What Students Say
Likes
- Suny albany is a great place to be for a masters student, you get to do lots of fun stuff
- The city albany is a peaceful city, it is very calm
- For a graduate student it is very hard to sustain and survive, University at Albany will give you groceries and food items every month for free
Dislikes
- The course curriculum is little different here, you can only choose electives from few options
- It is really cold here.
- You get less time to participate in college activities
Required Exams for Admission
Course Curriculum
8
- This, at a glance, would be one challenging yet rewarding SUNY Albany Master's in Data Science, with a thoroughly well-rounded curriculum that aptly balances theory and practice; starting from statistical modeling, machine learning, data visualization, to big data processing-the topics one would see are many. Most assignments also would normally contain practical projects on actual data-sets along with usage of various important industry tools like Python, R, and SQL-so the students are well-matched for industry positions.
- Positives: Course curricula are very industry-oriented. The students get exposed to the latest technologies and frameworks in use currently within the data science world. Professors are a mix of researchers and people with industry experience, so it makes the learning process quite interactive. Varieties of projects and networking opportunities are there: projects with local organizations, meetups, and conferences. All these make the program an excellent pathway to excellence in the career of students aspiring to become data scientists.
- Disadvantages are: the workload is pretty intensive because of many assignments, projects, and exams, for which good time management will be required; maybe some very specialized interests are not going to be covered by available electives - this is a drawback if one intends to get a highly specialized training; international students take time to adapt to the American system in class or grading system.
- The program is well-rounded, providing the skill set and opportunities to succeed in such a competitive data science environment, amidst intense academics and practical exposure.
Admission Experience
- I have applied to 5 universities in total,
- Arizona state university - accepted
- University of houston - accepted
- Suny albany - accepted
- Towson university - accepted
- University of Cincinnati - accepted
- Rejection/ acceptance totally depends on the documents and cover letters you write to the university.
- You just need to show your worth to the university
- I chose this university because it is part of suny system ( state university of new york )
- Which has a good certificate value and it is widely recognised.
- The admission process is simple, you start by creating a student account in the ualbany website and provide documentation like your transcript of your previous degree, original degree, etc and pay around 250 dollars to apply for the university.
- University at albany accepts ilets, gre, with a minimum score in 6.5 in ilets.
- I got admitted in fall intake, i completed my betch in Andhra University in Vizag.
- I started preparing for GRE and ILETS for masters, i have decided since my first year of btech to pursue a masters degree in the united states, so i after preparing for GRE exams i got to know that the university that i am applying does not need GRE Score then i realized i need to choose my university first before preparing for exams.
- I wrote my ILTES exam then i got a band of 7.5 which is eligible for my university.
- By the end of july i got my visa approved and i flew to the US .
Class Schedule
8
- Class Structure and Timings: Classes are 1-2 each day, lasting from 1 to 3 hours. Classes start from 8 AM and end at 7 PM, so many courses are held during the evening for students who work.
- Class Size: Most classes have between 30-50 students, which is a pretty good balance between individual attention and group dynamics.
- Indian Student Strength: The cohort can be as high as 30-50% Indian students, which helps attain a good community and cultural linkage, especially for the freshmen in the U.S.
Faculty
8
- The faculties for SUNY Albany's program in Master's in Data Science are an excellent mixture of distinguished academicians and professionals from the industry and provide expertise in machine learning, big data, and AI.
- A faculty-to-student ratio of about 1:20 to 1:30 ensures personalized interaction and guidance. Teaching methodologies stress a mix of theoretical and practical learning through lectures, coding demonstrations, real-world case studies, and project-based assignments that prepare students for the industry.
- And many faculty members support career development in students through resume feedback, interview tips, and job opportunities by sharing their network. Such professors have industrial experience and, at the same time, possess highly acknowledged practical insights, approachability, and mentorship in shaping the academic and professional life of their students.
Campus Life
8
- Planned on finding off-campus accommodation; searched through Telegram and WhatsApp SUNY Albany student groups, then asked among seniors.
- This ranges from anywhere between 400 to 800 bucks a month, depending on shared utilities: water, electricity, heat were inclusive. My accommodation was approximately 1.5 miles off-campus, travel taking anything up to 10 to 15 minutes using a bus.
- The biggest challenge, being an international student, was understanding lease agreements, but early planning and seniors' help got me a good place.
- Most Indian students stay around Western Avenue or Washington Avenue; these are quite popular for affordability and convenience
Part Time Jobs
- Due to the high demand, only about 10–20% of students manage to get these highly competitive part-time opportunities like a Teaching Assistant (TA), Research Assistant (RA), or Departmental Assistant (DA).
- Normally, these are in the range of $15–$20 per hour, although said credentials must be strong in such positions. Other on-campus employment opportunities, such as at libraries or administrative offices, pay about $12-$15 per hour but are equally competitive to obtain in the initial days of semester start.
- International students may work up to 20 hours per week. Finding the part-time jobs needs persistence and requires early application and contacts through seniors or persons in the department.
- Most students are likely to work as a student worker on campus, As students we have to look for part time job opportunities in the university website where they post the opportunities and details in the finances tab on student portal. the eligible time for a student to work in the US is 20 hours.
- Few of the students do not opt to work part time as the tuition fee is less when compared to other universities.
Placement
8
- As the ground reality full time opportunities are really less when compared to the years before, the main reequipment employers here is the citizenship of US.
- There are few positions which do not require the US citizenship but as a student i suggest to start applying for these positions right from your first semester.
- This increases the percentage of getting a successful position.
- SUNY Albany is a great university with good certificate value, and yes you will land up in a good role if the job market is good at the time of your graduation.
Accommodation
Off Campus
8
- Planned on finding off-campus accommodation; searched through Telegram and WhatsApp SUNY Albany student groups, then asked among seniors. This ranges from anywhere between 400 to 800 bucks a month, depending on shared utilities: water, electricity, heat were inclusive.
- My accommodation was approximately 1.5 miles off-campus, travel taking anything up to 10 to 15 minutes using a bus.
- The biggest challenge, being an international student, was understanding lease agreements, but early planning and seniors' help got me a good place. Most Indian students stay around Western Avenue or Washington Avenue; these are quite popular for affordability and convenience
Exams
- After preparing for GRE exams i got to know that the university that i am applying does not need GRE Score then i realized i need to choose my university first before preparing for exams.
- Iwrote my ILTES exam then i got a band of 8.0 which is eligible for my university.
- lors are very important when you are applying for university. these are the deciding part of your admission. make sure that you add achievements right from your first year so that by the end of your btech you will have solid points to put in your lors.
Fees
- The total fee for a graduate student is 35 lakhs in rupees and 33 thousand in dollars.
- Based on your previous degree score you will get a scholarship of 2500 dollars per semester.
- And you can review it on the application website by accepting or rejecting the offer.
- Transportation is free of cost of students studying at university at albany. You just need to swipe your id card in the bus.
Scholarship
- Yes i did receive a scholarship of 2500 dollars per semester and it is based on your previous degree score and merit.
- Once you upload your transcript and you will receive a mail regarding you scholarship and you can decide weather to accept or reject in 30 days of your application.
- After the scholarship you got to pay 8,500 dollars per semester.
- For data science you have to complete 36 credits in total.
