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The Professional Master’s Program in Computer Science & Engineering has consistently recruited top computing professionals from across the Puget Sound region. More than 100 people apply for admission to the program each year, and about 50 percent are accepted. Selected students are almost all employed on a full-time basis in regional IT companies and are pursuing their master’s degree to advance in their current career. A typical entering class has the following characteristics: Average Professional Experience: 4 yearsAverage GRE Scores: Quantitative: 88th percentile; Analytical: 4.5 (written test); Verbal: 70th percentile Average Undergraduate GPA: 3.5 Percent Non-US Citizens: 22% Undergraduate Majors: Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Math, or Other Science & Engineering Top Employers: Microsoft, Boeing, RealNetworks, Intel, amazon.com, Google Typical Job Titles: Software Design Engineer, Software Developer, Computer Engineer Learn more about the program’s admission requirements to see if you qualify. Or read on to learn about some current PMP students. Dan Mastrian
“There is always something new and interesting to learn in this field, which is one of the reasons I love it.” This is the way Dan Mastrian describes Computer Science. Dan came to Microsoft from Carnegie-Mellon University’s Computer Science program, which, like UW CSE, is top-ten ranked. He has worked as a Software Design Engineer in Microsoft’s Windows Core OS group since 2003. Dan says that the Professional Master’s Program makes him a more versatile software developer by giving him a solid background in a wide range of topics. “In commercial software development, it is easy to let your focus get too narrow. I missed the kind of broad exploration that my undergraduate education had provided, and the PMP allows me to learn new concepts and strengthen old ones in areas my job doesn't normally cover. That is valuable to me, and it's valuable to my employers. Mike Baldwin
Mike Baldwin has discovered the job he would like to work in until he retires: video game development. His professional experience includes game producers Legend, Amaze, and currently Monolith in Seattle. Mike, who already has impressive academic credentials in related fields from SUNY Binghamton and Cornell, joined the Professional Master’s Program to compliment what he has learned on the job. “Game development requires a broad array of technical skills from its engineering team. I was looking for a master’s program where I can continue to work and stay on top of my craft, and the Professional Master’s Program is an excellent fit for this.” Erin Geaney
During her fourth year in the University of Virginia’s Computer Science and Engineering program Erin Geaney was torn between enrolling in graduate school immediately or jumping straight into the workforce. She chose to take a job with Dell, and after two years of developing storage management software, switched to a software development position in Microsoft’s Visual Studio Enterprise Tools group. Erin is now enjoying the best of both worlds. “With the Professional Master’s Program, I’m able to continue my education at the same time I’m gaining experience in the workforce. What’s more, both aspects compliment each other. I’m able to use my work experience to broaden my understanding in class, and I’m able to apply my class knowledge to work.” She says her first three Professional Master’s Program courses have already been helpful in this way. “I’ve been able to apply direct knowledge from my Algorithms and Complexity Theory classes into my work in designing large trees and have started to apply information from Data Mining into my everyday work.” Swaminathan Pattabiraman 
In the area on a work visa, as is over a quarter of our Professional Master’s Program students, Swaminathan Pattabiraman is taking advantage of his time in Seattle to complete his master’s degree at the UW. “My penchant to explore new things has made science my favorite subject since childhood,” says Swami. He earned his Bachelor’s of Engineering at V.J.T.I. Mumbai, an engineering college in in India, then worked in several software development positions, most recently at Microsoft where his thirst for learning continues. “After working in industry for over six years I had a good grasp of the software development cycle and the industry needs and challenges. With these new dimensions in mind I wanted to revisit computer science topics in depth to continue to broaden my technical experience.” Swami had heard “rave feedback” about the Professional Master’s Program from colleagues who were graduates of the program. “I am convinced the Professional Master’s Program will strengthen my understanding and help me move toward my career goals.” Greg Briggs 
Greg Briggs grew up near Rochester, New York and excelled in Computer Engineering at the University of Rochester. His cross country move to Seattle was the result of some heavy recruitment by Amazon, where he has worked as a Software Development Engineer since 2005. Greg was always determined to earn his Computer Science master’s degree, and was already enrolled in Rochester’s master’s program when Amazon made their offer. “ I thought Seattle was a pretty cool place, but I told the recruiter that earning my master’s was a prerequisite for coming here.” Hearing about the Professional Master’s Program was a key part of Greg’s decision. “I don’t want to be one out of a bunch of people who are equally qualified. Within Amazon there are different levels of SDE positions and my long term goal is to eventually become a principal engineer.” He expects the Professional Master’s Program to be part of that. “For example, in my PMP database course I learned specific techniques that optimized how our systems process. I’m always eager to find out what I don’t know and how it will help me improve my work projects.” Aaron Colwell 
Eight years beyond his Computer Engineering degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Aaron Colwell’s motivation to go for his master’s degree was building. For most of his professional career he’d been working on R&D projects at RealNetworks, evaluating new technologies and their applicability to their products and services. “I wanted to form a new base of knowledge for generating innovative ideas. I already had the whole media delivery and playback area of computer science covered. I wanted to be exposed to a diverse set of topics so I can apply fresh thinking to RealNetworks’ products and services.” And how is it going so far? “I can already see how the Professional Master’s Program will allow me to gain new insights from our data. This knowledge will help me build tools to make the software development process less error prone and produce more robust systems. In addition to everything else, having a master’s degree can also open doors to even higher level technical positions.” Rock Hymas 
Rock Hymas has always looked to the future. “I believe the coming years will see some important shifts in the software industry. I want to be a part of that shift and help make the products I work on better because of the changes.” Rock graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Computer Science degree from Brigham Young University in April 2003 and was on the job at Microsoft only a few weeks later. Since then he’s worked as a software design engineer on their Outlook team. While Rock has already been able to apply what he’s learned as an undergrad, he looked to the PMP to build on his academic and professional foundation. “I joined the Professional Master’s Program to gain additional perspectives on how to approach my current technical challenges, as well as to obtain knowledge specific to areas I’m very interested in pursuing down the road.” |
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Computer Science & Engineering University of Washington Box 352350 Seattle, WA 98195-2350 (206) 543-1695 voice, (206) 543-2969 FAX [comments to masters] |
