University of San Francisco MSc Computer Science 2026:Admission,Fees,Scholarship and Placement

University of San Francisco MS Computer Science is a two-year, full-time master’s degree at its Main Campus in San Francisco, with August 2027 entry. Applicants need an equivalent bachelor’s degree and the required computer science and mathematics prerequisites. August 2027 tuition is unpublished; 2026-27 tuition was US$62,460 (INR 59.00 Lakhs), as a prior-cycle reference.

The 36-unit programme combines a shared first-year core with substantial software projects and a second-year capstone. Its structure suits applicants with programming and algorithms preparation who want deeper software development experience or a thesis route towards research. Weekday classes, sometimes during business hours, make this a substantial commitment for applicants hoping to retain daytime employment.

• An artificial intelligence concentration offers a defined route into machine learning, deep learning and data mining.
• A directed research option pairs students with a professor for focused work in a research area.
• Qualified students may complete the degree in 1.5 years, subject to interview performance, first-semester results and a faculty character recommendation.

Also Check: University of San Francisco MS Computer Science Admission

USF MS Computer Science Fees and Living Costs 2027

August 2027 tuition is unpublished on the checked programme and university fee pages. Verify the target fee on the official fee page before accepting a loan quotation or paying an admission deposit.

Prior-cycle reference: the following academic charges use the published 2026-27 Computer Science schedule, without a scholarship deduction.

All INR conversions in the article use a conversion rate of USD 1 = INR 94.4598 as of 06 November 2026. Rates fluctuate daily, verify before applying.

Source: USF Computer Science tuition page and Graduate Student Tuition & Costs, 2026-27.

• The prior-cycle tuition calculation is 36 × US$1,735 = US$62,460 (INR 59.00 Lakhs), with future annual rate adjustments excluded.
• The programme FAQ’s cycle-unspecified deposit is US$700 (INR 66,122), credited towards tuition and fees, so verify the offer and avoid double-counting.
• USF lists payment immediately after initial registration or enrolment in a payment plan, making access to funds necessary before classes.

Cost of Living in San Francisco for MSCS Students

The 2026-27 off-campus estimate below is USF’s academic-year allowance, with monthly equivalents calculated as each amount divided by 12. These equivalents spread an allowance for comparison; they are neither quoted monthly rents nor confirmation that summer expenses are covered.

A 2026-27 prior-cycle planning illustration is US$31,230 tuition + US$80 fees + US$4,585 insurance + US$27,704 indirect expenses = US$63,599 (INR 60.08 Lakhs). Repeating that unchanged academic-year budget twice gives a calculated US$127,198 (INR 1.20 Crore), excluding future increases, additional summer costs and visa charges.

The checked programme application instructions do not publish an application fee, so confirm any portal charge before submission. The proof-of-funding requirement is a separate immigration-document calculation, rather than the same figure as academic-year attendance costs. USF’s published finance table covers Summer/Fall 2026 and Spring 2027, so it cannot establish the August 2027 amount.

Read More: Cost of Studying and Living in the USA

Key insight: The prior-cycle degree tuition excludes substantial attendance expenses, so obtain a 2027 tuition and funding-document estimate before setting the loan principal.

USF MS Computer Science Admission 2027

August 2027 is the only offered start, with no spring or summer entry for this programme. USF accepts equivalent three-year and four-year bachelor’s degrees, but degree length alone does not establish the prerequisite preparation needed for the standard master’s.

The first-year cohort curriculum assumes prior computing and mathematics knowledge, so map each required subject to a transcript entry. USF says web programming experience can strengthen an application, but it does not replace the required high-level and object-oriented programming background.

The Indian percentage above is an approximate planning comparison, rather than USF’s published conversion or a minimum admission percentage. USF makes the equivalency decision, so submit the original grading scale alongside transcripts rather than converting marks yourself.

Applicants without the prerequisites are directed to the separate three-year Bridge programme, which changes duration and cost. The standard programme does not offer conditional admission to fill missing background after entry, making prerequisite verification an essential first step.

