission Data Points​

  1. Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, joint program, Economics undergrad, GPA 92
  2. HUST EE undergrad, GPA 91
  3. UCR undergrad, GPA 3.83
  4. City University of Hong Kong, BA undergrad, GPA 3.81

Job Outcomes & Data Points​

  1. Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, joint program, Economics undergrad, two small company internships, landed California small company intern
  2. Jacobs University Bremen (Germany) CS undergrad, multiple long-term (9 month+ or 6 month) internships, landed Amazon intern, went to Meta for new grad
  3. HUST EE undergrad, one 3-month small company internship, landed Amazon new grad
  4. Indian student, two years full-time experience, landed AWS intern and converted to full-time
  5. Indian undergrad, three years full-time experience, landed SAP new grad
  6. UCR undergrad, multiple small company internships, landed Goldman Sachs and converted to full-time
  7. City University of Hong Kong BA undergrad, had SAP SDE intern and another small company SDE intern, landed Datastax

Resume Screen:​

Getting past the resume screen should be fine. Students who enrolled three years ago (21 Fall) had great internship outcomes, with quite a few going to Google, Meta, Amazon, and other major companies -- Meta especially, with 4-5 out of 40-50 people, a high ratio. After that, things changed dramatically; the golden era of landing Amazon with just three problems is long gone. However, UCI alumni I've spoken with still have interview opportunities at several decent companies.

Alumni from the previous cohort suggest doing projects and internships with professors or partner companies during the summer. The final semester's capstone can also help fill resume gaps.