California State University, Masters in Data Science and Analytics
Reviewed on Apr 8, 2025(Enrolled 2024)What Students Say
Likes
- Campus is eco-friendly with full of trees.
- Peaceful environment all around.
- Helpful and good education system. Good resources available for student success.
Dislikes
- Less opportunities regarding the internships and jobs.
- Lack of student mentorship.
- Less number of on-campus jobs.
Course Curriculum
8
- Course curriculum is not that difficult as far as I am learning.
- Students new to such a curriculum would struggle through the course but its not that hard to grasp.
- It is 100% practical based sometimes theory but it is rare case.
- Positive impact is that it is all core and related to the major I pursue and one negative is that only 1-2 courses aren't relevant to the major but then also are required courses.
Admission Experience
-
I applied to 5 colleges and got offer letter from 3 and 2 I had to withdraw because of some reasons. 3 colleges which were till last got accepted from all universities.
- Received offers from
- California State University, Chico
- Arizona State University, Tempe
- Cleveland State University, Ohio
- No, I did not receive rejections from any university. I was offered from all college which I had till last.
- I choose Chico State as it was pretty cheaper than other universities and good curriculum courses to study.
- Admission steps were applying through their portal and filling out entire form with required documents before the deadline, then wait for response. Once you receive an admit letter you need to file for visa, once that's done you're set to fly.
- Eligibility criteria for my major was only English Proficiency needs with bachelors degree related to the major I am pursuing.
- I applied for Fall intake which is the biggest intake for admissions in any university.
- The application process takes around 11 months to complete.
- It is generally said to start the admission process 11-12 months prior to the university or classes start.
- Early you apply the more are the chances for getting scholarships.
- For fall intake it generally starts from March onwards. But it is generally said to start preparation from October, November of the previous year to start preparations for all entrance examinations needed to complete and also to have all documentation ready.
Faculty
10
- Faculty to student in our courses is 1:30
- Ratio doesn't matter much as the faculty has eye on every one and knows what is happening around and guides each student.
- Course content is fully related to job market but not 100% as there is new technology coming up everyday but it is mostly related to jobs currently in the market.
- Yes, if asked and you're capable faculty members help us in finding or at least guide us through the process.
- I could not name one as all my faculty members are best in their own fields and whatever course they teach us.
- Every faculty has their own plus points as some is more into research, some more into technology so all stand out in their own fields.
Campus Life
10
- CSU is a 23 campus system in which one is Chico State.
- Every facility is available be it gym, sports, swimming, medical health center, housing dorms, cafe and dining places to eat around and also has some places to relax and massage.
- Colleges celebrate almost every main festival through different clubs and organizations on campus.
- There are lots of events every day happening somewhere around campus. Events are great with good fun, prizes and good food sometimes.
- It's lots of fun to attend event as we can meet new people and explore more and relax out of our course schedule.
Part Time Jobs
- TA, RA and DA typically depend on our skills and capabilities but there are chances of more than 60% who end up getting these positions with the professor they know or they have taken their classes.
- Pay range depends on professor but it mostly minimum $16.5
- Other on-campus jobs available are dining places, coffee shops, affinity centers, library, housing desk assistant.
- Usually the pay range start from $16.5 for each job and increases depending on difficulty and level of job.
- The maximum allowed to work for any international student is 20 hours, not more than that otherwise it is illegal and can get you in trouble in future if you're caught.
- It is not that difficult to secure an on-campus job, you just need to be patient and keep on applying and also take follow-ups on them.
- Part-time jobs pay range starts from $16.5 usually depending on what kind of job they do. It is not at all difficult if you make good connections on campus and get a job easily. Just need to be patient and also you can ask your professor or departments if they have any openings. Usual process is applying through official webpage of university, or handshake where all jobs are posted and where you can apply and even if there is different procedure needed to apply for application to the job it is posted to handshake where you can find process to apply for the job.
Placement
6
- I have no idea what the percentage of employment after graduation is.
- The salary range is depending on job, company and role you're hired for job.
- Usually pay range is from $25/hour
- The process is to keep on applying online, through referrals through your connections or visiting various career fairs that is also a good option for getting into a job.
- I am in my 2nd semester so I cant speak most on placement experiences.
- Nothing like major companies but yes good MNC companies hire graduated students from my university.
- I can't speak specifically about my program as it's new and we are the first batch of this program.
Accommodation
Off Campus
10
- I found accommodation through the college group of Indian Student Association of my university.
- Can't be specific about the amount I pay but all around $600 for monthly expenses including everything but it solely depends on our own lifestyle.
- I did not face any challenge as university Indian club members helped us well and groups made significant impact to find roommates and secure good place.
- I stay 1 mile away from my college campus which is a 15 minutes walk but less than 5 minutes by bus as we have free bus through our ID cards.
Exams
- First important is English Proficiency test which can be either IELTS or TOEFL
- The admission process needs to have all your marksheets till now right from your 10th grade to previous completed education.
- Transcripts, Statement of Purpose, Letter of Recommendation for decision making and your current resume.
- There wasn't any interview process during my university admission. It was all based on my qualifications and skills I had until previous education qualifications.
Fees
- Total fees depend on graduate level.
- Total fees for international students are around $34,000 for the overall course.
- Living expenses and other expenses would be around $15,000
- Fees are semester-wise.
- Estimated monthly expenses are around $600 for living, meals and other stuff that is needed for daily life and college.
- Transportation is free on our student identity cards and also free food pantry to access for the ones who are needy or on tight budgets.
Scholarship
- Yes, there are several scholarships available for all courses in my university, every scholarship has its own criteria like Wildcat Scholarship, Non-resident Tuition fee waiver and various need based and skills based scholarships that students can apply every year.
- I did not receive any scholarship as my admission was late due to issues from university regarding my offer.
- My classmates received a non-resident tuition fee waiver scholarship for the first year.
- Around 80% students in my major got scholarships and the award amount differs from which scholarship you apply and get rewarded.