English Language Requirements

The current College of Arts and Sciences test policy provides the following Computer Science minimums. Its English-medium degree exemption can help Indian graduates, but applicants should obtain confirmation before omitting a score report.

The university publishes both TOEFL scales, with no new-scale component minimum specified in the checked table. The older-scale component requirement must not be converted into a new-scale score, so confirm any component condition for your test date.

• Request official score delivery rather than relying on an uploaded candidate report, because USF requires results from the testing agency.
• For an Indian English-medium degree, document the medium of instruction and seek confirmation under the school’s exemption policy before cancelling a test booking.
• Use the January scholarship priority deadline to schedule testing and score delivery, leaving time to address a missing official result.

Tip for Indian students: A three-year degree is eligible for review, but missing algorithms or mathematics preparation remains a separate barrier; submit a subject-by-subject prerequisite map.

USF MS Computer Science Application 2027

Submit by 15 January 2027 to preserve consideration for all scholarships, rather than treating the final admission deadline as the funding deadline. Classes begin on 24 August 2027, and USF does not offer another entry semester for this programme.

Fall 2027 application calendar: the programme’s current application page gives the priority deadline and final March deadline. USF publishes no clock time or timezone, so an exact Indian Standard Time cutoff cannot be established.

The university’s portal cutoff controls, and applicants should request the applicable timezone rather than assume midnight in India. The explicit Fall 2027 January priority announcement takes precedence over the cycleless March scholarship wording on the funding page.

Documents and Technical Interview

The application needs transcripts, a statement of purpose and a current resume, alongside the programme’s recommendation requirement and international documents. Use project evidence to show what you built and your individual contribution, because the curriculum begins with shared graduate core work.

• Upload transcripts from every college attended, with English translations and degree-conferral evidence where required.
• Keep the statement within one to two single-spaced pages using 12-point Times New Roman and one-inch margins, since nonconforming essays will not be read.
• Prepare to explain prerequisite topics in an online faculty technical interview if invited, because USF interviews some applicants rather than everyone.
• Upload passport details and acceptable funding evidence, including a signed sponsor statement when the funds are held by another person.

The funding evidence can affect application completeness, because USF requires its finance documentation before admission review. A property valuation or expected future earnings does not satisfy the published acceptable-account list; check the account type before requesting bank documents.

Application tip: Target January’s scholarship review with a complete prerequisite and document file, because submitting by the March admission deadline does not preserve all funding consideration.

USF MS Computer Science Scholarships 2027

International applicants receive automatic admission-scholarship consideration, and the Fall 2027 priority date for all scholarships is 15 January 2027. The award descriptions below are current published provisions without a stated 2027-28 award schedule, so they should not be treated as confirmed funding offers.

USF’s entry awards and continuing-student awards serve different stages of the degree. An applicant needing support before arrival should focus on the admission offer, because several departmental awards become available only after the first year.

• The MSCS Admission Scholarship considers outstanding incoming applications automatically, with published approximate awards up to US$5k (INR 4.72 Lakhs) over the first year.
• The Dean’s Scholarship provides up to US$15,000 (INR 14.17 Lakhs) for tuition, research and conference travel, with merit selection through priority admission review.
• The Merit and Retention Scholarship supports a limited number of current MSCS students based on academic performance, making it a continuing-study opportunity.
• The Research Award recognises substantial research contributions while enrolled, with departmental non-merit applications available only after completing the first year.
• The USF CS Community Service Award recognises volunteering and peer mentoring outside paid assistant roles, under the same continuing-student non-merit eligibility rules.

For the non-merit departmental awards, students may apply for up to two awards and cannot be graduating in the application term. Students in tuition-remittance programmes are excluded; amounts and application deadlines for these continuing awards are not published on the checked departmental page.

Assistantships are hourly employment without tuition remission, rather than an admission funding package, and the programme does not promise positions when admitting students. Consequently, do not reduce the loan requirement by assumed assistantship earnings or an unawarded second-year scholarship.

