CMU MS CS Acceptance Rate: 5% in CMU's Own Data

CMU MS CS Acceptance Rate: 5% in CMU's Own Data

Carnegie Mellon's Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) made 107 offers from 2,073 applications: 5.2%. That number comes from CMU itself, in the School of Computer Science (SCS) master's comparison spreadsheet labelled "2024 Data; updated fall 2025". CMU does not say which entry term the 2024 row covers, so treat it as one year of data, not a trend.

You do not need a forum estimate for this. CMU publishes the same figure for 17 SCS master's programs, and the spread is the useful part: the same school offers places to 1.2% of applications in one program and 83.3% in another. The real decision is which CMU program your record fits. Then write the statement that program asks for, using the CS, AI and data SOP rubric as a check.

The spreadsheet and every CMU page quoted below were checked on October 29, 2026. The file's label says it was updated in fall 2025, so download it again before you quote it.

On this page:

• What CMU counts as selectivity
• All 17 programs, ranked
• What the 5.2% does and does not tell you
• What each CMU statement asks for
• Choosing between MSCS, MCDS, MSML, MSAII and MSE
• Questions about CMU MS CS admission

What CMU counts as selectivity

CMU's SCS Master's Programs Comparison Data page defines the number:

"Selectivity is the ratio of student applications offered acceptance over applications received; some programs' requirements may diminish qualified candidates significantly."

Three things follow from that sentence.

• It counts applications, not people. The SCS graduate admissions page says "You can apply to up to three doctoral programs and any of the master's programs." One applicant who sends MSCS, MSML and MCDS applications appears three times in the table below.
• It counts offers, not enrolled students. The spreadsheet's column is "Admitted". The page's notes describe the same group as "students offered acceptance".
• It does not adjust for who applies. CMU's own caveat is that some programs' requirements "may diminish qualified candidates significantly." Read it as a warning about the pool: a high rate can mean a small, self-selected group of applicants, not an easy program.

All 17 SCS master's programs, ranked by CMU's selectivity

Every figure below is copied from CMU's comparison spreadsheet ("2024 Data; updated fall 2025"). Percentages are CMU's ratio rounded to one decimal place. The GRE column is the 25th to 75th percentile Quantitative score of students offered acceptance, as CMU defines it.

The spreadsheet has an 18th row, Product Management (MSPM, run jointly with the Tepper School of Business). Its admissions cells are blank, so it is left out.

Our arithmetic from the same rows:

• The 17 programs received 7,709 applications and made 1,146 offers, about 14.9% overall.
• MSCS alone drew 2,073 of those 7,709 applications (26.9%), more than any other program.
• At MSCS there were about 19 applications per offer. At MSML there were about 7, and at MCDS about 8.
• MSCS's GRE Quantitative range is 170 to 170. By CMU's own definition of the percentiles, at least three quarters of the students offered a place scored the maximum of 170. CMU does not say how many offers went to applicants with no GRE score.

What the 5.2% does and does not tell you

It is not your chance of admission. Because one person can file several applications, 5.2% is a share of applications. None of the CMU pages we checked publishes a rate by country, undergraduate college or GPA band, and this page does not invent one.

Weighing a PhD instead? See the official CS PhD acceptance rates at Stanford, MIT and CMU; CMU publishes no PhD figure.

It is one year. Small programs move a lot with a few decisions. MSE-ES made 11 offers from 19 applications, so two more offers would change its rate by about 10 percentage points (our arithmetic).

It is not a quality ranking. MLT, at 1.2%, is a research master's: the spreadsheet lists its type as "Research", as it does for Robotics (MSR). Every other program in the table is listed as "Professional", MSCS included. MLT made 7 offers in total, so its rate describes a very small intake.

Other CMU pages publish other numbers. The MS in Machine Learning page gives averages for admitted students: "The average scores of accepted applicants for the MS in Machine Learning for fall 2025 were as follows: Undergraduate Overall GPA: 3.9/4.0 or 9.5/10.0." It adds: "Scores varied significantly and are only a small portion of applicants' qualifications." Among the CMU pages we checked, MSML is the only one that prints an admitted GPA.

