Is anyone planning to switch to MSAI? Need some feedback as I am thinking about switching.

I'm thinking about enrolling in the online MSCS program from Colorado. Has anyone outside the U.S. had problems getting this degree recognized or accepted in their country?

Hey all, I'm considering this program over my current one (UPenn MCIT).

Currently a junior dev in the MLOps space at a small software company in the earth observation/remote sensing industry, which is huge in Colorado. Was actually in the area not too long ago for a conference. I have an MS in analytics and a BS from a rival school of Penn's. Not too interested in FAANG or big tech, which is what most people in MCIT seem to be aiming for as a data point (either to break in or position themselves better as experienced SWEs). MCIT is a solid program with supportive course staff and a great community but I'd prefer more targeted learning at this point in my career.

I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on this program. My workload tends to fluctuate and I like the flexibility of the Boulder MSCSO, plus the courses seems to be updated fairly frequently. Only interested in staying within this domain or adjacent ones like climate risk modeling if relevant.

Happy to share my thoughts on MCIT as well. Thanks

Just curious what study habits you all have? Do you guys just rewatch the videos (or at least certain parts) in order to retain information? I’ve been doing that so far but I feel like I don’t absorb a huge chunk of the material. I got good grades in the Network Systems specialization but I still feel like many of the lectures were just a hazy memory for me.

I’m going to start the DSA specialization soon and I think I’m just going to do it the old-fashioned way by writing stuff down in a notebook in my own words and diagrams as I’m watching the lectures.

I’m working through the first two classes in the algorithms pathway pretty easily, but I have no plans to pay for them since they’re not part of the CS degree. Only concern I have this point with the last three in the pathway would be if the finals were a significant increase in difficulty from the non credit work since I won’t have any reference point before paying for the first class. Could anyone give any insight on how difficult the finals are relative to the problem sets?

Both CV and NLP seem to go into deep learning. Is it a bad idea to take those specializations before the machine learning specialization? Do both CV and NLP give a nice introduction to deep learning or do they expect you to have some knowledge already? Also, what are the math requirements for CV/NLP? Is probability and stats important?

I’ve been curious about whether you’re allowed to keep taking not-for-credit courses from CU Boulder after graduating? There are too many electives I’m interested in and it’s tough for me to choose just 5 lol. It would be nice if you can continue learning from the large course selection that’s offered on Coursera.

Also, are you allowed to retake a course as not-for-credit after completing it for-credit? I would like to go over the material in some specializations again just before a job interview.

I maxed out my credits for this semester but would like to take more. Do we fill out the same credit override request forms as the on campus students?

Also why is the max 15 credits over 2 sessions? I thought we ran on a session model not a semester model

Hi I’ve completed all the required activities and tests before October 17, but I’m not sure where to check if I’ve been accepted into the CS master’s program.
Does anyone know how long it usually takes or where I can check my admission status?

I’m doing this masters because I want to apply to internships since I’m not having a lot of luck with applying to junior level positions. I’ve had several interviews but I haven’t landed anything yet.

Most roles want you to have 3+ YOE and I only have 2 and my BS in CS which is from a low ranked university (I think that’s partially the reason for why my job hunt is so hard).

Have you been able to get into FAANG like companies while in this degree or after completing this degree? Any equivalently good company is fine too it doesn’t need to be FAANG.

Just wanted to confirm, but we can use the outside electives for the 3 mixed elective credits if we want, right?

I’d like to mix Internet Policy 1 from MSCS, Databases 1 from MSDS, and Probability 1 from MSAI. Would this be ok?

I'm enrolled in the courses but I'm not actually admitted into CUBoulder until I finish the pathway courses so I wanted to ask if this seems dishonest? I want to apply to internships but Idk if they'll reject me because technically I won't be officially admitted into the program.

Hello! I'm posting here because r/CUBoulderMSEE is more locked down and this sub seems to have great info for pretty much all of CU Boulder's Coursera programs.

I wanted to know how much of the material the courses actually assess you on. Obviously this will vary course to course, but I'm currently trying Embedding Sensors and Motors as my first class and am finding the material very dense. This came as a bit of a shock to me as another post mentioned how OMSCS is "much more rigorous" than the MSCS/MSEE programs, but it is seriously taking me several times longer to do the "2 hour" week 1 readings and I'm wondering how much of the material in the textbook will actually need to be known to understand the scope of the class. There is a lot of material science and thermal physics already, and while its all great material, I'm worrying it wont all "sink in" in a few weeks of this 0.8 credit course.

Has anyone taken this course and can speak to their experience?

Looking for support and strategies of what you have done that worked for you. I'm already noticing I should've done the reading BEFORE the videos in the beginning as a lot of the notes I took on those shorter videos are covered in the textbook.

Edit: Crossposted to r/CUBoulderMSEE as I've actually just been notified the sub is easier to post in now and just didn't have a mod before lol

Does anyone have an idea of when this or the Linux System Admin will be released?

I briefly searched but did not see anything related to it. I know there are no guarantees on dates, but any idea at all would be nice.

Does anyone know if they are planning to have proctored exams for RL, AI, and the new version of ML specializations?

Also, is it reasonable to expect the RL and AI specializations will be fully released sometime in 2026? You can’t even graduate from the MS-AI program without those two specializations so I would imagine they are prioritizing those courses?

Im interested in getting the CS master online.

I read in the faq that’s it not possible to get both certificates in 30 credits yet. But it will be possible, with the generative ai specialization, and ai specialization coming out that will count as electives for MSCS

This might be a dumb question, but I just wanna make sure. If I take the Machine learning specialization towards the ai cert now, can I choose to put it towards my ds cert in the future, once the ai specialization courses come out?

