Land a Spot in a Top Online Graduate Info Tech Program

For those looking for job stability, a career in the computer and information technology field can be a safe bet.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that jobs related to STEM fields -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- will increase by about 1 million between 2012 and 2022. Computer scientists are likely to have great job prospects, the group says, since many employers have challenges finding these highly skilled workers.

With the growth of online graduate computer information technology programs, people can now get in-demand skills without having to quit their jobs and move near campus. And there's even better news -- acceptance rates at the top schools aren't jaw-droppingly low. Among the top 10 online CIT programs ranked by U.S. News, for example, the average acceptance rate is 84 percent.

Admissions criteria vary, but most school officials say they are looking for the same credentials in their online and on-campus applicants: students with a strong academic background or work experience in the field.

[Compare online and on-campus grad programs.]

Not everyone is a shoo-in for the online graduate info tech program at the University of Southern California, which has among the strictest admissions criteria within the highly-ranked programs. Students who are admitted into the No. 1 ranked program, with a 36 percent acceptance rate, must have an undergraduate background in computer science, says Candace House Teixeira, executive director of the Viterbi School of Engineering's corporate and professional programs.

If students have a background in a hard science other than computer science, they can also apply to the computer science program for scientists and engineers, which has additional computer science course work built into the curriculum, she says.

The program requires students to submit a GRE score, though it doesn't have a minimum or maximum, Teixeira says. Like many CIT programs, school officials care more about the quantitative portion of the exam. Letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose aren't required.

English majors or career changes might have better luck getting into Boston University's online graduate IT program, where officials admit a broader range of students. School officials in the program, tied with Virginia Tech for the No. 2 spot, tend to look for applicants who have some exposure to formal reasoning during their undergraduate years, says professor Bob Schudy, director of the school's Master of Science in computer information systems online program. But students who did well in any kind of master's program are looked upon favorably.

In addition to a strong academic record, an applicant's work experience can go along way toward getting a foot in the door, Schudy says.

"If someone has a lot of great IT experience, particularly in technical roles, they will probably get matriculated directly," he says.

Students don't have to submit GRE scores to Boston's program, but admissions officials will consider them if students do, Schudy says. If applicants have no academic background in the STEM field and no relevant work experience, they can take an online transition course called Fundamentals of IT, which can prove to the admissions faculty they are ready, he says.

While grades factor into the admissions process at Boston University, they may have an even bigger role at Virginia Tech's online graduate information technology program. There, applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or above to be accepted, but they could have majored in any discipline, says Tom Sheehan, director of the master's program in information technology.

[Explore how women and minorities are breaking into STEM fields.]

"We don't use the GMAT and we don't use the GRE -- those aren't good indicators," he says. "The absolute best indicator of success, in our experience, is undergraduate GPA."

Sheehan says the program makes exceptions to the GPA rule in cases where students had particularly rigorous undergraduate majors or when they have significant professional experience. In those cases, applicants are permitted to take four courses but will only be fully admitted if they maintain a 3.0 in those courses.

While applying to the top online graduate CIT programs can be intimidating for students who don't fit the typical profile, they shouldn't give up hope completely, experts say.

None of the top three online graduate programs require students to submit a personal statement, but all say students are welcome to if they feel like it conveys a part of them not represented in other parts of the application.

"We're pretty focused on academic record, but if you finished your program 20 years ago and your work is highlighting what you are doing, submit a statement of purpose," says Teixeira says. "That is your chance to share."

[Track the growth of STEM degrees with the U.S. News/Raytheon STEM Index.]

Unlike in other online graduate disciplines, students don't need to use a statement of purpose to convince an admissions committee that they are tech-savvy enough to study online, Teixeira says. It's simply assumed.

" Computer scientists are used to working in virtual environments, so it's less foreign to them," she says. "They already are wired that way."

If applicants do choose to write a personal statement, says Schudy, with Boston University, they might be wise to emphasize their ability to stick a schedule. Many online students are juggling multiple work and family commitments, which can make studying harder than it is for a traditional student, he says.

"Discipline matters," he says. "The students who are disciplined make it."

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Devon Haynie is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering online education. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dhaynie@usnews.com.