Program FAQs

The following is a list of common questions about the MS in Data Analytics programs and their answers. We encourage you to browse this section for answers to many common questions. If you do not see the answer you are looking for, you can email ms-data-analytics@sjsu.edu. Answers will be posted here unless they involve confidential content. 

What are the tuition differences between Regular Session and Special Session?

View current information on tuition rates and fees on the Tuition and Fees page.

What are the internship opportunities in Silicon Valley?

For those interested in data fields, Silicon Valley offers internship opportunities. Our students land roles at leading tech companies and innovative startups. Internships provide students with a chance to dive into real-world projects in Data Analytics, Data Engineering, Data Science, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Large Language Model, Generative AI, and more. MSDA is a STEM program and follows the applicable CPT and OPT rules. Visit the Career Center website for internship resources.

What industry connections do Applied Data Science students have?

More than 150 Silicon Valley companies have employed our students for internships and permanent positions. This network is a great asset, offering connections and inspiration to those studying and entering these dynamic tech fields. 

Meet our Industry Partners

Do Applied Data Science students have access to GPU machines?

The applied data science department has 22 Alienware Aurora R15 Desktops with AMD Ryzen™ 9 7950, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4090 with 24 GB GDDR6X, 128GB memory, etc. This GPU is 3x faster than the Colab tier GPU T4. GPU machines can be reserved by emailing: ms-data-analytics@sjsu.edu. 

Where is the Department of Applied Data Science located?

The Department of Applied Data Science is located in the Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) on the 7th and 8th floors. It has state of the art facilities, such as student project laboratories and applied data science research laboratories. 

What is the path for students admitted before Fall 2024?

Starting in the Fall semester 2024, the course DATA 270 will be substituted by DATA 236.

For students who commenced their studies before Fall 2024 and have not yet completed DATA 270, they will enroll in DATA 236 instead.

Additionally, in the Spring semester of 2025, DATA 240 will be replaced by DATA 266. Consequently, students planning to take DATA 240 in Spring 2025 should register for DATA 266. This change is part of our ongoing efforts to keep our curriculum relevant and up-to-date.

What is the path for students admitted after Fall 2024?

The Department of ADS cannot guarantee both specializations (Analytics Technologies Specialization and Data Engineering Specialization) will be available. The department will offer one specialization per year. Check the annual catalog for updates to what specializations are available. 

Older Program Inquiries

• What are the two specializatons and how do you compare them?

  • The two areas of specialization are data engineering (DE) and analytics technologies (AT). While very similar in scope, the data engineering specialization goes deeper into data warehousing, the creation of distributed web systems and building generative AI applications such as NLP, LLM, LangChain and LLM agents than the analytics technologies specialization does.  

    Common Core

    Analytics Technologies

    Data Engineering

• What is Data Engineering?

  • According to the Silicon Valley survey, data engineering is one of the fastest-growing tech-oriented occupations recently. It was highlighted in the 2020 LinkedIn U.S. Emerging Jobs Report as one of the 15 most outstanding emerging jobs of the past five years. [pdf] Data engineers play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between traditional data analytics and science positions and software and application developers.

    Data engineers are crucial in managing and organizing data, creating systems to efficiently gather, store, and process large volumes of information. This field offers a dynamic career path, ideal for those who enjoy technology, continuous learning, and want to make a significant impact using data as oil across various industries.

    
    Image source 

• What is the department policy on admission conditions?

  • All conditionally admitted MS in Data Analytics students are placed on administrative academic probation until they meet the specific requirements outlined in their admission offer. To achieve full classification, students must either pass the waiver test(s) or remedial course(s) by the end of their first semester. Waiver tests are offered before the second week of each semester and can only be taken once.

    Students who do not pass the waiver test must enroll in the corresponding remedial courses. If a student fails a remedial course on the first attempt, they must retake it in the following semester, with potential academic disqualification after a second failure. Conditionally admitted students must clear these requirements within one academic year unless they receive an approved extension. For full details on these policies, please refer to the Department Policies. 

• What is the current Program of Study?

  • The Program of Study (POS) is a plan of courses to take in sequence in order to satisfy the course requirements of the MSDA degree.  After consulting with the program advisor, a full-time student should try their best to adhere to the following POS in order to complete the course requirements in time for graduation:

    Semester 1: DATA 220, 226, 230, 200*, 201*, 202*
    * indicates a Remedial Course 

    Semester 2: DATA 228, 245, 236

    Semester 3: DATA 255, 266, 298A

    Semester 4: DATA 298B

• If I am denied by another program, can I transfer my application to the MSDA?

  • An applicant who is denied by one program due to limited space may have the opportunity to transfer his/her application to either regular or special session of the MSDA program if the session has not reached its admission target. The MSDA program will notify such applicants about the opportunity to transfer their applications.  No additional cost will be charged to an applicant to transfer their denied application to the MSDA program. There is no guarantee that a transfer-applicant will be admitted to the MSDA program.

• What are the differences between Regular Session and Special Session?

  • The MS in Data Analytics program is offered through two different sessions: Regular Session and Special Session. To learn more about how these sessions differentiate, please visit the Regular Versus Special Session page as well as the Tuition and Fees page.

• What should be my computer configuration for taking classes?

  • To view the computer configuration recommendations for taking MSDA classes, visit the Technology page. 

• What are DATA 200, DATA 201, DATA 202 and their corresponding waiver tests?

  • Starting in Fall 2024, a conditionally admitted student will be assigned DATA 200, 201 and/or 202 as admission condition(s). A student must satisfy the admission conditions of DATA 200 by either passing the 200 waiver test or completing the course. In addition, a student must satisfy the admission condition of DATA 201, if assigned, before taking DATA 226.
    A student must satisfy the admission condition of DATA 202, if assigned, before taking DATA 220.

    Visit Waivers for Remedial Courses for more information.

• Who teaches the MSDA courses?

  • SJSU professors and industry experts teach the MSDA courses. 

    Meet our faculty

• What academic background do MSDA students have?

  • MSDA is designated as a STEM program. Its students have earned their B.S., M.S., and/or Ph.D. degrees in computer science, engineering as well as natural, health and other sciences from Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Georgia Tech, Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Michigan State, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Washington, California State University (East Bay, San Bernardino, San José), University of California (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara), Indian Institute of Technology, National Taiwan University, State University of Campinas (Brazil), Tsinghua University (China), University of British Columbia (Canada), as well as other U.S. and international universities.

• I am currently an MSDA student, can I take a class from another program?

  • You can take a class from another program if you receive the approval by the Director/Graduate Advisor of the other program. Unless you receive the pre-approval by the MSDA Graduate Advisor, a course taken from another program can’t be counted toward your MS in Data Analytics degree. Before taking a course from another program, please email ms-data-analytics@sjsu.edu for more information.

• This is my first term at SJSU and I cannot attend. What will happen to my status?

  • If you do not attend SJSU in your first term of admission, your status will be canceled. You will need to re-apply through the Cal State Apply website to attend SJSU at a future time. 

• Is financial aid available?

  • Please reach out to the Financial Aid Office for additional information. This office can be reached at fao@sjsu.edu. 

• Can I drop my classes and receive a refund?

  • For information about payments and refunds, please refer to the Bursar's office Payment Refunds page.