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Admissions Information

Admission Requirements

Full-time and part-time programs

  • Receipt of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
  • An undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 base for the equivalent of the last two years of undergraduate study
    • Note: Exceptions may be made to this rule upon recommendation of the department, providing that the applicant can present other substantial evidence of his or her ability to pursue graduate work at a satisfactory level.

4+1 accelerated program

  • Must be in the last 12 months of their undergraduate degree at the time of acceptance
  • Must have a minimum GPA of 3.3 at the time of acceptance into the program

Application Materials

  • GRE: OPTIONAL at applicant’s discretion
  • Statement of Purpose: REQUIRED
  • Letters of Reference: TWO REQUIRED. For recent graduates, at least one letter should be from a faculty member familiar with their work.
  • Sample of a data analysis report or a software program the student has written: OPTIONAL
  • The committee may request virtual interviews to further assess your qualifications for the program.
  • International students: Applicants whose first language is not English must submit TOEFL scores of at least 90. Exceptions may be granted to those applicants who have graduated with a bachelor's degree from an accredited university where English is the language of instruction.
    • IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is also accepted; a 6.5 minimum score is required.
The admissions committee will review the entirety of the applicant's academic and work experience to make an informed decision regarding admission to the M.S. in Data Science graduate program.

Recommended Prerequisites

Generically speaking, the recommended prerequisites for the MSDS include:

  • two semesters of calculus;
  • one semester of linear algebra;
  • two semesters of statistics;
  • and one semester of computer programming.    

Specific course numbers for classes taken at Virginia Tech are listed below; for courses taken outside of Virginia Tech, the registar's office has multiple databases to determine course equivalencies.

  • MATH (11 hours): 1225, 1226, & 2114
  • STAT (6 hours): 3005 & 3006; or 3615 & 3616; or 4105 & 4106; or 4705 & 4706; or 5615 & 5616
  • CS (3 hours): 1064 (preferred) or 1044 or 1054

Note: When evaluating an applicant in regard to prerequisites, the Admissions Committee will review the applicant’s entire history of coursework.

Application Deadlines

  • Guaranteed Review:
    • Full-time M.S./4+1 accelerated degree: Feb. 15
    • Part-time M.S. (Northern Virginia)*: April 1
  • Final Deadline**:
    • Full-time M.S./4+1 accelerated degree: April 1 (international); May 31 (domestic)
    • Part-time M.S. (Northern Virginia): Aug. 1

* International students: Because the Northern Virginia program option is only offered on a part-time basis (six hours per semester), it does not meet the requirements to obtain an F1/J1 visa through Virginia Tech.
** After the guaranteed review date, applications will be continually reviewed until the final deadline or admissions capacity has been reached, whichever comes first.

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