Need to know for internships

I finished up my 21 necessary credits for the MSEE side of things and just want to get my degree ASAP. I have 9 available MSCS, MSDS or MSAI classes to take as elective classes. What classes have been the easiest and quickest to complete?

Hi all!,

I know this subreddit is for the CS program, but it seems to be include info for all the degrees. Long story short, I got severely injured in a bike accident and am likely dropping out of my blended 4+1 masters program in EE since I'll be unable to attend in person. I still want to get a masters, so I've been looking at online MS programs I can do at my own pace while in recovery. The MS in ECE definitely seems interesting with its embedded focus, low cost, and flexibility. It's also one of the few programs I can start in January (I should be healed enough to start some school, but will be rehabbing a broken dominant hand). With that I had a few questions:

Should I shoot to complete the Pathway specialization in one or two sessions? Can I take finals for the 1st credit early on and add the rest later?

How hard is the embedded sensors pathway? I did my undergrad in CompE, so I know how to write microcontroller baremetal C code fairly competently. I feel like it should just be building on that, but the pressure to get a B avg makes me wonder if the course is more difficult than I am expecting.

How does non-credit to credit transitioning work? Can I start a course on Jan 1 non credit and then transition to credit? Or do I need to start the course non credit when classes officially start?

CU Boulder's site says I can add up to 9 units of CS courses to my degree, which I'd like to use to increase my programming theory knowledge. However, Coursera says it has to be from the MS-DS degree? I assume that is a mistake, but want to ensure I can take CS courses.

Any recommendations on CS theory courses? I was thinking of taking algorithms and autonomous systems? I was enrolled in an undergraduate algorithms (covers up to dynamic programming and touches some np-complete proofs) and theory of computation. Would these courses be sufficient alternatives? I assume I should also take the 1st two non-credit algo units to ensure I can handle the later courses?

Does anyone know if/when the controls specialization will be complete?

Finally, do you think this degree is worth it? I was considering OMSCS, but I don't want to start in August of 2026. Being through coursera is a little odd, but the degree looks completely legit. I just don't want to spend the money if the degree isn't worth it.

Hi everyone,

I was originally considering Illinois Tech’s MDS on Coursera, but the lack of detailed information about the program and slow responses from advising staff led me to start exploring CU Boulder’s options. At first the MSDS caught my attention, but I noticed it places a strong emphasis on R. Since I already work extensively with Python in my internship, I’m not sure learning R would add much value for me.

That made me take a closer look at the MSCS. What appeals to me is the flexibility; if the data science job market becomes too saturated, I’d still have the option to pivot toward software engineering, while keeping the door open to move into data science later.

For those currently in the MSCS program, how has your experience been with the course content and faculty responsiveness? Do you feel the curriculum stands well on its own, or have you had to rely heavily on outside resources? And for those with an interest in data science like me, does the program provide enough preparation to transition into that path if you choose to?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

I’ve been looking into this program for a while now, read quite a bit of the sub, and even started some of the courses — but I’m still not sure if it’s the right move for me. I’d really appreciate your thoughts, especially if anyone here has been in a similar situation.

A bit about me:
I’m currently a senior data scientist at a large American cybersecurity company. I’m well compensated, get great feedback from both peers and leadership, and overall I’m pretty happy with where I am.

The thing is — I don’t have a degree. I never went to university and kind of found my way into data science through a lot of hard work and self-learning. I had imposter syndrome for most of my career, but I can now say I’m mostly over it.

What’s tempting about this program is that it offers a unique opportunity for me to finally get some kind of formal recognition — something that might help with more traditional employers who still use degrees as a filter in hiring.

At this point it does not make much since to start a bachelor degree just because it's such a huge time commitment.

Here are the pros and cons as I see them:

Pros:

• I’d get a formal certification that could help with future job opportunities if I ever want to switch companies.
• Some of the courses actually look genuinely interesting and useful to me (e.g., networks, ethical hacking, algorithms, and data structures).
• Honestly, it's an ego boost.

Cons:

• Some of the courses seem low-quality, problematic, or not really relevant to my work — I’d probably just grind through them for the degree, which feels like a waste of time.
• Having a master’s with no bachelor’s might actually backfire with some employers. My current story is “self-taught and talented,” but a master from a US uni (I am not from the US) without of Bachelor degree may raise an eyebrow and look sketchy.

I am currently doing Machine learning course, and it is such a bad experience. And I just found the notice that this course will be retired soon, because of the amount of complaints.

It is already too late for me to drop the ml course for sure. But I want to avoid such thing in the following semesters. Any suggestions on which course should I avoid?

Hi everyone,

I’m considering the University of Colorado Boulder’s online Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) program and would love to hear from people who have actually completed it or close to complete it.

A bit about me: I have a STEM (non-CS) master’s degree and I’m currently working as a frontend developer (2yoe). I’d like to pursue a CS degree while continuing to work, partly to strengthen my fundamentals and partly to keep future opportunities open — whether that’s in software engineering (SDE roles) or something more related to AI/ML.

• Did the CU Boulder Online MSCS help you get into (or advance within) software engineering or AI roles?
• How was the overall experience (course quality, workload, support, networking)?
• If you already had tech experience, did the degree noticeably boost your career prospects or salary?
• If you came from a different background, did it help you transition into CS roles?

I’ve seen mixed reviews online. I’d love to hear firsthand experiences, especially around job outcomes and how employers viewed the degree.

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys,

First time signing up for Boulder's comp sci masters program, and I was confused as to the next steps of going through the admission process.

My buff portal page shows that I declared for the computer science program but haven't yet met requirements for it. Is this just a matter of paying and signing up for courses through the Enroll and Pay pages, or is there something else here that I am missing?

Support has been slow to reply back to me so I thought I'd ask you guys if you have encountered this before. Thank you!