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FAQs for MS Applicants

Frequently Asked Questions for M.S. Applicants

A complete application to the Laney Graduate School must include these elements:

  1. Application
  2. Transcripts
  3. Regarding Testing 
    1. GRE (international applicants must also include their English Proficiency Exam such as TOEFL, TOEFL iBT "Special Home Edition", or IELTS)
  4. Statement of Purpose
  5. Resume/CV
  6. Three Letters of Recommendation
  7. $75 Application Fee

To help you complete your application, you might want to review these web pages:

If you run into problems, there are a couple of places you might turn to:

Each student that is accepted to the program is eligible to receive a 50% tuition scholarship. There may also be teaching assistant and other jobs available on campus. You will be able to view the positions on the Emory Handshake website (a career builder website for Emory students).

Tuition fees information can be found online.


*Students accepted to the MS Computer Science program are eligible to receive a 50% tuition scholarship

 

Combined TOEFL score of at least 85 (90 recommended).

For Internet-based TOEFL test, a minimum total score of 85 is required (90 recommended), and for the paper-based TOEFL test, a total score of 600 is required.

Yes, our program does accept IELTS. 7 is the minimum score for admission.

If applicants graduate from an accredited institution in the United States, then they will be exempt from taking the TOEFL exam.

Yes, applicants may submit their test scores to Emory via ETS. Emory's code is: 5187

Unofficial transcripts issued by the Registrar to you (the student) are acceptable.

You are required to submit one transcript from each post-secondary institution attended, present school included. International transcripts must be translated and notarized. If accepted to our institution, you will be required to submit your official final transcript.

As part of the online application, upload a scanned transcript from each post-secondary institution you have attended, present school included. The transcripts must be issued by the registrar’s office. Unofficial copies issued to the student are fine.

We will not accept printed web pages from the University’s student information system. If you submit this, the processing of your application may be delayed. If you want to upload an electronic transcript issued by your registrar's office, make sure we can open that document without passwords or other security information. Later on, if you are admitted and accept, then you will need to submit official copies (sealed or sent to us directly from a university registrar).

Transcripts that are not in English must be translated and notarized. Please scan both the original and the translated versions, and submit them together as one file using the online application.

You do not need to have a degree in Computer Science. However, the CSI PhD program is suited to individuals with an undergraduate degree in computer science or mathematics with computational experience.

For the MS program, students with an undergraduate degree in most disciplines will be considered, provided they have familiarity with at least one programming language, and are proficient in sophomore level data structures and algorithms

Recommendation Questions

Yes

Preferably, yes. If you are unable to have your recommender to submit your recommendation letters before the deadline, please have them directly send their recommendation letters to: csigradinfo@emory.edu

 

Applicants will need to submit a separate application for each program.

Yes, Emory University does offer international students F1 STEM-OPT extensions. Our advisors in International Student & Scholar Services offer workshops throughout the semester to help students understand the guidelines.

Please contact the program at csigradinfo@emory.edu if you wish to meet with program faculty, staff, and students. If you wish to simply visit the Emory campus, you are welcome to do so at any time.

Unfortunately, the Emory Laney Graduate School does not offer conditional admission.

The application cycle is only for the Fall semesters. We do not currently offer Spring admissions.

For M.S. Applicants Only

  • The department offers a M.S. in Computer Science suited to individuals with an undergraduate degree in many disciplines, as long as they have some computational experience.
  • The minimum requirements include knowledge of at least one programming language and proficiency in undergraduate data structures and algorithms.
  • M.S. in Computer Science  degrees allow for focusing on data mining and machine learning (Data Science), natural language processing and intelligent systems (AI), visualization and human computer interaction (HCI), theory, systems, and high performance computing.
  • Depending on individual student backgrounds, these specializations may be achieved by taking appopriate courses. For example, students with strong quantitative skills such as a EE, Math, or Statistics undergraduate degree can complete a Data Science focused MS in CS.
  • The departments of Computer Science, Biomedical Informatics, and Biostatistics jointly offer a M.S. in Computer Science with a Biomedical Informatics concentration.

There are teaching assistant jobs as well as other types of opportunities available on campus. You will be able to view the positions on the Emory Handshake website (a career builder website for Emory students).

While we do not keep GRE statistics for our admitted students, the Emory Laney Graduate School Master's Dashboard site may provide insights regarding our admitted students.

We do not have a minimum GRE score requirement nor do we require any prior research experience though experiences that demonstrate the applicant’s likelihood of being successful researcher are very helpful.

We evaluate each application and consider it in its entirety as we try to evaluate how well-suited our program is for the applicant, their qualifications and aspirations.

In short, while we do require GRE scores to be submitted for MS admissions, other aspects of the application, including the academic transcript, reference letters and personal statement are at least as important.

Most students complete the MS program within 2 years. For highly qualified and motivated students, it is sometimes possible to complete the MS in 1.5 years or 3 semesters