FAQs

Applications are reviewed on an individual basis using a holistic approach.

Graduate School

• Application Requirements
• Admissions Types
• Graduate Application
• Student Statements
• Official Transcripts

Program Specific

• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• Admitted applicants typically have an undergraduate overall GPA of 3.0 or greater on a 4.0 scale
• GRE: Recommended 75th (for MS), 85th (for PhD) percentile Quantitative; 50th percentile Verbal; and 3.0 or greater Analytical Writing (Michigan Tech students are exempt)

International Students

• TOEFL: Recommended Score of 90 iBT
• IELTS: Recommended Overall Band Score of 6.5

Admissions Decisions

Made beginning on January 1 (for Fall) and October 1 (for Spring)

Recommended Deadline

Fall Semester: May 1

Spring Semester: September 1

Summer: Please contact the Graduate Program Director 

For full financial consideration for Fall: February 1

There are no cutoff GRE scores. Recommended GRE scores are 75th (for MS), 85th (for PhD) percentile Quantitative; 50th percentile Verbal; and 3.0 or greater Analytical Writing (Michigan Tech students are exempt)

You can apply through the graduate school. Questions related to admissions should be directed to mygrad@mtu.edu. 

It is recommended to apply by May 1 for the Fall semester and October 1 for the Spring semester. (Contact the graduate director for the Summer semester deadline).

Applications are processed continuously and most are processed within six weeks. 

It takes approximately six weeks for a decision to be made regarding graduate school applications. Be sure to visit your checklist on your Experience portal. 

The department awards a few teaching assistantships each year. All students who have been admitted are considered for the open positions. If you receive one of these positions, you will be notified by email. Please visit Financial Aid for any financial aid questions. 

It is unlikely that an MS student will receive a fully-funded GTA/GRA position. These opportunities are primarily awarded to PhD students.

Paid hourly grading positions (which do not include tuition) are open to MS students. These positions are typically assigned the week before classes or the first week of classes. It is hard to predict whether these positions will be available as it depends on department needs.

In an internship, the student temporarily breaks ties with Michigan Tech and works at a outside company, often returning to their home country or town, and often during the summer semester. The student is not enrolled as a student during this time. More common is a co-op (co-operative work experience) where a student enrolls in the one credit of the class UN5000 each semester, to complete the work experience. This single credit maintains full time enrollment status for the student.  An international student must have completed a minimum of two full time semesters of study before being eligible for a co-op. The duration of an internship or co-op must be less than one year. All co-op and other corporate-student work relationships are handled through Michigan Tech Career Services.  More information can be found at mtu.edu/career. Any questions or advice regarding international student status and requirements can be found at mtu.edu/international. Please note that not all students who wish to complete a co-op or internship are able to find one.

Under no circumstances do we accept Duolingo. We do accept TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE. TOEFL and IELTS are offering at-home exams at this time, and they can be taken in place of in-person testing.

The GRE is required for all M.S. and Ph.D. applicants, except those with a B.S. or M.S. from a U.S. university. The GRE is immensely helpful for the admissions committee to evaluate whether a candidate can meet the performance standard required for the M.S. or Ph.D.

A $10 application processing fee is required for all international applicants. Our application remains free from the start, but requires international students to provide a processing fee before they can upload their supporting documents. 

This fee is required for each international application that is submitted. If your processing fee is not submitted within 15 days of your initial application submission, your application will be canceled.

No. All decisions of this type are made based upon your application to the Graduate School. You do not need to do anything else.

Detailed information about the timeline for finishing your graduate degree, from your preparations for arrival on campus through completion of their degree, can be found on the Graduate School website.

Data science is the field of study that extracts relevant insights and develops strategy from data for business and industry. Combing tools, methods, and technology such as data analysis/modeling, human-machine interaction and algorithms, data scientists ask and answer questions like what happened, why did it happen, what will happen, and how can the results be used for planning and decision-making. Data science’s multidisciplinary approach for analyzing large amounts of data blends principles and practices from mathematics, statistics, artificial intelligence, and computer engineering. Learn more about data science.

Anyone with the will to start or advance their career in the field of Data Science, those who wish to change their career path to Data Science.

An effective applicant for our Master of Science in Data Science or Certificate in Data Science programs has a bachelor degree in either Computer Science, Mathematics/Statistics, Business Analytics, or a STEM related discipline. We look for students with strong backgrounds and/or academic success in the areas of mathematical sciences/statistics and computer science/programming.

Yes, you can apply still. You might need to take some foundational courses to gain the requisite skills necessary to be comfortable in upper level courses.

Yes, our Data Science program welcomes International students. Kindly check here for further information

The Data Science programs don’t have minimum GRE or GPA requirements. We consider what applicants are bringing to the program as a whole. However, the following scores are recommended:

• GRE (not required): Recommended scores are 153 for Quantitative, 148 for Verbal, and 3.0 or higher for Analytical Writing
• GPA: Recommended score of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale
• TOEFL: Minimum score of 79 overall; recommended score of 100 iBT
• IELTS: Minimum score of 6.5 overall, recommended overall band score of 7.0

Though most of our students have work experience, it is not required.

Most students are accepted for the Fall semester. Some students, including accelerated masters students, will be accepted for the Spring semester.

Yes, you can apply again by submitting a new application and supporting material again.

Deferrals are considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Graduate School for more information.

You can apply by submitting our online application. For more information about the application contact our Graduate school admission.

We don't have any application deadline as we have rolling admission. However, we recommend applying a semester in advance. Fall starts are encouraged.

For further information, visit our graduate school admissions page.
• Bachelor degree from an accredited school
• TOEFL/IELTS score report (for those whose first language is not English)
• Resume
• Statement of purpose (two separate questions)
• Two letters of recommendation
• Official transcripts from universities attended

The GRE is not required for application to the Data Science program.

TOEFL/IELTS is required for international students, except those from the exempt countries listed here.

Official ETS (GRE and TOEFL) test scores can be sent directly to Michigan Tech using our School Code: 1464.

Students are required to upload copies of their previous college/university transcripts for the initial application review process. Students must provide official transcripts and proof of degree(s) to complete their enrollment if accepted. If accepted, please bring your official documents to the Graduate School upon arrival to Michigan Tech.

After your application has been submitted, log in to your application portal to track your application status.

After we receive your application and all your supporting documents, it might take about 3 to 4 weeks to get your admission decision.

The Michigan Tech Graduate School has one tuition rate—international students do not pay an “out-of-state” rate. Academic year tuition and fees are provided on our Cost of Education website.

The Data Science graduate program is a course-based-only format. The majority of graduate students at Michigan Tech are self-funded.

There may be opportunities for assistantships with research faculty. However, students will have to pursue these positions by directly contacting professors. There are no guaranteed positions for incoming graduate students.

Yes, the Data Science program is STEM accredited.

The program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours. Any full time student in our program can complete it between 16 - 24 months.

Basically, the class size depends on the course taken by the student. Our Data Science program offers numerous electives; the general class size varies based on the individual course.

No, we currently do not offer complete online program. Nine credit hours per semester is considered a full-time course load for graduate students. However, there are a few courses which are provided online across the campus. These electives can be taken to satisfy the Data Science degree after getting approval from their advisors

The preferred programming languages here for Data Science students are Python and R. But it may vary depending upon the courses you take with other courses using languages such as SAS, Java, Matlab, and more.

Yes, our Master students are eligible for CPT and OPT. For more Information on this you can contact International Program and Services or visit the Career Services webpage.

A limited number of transfer credits can be applied to the Data Science program. See the Graduate School website for more details.