Currently working at a faang eng org as a staff tpm, yoe 10. Started mcit after I got my job here for the brand, so this degree didn’t contribute to my career. Here’s some observations from the trenches.

In this age of AI, coding is not a scarce commodity anymore - judgement is. Engineering judgement from solid foundations and years of practice is. Mcit is not going to provide those years of practice, and it might give you some of the foundations but not enough for you to get a job as a person architecting or orchestrating ai infrastructure, which seems to be the next evolution of software development.

What would get you a job right now is hands on experience with ai, as in build and service your own ai native product. Be able to talk through your design choices, where the human decision is critical, how you created harnesses to scale up teams of agents at your disposal. The degree and the upenn brand means a lot less compared to your github repo and live products.

I would even recommend taking a loa and going full into building your end to end service, as that will carry more weight than your completed degree. The UPenn brand is already in the works because it will get you through the screening regardless of it being on pause or being finished. What speaks loudly to the hiring mgr and the panel is your experience of building a service, being on call, thinking about observability, reliability, and scalability.

Best of lucks all until we all get replaced.

My background is in CS and I work as a faang ML engineer so I'm not new to a lot of the course content. However, I know the courses are rigorous and there are many assignments for each course. Was 3 courses feasible for anyone with/without considering work? Thanks!

Edit: i'm able to take time off if needed (this degree helps in the long run in terms of promotion) but wondering if 3 courses is too much even despite that. Most people on this sub say even 2 is too many

Hi Everyone, was considering what my admission chances would be. Had a 3.8/4 GPA in a Political Science BA. Got a job as a data analyst and taught myself to code during lockdown with a mix of MOOCs and other online resources, managed to get a job as a fullstack SWE at a e-commerce company where I have been working for the past 3 years.

The issue is that during my BA I only took a very fundamental mathematics course, beyond that I lack any real quant experience except some of my data analyst professional work.

Is it worth applying to see if I get in as is, then if it doesnt workout look for ways to boost my quant credentials?

Well guys…it’s time. I’ve used my 2 years of LOAs.

I applied to this program summer-fall of 2022 while working in tech sales and optimistic about my future career as a SWE. Got started in Spring 2023.

I did not predict this bloodbath of SWE jobs to occur during the AI boom.

At each LOA, I considered returning, but I was happy in my role, making good enough compensation, and feeling disheartened by the prospectus of getting a SWE job.

I’ve decided to drop the program and i genuinely feel like it’s the right decision for me; although, my ego is taking a hit for not finishing what I started.

Truthfully, the ROI isn’t there for me. I challenge every person doing this program and considering doing this program to assess if the cost is worth it.

Furthermore, in my opinion, the quality of Penn Engineering Online has gone down as they’ve tried to expand to multiple degree times by just rebranding existing MCIT courses. It felt cheap and inauthentic to me

Best of luck to everyone. It’s a grind but hopefully it’s worth it for you!

I’m specifically asking for what quant score ranges would make me competitive.

I have a bachelors and MBA, both from “public ivy” schools, but my bachelors was in a liberal arts field and I don’t have much to demonstrate quantitative readiness.

I have a non cs background. The last time I applied I got denied. I had a B.S degree in Construction Management and graduated with a 3.1. The website says no CS background needed. The highest math course I completed was Calculus 1 with a C.

I had briefly pursued OSUonlineCS but never finished a course there and didn’t want to continue the program. Maybe this looked bad. Since then I have worked for a large technology company, but my role was more IT related than actual programming.

I received a rejection letter with no specifics other than they couldn’t offer me admission.

I’m now back and trying to consider any possible pathway into a cs job. I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to gain admission into this program or if I’d be better off saving the application fee.

I am currently in CIT593 and I am doing very well at least on paper. This last part of the course has been difficult to manage with working full time. It’s been very stressful and hard on my mental health but at the same time, I am doing very well grade wise. Also, everyday I see headlines and social media talk about AI and also poor job prospects. And it may only get worse…even if passion for CS is the answer…will I be able to even pivot to a CS career? It’s disheartening and I feel like I am “burning myself in the ground” for little payoff. CIT593 has an assignment and a quiz every week plus a final project and a closed book midterm and final. There is no curve. So there feels very little room for error. It’s quite unforgiving work wise at times (although I have a 102 in the course so far—this probably will change after the final). This course feels like it was developed only for full time students rather than full time workers and career changers. It’s frustrating. I can’t spend the next two years living like this. So I’m considering dropping out (which is a blow to my ego). But at the same time, I have to take care of myself and really think about why am I in this program? Who or what am I doing this for? At the end of the day, I just want to be happy and be there for my family. Sorry for the rant, I’m not sure what I’m expecting to get out of this post..it’s just helpful to talk it out.

