MS in CS in Canada

Table of contents:

• Why pursue Computer Science in Canada
• Where do graduates in Computer Science Work?
• Eligibility Criteria, Universities and Cost
• Application Procedure for a Masters in CS in Canada
• Specializations in Computer Science

Why pursue Computer Science in Canada

Owing to high salaries and strong demand for tech professionals, Computer Science has been one of the most popular fields to  pursue in the last decade.

While most Indians have traditionally considered the United States for Computer Science, increasingly, Indians are considering Canada for pursuing their MS in CS. The reasons for this are as below:

1. High-Quality Universities: 3 Canadian universities rank in the top 25 in the world for Computer Science and 10 Canadian universities rank in the top 250. This shows the high quality of Computer Science programs in Canada.
2. Easy Pathway to Immigration: While those in the United States have to wait for years on end to secure their Green Card (i.e. Permanent Residency Status); students who pursue a Masters’ in Computer Science in Canada can get a 3 year work permit followed by Permanent Residency.
3. Strong Demand by the industry: The tech sector in Canada is growing at 5.3% annually and 55% of the tech entrepreneurs in Canada have gone on record to say that they find it difficult to find skilled professionals in this area. To retain talent, companies have been raising wages by 15%-20% annually. According to the Canadian government, professionals in the tech industry earn CAD 83,300 (Rs 50 lakhs) on average. This is 46% higher than the national average!
4. Increased investment by American Companies: Several American companies have begun investing heavily in Canada. Amazon plans to hire 3,000 people in Vancouver by 2023 and Salesforce has pledged a $2 billion investment into its Canadian expansion. This in turn will further increase the demand for tech talent in Canada.
5. Acceptance of 3 year undergraduate degrees: While most American universities require students to have pursued a 4 year undergraduate degree, several Canadian universities accept students with a 3 year undergraduate degree. This makes Canada an attractive choice for students who have pursued BSc(IT) or BSc(CS) programs.

Where do graduates in Computer Science Work?

Those who graduate in this field work in two types of companies:

1. Product Companies: These companies make their own products or services. They build large scale consumer facing apps, databases, office and productivity software. Companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Uber and Oracle all fall in this category.
2. Consulting and Outsourcing: These companies implement large projects for clients. They make ERPs and automate processes for clients. Companies like TCS, Capgemini, Accenture and Infosys fall in this category.

Both categories of companies recruit graduates in one of two areas: frontend and backend technologies. To make this clearer, we’ll describe these areas using the example of Whatsapp.

1. Frontend technologies: Students recruited to work on frontend technologies build user interfaces for websites / apps / web-apps. They work on technologies like Javascript, HTML, CSS, React, Angular etc. So the keyboard you use to type messages, the interface on whatsapp groups – all such things are built by a frontend developer.

• Backend technologies: Those who work on app backends focus on building the application logic, storing data in and maintaining databases and on data processing. They use technologies like Java, Ruby, Python and Kotlin. With
  reference to the whatsapp example – the logic and encryption to send messages from one user to another, compression algorithms to reduce size of messages and storage of messages on servers for backup are all built by the backend developer.

The typical job titles such people hold in companies are:

• Mobile Application Developer
• Business Intelligence Analyst
• Systems Engineer
• Systems architect
• Software Developer
• Cloud Architect
• Devops Engineer
• Full Stack Developer
• Frontend Developer
• Backend Developer

Eligibility Criteria, Universities and Cost

There are more than 40 universities in Canada that offer postgraduate programs in CS or CS allied fields. The eligibility criteria is different for each, but the good universities typically require the following:

• An undergraduate degree in CS or IT (though some universities might be ok with a non – CS undergraduate degree).
• An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0. This translates to a “B” grade or 65%-70%.

• An English Language Test Score.Most universities accept the IELTS and TOEFL. Students need to score at least 90 on the TOEFL or get a band 6.5 score on the IELTS. Some top universities might need 100 on the TOEFL or band 7.0 on the IELTS.

• Top programs do not require a GRE score, but they all mention that students with strong GRE scores have an advantage over other applicants

Here are the top 10 universities for CS programs at the postgraduate level in Canada according to QS rankings:

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These universities are extremely selective and select approximately only 10%-15% of the students who apply. To give you a sense of how competitive they are, here’s the typical profile of students who get into these top 10 MS in CS programs:

• A TOEFL score of at least 100 / IELTS score of at least band 7.0
• A GPA of 9.0/10.0 or higher from a top tier institute (IITs, NITs, BITs, Regional Engineering Colleges etc.)
• 1 high impact major project:
  1. a project that invents a new technique / technology OR
  2. a project that improves on an existing technology OR
  3. a project which solves a large problem which was not solved so far
• 1-2 CS related internships with high growth start-ups, large multinationals or reputed universities
• 1-2 research papers published in national or international level journals
• 1-2 victories in national / international level coding / development competitions

If this sounds too difficult – don’t worry. The good news is that there are plentyof great universities / colleges that are much easier to get into – but which offer comparable quality of education and career outcomes.

Here are some great universities that students can get into which are much easier to get into:

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The average tuition fee for a 2 years masters’ program in computer science is Rs 40 lakhs and the average tuition fee for a graduate certificate program is Rs 17 lakhs.

Application Procedure for a Masters in CS in Canada

• Collate the following documents:
  • 1-2 page resume Statement of Purpose
  • 2-3 letters of recommendation (depends on the program)
  • Undergraduate transcripts
  • English Language Test (IELTS / TOEFL) score
  • GRE test score (if required by the program)
• Register as an applicant on the university’s online application portal, fill in all details and submit the documents listed above.

• In addition to the above, some universities might require students to also submit a Personal Statement (a document that elaborates on the personal factors that have motivated a student to pursue an MS in CS) and might need to appear for an online or in person interview.

Specializations in Computer Science

On entering a Masters in CS program, students could specialize in one of many areas. These are listed below:

Our hope is that this article gave you an overview of the different career paths and universities available to those who wish to pursue a career in Computer Science in Canada. If you do have any further queries or questions, do reach out to our experts and get your study abroad journey started today.

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