For a masters program would CS or DS be preferable for someone with little or no programming background? Asking for a friend. Also how important is name brand for job placement?
#Computer Science or Data Science
winter harness
pastel rain
CS is heavy theory, so I wouldn't recommend a master in CS if you have no programming knowledge at all (is that even possible? I don't think so).
about DS, I am not really sure what those folks are doing other than playing with numbers using Python. I would say (AFAIK) that DS is more doable considering that Python is very beginner friendly. If your friend isn't good nor like math tho that's another story.
If anything that I said above apply, I personally would not recommend a master in CS if your goal is not to be a scholar. I would rather do a spe like software engineering, computer engineer, etc. CS is great for a bachelor, but nothing higher level than that if scholar isn't your goal.