Guide
USA vs UK vs Canada vs Germany vs Australia for MS in CS/Data Science
Last reviewed: July 2026
The comparison
Ranges reflect the specific CS/Data Science programs we track in each country (2-3 programs per country), not a national average - see the sourcing note below the table for which programs anchor each range.
| Country | Total cost (tuition + living) | Starting salary | Post-study work window | PR clarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | ~₹59L - ₹1.02Cr (est.) | ~₹81L - ₹1.32Cr/yr (est.) | Up to 3 yrs STEM OPT (est. based on current policy) | Lottery-dependent (est. ~15-61% H-1B odds by wage level) |
| UK | ~₹65L - ₹78L (est.) | ~₹41L - ₹48L/yr (est.) | 18 months from Jan 2027 applications; 2 yrs if applied before (confirmed policy) | Moderate - employer sponsorship needed within window (est.) |
| Canada | ~₹48L - ₹51L (est.) | ~₹62L - ₹64L/yr (est.) | Up to 3 yrs PGWP (confirmed policy, unchanged since Feb 2024) | Clearer - PGWP feeds directly into Express Entry pathways (est.) |
| Germany | ~₹33L - ₹61L (est.) | ~₹54L - ₹63L/yr (est.) | 18-month job-seeker permit, non-renewable (confirmed policy) | Clearer - Blue Card path is salary-threshold-based, not lottery-based (est.) |
| Australia | ~₹1.11Cr - ₹1.21Cr (est.) | ~₹54L - ₹58L/yr (est.) | 485 visa, tightened Mar 2026 (age ≤35, IELTS 6.5) (confirmed policy) | Moderate - narrower eligibility after 2026 changes (est.) |
Cost/salary ranges: our program dataset (CMU, ASU, UIUC, NJIT, SJSU, Georgia Tech for USA; UCL, Manchester for UK; U Toronto MScAC, Waterloo for Canada; TUM, RWTH Aachen for Germany; Melbourne, UNSW for Australia), last researched Jul 6, 2026. Salary bands are Glassdoor/Indeed/PayScale/ZipRecruiter market estimates except Georgia Tech (official median, Career & Salary Survey 2022-23) and NJIT (official average, small sample N=13, Class of 2024) - see each program's scorecard entry for the exact source.
Reading the cost and salary numbers
The US shows the widest salary range and the highest ceiling - Georgia Tech's officially reported median (₹1.32Cr) reflects strong CS-specific outcomes, while cost varies more by program length and location than by prestige (Georgia Tech's own cost is actually the lowest in our US set, because it charges international students the in-state rate). Australia has the highest cost floor of the five, driven by 2-year program lengths and Melbourne/Sydney living costs, without a salary premium to match - worth weighing carefully against the 2026 485-visa tightening. Germany has the widest cost range of any country here: RWTH Aachen is near-free even for non-EU students, while TUM now charges real non-EU tuition after a recent policy correction - two very different price points inside the same country.
Reading the visa columns
The work-window and PR-clarity figures are less about a single country being "better" and more about what each pathway asks of you. The US window is the longest on paper (3 years STEM OPT) but the road beyond it now runs through a wage-weighted lottery - see our H-1B guide and our duration-of-status guide for the mechanics. The UK and Australia both tightened meaningfully in 2026-27 - shorter windows, higher bars, less room for error. Canada and Germany currently offer the most predictable routes from graduation to longer-term status: Canada's PGWP feeds directly into points-based immigration systems, and Germany's Blue Card is a transparent salary threshold rather than a capped lottery. For the full policy detail behind each of these, see our country-by-country visa guide.
What this table can't tell you
A national range hides program-level variation - within the US alone, our tracked programs span roughly ₹59L to ₹1.02Cr in cost and ₹81L to ₹1.32Cr in reported starting salary. Country-level comparisons are a starting filter, not a final answer: two students choosing between a UK and a US program should look at the specific universities, not just the row in this table. And every salary figure here describes a typical or reported outcome for that program's applicant pool - it is not a guarantee for any individual graduate.
See these numbers for your actual shortlist, not just country averages
The Honest Scorecard runs program-level cost, salary, payback period, and visa-pathway strength for the specific universities you're considering - with every source shown.
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