Is BU MET's MS in Computer Science a Cash Cow? (2026)
~$41K, GRE-waived, non-CS welcome, STEM-OPT, inside BU's part-time continuing-ed unit—but run in-house. We score BU MET's MS CS: 67/100.
Is BU MET's MS in Computer Science a Cash Cow? The Data (2026)
Boston University runs two master's in computer science. One lives in its main Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS), is geared toward students with a strong CS background, and is the route to funded, research-track study. The other lives in Metropolitan College (MET) — BU's part-time, evenings-and-online continuing-education division — requires no GRE, openly admits applicants "who wish to move into the computer field from other areas of study," and runs on rolling admission. That second door is the one international applicants tend to find. So we ran BU MET's MS in Computer Science through our Cash-Cow Index, an 8-test rubric scored entirely on public facts.
"Cash cow" here is an evaluative label for a revenue-oriented structure, drawn from disclosed facts — not an accusation of fraud, deception, predatory conduct, or low quality. Boston University is a well-regarded research university and the degree carries real value. Every figure is sourced and dated.
The data
| Test (max) | Finding | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| International (22) | No MET-MS-CS-specific share published. BU university-wide is ~26% international (9,910 of 37,737, 2024–25); graduate body ~32% (5,979 intl). MET markets heavily to international applicants but discloses no program-level figure. | bu.edu/president facts ; CollegeFactual/IPEDS | Med (school) / program not published |
| Full-pay (18) | $1,030/unit × 40 units ≈ $41,200 (600–999 courses, 2026–27); full-time billed at $36,512/semester. No CS-program funding beyond automatic merit scholarships; international students "not eligible for federal loans." | bu.edu/met tuition ; MET financial aid | High |
| Open-door (12) | No GRE/GMAT. Letters of recommendation not required. Rolling admission, 3+ starts/year (Sep/Jan/May). Non-CS applicants accepted, often conditionally with prerequisite courses. No published acceptance rate. | bu.edu/met MS CS ; csmet admissions | High |
| One-year (10) | 40 units; "12 months of full-time study" (12–20 mo overall); non-thesis, coursework-based; evenings on campus. | bu.edu/met MS CS length & cost | High |
| Middleman (12) | No OPM. Program is run in-house by BU's MET CS department; no 2U/edX/Coursera revenue-share and no disclosed commission-agent program. | bu.edu/csmet | Med-High |
| Factory (10) | MET is BU's part-time/continuing-education division (one of ~17 schools), distinct from CAS/GRS; faculty mix is core faculty + part-time "Lecturers" who are industry practitioners; the FY2026 budget treats MET distinctly from other units. | bu.edu/met about ; csmet people ; bu.edu/bpba | Med |
| Visa (6) | Marketed verbatim as "STEM Designated" with "OPT of 12 months and an extension for up to 24 additional months." F-1 study requires full-time on-campus enrollment; the online option "is not eligible for a visa." | bu.edu/met MS CS | High |
| Outcomes (10) | No program-specific placement rate or salary. Career page cites general BLS sector wages (~$106K median field-wide) and alumni anecdotes (Amazon, Apple, Bose) — no verifiable MS-CS outcomes or response rate. | bu.edu/met CS career outlook | High |
The score
International 10 · Full-pay 14 · Open-door 10 · One-year 9 · Middleman 2 · Factory 8 · Visa 6 · Outcomes 8 → Total ≈ 67 / 100 — "Elevated."
The demand-side profile reads cash-cow-like: a ~$41K, GRE-waived, no-LOR, rolling-admission, non-CS-welcome, STEM/OPT-marketed coursework master's housed in a self-funding part-time division and publishing no program-level outcomes. But two tests pull it firmly out of the "strong" band. It runs in-house — there's no online-program-manager skimming 40–60% of tuition (Middleman: 2/12) — and the sticker is genuinely lower than a six-figure peer program, because MET's per-unit rate ($1,030) sits below BU's main-campus graduate tuition. Those keep it in the "expensive, demand-driven" zone rather than the "extraction" zone. The one number we'd most want — what share of MET MS CS students are international — BU does not publish, so we scored International conservatively on the verifiable university-wide figure rather than assume.
Mitigating context
This is Boston University — a Carnegie R1 with a real CS faculty and a Boston-tech network that the program leans on legitimately. For an applied career-changer degree, a practitioner-heavy part-time faculty (working engineers teaching evenings) is arguably a feature, not a flaw, and the conditional-prerequisite path for non-CS applicants is a documented on-ramp, not a trick. Critically, MET's CS degree is cheaper than many programs we review, and BU keeps tuition in-house rather than handing it to a for-profit OPM. The honest distinctions an applicant should hold onto: the MET MS CS is not the funded GRS/CAS research-track MS, and the online version does not sponsor F-1 — so if you need a visa, you're committing to full-time on-campus study at the full bundled cost. A high score describes the economics of the structure, not the value any individual student receives. The most fixable gap is transparency: for a STEM degree marketed partly on US work outcomes, the absence of verifiable, program-level placement and salary data is the thing applicants should push on.
For comparison: Cornell Tech's MEng CS sits higher on price-and-international markers, while UNT's MS CS is a public-school sibling on the same rubric, and Georgia Tech's OMSCS scores far lower — the benchmark for a genuinely good deal. BU MET is one data point in the broader pattern we mapped across cash-cow master's programs at elite universities.
Right of reply. Boston University and Metropolitan College are welcome to respond — including a program-specific international-enrollment share, an acceptance rate, or graduate placement and salary outcomes for the MS in Computer Science — and we will publish it in full.
This is opinion and structural analysis based on public data as of June 2026 — not financial, immigration, or admissions advice. "Cash cow" is an evaluative label for a revenue-oriented structure, not an allegation of wrongdoing. Figures change; verify current terms with the program. GradPilot is independent and not affiliated with Boston University.
Sources
BU MET MS in Computer Science program, tuition & fees, length-and-cost, financial aid, international-students, and CS career-outlook pages (bu.edu/met, bu.edu/csmet); BU "Facts & Stats" (bu.edu/president); BU Budget & Planning (bu.edu/bpba); CollegeFactual/IPEDS international enrollment. Accessed June 2026.
Related Reading
- The Cash-Cow Index: Score Your Master's Offer in 8 Tests
- Cash Cow Master's Programs at Elite Universities
- Is Cornell Tech's MEng in CS a Cash Cow?
- Is UNT's MS in Computer Science a Cash Cow?
- Is Georgia Tech's OMSCS a Cash Cow? (the low-score benchmark)
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