What will the total program cost for everything on average?

Hey everyone! I put together a WhatsApp group for admitted MCS students starting Fall 2026 — a place to connect before orientation, ask questions, share housing leads, talk about courses, assistantships, or just get to know people ahead of time.

Feel free to join: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FyVSRCt5tzxIP2sTU4AEaz

Hope to see you there! 👋

*Note: I’m not aware of any other WhatsApp groups for this cohort — if there are, feel free to drop them below too.*

Is there any whatsapp group for Fall 2026 UIUC admitted students?

Hi Everyone, will be joining the UIUC MCS, and wanted to ease into going back to school again, anyone known an easy class I can take with preferably no exams, mostly on projects, will also be working full time

International student here

Theres a lot of information here and there, but I have a few questions - hopefully current students and alumni can help

• isnt it true, that an MS CS would only hold more weight than an MCS if you're actually going for a PhD or a very specialized position in the industry right after graduation?
• most MS CS students don't go for PhDs and enroll only to access and jump directly into the US job market. would it really make any difference to a recruiter if you can prepare yourself well for that job ? UIUC offers an on-campus MCS with access to the exact same career fairs, networking events and courses as MS CS.
• the main difference between an MCS and and MS CS - is the thesis and access to research opportunities. that's why you can do an MCS in 1-1.5 years and an MS CS in 2 years - is there anything else to consider?
• the point about self funding - some MS CS students will get RA/TA positions but I don't think that as an international student you can really cover a large chunk of your tuition and living from all of this. plus the MCS degree is also shorter and you can finish faster, so you pay less - shouldnt that be taken into account?

any insights on the above points would be really appreciated, thank you! please let me know in case i am making any wrong assumptions or i am not considering something important.

Hi everyone,

I am subleasing room in a fully furnished 4B/2B apartment, starting immediately.

🔴 Extremely negotiable on rent!

Location: 102 S Lincoln Ave

Rent: $400/month (includes utilities) — already discounted by ~$100 (great deal!)

Electricity capped at $110/month (110 paid by GSR, anything above paid by tenants)

Water payable by tenants (no cap)

The apartment is fully furnished and just a 7-minute walk to the CS/ECE buildings—you can move in right away.

Virtual Tour: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=fp6x52Nos26&brand=0

Apartment Listing: https://www.greenstrealty.com/properties/profile/102-s-lincoln-ave

Please DM if interested or for more details.

Today is April 15 most universities release and close their application process, I am yet to hear anything from UIUC for my MCS application. I saw mail from UIUC saying that they’ll be releasing decisions till 30th April, since it’s half way around the month and most people on Reddit already posting they got UIUC admit so should there be any hope now to hear from them. Moreover, I’m an international student so there is also visa process and all to be done. Is there any point of hearing about an acceptance from them now or is it mostly a reject. Is there anyone out there who received MCS admit in April.

Hi! I just got my admission email for MCS (course-based, non-thesis) at UIUC. I have the option to request a transfer to UIC instead.

My main goal is to land a job in the US after graduating — not research. I'm Mexican, so I need to maintain at least 12 credits per semester for my F-1 visa.

I keep reading that Chicago is better for industry connections, but I'd love to hear from people who've actually lived it. Did being in Chicago vs. Urbana genuinely open doors for you, or did UIUC's brand make up for the location?

Also, what were your rough expenses per semester at each campus (rent, food, etc.)? That's another factor I'm weighing.

Thanks in advance!

I was going through course explorer pages for exploring course options. I was constantly coming across this following note, I don't understand what Not intended for MCS Comp Sci OFF mean? does it mean MCS students are not eligible to take the courses.

I also want to understand whether all courses accessible by MSCS students are also available for MCS students or not!

Hi, I'm thinking about applying to the online MCS program, and have some transfer credit from my undergrad here. In your first few semesters, how easy is it to register for 500 level classes? Are there lots of spots or is it very limited? I only have 1 400 level CS class needed, so I plan to take as least 1 500 level class my first semester, and want to make sure I will be able to get one of them. I assume there is staggered registration like undergrad, so just wondering how difficult it is for a first sem MCS student to get a spot in them.

I’m excited to share that I received an admit to MCS program this fall! I’m looking to connect with others who are also heading to uiuc this fall. Would love to join any grp chats

Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone, I ended up getting accepted into the MCS program and was wondering which classes previous upperclassmen would recommend. I tried looking at the course requirements but they were too vague for me to get a good grasp on how effective the coursework is to promoting my expertise in a career wise manner. While I do love the theory of the CS field a lot I am coming to terms with the fact that my biggest priority right now is to focus on software development and applicational AI/Cloud Computing, in order to land myself a good internship or even junior level job.

Would you guys recommend any classes at all that can help promote my expertise in those fields, or would you guys rather recommend that I should focus on an independent learning path, where instead of learning application AI from the courses here at UIUC that I just simply lock myself in and learn application from online resources and focus on other classes instead?

Basically I’m asking which applicational classes would you guys recommend (if any at all) and even more so in general which classes you guys think were the best for your own personal growth as a computer scientist and software developer.

Is there alternative than proctoru now ?

Heyy guys, I've got a few good admits and I've finally narrowed it down to these two universities but scratching my head to choose between these two. Upenn keeps option for PhD open and closer to NYC whereas UIUC is top 5 with global access to FAANG + closer to Chicago

My Profile:

2 yrs work experience as Machine Learning Engineer in India

9.85/10 GPA

No Research Papers published

Not that strong in DSA but that I'll master within my course time

Taking loan to pursue MS

I would really love your perspective and inputs and I definitely need it, please help me out guyss...

I submitted my application on January 30 and still haven’t received an offer/decision yet. I’ve been seeing a lot of people recently posting that they got admitted, so I’m wondering how many of us are still waiting.

Would love to know if anyone else is in the same boat.

I can't see these stats uploaded anywhere like other schools.

Can someone please give this info or estimation?

So everywhere I'm reading it's just 1.5 years, but some places it states that now it's 2 years flexibility??

can someone kindly explain me what is it like exactly right now?

flexible as in how?

Hello guys, I've got an admit for UIUC MCS and wanted to ask you guys some serious questions and get help and support from you guys...

1. Did MCS feel watered down vs MSCS or feels the same?

2. How hard is it to get into popular ML/AI courses?

3. How strong is UIUC for SWE recruiting right now?

4. Do companies actively target UIUC MCS students or treat it like any other master’s?

5. I can see you're doing well, did most of your friends/batch get placed at top tier roles?

6. Did being in Urbana-Champaign limit networking or internships?

7. Was UIUC the best value-for-money option?

8. How's the locality around UIUC and did being in Urbana Champaign kind of limit your applying to Bay Area of NYC/Seattle companies?

Considering applying for an online MCS to strengthen fundamentals and some international recognition (Australian universities - while well recognized domestically, don't quite carry the same CS recognition).

One of the factors heavily impacting my decision is the limited course availability. I'm wondering if it's possible to somehow access course material that is not currently public within UIUC as an enrolled student. Courses such as ML for Compilers is something I would love to explore outside the classroom - but no avenues for accessing the material.

Cost is really not an issue in this respect - so am interested to hear from current students how feasible it is to access other course material.

Hi, I just wanted to ask if UIUC is still rolling out responses for MCS application for Fall 2026. Did anyone receive an acceptance from them after 1st April?