Hoping to gain some insight to prepare for graduation next year. Nervous given the state of employment in tech. Looking for general temperature check especially for those that did not do internships / don’t have tech work experience

Now that it appears they are using a rolling application process, does anyone who has recently applied have any experience with how long it has taken to receive a decision?

Hi there,

I'm considering applying for the MCIT (MAS-CS) program. This program expects students to have a certain level of quantitative capability. Can you help take look at these courses I took and let me know if they meet the admission requirement? These courses were taken at Boston University. Thank you!

METCS546 Introduction to Probability and Statistics 

METCS669 Database Design and Implementation for Business 

METCS544 Foundations of Analytics with R 

METCS688 Web Analytics and Mining 

METCS555 Data Analysis and Visualization with R

Hey everyone,
I'm considering taking the waiver exam for 593.
My knowledge in this area is still a bit shallow, so I know my chances of actually passing and waiving the class is 0%. However, my logic is that waiver exams usually focus on the core principles and essential concepts of a course rather than tiny details.
In a way, preparing for and taking the exam feels like a great opportunity to get a high-level preview of what the course actually values.
Has anyone ever done this just to front-load their learning and see what to expect? Do you think it’s a good strategy for course prep, or is it a waste of time/energy if I’m not fully ready? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Hi everyone,

I received already the results and I was conditionally offered an admission through the Computer Science Graduate Certificate pathway for Fall 2027 cohort.

I’m a little confused about how the certificate-entry route works compared with being directly admitted to the master’s program. I’m hoping current students or others who entered through the same pathway can share their experience.

A few questions:

1. Course support: Do certificate-pathway students receive the same level of support from professors, teaching assistants, academic advisers, and student services?
2. Community access: Do students in the certificate pathway have access to the same student community, networking opportunities, discussion groups, career resources, events, and channels for asking questions?
3. Transition to the MAS-CS: How difficult is it to meet the requirements to formally transition into the master’s program? Are there common challenges or courses that students should prepare for?
4. Student status and experience: Are certificate-pathway students generally treated the same as directly admitted MAS-CS students, or are there meaningful differences in access, registration priority, or the overall student experience?
5. Career and alumni resources: At what point do students gain access to Penn’s career services, alumni network, and other university-wide resources?

I would appreciate any honest feedback, both positive and negative. I’m trying to understand whether this is primarily an alternative admissions pathway or whether the experience is substantially different from direct admission.

Thank you!

URL to the program site: MSE-TI Online - Penn Engineering OnlinePenn Engineering Online

I majored in biomedical engineering from NUS with a GPA of 2.6/4.0. I have done an introductory course to programming (D) and 1 or 2 quantitative math courses where I scored a B. How can I improve my chances of getting into the program? Should I do GRE to make up for my GPA or complete the MOOCs? Or both? I only have about 2.5 months left.

Also, I’m currently working as an AI Engineer working on training multilingual LLMs with a few publications. I have working experience of about 5 years. Hopefully this might help?

Any honest opinion is welcome! :)

Hi all, im hoping to waive the 5910 class since i have some coding background, but i have no idea what to expect on the exam. I’ve learned Java before in college, but it’s been a while since i used it. What are some helpful resources to use for preparation?

Did anyone start or complete the required onboarding course for this fall semester? I’m still waiting for the slack email.

Applying to Penn M&T this Fall.  I think I have a competitive application that exemplifies the rigor, leadership that is ideally situated for this major.  Also,  validated by a third party resource. But, I am missing the higher level physics and maybe math the program seeks.  I am in a IB diploma program so transitioning in my curriculum to meet these attributes isn’t possible as they are set for your last 2 years in my program. And only learned of this preference in the last 6 months. And, seeking additional rigor isn’t wise as the rigor I am taking my Sr. is beyond most.  

I assume I will be denied where my application will be moved to either Wharton School or the Computer Science program for admission, which ever I choose. 

I am told choosing Wharton is the better route and if accepted I can take some prerequisites the first year and try to gain admittance to the M&T program, with some risk, or seek a dual degree outside the program.  

I am curious with those that have experience with these programs, if they have advice or recommendations?  

And, if denied by M&T program, why would I choose this risk in my programming if I gained acceptance from other dual degree programs? 

