Top Universities for MS in Data Science in USA

Why Study Masters in Data Science in USA?

USA stands at the top among the most preferred study abroad destinations for higher education. Counting on these factors discussed below, for studying an MS in Data Science in abroad, no other options, except USA can be more appealing for an international student who strives to get the world class education in field of data science:

• The world's best institutions offering Master's program in data Science are housed in USA i.e. Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University or Carnegie Mellon University etc.
• Opportunity to acquire globally recognized credentials in field of data science 
• USA, being well known for leading the modern trends in field of data science, provides an opportunity to excel in use of cutting edge technologies introduced in the field of data science
• Flexibility of study programs i.e. students are allowed to complete their studies at their own pace, can take more than the stipulated time period to complete a study program  
• After graduating from an institution in USA, there are a number of options available to stay & work in USA to further polish the professional outlook for a more rewarding career in domain of data science   
• USA is among the most favorable destinations to seek one of the best careers in field of data science 

Top Universities for MS in Data Science in USA

Top Universities for Masters in Data Science in USA

1. Stanford University: It is ranked # 4^th in THE World University Rankings 2020 & # 2^nd in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Statistics: Data Science

Course Duration: 2 years

Admission Requirements:

• An undergraduate/bachelor degree of 4 years duration in engineering/ relevant field or a 3 years bachelor along with 2 years master’s degree (there is no minimum GPA requirement specified for admission)
• Final official transcripts
• 3 recommendation letters (at least one from an academic mentors/adviser/instructor)
• Statement of Purpose
• Detailed Resume/CV (optional)
• GRE scores (there is no minimum requirement specified for GRE score)
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum score of 100

Tuition Fee Costs: for tuition fee costs please refer to 2020-21 tuition schedule

Note: applications for this course can be made till December 1^st, 2020

2. Harvard University: It is ranked # 7^th in THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 3^rd in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Data Science  

Course Duration: 1.5 years

Admission Requirements:

• An undergraduate/bachelor degree from an accredited institution. Successful candidates do need to have enough background in computer science, math, statistics & fluency in at least 1 programming language, calculus, linear algebra, statistical inference (there are no GPA cutoffs)
• Academics transcripts
• GRE general test scores (there are no GRE cutoffs)
• Statement of purpose
• 3 letters of recommendation
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum of  80/IELTS: minimum score of 6.5

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 54,880 USD (1^st year) & $ 27,440 USD (2^nd year-one term)

 Note: application for this course can be made till December 15^th each year. 

3. University of Pennsylvania: It is ranked # 11^th in THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 15^th in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) in Data Science

Course Duration: 1.5 to 2 years  

Admission Requirements:

• A minimum of 3 years undergraduate/bachelor degree from an accredited institution
• Unofficial transcripts with admission application
• Submit official transcripts if successfully admitted to the course
• Prerequisite coursework includes strong mathematical & statistical proficiency and some programming
• Detailed CV/Resume
• GRE test scores (no minimum requirements for GRE scores)
• 2 Letters of recommendation
• Personal Statement
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum score of  100 or more/IELTS: minimum score of 7.5      or more

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 7,594 USD per course unit (course is comprised of 10 course units)

 Note: application for this course can be made till November 15^th (early deadline) or March 15^th (Regular deadline)

4. Columbia University: It is ranked # 16th in THE World University Rankings 2020 & # 18th in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Data Science

Course Duration: 1.5 years

Admission Requirements:

• An undergraduate degree with prior coursework in calculus, linear algebra & introductory computer programming (no specific cut-offs are mentioned for bachelor degree )
• 3 recommendation letters
• Personal Statement
• Detailed Resume/CV
• GRE scores (there is no minimum requirement specified for GRE score )
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum of  99 or IELTS Academic: minimum of  6.5 or PTE Academic: minimum of  68

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 2,104 per credit (course comprised of minimum of 30 credits; 21 credits for core units & 9 credits for elective units)

Note: application for this course can be made till February 15^th

5. University of Michigan: It is ranked # 21^st in THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 21^st in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Data Science Master’s Program  

Course Duration: 2 years

Admission Requirements:

• An undergraduate degree with prior coursework in calculus, linear or matrix algebra & introductory computing course (no specific cut-offs are mentioned for bachelor degree )
• Scanned copies of official transcripts
• GRE is not required for this course
• 2 recommendation letters
• Statement of Purpose
• Personal Statement
• Detailed Resume/CV
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum of  84 or IELTS Academic: minimum of  6.5

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 24,102 USD (9+ credits)

Note: application for this course can be made till February 1^st

6. University of Washington: It is ranked # 26^th in THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 68^th  in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Data Science  

Course Duration: 1.5 years

Admission Requirements:

• A 4 years undergraduate degree from an accredited institution with minimum GPA of 3.0 for last 60 graded semester prior coursework in calculus, linear algebra & programming
• Scanned copies of un-official transcripts
• GRE is not required for this course
• 3 short essays are required & 1 short essay is optional
• 2 recommendation letters
• Detailed Resume/CV
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum of  106 with minimum of 25 in each section

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 1,075 USD per credit (course is comprised of 45 credits)

Note: application for this course can be made from September 2020 to January 2021 for Fall 2021 admissions. 

