Advance your computer science career—no matter your background
Master of Science in Computer Science
Northeastern University has been a leader in combining classroom instruction with career-focused, real-world experience since its founding in 1898. With programs that incorporate internships, curriculums designed around real-world problems, and faculty who both teach and work in industry, you’ll gain experience and a strong foundation in the skills necessary to succeed in today’s fastest-growing sectors.
Whether you choose to be a generalist or a specialist, the Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) program will equip you to tackle diverse challenges in the computer science field. In this program, you will build your foundational knowledge and cultivate deep expertise and specialized skills in emerging domains like artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, game design, security, and more.
The MSCS program prepares students for exciting, meaningful careers across the full spectrum of computer science applications and industries. While the top employers of our MSCS graduates are Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple, our graduates also work for a wide variety of other companies, including Capital One, McKinsey, Robinhood, the U.S. Air Force, Carfax, and Verizon.
Select the best program based on your professional experience:
- The Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) is designed for students with bachelor’s degrees in computer science or extensive career experience in computer science.
- The Align Master of Science in Computer Science (Align MSCS) is for students who do not have a degree or background in computer science. Students begin their studies with a series of foundational computer science courses and will graduate with the same degree as their direct-entry peers.
Take the next step in your career
Which program is right for you?
Master of Science in Computer Science
The direct-entry MSCS program is designed for experienced professionals seeking to enhance their knowledge, expand their technology leadership responsibilities, and advance to the next level of their computer science careers.
Align Master of Computer Science
The Align program is a one-of-a-kind master’s built specifically to help learners with no previous programming experience break into computer science careers.
About the Arlington Campus
- Study in a hub of technical innovation, security, defense, and policy.
- Gain in-demand skills and employer partnerships across government, nonprofits, and startups, among other critical sectors and industries.
- Learn from faculty who are seasoned veterans in their field, giving you the insights and best practices necessary to help you become an industry leader.
- Gain up to eight months of full-time industry experience through the co-op program, a unique aspect of Northeastern’s curriculum that gives you a competitive edge upon graduation.
About Northeastern
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experiential lifelong learning. Our approach of integrating real-world experience with education, research, and innovation empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create worldwide impact.
Our global university system provides our community and academic, government, and industry partners with unique opportunities to think locally and act globally. The system—which includes 13 campuses across the U.S., U.K., and Canada, 320,000-plus alumni, and more than 3,800 partners worldwide—serves as a platform for scaling ideas, talent, and solutions.
Northeastern’s personalized, experiential undergraduate and graduate programs lead to degrees through the doctorate in 10 colleges and schools across our campuses. Learning emphasizes the intersection of data, technology, and human literacies, uniquely preparing graduates for careers of the future and lives of fulfillment and accomplishment.
Our research enterprise, with an R1 Carnegie classification, is solutions oriented and spans the world. Our faculty scholars and students work in teams that cross not just disciplines, but also sectors—aligned around solving today’s highly interconnected global challenges and focused on transformative impact for humankind.