Applying for a Master's in Computer Science with undergraduate degree from TESU

[DONG]

Hello everyone.
Due to my previous low undergraduate GPA, I am considering obtaining a bachelor's degree quickly through TESU to improve my undergraduate GPA and then apply for a Master's in Computer Science. Is this method feasible?
Can the transcript of TESU's Bachelor of Computer Science degree, which maximizes transfer credits, be used to apply for a Master's degree in Computer Science at other schools? How is its recognition?

[rachel83az]

TESU isn't a great way to improve your GPA. Do you have a Bachelor's degree already? If not, please list out your prior credits, where they're from, and their grades. Usually, the only way to improve your GPA dramatically is to retake those same classes at the same university. But there are a lot of factors to consider before taking this step.

(Other TESU students have, indeed, gotten into schools like Georgia Tech in the past. A TESU degree is fine, recognition-wise.)

[DONG]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I already have a bachelor's degree in economics, but I have a low GPA, and my major does not meet the requirements to apply for a master's degree in computer science. As a result, I'm considering a bachelor's degree in computer science from TESU. However, I am concerned that TESU's transcripts may only count GPAs for a few courses, while the rest of the transfer courses only show a passing grade and no grades. Will this affect my application for a master's degree?

[bjcheung77]

@DONG, Welcome to the board, that's a great initial post and also follow up post with some updated info. However, it doesn't have much details about the GPA, the classes you've taken, or the info in the addendum plus template to give us an overall picture of your situation. The more information you provide us, the better we can help you with your future educational goal.

To answer your question, Yes and No, it really depends on the institution you're going to be applying to and which specific program you're going for. If it's a public/state institution with competitive entry or semi-competitive, or non-competitive, these programs may be Applied Computer Science to Computer Science with concentrations and emphasis in slightly different subjects.

Note: I have edit your second post as not everyone can read that native language of yours. Addendum and template link, update us with these info: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[davewill]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I already have a bachelor's degree in economics, but I have a low GPA, and my major does not meet the requirements to apply for a master's degree in computer science. As a result, I'm considering a bachelor's degree in computer science from TESU. However, I am concerned that TESU's transcripts may only count GPAs for a few courses, while the rest of the transfer courses only show a passing grade and no grades. Will this affect my application for a master's degree?

It doesn't matter what the GPA on the TESU transcript says. The school you are applying to for the master's will take your transcripts and calculate their own GPA. in most cases, they take either all of your credits, or the most recent 60 credits, and calculate a GPA they use for admissions purposes.

So, if you get a degree from TESU by our methods, you are likely to add 15 or so graded credits. It might raise your GPA some, but probably not a lot. Taking more credits from TESU gets expensive, so it's not the best place to take a lot of graded credits. Now, if the school only looks at the most recent 60 credits, it may help more, especially if the bad grades from your current degree are clustered in the first two years, which happens to a lot of students.

Now, getting a BACS from TESU will obviously help a lot by fulfilling the requirement for a CS degree. Also, if you have relevant work experience, it could help outweigh a bad GPA. I don't know how long you've been out of school, but most grad programs know that returning adult students are often more committed and make better students than they might have at 18 years old. Take the time to write a good application, explaining your commitment and desire to excel. Since graduate programs are usually heavy on writing, make sure the writing on your application is solid. It can really make a difference. Getting good references can help a lot, too.

[bluebooger]

you could always do a graduate certificate from Harvard Extension

front end web development
https://courses.dce.harvard.edu/?action=...evelopment

backend web development
https://courses.dce.harvard.edu/?action=...evelopment

data science
https://courses.dce.harvard.edu/?action=...ta-science

data analytics
https://courses.dce.harvard.edu/?action=...-analytics

https://extension.harvard.edu/academics/...ertificate



expensive at around $13k
but less expensive than doing another bachelors and a masters
and there is no GPA or admission process
just sign up and start

[fmsoa]

"Can the transcript of TESU's Bachelor of Computer Science degree, which maximizes transfer credits, be used to apply for a Master's degree in Computer Science at other schools?" 
NO. You can only transfer the credit but NOT the grades to your TESU GPA calculation.

You issue is two-fold. 1) You want a master's degree in CS 2) You had a low GPA (presumably <3.0 for graduate school minimum admission requirement)

Let's say your GPA is 2.8. From Programming 101 or College Algebra you need at least 8 A's (not SDC or Saylor courseworks). That's a lot of money wasted on a BACS considering you only need 10 courses to get a MS in CS!

My suggestion is take a look at Colorado's MS in CS. No GPA requirement. Not even a bachelor's degree requirement. Tuition comparable to TESU undergraduate tuition. CU-Boulder has a reputable CS program (#40). Take the foundation courses get B's or above and you're in the MS in CS program automatically. Financially it is the most efficient and affordable way. TESU is NOT cheap since in your case you need to take many courses for grade. And tbh you would NOT be better prepared for any CS graduate program. The CS courses at TESU do not seem to have any update for years, and basically end-of-chapter assignments/essays instead of end-to-end projects that you can show for as portfolio which graduate admissions actively look for.

[bjcheung77]

And you can always review advice provided to other members, such as this one from about 2-3 weeks ago, last week of March. On post #6 and #8 has my recommendations and links to previous posts as well, there are so many options for people with a low GPA, it's not the end of the world with a mediocre GPA: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-MS-degree

[bluebooger]

My suggestion is take a look at Colorado's MS in CS. No GPA requirement. Not even a bachelor's degree requirement.

https://www.coursera.org/degrees/ms-comp...ce-boulder

https://www.coursera.org/degrees/ms-comp...admissions

[spohara]

FWIW, I'm in the ME-EM program at CU, and all their Coursera based programs cross list as electives. The CS curriculum looks really good and I plan on taking several courses as electives. Also, once you get on slack, there are a handful of people that are pretty involved and have put together some review spreadsheets about each course. The community has a similar feel to what we have here, just on a much smaller scale (much more hit and miss). Overall, I like the program a lot because of the 1 credit chunks. I had similar issues going - low grad GPA that prevents me from getting into highly ranked programs (or at least makes it harder). I second this option.