The Dean’s award can support research or conference travel as well as tuition, so verify its allocation in the written offer. Its published maximum should not automatically be subtracted entirely from tuition when comparing the two academic routes.

Also Check: University of San Francisco Scholarships for International Students

Scholarship reality: January priority review protects access to the full scholarship consideration process, but continuing-student awards cannot finance the initial move without a confirmed admission award.

USF MS Computer Science Salary 2027

USF publishes longer-term alumni earnings, rather than a dated starting-salary report for the latest graduating MSCS cohort. Its Lightcast 2025 evidence should inform career research, but cannot establish the first salary available to an August 2027 entrant.

Evidence scope: these are programme-page alumni indicators attributed by USF to Lightcast 2025, with incomplete graduate salary reporting.

Source: USF MS Computer Science Alumni & Careers, citing Lightcast 2025.

Lightcast 2025 also reports 89% of alumni employed in the field, which differs from employment immediately after graduation. The careers page states that 85% obtain full-time work within three months, but supplies no graduating cohort or reporting denominator. USF lists software engineer and software developer as common roles, with alumni employers including Google, Apple, Amazon and Salesforce.

Those employer names establish reported alumni employment, rather than sponsorship availability or a recruitment commitment to the next class. The checked pages provide no cohort-specific sector salary breakdown, so applicants should ask for recent international-graduate outcomes before relying on a particular employer route.

Cost-to-Career Decision for Indian Applicants

The 2026-27 prior-cycle planning illustration of US$127,198 (INR 1.20 Crore) covers two repeated academic-year attendance budgets, without future increases or extra summer costs. Since target-cycle costs and a recent starting-salary cohort are unavailable, the evidence supports a risk assessment rather than a repayment-period calculation.

• The salary evidence measures six to ten years after graduation, so use an actual early-career offer and local expenses before calculating affordable loan repayments.
• The second-year capstone creates a substantial project opportunity, so identify the technical skills it must demonstrate for your intended role before selecting electives.
• The up to 36-month eligible post-study work window gives time-limited access to US employment, so test debt affordability against an India-return scenario too.
• Assistantships offer no tuition remission, so retain the unfunded cost in your financing case until an award or paid appointment is confirmed.

For a research applicant, the thesis track adds experience defining questions and presenting original work, which may support doctoral preparation. That route still requires financing the attendance period, so discuss supervision and project scope before treating research value as a reason to borrow.

Take-home pay depends on tax residency, work location and deductions; use a suitable tax calculator and USF tax-residency guidance before setting repayments. The longer-term gross alumni average cannot establish monthly disposable income for a new graduate.

ROI reality: USF’s project structure and alumni employment evidence support career investigation, but longer-term earnings cannot justify a large loan without an early-career and India-return budget.

USA Visa for USF MS Computer Science Students 2027

Eligible USF MSCS graduates can apply for OPT (Optional Practical Training) after completing the degree. This authorisation provides up to 12 months of related employment, with a possible 24-month STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) extension. The extension can bring the total to 36 months, subject to eligibility and an employer meeting the extension’s requirements.

• Budget the student visa fee of US$185 (INR 17,475) and student-system fee of US$350 (INR 33,061), a combined US$535 (INR 50,536) before other charges.
• For subsequent H-1B specialty-occupation sponsorship, employers must meet the higher of the applicable prevailing wage or actual comparable-worker wage, rather than one nationwide salary threshold.
• USF study provides no fixed permanent-residence timeline, because employment-based immigration depends on a qualifying route, petition approval and visa availability.
• A spouse and eligible children may seek F-2 dependent status, but F-2 dependants cannot work, so include their expenses without assuming a second income.

Read More: USA Student Visa Types and Application Requirements

Visa reality: USF’s eligible work window can support career development, but it does not establish employer sponsorship; keep an India-return repayment case in the financing decision.