The Berkeley MSSE degree prepares students for careers in computational science, data science, machine learning, and software engineering. The program is designed to train students with backgrounds in chemistry, physics, biology, computer science, or from other physical science disciplines. The MSSE provides students with the tools, software engineering practices, plus leadership, management, and entrepreneurial skills needed to create or lead science or engineering-based enterprises, and beyond.
What Are MSSE Alumni Doing?
Recent Alumni Job Titles
- AI Software Engineer
- Bioinformatics Scientist
- Computational Biologist
- Data Scientist
- Developer Advocate
- Electrical Software Engineer
- Engineering Manager
- Operations Manager
- PhD in Biochemistry
- PhD in Pharmacology
- Principal Scientist
- Senior Data Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Supercharger Product Engineer
- Biocompatibility Specialist
- Senior Microbiologist
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Immunology Researcher
- Cheminformatics Analyst
- PhD in Chemical Engineering
Where Are MSSE Alumni Working?
Recent Alumni Employers
Career Support
MSSE students have access to their own dedicated career coach, as well as professional development support through Berkeley Career Engagement and GradPro. One-on-one appointment topics include Resume/Cover Letter Consultations, Job Search Strategy, Values Reflection, Networking, Mock Interviews, Salary Negotiation, and more.
Students also gain direct, real-world career experience through working on computational science problems with our diverse industry and academic capstone partners.
MSSE Career Exploration Events
MSSE also offers direct-access Career Exploration sessions with a wide range of professionals across relevant industries. These engaging conversations are an amazing way for students to build their networks, gain exposure to cutting-edge topics, and gather insights to support them in their career development and future job search.
Recent Guests
Data Analyst Evaluating Clinical Processes at Tempus AI
Development Engineer Focused on Cellular Analysis at Bruker
Senior Therapeutics Researcher at Apriori Bio, a Flagship Pioneering Company
Explore Possible Careers
With its focus on Computational Molecular Science, MSSE prepares you for Software Engineering, Data Science, Machine Learning, and Research Scientist roles in high-demand fields such as Computational Chemistry, Cheminformatics, Computational Biology and Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Computational Physics, Computational Material Science, Quantum Computational Chemistry, Nanotechnology, and other Computational Science fields.
Computational Scientist
Average Starting Salary $157,000
Machine Learning Engineer
Average Starting Salary $149,742
Software Engineer
Average Starting Salary $144,144
Computational Chemist
Average Starting Salary $107,168
AI Engineer
Average Starting Salary $119,930
Bioinformatics Engineer
Average Starting Salary $145,573
Simulation and Modeling Engineer
Average Starting Salary $142,900
Computational Neuroscientist
Average Starting Salary $158,656
Industries For MSSE Graduates
Biotech & Pharmaceutical
$3.8 Trillion
- Drug discovery and new therapeutics
- Vaccine development
- Individualized medicines
- Improved testing and screening
Materials
$1.9 Trillion
- Renewable bioplastics
- Reliable, durable materials for renewables
- Biocompatible materials
Energy
$3.5 Trillion
- Renewable energy & biofuels
- Eco-friendly materials & chemical processes
- Improved solar cells
- New battery technologies
Food & Agriculture
$1 Trillion
- Food and water security
- Decarbonizing the synthesis of chemical feedstocks
- New water treatment technologies
Semiconductors
$1.9 Trillion
- Developing advanced semi-conductor materials
- Thermal condoctivity improvements
- Improving yield and cost
Aerospace
$.7 Trillion
- Lighter, stronger, more durable materials
- Superalloys and exotic materials
- Shape memory and superelastic alloys