Is an MS at New Jersey Institute of Technology worth it for Indian students? (2026 numbers)

The numbers

Total cost: about ₹97.6 lakh for the full 18-month program - published tuition plus a realistic living-cost estimate for Newark, NJ, converted to INR at July 2026 rates.

Starting salary: around ₹87.1 lakh/year. To be precise about the basis: this is the university's own published career-survey figure.

Payback: roughly 1.2 years. Our assumption is disclosed - total cost divided by the salary gain over a ₹8 lakh/year India-baseline role. It's the same formula the scorecard uses, and it's a simplification: it ignores loan interest, taxes, and the risk of not landing the typical salary.

Admission bar: a GPA around 3.0/4.0 is the typical threshold. Test requirements: GRE not always required; IELTS 6.5 / TOEFL 79 typical among admits.

Visa reality

STEM OPT gives up to 3 years of US work authorization after graduation, and that is unaffected by recent changes. What got harder in 2026 is converting to H-1B afterward: a wage-weighted lottery (since Feb 2026) gives entry-level offers roughly 15% selection odds versus about 61% for senior roles. Master's holders do keep a separate lottery pool (~46% cumulative odds vs ~26% for bachelor's-only). On the much-discussed $100,000 employer fee: the $100,000 employer fee is vacated by court order and not being collected, and a separate $103,265 fee proposed by DHS on 24 Aug 2026 is only a proposal, not in force (checked 27 Aug 2026).

What to watch for

Popular, relatively easier admit; ROI depends heavily on individual job search effort in a competitive NY/NJ market. Salary figure is NJIT's own reported average for MS Data Science grads - note the small sample (13 salary reports, Class of 2024; 19 reports at $93,253 for Class of 2023). Post-OPT H-1B conversion has also gotten harder for entry-level hires since 2026 (see visa risk flag).

One honest flag: this program is widely marketed through commission-paid agents and consultants - that's our editorial observation about how it's sold, not a sourced statistic about its quality. It doesn't make it a bad choice - but verify placement claims independently rather than taking an agent's word for it.

Verify these numbers yourself

• Tuition & admissions: njit.edu, ds.njit.edu
• Salary: NJIT Career Development Services Outcomes Report, Class of 2024 - avg starting salary, MS Data Science, N=13 ($91,323), njit.edu/careerservices
• Visa: USCIS STEM OPT policy
• Wage-weighted H-1B lottery: USCIS final rule, effective Feb 27, 2026, uscis.gov. H-1B $100,000 fee: Presidential Proclamation of Sep 19, 2025; vacated by the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Jun 8, 2026; stay pending appeal denied by the First Circuit on Jul 24, 2026 - not currently enforceable, appeal pending. Proposed $103,265 fee on cap-subject petitions: DHS notice of proposed rulemaking, Federal Register 25 Aug 2026, DHS Docket USCIS-2026-0298 (RIN 1615-AD20) - proposed only, comments close 24 Sep 2026 (checked 2026-08-27)

Costs, salaries, and visa rules change - always confirm against the official program page before making a real decision. TruthPathMS aggregates and cites; it does not originate tuition, salary, or visa data.