Our view: treat the spreadsheet as a map for choosing programs, not a scoreboard. The real question is not "can I beat 5%?" It is "which of these programs asks for the evidence I already have?" Filing only MSCS puts every chance on the professional program with the most applications per offer in this table. If your strongest evidence is mathematics, large-scale data systems or AI product work, a sister program built around that evidence deserves an application of its own. The basis is CMU's own data: offers per application vary roughly sixteenfold across the professional programs, from 5.2% to 83.3% (our arithmetic).

The countercase: if your goal is the MSCS curriculum itself, with its open choice of courses, a better-odds sister program is not a substitute. The spreadsheet describes MSCS as "Outstandingly flexible about applicant background and course of study." No other row offers that. Apply to it, and add a second program only if you would actually enroll there.

What each CMU statement asks for

All the SCS programs use one online application, but the statement is not one document. The SCS admissions page says: "Each program has specific requirements for the Statement of Purpose, detailed on the application." Here is what the program pages publish.

Sources: CSD master's admissions, MSAII application page, MSML program page, SCS graduate admissions.

The MSCS mismatch. In CMU's own spreadsheet, MSCS is a "Professional" degree with no culminating activity ("N/A"). Yet its statement asks for your "primary research interests". Read that as a request for direction: name the area of computer science you want to go deep in, the work that led you there, and the courses or projects at CMU that would extend it. You do not need a publication. Our guide to whether coursework MSCS programs need papers covers that question.

The GRE sentence goes in the statement. The CSD page says the GRE "is strongly recommended in order to apply to the MSCS program, especially for students who do not have clear documentation of strong mathematical proficiency. If you cannot provide GRE scores, please briefly explain in your statement of purpose." If you skip the test, one plain sentence near the end is enough. Point to the courses on your transcript that show your mathematics.

The Information Networking Institute (INI) degrees, such as Information Security (MSIS), are not in this spreadsheet. The INI application asks for essay answers "limited to 300 words each" and a three-minute video. Our cybersecurity SOP guide covers them. For MSAII and MSML statements, see the MS in artificial intelligence SOP guide.

Choosing between MSCS, MCDS, MSML, MSAII and MSE

Match your strongest evidence to the program built for it. The goals quoted here are from the spreadsheet's "Program Goal" column.

1. Broad CS coursework plus systems or theory projects. MSCS's goal is "a solid Computer Science core education plus access to a student-customized curriculum." Its statement asks for research interests, so give it a direction, not a course list.
2. Large-scale data or distributed-systems work. MCDS's goal names "(a) large scale machine learning and data analysis, (b) large scale parallel and distributed systems, or (c) human-computer interactions and learning experience." It ran at 12.7% in the 2024 data and lists a capstone. (The MCDS website returned HTTP 503, "Site under maintenance", on October 29, 2026, so read its prompt in the application.)
3. Mathematics: probability, linear algebra, multivariate calculus. MSML's first-year courses assume at least a year of college-level probability and statistics, matrix algebra and multivariate calculus; the AI SOP guide quotes that requirement in full. If your transcript shows that, MSML at 15.1% may be a closer match than MSCS.
4. Building AI products or persuading sponsors. MSAII's goal includes "the ability to persuade sponsors that a proposed AI system is worth supporting." Its statement asks for your reasons and your "intended career path". Do not record the required video as an afterthought.
5. Professional software delivery. MSE's goal is to "Prepare software developers, who have at least two years of experience". MSE-SS is aimed at "entry-level software developers". The three software engineering programs ran at 37.9% to 58.9%, and each lists a capstone.

You can apply to more than one. MSML's page says "You may apply for multiple programs at Carnegie Mellon and the Machine Learning Department's M.S. Admissions Committee will consider your application independently." Write a separate statement for each one. A statement written for MSCS's "research interests" reads wrong to MSAII, which asks for your reasons and your career path. For the overall structure, see how to write an SOP for an MS in CS. For what CS departments ask across many schools, see CS statement of purpose examples.

