Graduate Studies in Computational Linguistics

Information for Prospective CL MS Applicants

The Brandeis Computational Linguistics MS program is an in-depth two year degree, run and taught by faculty working on cutting-edge research in CL/NLP that prepares you for success in the field, whether your goal is to work in industry after graduating, to pursue a PhD and research-focused career, and/or to pursue a career in academia.

For full details on our program – including how to be a strong candidate for admission, and how to put together a strong application – please consult the following pages.

To request a copy of the slides and recording of our recent CL MS Virtual Open House webinar for prospective students, please complete this short form.  

Whether you’re applying this year or considering applying in the future, both the slides and the webinar recording itself answer many frequently asked questions about applying to and studying in our program. The webinar recording includes sessions with CL faculty and detailed information about our curriculum, the broad range of academic backgrounds among the students we accept, financial aid and paid work opportunities, our career development support, and application guidelines and tips.

Information on the Brandeis CL MS program:

  • The Brandeis CL MS homepage gives a broad overview of our program, faculty, and the extensive support and preparation we provide for CL/NLP careers in both industry and research/academia.
  • The CL MS Curriculum and Degree Requirements page lays out the courses taken for the degree over the two years of the program.
  • The Professional Development and Industry Connections page details the extensive professional development support we offer, including our CL/NLP Industry Receptions with representatives from companies working in NLP each semester.
  • The News and Events page can give you a sense of the typical programming, academic support, and career support that we provide students throughout their time in our program, along with announcements of recent news.

  • Various campus sites have profiled our current students and alumni over the years, and reading about them can be a helpful way to get a better sense of our program and students.  

    • Sam Lasser, CL MA ‘14, Senior Formal Methods Engineer at Draper – click here for the profile.
    • Keelan Armstrong, CL MS ‘14, Senior Software Engineer at Grubhub – click here for the profile.
    • José Molina, CL MA ‘17, Google – click here for the profile.
    • Brynna Kilcline, CL MS ‘24, Software Development Engineer, Amazon – click here for the profile (this piece was actually about grad student life rather than Brynna’s many impressive NLP accomplishments, but we include it here nonetheless!).
    • Andy Rueda, CL MS ‘24 – click here for the profile.
    • Josh Broderick Phillips, CL MS ‘24, Artificial Intelligence Engineer at MITRE – click here for the profile.
    • Chester Palen-Michel, CL MS ‘18, CS PhD student specializing in NLP at Brandeis & Intern at eBay – click here for the profile.
    • Jin Zhao, CL MS ‘20, CS PhD student specializing in NLP at Brandeis – click here for the profile.

Preparing for the Program & Making Your Application Strong

  • Preparing for Our Program: whether you're applying this year or considering applying in the future, the Preparing for Our Program page includes important recommendations to follow so that you will be well prepared and a strong candidate for admission. For those applying this year, it also contains detailed application guidelines and tips to read and follow carefully – so that you can make your application as strong as possible, and make sure that it includes all of the information we look for. This includes:
  • The CL MS Admissions FAQ provides additional answers to frequently asked questions.
  • The CL B/MS page provides more information on the Five-Year Bachelor's/MS Program available to only Brandeis undergraduate students.