Admissions Information

Application Instructions

The Master's in Data Science program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick is now accepting applications for Spring & Fall 2025 

Please read the following instructions carefully before beginning the application process.

• Prerequisite coursework for admission to the MS Data Science program is described here. Important! Admitted applicants who do not meet the prerequisite requirement must take the appropriate courses at their home institution or online before arriving at Rutgers in the fall. A placement test will be given to test the readiness of the students. Failure to pass this test may significantly delay the student's progress in the program.
  • Applicants should apply to the MS Data Science University Graduate Admissions website (this also applies to applicants wishing to take a course or courses on a non-degree or non-matriculated basis. When completing the "Program Information" portion of the application, applicants should select 16954.
    
    
  • Application Deadline: Students will be accepted to the program on a rolling admissions basis and there is no strict application deadline. However, space in the MS Data Science program is limited and potential applicants are encouraged to apply early.
    
    
• Application Requirements: A more detailed description of required application materials is provided below.
  
  Materials required for the MS Data Science application include:
  
  • Official transcripts. Unofficial transcripts are accepted at time of application. Official transcripts must be sent if admitted.
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Personal statement
  • Test scores from general GRE exam or GMAT exam
  • TOEFL or IELTS test scores (if non-native English speaker - details of who must submit a TOEFL/IELTS score may be found here)

  Official Test scores (TOEFL/GRE) must be sent directly from ETS to Rutgers University (use code 2790 for Rutgers university, no code for our department is needed). GMAT scores must be sent to the Graduate School of New Brunswick. 

  Official transcripts and other material which is not submitted online should be mailed to:

  Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions
  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
  56 College Ave
  New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8541, U.S.A.
  (848) 932-7711

• Test Scores: The Graduate School generally expects successful applicants to have verbal and quantitative Graduate Record Exam scores of at least 500/153 and 600/148, respectively (score scale for tests taken before/after August 1, 2011).  Successful applicants to the MSDS program are likely to have quantitative scores considerably higher than 600/148.  For students submitting GMAT scores, the typical requirements are a verbal score of at least 29 and a quantitative score of at least 41.  However, there is often some flexibility for the verbal score for both GRE and GMAT.
  
  Minimal requirements for applicants who must submit a TOEFL score are:

  Writing	22
  Speaking	23
  Reading	21
  Listening	17

  The acceptable IELTS score is bandwidth 7.

NOTE: As part of the BS/MS continuing program, GRE/GMAT scores are waived for all Rutgers undergraduate students with 3.2 GPA or higher.

International Students

In addition to the general requirements for admission above, international students have to follow instructions provided by the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions that can be found here and have to provide financial documentation that shows proof that admitted students can finance their first year of education and living expenses and provide a plan and sources for funding future years. Please note that financial documentation is only required after you have received an offer of admission.

Additional Information

Several frequently asked questions have been answered and posted as FAQs. Other inquiries about the program can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you have questions about the general application process, have troubles with the online application system, or want to confirm the status of your application, etc., please post your inquiries at Contact form or visit the Graduate School's Frequently Asked Questions. Information on the general Statistics and Biostatistics MS program may be found here.