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Here are five points to keep in mind as you search for an MS in CS-

1. Building a resume and profile: Profile building includes altering and updating your SOP, CV, and Resume to showcase your skill set in computer science. It is generally assumed that most of the non-CS students who wish to study CS in the future already have good hands-on knowledge about at least one programming language, has worked in the industry and gained some experience. If you fall into this category, you already have a good start.
But if not, then start building up your profile sooner than later by using learning opportunities such as Hackathons, and GitHub profiles; gain Linkedin skills and small certifications online or offline. We would suggest NPTEL IIT courses for this, as they are short and cheap, and yet hold credibility. In fact, some Indian institutes have credit fulfilment criteria from NPTEL coursework and certification. In programming languages, C, C++ and Java are the most important to learn.

2. Find programs that accept such students: We at YourPedia guide our students so that they can find good universities that accept students from different streams into their CS masters program. Finding the right position and place where you can apply is very important. You cannot apply for a position where your credit requirement is not fulfilled, as it will prove to be a worthless expense.
For example, let us imagine that you have done BTech in Mechanical engineering and are applying to an MS program where you are not eligible because your credit requirements are not getting fulfilled. In other words, for an MS in CS at a particular university, they ask for designated credits in Algorithms, Data Structures, Computer Organization, Theory of Computation, Databases, Communication Networks, and other subjects, but being in the Mechanical background you may not be able to fulfil such specific credit requirements. YourPedia is known for its intelligent counselling, and we research for universities that will not waste a candidate’s time or money.

3. Find an Interdisciplinary Course: Interdisciplinary studies degree programs combine two or more traditional academic courses of study into a more personalized major. When switching streams it is necessary to know about such courses that can help students pursue a different study while keeping in touch with their background or join a course that won’t clash with their interests and their background.
YourPedia has prepared a specific list where all such programs and specializations available in foreign universities are compiled together. Interdisciplinary Programs like Cyber-physical systems, Data science, Artificial Intelligence, Sensors IOT, etc are the most in-demand courses where you can safely enter and study core CS subjects, with your current engineering major.

4. Credit fulfilment: Credit fulfilment is a Prerequisite to apply for any course in all universities abroad. If you want to match your credit score to the one that your desired program (CS Masters in this case) asks for, then you can undergo 60 credit programs for 2 or 3 months, and become eligible for core CS programs.
So let’s say you are a mechanical student who wants to study a program like Master’s in theoretical computer science. Then there are universities like the University of Pennsylvania, NYU, UCB, and Oregon State University in the US; Helsinki University, Technical University Munich, and the University of Oslo in Europe that are quite famous for such intakes.
Moreover, universities in Europe are famous for the interdisciplinary approach to masters which makes you eligible for MS in Computer science programs like Applied Computer science etc. In case you don’t want to spend too much money and time on this, then interdisciplinary programs are the best option for you. For example, there are courses like Mechatronics (mechanical + robotics = mechatronics) and options for different fields such as electrical engineering students can go to Signal processing.

5. Evergreen programs which 90% of Indian BTech students have eligibility for: There are also a few courses in many universities that you might already be eligible for but are not aware of. These include Data Science, Mechatronics, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber-physical systems, Geoinformatics and Atmospheric Sciences. Students can search for these programs or can take the help of the team at Yourpedia for such intakes.

An extra step for all those pessimists out there,
6. Keep your hopes and spirits up: There are plenty of intakes of students with backgrounds like yours, and large job opportunities after that. So don’t worry and be patient. Persevere till you get what you want.

-Lavanya Gupta (YP Mentor)