can you please help me

[Raghav Mathur]

hi
this is my frist post on this section of javranch and i think i'll get the right answer to my query .
Many of you besides being java profesionals might be engineers and MS/BS gradutes .
MY question to you is about MS in computer science .
Can anybody p;lease tell me the course contents of MS and BS and also sugest that whether it is fine to go for MS without BS ?
Tell me the duration of these courses( BS/MS) .
I wish to persue this course after 1 or 2 yaers when i have atleast 2 years of working experience. Tell me all about it .
Thanks in advance.
raghav mathur
[e-mail]

[Jason Menard]

Unless you already hold a BS degree in a field related to computer science (such as math), you will need to attain a BS before you can enter a MS program. Going full-time, a BS will normally take about 4 years, and a MS normally around 2 years. There are also combined BS/MS programs that take around 5 years.
To find out the particulars of any program you will want to go to the web page for whichever school you are interested in attending. Here is an example of a BS program and an MS program, but all schools have different programs.

[Raghav Mathur]

can you tell me more on this topic . I don't hold a BS degree but i read somewhere that that there are deficiency courses available for the MS programme . So i guess one can opt for MS directly ..... is that true .... please tell me .
Don't forget to tell me about the course fee .
thanks in advance

Originally posted by Jason Menard:
Unless you already hold a BS degree in a field related to computer science (such as math), you will need to attain a BS before you can enter a MS program. Going full-time, a BS will normally take about 4 years, and a MS normally around 2 years. There are also combined BS/MS programs that take around 5 years.
To find out the particulars of any program you will want to go to the web page for whichever school you are interested in attending. Here is an example of a BS program and an MS program, but all schools have different programs.

[This message has been edited by raghav mathur (edited October 10, 2001).]

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

HI Raghav
A BS is the same as any 4 Year Degree that we have in India like an Engineering Degree or B Tech or something similar. What are your Qualifications ??

[Jason Menard]

To my knowledge, the "deficiency" courses are for people who already hold a BS, but might not have all the prerequisite courses that the school requires in order to enter its Master's program. For example a Master of Computer Science program might require Algorithms and Automata as prerequisites, but maybe they weren't required in your Bachelors program, so you have to take them at the undergraduate level in the new school before continuing with the program. So to my knowledge you have to complete all the requirements for a Bachelors before attempting a Masters. As I mentioned before, there are combined programs where you complete both a Masters and a Bachelors, but that would mean you still have to complete the Bachelors requirements.
As far as fees go, they vary widely. The best bet is to check out the catelogs of the different schools you are interested in.

[Andy Ceponis]

Why dont you look at some college's sites?
Im sure you can get more info there than just by asking on here.

[Raghav Mathur]

hello !
thanks for the info you've all have provided . One more thing .... what is the total duration of the combined course as jason said and what would be the course fee . I know it varries from university to university but you people must have paid certain amount of money for your degree in MS , do tell me about that . Besides all this , let me tell you that i hold a bachelors degree in literature ( english) from delhi university , india .
PLease help me further .... thanks again .
raghav mathur
[e-mail]

[Andy Ceponis]

Go look on some sites. They all have pricing info there as well. Do a search on google and it will point you in the right direction.

[Jason Menard]

Originally posted by raghav mathur:
hello !
thanks for the info you've all have provided . One more thing .... what is the total duration of the combined course as jason said and what would be the course fee . I know it varries from university to university but you people must have paid certain amount of money for your degree in MS , do tell me about that . Besides all this , let me tell you that i hold a bachelors degree in literature ( english) from delhi university , india .
PLease help me further .... thanks again .
raghav mathur
[e-mail]

As I said in my first post, the combined program that I mentioned takes about 5 years from start to finish. That's assuming 30 semester credits/year. Since you already have a Bachelors, you might be able to transfer some of that credit in. If you are lucky you can get about 30 credits transferred in, based on the fact that you have a non-technical degree, but maybe more or maybe less.
I checked the graduate school catalog at UMBC, the school I provided the links to in the first post, and just going through their grad school costs about $509/credit (as of the catalogs publication date), assuming that you are not a legal resident of the state the school is located in. Looking at the program for Comp Sci, and assuming a non-thesis option, you would need 33 credits, assuming you already had a Bachelors and met all other prerequisites. That comes out to $16,797. That price is of course lower than say if you wanted to go to John Hopkins, MIT, or some other big name school. Also, undergraduate courses are cheaper.

[Amitabh Sharma]

Raghav,
I dont know why you would even consider doing a BS or MS given that software industry everywhere is not the same it used to be.
Start thinking out of the box. how about business in India?
Also how about Jounalism. That certainly complements your degree in English Literature.
I feel that the 4 - 5 years and 20000 USD that u are planning to invest could be put to better use. Also have you considered MBA?

[Raghav Mathur]

For the past 1 year i've been working on java technologies and have developed great interest in them . I wish to do something logical now . My literature degree was an obligation ( which is a long story) . My keen interest lies and had been into something logical , like application and algoritm generation .
that is why programmeing , development facinates me ..... and whatever makes me satisfied , i'll obvoiusly go in for that.... right !
so if you could please tell me more about MS , then please .

Originally posted by Amitabh Sharma:
Raghav,
I dont know why you would even consider doing a BS or MS given that software industry everywhere is not the same it used to be.
Start thinking out of the box. how about business in India?
Also how about Jounalism. That certainly complements your degree in English Literature.
I feel that the 4 - 5 years and 20000 USD that u are planning to invest could be put to better use. Also have you considered MBA?

[Thomas Mcfarrow]

"May God bless you with a job you love so you never have to work another day in your life."
Ignore the response "Start thinking out of the box". You need to do what you like not what is popular in your region.

[Raghav Mathur]

Thank you very much for this encouraging post . I really appreciate it .

Originally posted by Thomas Mcfarrow:
"May God bless you with a job you love so you never have to work another day in your life."
Ignore the response "Start thinking out of the box". You need to do what you like not what is popular in your region.

[Rochelle Hoffman]

I went through these questions myself a couple of years ago. I have a BS in Pharmacy, and wanted to study towards a MS in CS. I wasn't sure what sort of transition this would be, and how much 'remedial' work I'd have to do before starting on the MS.
It turned out to not be so bad as expected. I surpassed the math requirements from what I had taken in my undergraduate work. Before being admitted to the MS program in my particular school, I had to complete intro programming (C), advanced programming (C++), data structures, compiler theory, and operating systems. I believe this is all, if memory serves me correctly.
Although I am still working towards the MS now, I am still working as a Pharmacist, due to the employment downturns. I enjoy the studies, and want to make it my future line of employment, but haven't felt strongly compelled to make the jump into seeking work yet.

[Rochelle Hoffman]

I went through these questions myself a couple of years ago. I have a BS in Pharmacy, and wanted to study towards a MS in CS. I wasn't sure what sort of transition this would be, and how much 'remedial' work I'd have to do before starting on the MS.
It turned out to not be so bad as expected. I surpassed the math requirements from what I had taken in my undergraduate work. Before being admitted to the MS program in my particular school, I had to complete intro programming (C), advanced programming (C++), data structures, compiler theory, and operating systems. I believe this is all, if memory serves me correctly.
Although I am still working towards the MS now, I am still working as a Pharmacist, due to the employment downturns. I enjoy the studies, and want to make it my future line of employment, but haven't felt strongly compelled to make the jump into seeking work yet.