Joseph Layden had no formal computer science education when he began earning his master’s of computer science degree at UWM. Yet by the time he graduated, he had created an app in his capstone research project called SlippAway—a tool for Lake Michigan boaters to locate open marina slips capable of accommodating the size and power requirements of their boats for a day, a week or even the entire season. He plans to market it.
Layden was one of 24 final-year computer science master’s student who recently presented their capstone research projects in which, under the supervision of a faculty mentor, they applied what they learned to a technical problem of their choice.
While many of these master’s students have earned their undergraduate degrees in computer science, an increasing number have not. Current students hold undergraduate degrees in such fields as meteorology, music education, English and film studies. Layden had earned his undergraduate degree from UWM in information science and technology.
During their capstone presentations, students spoke about the reasons they enrolled in either the professional track (for people interested in careers including senior software engineer, computer systems analyst, computer network architect and machine learning engineer) or the regular track (which adds career options including computer science professor and computer research scientist and opens the door to earning a doctoral degree).
Professional track is most in-demand program
The majority of students, including Layden, had followed the professional track.
“My goal was to really challenge myself and learn as much as I could,” Layden said. “I had worked freelance as a web developer and database coordinator, and I sought the structure and knowledge a formal education brings.”
Another professional-track student, Marissa Bedard, earned her undergraduate degree in music education from a college in Cleveland. She discovered it was a comfortable switch from studying music to studying computer science topics, such as artificial intelligence.
“There is a lot of overlap between synthesizing a lot of small [musical] pieces in order to make something bigger and learning a new language,” Bedard said.
Bedard, who graduated in December, said that her employer—Boston-based Alegeus– paid part of her tuition. “It worked out very well for me.”
Before starting his computer science master’s degree, Sam Kersebet worked as a videographer in Door County. While at UWM, he interned at Kohls as a front-end web developer and accepted a full-time job upon his December graduation.
“The graduate program gave me a good groundwork for the future,” he said. “I learned the soft skills and the hard skills.”
Kersebet had earned a bachelor’s degree from UWM in digital arts & culture and selecting a graduate school was easy, he said. “I had chosen UWM for my undergrad because it’s part of a real city with soul to it,” he said. “I thought the education here was worth the value.”
Regular track is program of choice for students pursuing research
Several of the students at Capstone Day had followed the regular track and anticipated earning doctoral degrees or pursuing careers that included research.
Mohit Ramesh and Omana Anne both earned undergraduate degrees in electronics and communication engineering in India. Ramesh said he was drawn to UWM for two reasons.
“First, I saw that it was a top research university,” he said. “When I saw that Satya Nadella graduated from UWM in computer science, I thought ‘Yay!’ ”
Nadella (’90 MS Computer Science) is a UWM alumnus.
Anjali Venugopal also earned her undergraduate degree from India and was eager to graduate in December. “UWM’s program was wonderful” she said, “and I worked with amazing professors.” During her time at UWM, she completed an internship as a software developer with Amazon.
What was next? Before graduating, she was offered a full-time job with the company in Seattle.
Find out what a master’s degree in computer science can do for you
Enrollment has reached an all-time high in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Master of Science in Computer Science program. In 2022, 191 students were enrolled in the program, compared to 110 in 2021. Most students are following the professional track, says Susan McRoy, professor and chair of UWM’s Computer Science Department.
Earning a master’s degree in computer science, she said, is helping many people, including working professionals, upgrade their skills and break into fields that offer high salaries and multiple career paths.
The regular track, she said, is best suited to students with prior degrees in computer science; students without undergraduate computing degrees may find the professional track more accessible.
Earning a master’s degree typically takes four semesters for those with undergraduate degrees in computer science; five semesters for those without undergraduate degrees in computer science.