Questions about CMU MS CS admission

Is the GRE required for CMU MSCS?

Not strictly. The CSD page says it is "strongly recommended … especially for students who do not have clear documentation of strong mathematical proficiency," and asks you to explain in the statement of purpose if you cannot provide scores. Policies differ by program: the MSAII page says "GRE is required", and the MSML page says GRE scores are optional for applicants "applying to the MS in Machine Learning program in Fall 2026 for a start date of August 2027".

When is the CMU MSCS deadline for fall 2027?

The SCS page says "Applications for Fall 2027 enrollment will open September 9, 2026." The CSD page lists an early deadline of November 18, 2026 (3 p.m. EST) and a final deadline of December 9, 2026 (3 p.m. EST), both Wednesdays. The SCS page lists the fee as $80 per program before the early deadline and $100 per program after it, with fee waivers available in the application.

Is 5.2% the lowest acceptance rate at CMU SCS?

No. In the same spreadsheet, the research master's in Language Technologies (MLT) made 7 offers from 592 applications: 1.2%. Among the professional programs, MSCS has the lowest rate.

Does CMU publish a minimum GPA for MSCS?

The CSD admissions page we checked gives no GPA minimum or average. The MSAII apply page says "The School of Computer Science requires the following for all applications: A GPA of 3.0 or higher," and asks for raw, unconverted scores; the SCS and CSD pages we checked do not repeat that line. The MSML page gives an admitted average of 3.9/4.0 for fall 2025, and the INI page lists "GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a 4-point scale)" as a minimum recommended qualification for its own degrees. If your grades are the worry, our low-GPA guide for MS in CS applicants lists the cutoffs other CS departments publish.

Can I use AI tools on the CMU statement of purpose?

The SCS graduate admissions page recommends using AI tools "only in a limited fashion," says "you are solely responsible for 100% of what is submitted in your application," and warns that their use "may impact your ability to be admitted." Our MS in artificial intelligence SOP guide quotes the whole paragraph. The certification inside the application is what you sign, so read it there too.

Get a free review of your CMU statement of purpose

Get a free Quick Review of your CMU statement of purpose against GradPilot's MS SOP rubric for computer science, AI and data. It reads for clear technical preparation, the work you have done, the direction you want to pursue, and claims about your readiness that your evidence supports. Applying to MHCI? Use the HCI master's statement rubric. Applying to Computational Biology (MSCB)? Use the life sciences MS SOP rubric. Paste the program's own prompt with your draft. For other master's statements, start at our master's SOP review page.

More CS master's guides:

• Do coursework MSCS programs need papers?: what a research-interest question asks of a coursework applicant
• MS to PhD in CS at 39 US programs: which departments let a master's student move into the PhD
• Is CMU Heinz MISM a cash cow?: our data review of CMU's information systems master's, outside SCS
• Graduate school essays hub: every master's and PhD guide in one place

Sources

Retrieved October 29, 2026.

• Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, SCS master's program comparison spreadsheet (.xlsx) ("2024 Data; updated fall 2025"): offers, applications, selectivity, GRE Quantitative ranges, program type, culminating activity and program goals for all 18 rows.
• Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, SCS Master's Programs Comparison Data (no cycle stated): definition of selectivity and GRE percentiles.
• Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, Graduate Admissions (fall 2027 entry; deadlines November 18 and December 9, 2026): multiple applications, fees, default statement guidance, AI guidance.
• Carnegie Mellon Computer Science Department, Master's Programs Admissions (application opening September 9, 2026): MSCS statement prompt, GRE guidance, deadlines.
• Carnegie Mellon Language Technologies Institute, Apply to the MSAII program (Fall 2027 entry): statement prompt, required video, GRE requirement.
• Carnegie Mellon Machine Learning Department, Master of Science in Machine Learning (fall 2025 admitted averages; August 2027 start GRE policy): mathematics prerequisites, admitted averages, multiple applications, additional-master's guidance.
• Carnegie Mellon Information Networking Institute, How to Apply (Fall 2027 entry): minimum recommended GPA and essay format for INI degrees.