7. Carnegie Mellon University: It is ranked # 27^th in THE World University Rankings 2020 & # 48^th in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Computational Data Science

Course Duration: 16 months

Admission Requirements:

• An undergraduate/bachelor degree with background in statistics or computer science with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Final official transcripts
• 3 recommendation letters (at least 2 from faculty or recent employers)
• Statement of Purpose
• Detailed Resume/CV
• GRE scores (there is no minimum requirement specified for GRE score)
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum score of 100/IELTS: Overall 7.0

Tuition Fee Costs: for tuition fee costs you can refer to breakdown of costs for MCDS 16 months options at university’s website

Note: applications for this course can be made till December 12^th, 2020

8. New York University: It is ranked # 29^th worldwide in THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 39^th in recent QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Data Science

Course Duration: 2 years 

Admission Requirements:

• A bachelor of technology or engineering degree or completion of a baccalaureate & master’s degree prior to registration to Graduate School.
• To be considered for the program it is required to have completed the following: Calculus (limits, derivatives, series & integrals), Linear Algebra, Intro to Computer Science, Probability, Statistics or Advanced physics, engineering or econometrics course with heavy mathematical content
• Official academic transcripts
• GRE scores are required for admission (no specific cutoffs)
• Detailed CV/Resume
• Statement of Academic Purpose
• Relevant working experience can also be included
• 3 Letters of recommendation
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum overall score of  100 is required

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 1928.00 USD per credit for fall 2020 (entire course comprised of 36 credits).

 Note: application for this course can be made till November 1^st 2020 (spring 2021 enrollment)

9. University of Minnesota: It is ranked # 79^th worldwide in THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 156^th in recent QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Data Science

Course Duration: 2 years 

Admission Requirements:

• A 4 years bachelor degree from an accredited institution in computer science, statistics, engineering, natural sciences or related field with a minimum GPA of 3.5 is expected to be considered for admission
• To be considered for the program it is required to have completed the following prerequisite: calculus, multivariate calculus, statistics, linear algebra, computer programming, basic algorithms, data structures etc.
• Experience with mathematical software environments such as Matlab, R or equivalent would be added plus
• Official academic transcripts will be required once admitted to the study program
• GRE scores are required for admission (no specific cutoffs)
• Detailed CV/Resume
• Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose
• 3 Letters of recommendation
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum overall score of  79 with writing score of 21 & reading score of 19 is required/IELTS: minimum score of overall 6.5 is required

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 2267.00 USD per credit (entire course comprised of 31 credits).

 Note: application for this course can be made by or before March 1^st (there is no spring enrollment)

10. Georgetown University: It is ranked # 102^nd THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 226^th in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics  

Course Duration: 16 months

Admission Requirements:

• A 4 years undergraduate/bachelor degree from an accredited institution in with      a minimum of 3.0/4.0 GPA.
• WES evaluated academic transcripts for all the courses completed outside USA
• Prerequisite coursework includes computer programming, algorithms analysis & design, data structures, multivariate calculus, linear algebra, calculus based statistics
• Detailed CV/Resume
• GRE test scores
• 3 official recommendation
• Statement of Purpose
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum score of  100 or more/IELTS: minimum score of 7.5      or more

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 2,214 USD per credit hour (course is comprised of 30 credit hours)

 Note: application for this course can be made till December 15^th (priority deadline) or January 15^th (Final deadline). 

11. University of Virginia: It is ranked # 107^th in THE World University Rankings 2020 & # 198^th in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: MS in Data Science

Course Duration: 11 months

Admission Requirements:

• An undergraduate/bachelor degree of 3 or 4 years duration is eligible for admission to this course with background in variety of fields; statistics, math, economics, engineering or computer science etc.
• Final official transcripts are required only after acceptance of offer of admission
• 2 recommendation letters (at least 2 from faculty or recent employers)
• Statement of Purpose (500 words)
• Detailed Resume/CV
• GRE/GMAT/CMAT scores (there is no minimum requirement specified for these score)
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum score of 90 (writing:22, reading:23, speaking:22 & listening:23)/IELTS: minimum of 7.0 in each section
• InitialView unscripted video interviews can be provided with application material (optional)

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 45,703 USD (excluding other expense)

Note: applications for this course can be made till January 7^th, 2021

12. Illinois Institute of Technology: It is ranked # 137^th in US College Rankings 2020 & ranked # 421^st in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Data Science  

