RMIT's Master of Data Science, delivered through the School of Computing Technologies, sits alongside the Master of Cyber Security and Master of Information Technology as one of RMIT's most sought-after postgraduate coursework degrees. RMIT dates to 1887 and became a university in 1992, and its Melbourne City campus places students directly inside Australia's second-largest metropolitan economy rather than on a separate suburban site, giving Data Science students close proximity to Melbourne's banking, fintech, and technology employers. With more than 70,000 higher-education students and heavy institutional emphasis on industry placements (24,000+ in 2024 alone), RMIT markets its Data Science degree as a direct pipeline into applied analytics and machine learning roles.
This guide covers what matters for RMIT's Master of Data Science: acceptance realities, tuition and living costs, admission requirements, how to get in, English-test rules, and career outcomes.
Acceptance Rate
RMIT does not publish an official acceptance rate for the Master of Data Science, or for any of its programs. Like most Australian universities, RMIT evaluates international applicants against published country-specific equivalency guides rather than running a single US-style competitive admissions cycle with a published admit percentage.
A commonly cited third-party estimate puts RMIT's overall, university-wide acceptance rate around 45%, though this figure is not sourced from an official RMIT publication and is not specific to Data Science. Treat it as a general sense of RMIT's accessibility relative to Australia's Group of Eight universities, not a precise admissions statistic for this particular master's program.
Fees and Cost of Attendance
RMIT does not publish one flat tuition figure for the Master of Data Science on its own course page in a way that separates it cleanly from RMIT's other coursework master's programs. The figures below are RMIT's representative postgraduate coursework estimate (covering IT, Business, and Engineering master's programs broadly), converted from AUD:
| Cost Item | Amount (USD/year, approx.) |
|---|---|
| Tuition (representative postgraduate estimate) | ~$30,240 |
| Living expenses (Melbourne) | ~$21,600 |
| Total estimated cost of attendance | ~$51,840 |
This is an estimate based on typical RMIT coursework master's pricing, not an official single rate confirmed specifically for the Master of Data Science, so confirm the exact current fee on RMIT's own Master of Data Science course page before budgeting precisely. RMIT also offers a merit-based International Tuition Fee Bursary for postgraduate students and access to the Australian Government-funded Australia Awards Scholarships for citizens of eligible partner countries.
Admission Requirements
RMIT assesses international Master of Data Science applicants against its own country-specific equivalency guides rather than a single global GPA cutoff, expecting a result broadly comparable to an Australian bachelor's degree:
- Direct online application via RMIT's international portal, or through a registered education agent
- Official transcripts from all previously attended institutions
- CV/resume
- Statement of purpose (program-dependent)
- English language proficiency evidence (unless exempt)
- Academic and/or professional references (program-dependent)
This dataset found no evidence of a standard GRE or GMAT requirement across RMIT's taught master's programs, including Data Science. RMIT runs two main intakes, Semester 1 (February/March) and Semester 2 (July), with rolling admissions rather than fixed deadlines; apply several months ahead of your intended start to leave time for visa processing.
How to Get Into RMIT's Master of Data Science
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Confirm your prior degree meets RMIT's equivalency bar. RMIT assesses international qualifications against its own country-specific guides rather than a single GPA scale, so check your transcript's equivalency before applying, particularly if your undergraduate degree is not primarily quantitative.
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Build a statement of purpose around a specific data or analytics interest. Because Data Science admission is program-dependent on demonstrated fit, naming a specific area (machine learning, data engineering, applied statistics) rather than a generic "I like data" pitch strengthens your application.
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Budget around RMIT's representative postgraduate fee, then verify the exact current figure. RMIT does not publish one confirmed rate for this specific degree the way it does for some undergraduate programs, so treat the ~$30,240/year estimate as a planning figure and confirm the live number on the Master of Data Science course page.
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Clear the 6.5 IELTS / 79 TOEFL tier with margin, not exactly. RMIT's coursework master's programs, including Data Science, combine technical report writing with group project presentations from the first semester, and Writing is the section most likely to sit close to the floor for international applicants.
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Use RMIT English Worldwide (REW) if you're short of direct entry. REW's pre-sessional English pathways can bridge postgraduate offer-holders who are close to, but below, the required score; availability and the exact gap this can close vary by program.
English Proficiency Requirement (IELTS/TOEFL)
RMIT confirms its Master of Data Science's English-language tier directly on the program's own official course page, which also reflects RMIT's standard postgraduate entry tier applied broadly across most coursework master's programs:
- IELTS Academic: minimum 6.5 overall, with no individual band below 6.0
- TOEFL iBT: minimum 79 overall, with a minimum of 13 in Reading, 12 in Listening, 18 in Speaking, and 21 in Writing
- PTE Academic: minimum 58 overall
- Important: RMIT does not accept "at-home" or online-proctored IELTS results, only test-centre results count
Waiver: applicants with at least one year of full-time study taught and assessed in English, or citizens of a small number of recognised English-majority countries, may be exempt; scores are generally valid for two years. For a fuller breakdown of RMIT's testing policy across its programs, see the RMIT University guide.
Career Outcomes
RMIT does not publish employment or salary data specific to Master of Data Science graduates, so the figures below draw on RMIT's broader postgraduate outcomes data, which RMIT itself flags as particularly relevant to Data Science and Finance graduates:
- Top recruiters (postgraduate, university-wide): Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG, plus Australian banks and fintech firms specifically noted by RMIT as recruiting Finance and Data Science graduates, alongside Australian technology and cybersecurity employers
- RMIT's Melbourne City location and reported 24,000+ industry placements in 2024 give Data Science graduates direct proximity to Australia's largest concentration of banking, fintech, and analytics employers outside Sydney
FAQ
Does RMIT publish an acceptance rate for the Master of Data Science? No. RMIT does not publish a program-specific or university-wide acceptance rate. A commonly cited third-party estimate of around 45% for RMIT overall is not an official figure and is not specific to Data Science.
How much does RMIT's Master of Data Science cost? RMIT does not publish one official Data Science-specific tuition figure. A representative postgraduate coursework estimate, based on typical RMIT master's pricing in IT, Business, and Engineering, is around $30,240/year (~$51,840/year including living costs), but confirm the exact current fee on RMIT's own course page.
What IELTS score do I need for RMIT's Master of Data Science? RMIT's Master of Data Science course page confirms IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0, or TOEFL iBT 79 overall, as the standard postgraduate entry tier.
Is the GRE or GMAT required for RMIT's Master of Data Science? This dataset found no evidence of a standard GRE/GMAT requirement across RMIT's taught master's programs, including Data Science, but always confirm current policy directly with the program.
What kind of jobs do RMIT Data Science graduates get? RMIT specifically notes that Australian banks, fintech firms, and technology/cybersecurity employers recruit its Data Science and Finance graduates, alongside broader postgraduate recruiters such as Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG.
Does RMIT offer scholarships for the Master of Data Science? Yes. RMIT runs a merit-based International Tuition Fee Bursary for incoming international postgraduate students, and eligible citizens of partner countries can apply separately for the Australian Government-funded Australia Awards Scholarships, which cover full tuition, living stipend, and other costs.