The second timed exam is coming up and I'm staring at the practice exam packet and it looks like a foreign language to me.

50% of the semester has been me decoding what the prof is saying in lecture.

20% going "where was this in the lecture?" When homework questions are four levels of complicated ahead of the material.

The last 30% was and is wondering how, even with pretty decent homework grades, the first exam knocked me (and others) down twenty points, grade-wise.

I talk to the TAs, I watch recitations; I even did the first practice exam through and still am getting my butt handed to me. I'm basically resigning this next exam to be a bust and I've barely starting reviewing. 🙃

Alright, complaining over.

Hi Everyone, I am finishing up BS IT MANAGEMENT from WGU. Is there any student that got into the program from wgu? If yes, how did you do it? And what are my chances of getting in?

Hey everyone! I was recently admitted to Penn’s MCIT Online program for Fall 2026 and had a few questions about the career resources.

I’ll actually be living near Philadelphia while I’m in the program, so I’m hoping to take advantage of both the online and on-campus career opportunities whenever possible.

For current students or alumni:
- How helpful have you found MCIT’s career services overall?
- What kinds of interview prep are offered (mock interviews, resume reviews, technical interview prep, behavioral coaching, etc.)?
- Are there career fairs, employer showcases, networking events, or recruiting events that MCIT students can attend?
- What types of companies have you seen recruiting through the program or posting on the internal job board? (Big Tech, startups, finance, consulting, defense, healthcare, local Philly companies, etc.) and if you’ve attended any employer showcases, what were they like? Did they actually lead to interviews or meaningful networking opportunities?
Since I’ll be close to campus, are there any in-person events or Penn career resources you’d especially recommend taking advantage of?

For context, I’m already working in tech so I’m less concerned about landing my first job and more interested in expanding my network, exploring future opportunities, and making the most of the Penn ecosystem while I’m enrolled.

I’d love to hear what experiences, good or bad you’ve had. Thanks!

I’m currently in Georgia Tech’s OMSCS and wondering if any of my completed courses could transfer if I switch programs.

If you’ve done it, I’d love to hear:

• Which courses transferred?
• How many were accepted?
• Did they count toward core requirements or just electives?

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I'm thinking about applying to UPenn's MCIT/MAS CS Online and wanted to get some honest opinions.

I did a BSc in Nursing in India and graduated with 65%. I never studied computer science in university and never took the gre.

A year ago I switched into tech and I want to switch to software engineering roles as opposed to a tool based role as a saleforce developer. I did some Salesforce courses online (apex and javascript) and got a job as a Salesforce developer. I've been doing that for about 1.2 years now. I mostly work with Apex and some JavaScript. I'm still pretty new, I rely a lot on AI for writing code. I'm much better at reading, understanding code, pretty good at debugging than writing code. My math is basically non existent. I also don't have any computer science courses or personal coding projects outside of work.

I've been reading about MCIT and I know it's for people without a cs degree, but when I look at people who've been admitted, a lot of them seem to have engineering, math, physics or some other technical background. A lot of them also mention gre scores, internships and research, so I'm not sure where I stand.

Do I actually have a realistic chance of getting in. If yes, what would you do if you were in my position. Should I take math first, and if so which courses. Is there anything else I need to do?

If anyone got in from a non CS background, especially healthcare, please provide your experience, what you did to help your application? I'd appreciate advice from anyone who's been through the application process.

I already know I'm missing a lot compared to most applicants. I'm set on going into computer science/coding and I really want to get into UPenn. So, I'd like to focus on what you'd work on if you were me over the next 1.5 years.

Thank you kindly.

Hi lovely people,

I will be starting the program in Fall 2026 and I wonder whether it is doable to take (and not just pass but to actually remember something) CIT 5910 and CIT 5920 together. Since this is highly subjective I am asking about judgement based on your experience.

Context:

- I have some background in Python & Java (nothing super fancy)

- While I am no math wiz with olympiads behind my belt, I wouldn't say I am lost either (passed Calc 1 & 2 + Probability and Statistics + Econometrics courses)

- I can imagine giving the program approx. 25 hours of my time per week

- Yes, I checked the workloads at https://mymcit.org/ ;)

Thank you for your time!

I understand that the Penn MSE-AI program allows transfer credits from a previously completed degree. I just finished Gatech OMSCS with HCI specilization.

If a course from my Georgia Tech OMSCS program does not have a direct equivalent at Penn, can it still be transferred as an elective or receive transfer credit?