Course Duration: 12-16 months

Admission Requirements:

• A 4 years undergraduate/bachelor degree from an accredited institution in any discipline/3 years bachelor along with 2 years master’s degree with a minimum of 3.0/4.0 GPA
• Or 3 years degree from an institution having NAAC’s “A” rating with first class in distinction
• Prerequisite include enough knowledge of high level programming language, a data structure, algorithms, multivariate calculus, linear algebra, probability & statistics
• GRE test scores ( Quantitative+Verbal: 304 & Analytical Writing: 2.5)
• 2 letters of recommendation
• Professional Statement
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum score of  90 or more/IELTS: minimum score of 6.5 or more/PTE: minimum score of 63 or more

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 1,614 USD per credit hour (course is comprised of 33 credit hours)

 Note: application for this course can be made till November 15^th (Spring), March 15^th (summer) & June 15^th (Fall). GRE score requirements are waived off for fall 2020.

13. University of Buffalo: It is ranked among top 300 universities worldwide in THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 340^th in QS World University Rankings 2020. 

Course Offered: MS in Engineering Science with focus in Data Science

Course Duration: 1 year  

Admission Requirements:

• An undergraduate/bachelor degree from an accredited institution with minimum of a B average or better
• GRE score of 300+
• Copies of academic transcripts with admission application
• Submit official transcripts if accepted for admission to the study program
• Prerequisite knowledge of mathematics (calculus, multivariate calculus, linear algebra), statistics (basic statistics & probability) & computing (programming & data structure) is required
• Detailed CV/Resume
• 2 Letters of recommendation
• Financial form & supporting bank documents
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum score of  79 or more/IELTS: minimum score of 6.5 with no score less than 6.0/PTE: minimum score of 55 with no subsection less than 50

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 963 USD per credit (course is comprised of 30 credits)

 Note: application for this course can be made till October 1^st (spring enrollment) or February 15^th (fall enrollment)

14. University of South Dakota: It is ranked among top 800 universities worldwide in THE World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 263^rd Nationally in recent US News Best Colleges Rankings. 

Course Offered: MS in Data Science

Course Duration: 1 year 

Admission Requirements:

• A Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with minimum GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 with strong performance in prerequisite undergraduate courses; Math (Calculus, matrix/linear algebra, probability), Statistical principles, familiarity with SQL, Database design  & Programming Fundamentals
• GRE score is not required
• Official academic transcripts along with professional transcripts evaluation for degrees earned outside of US
• Detailed CV/Resume (supplemental)
• Goal Statement (supplemental)
• Letters of recommendation (supplemental)
• Evidence of available financial support for 1 year  
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum score of  90-91 is required/IELTS: minimum score of 6.0 is required

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 22,108.50 USD (entire 30 credits)

 Note: application for this course can be made till March 15^th (summer enrollment)

15. University of San Francisco: It is ranked among top 1000 universities worldwide in QS World University Rankings 2020 & ranked # 97^th in recent US News Best National University Rankings. 

Course Offered: Master of Science in Data Science

Course Duration: 1 year 

Admission Requirements:

• A bachelor degree from an accredited institution in any field with academic or professional background in math, computer science, engineering, finance, economics or equivalent (no minimum GPA is specified for admission but however GPA of 3.0 or above is preferred)
• Calculus, data structure & R programming courses are strongly recommended
• Copy of academic transcripts are required for application   
• If admitted for respective the study program, Official academic transcripts with proof of graduation would be required
• GRE/GMAT scores are required for admission
• Detailed CV/Resume
• Statement of Purpose
• 2 Letters of recommendation
• Evidence of available financial support for 1 year in terms of bank statements or loans and also, if funds are not in your name, upload a statement of support signed in English characters  
• TOEFL (iBT): minimum overall score of  90 is required/IELTS: minimum overall score of 6.5 is required/PTE: minimum overall score of  61 is required
• Online technical interview

Tuition Fee Costs: $ 1480.00 USD per unit (entire course comprised of 35 units)

 Note: application for this course can be made till December 5^th (summer 2021 enrollment)

Some more options to study Masters in Data Science in USA

1. Drexel University-Masters (MS) in Data Science
2. University of Rochester-Master of Science in Data Science 
3. University of Delaware-Master of Science in Data Science 
4. University of Denver-MS in Data Science 
5. DePaul University-Master of Science in Data Science
6. John Hopkins University-Data Science Master's Program 
7. University of Southern California-MS in Computer Science-Data Science   
8. Brown University-Master's Program in Data Science 
9. American University-MS in Data Science 
10. University of Pacific-Master of Science in Data Science 

So, there are a number of top Universities available to study MS in Data Science in USA.  

You might also be interested in Best Universities for MS in Data Science in Canada & Best Universities for MS in Data Science in Australia