How to get a computer science degree after college?

[bleuiko]

Hey everyone,

I've been thinking about getting a computer science degree lately and wonder if anyone has any experience doing it? I was hoping to get a BS or a MS in CS.

I have a B.S. in Bioengineering (2004) from a UC (University of California) so I know I can't reapply like a high school student back to the UCs...

I don't even know where to start at this point... I can't apply straight to a CS MS program because I don't have enough CS credits, but I don't know where I can get those credits.

I'm not sure if I'm making any sense, but if I do, do you have any suggestions?

 

[Leros]

Do you want to go to school full time or do you want to do this in the evening?

 

[bleuiko]

I'm open to both ideas... but I like the former more. (fulltime)

 

[dsity]

dude you know they have counselors at colleges for this stuff...

why do you persue the CS now?

 

[bleuiko]

Haha... well I've been out of college for a couple years, but I do plan to ask them. I just know that there are a high # of CS people in here so I figured I'd ask.

Also, I've been away from ATOT for a LONG time. Man has this site changed....


Why CS now? I've always been interested even before college, but ended up with a Bioeng degree because CS was "impacted" and they wouldn't let me enter that major. Well, I guess the after work in pseudo-CS jobs for several years, I think I should just make a full-blown switch. It'll be good for me to "learn" programming academically instead of figuring it all out on my own.

 

[ppdes]

I applied straight into a CS MS degree from an unrelated BS. They just made me take an extra couple CS classes.

 

[bleuiko]

That sounds good! So you didn't even take extra classes on your own? The school fit them into your curriculum?

What school might that be if I may ask?

 

[imported_stev]

Originally posted by: ppdes
I applied straight into a CS MS degree from an unrelated BS. They just made me take an extra couple CS classes.

This is how it worked in my master's program (atmospheric sciences). I suspect they will evaluate your application based on your undergrad grades, your GRE scores, and maybe an essay. We had people in our dept. who had physics, math, and cs degrees and it wasn't a problem.

Good luck!

 

[CanOWorms]

Go forward and get an MS in Computer Science, not another BS. Graduate level work can be inter-disciplinary and your BioEngineering background may be useful in some fields. You might have to take a few makeup courses, but you shouldn't need to enroll in an undergraduate program.

 

[TheNewbie]

I got my BS in CS and started doing MS, took me one semester to realize this is going to be useless as far as employment/salary goes, and I switched to MBA, which turns out to be useless as well, but at least wasn't as hard to accomplish.

 

[bleuiko]

Originally posted by: TheNewbie
I got my BS in CS and started doing MS, took me one semester to realize this is going to be useless as far as employment/salary goes, and I switched to MBA, which turns out to be useless as well, but at least wasn't as hard to accomplish.

Yeah well the MS to a CS BS might be a bit useless but I think the MS to a non-CS person might have a bit more educational value.

At least that's what i'm hoping for anyway.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Ummm, pick a school, pick a program, and apply. There ya go. Already having another degree doesn't change anything. At least not in Washington or Oregon.

 

[alkemyst]

I was out of school for 5 years when I reapplied to get a CS degree to a different school than my undergrad was in.

They look more on your past college and I believe work experience (they wanted to know it anyway).