heetj@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Heet) (09/09/88)
Hi out there !!! I'm hoping I can get some advice about different M.S. programs in Computer Science. Which are the best ??? I have an undergrad B.S. in C.S. from Northwestern University, and I would like to get my Masters degree. I would like to know which programs are the best. Is there some formal ranking of programs out there? I want to start sending out for applications, etc, and I want to have a good idea of what people out in the real world think a "good" grad program is. I've included a few myself: Univ of Illinois, Stanford, UC - Berkeley ... I am interested in a program lasting only 1 year. Can anyone post a ranking, or any suggestions that may help ??? Thanks in advance ... Jerry Heet
gillies@p.cs.uiuc.edu (09/10/88)
For full-time work, many of the best schools prefer Ph.D.-track
candidates with all the necessary preparatory work (an undergrad C.S.
degree or equivalent). The University of Illinois is perhaps the
highest-ranking school that cheerfully accepts M.S.-only candidates
(250/450 students), often from other discipines. Stanford has a large
part-time M.S.-only program.
You should perhaps choose a school based on your sub-interest in
computer science. For instance, if you absolutely KNOW you want AI,
attend a major AI school. On the other hand, I've heard that 70% of
Stanford's entering grad students want to do AI, but they are
disappointed by the discipline, and only 20% of them graduate in AI.
So hopefully you know what you want to do (for a thesis). If you
don't know, then choose a huge/multipurpose school (Berkeley,
Stanford, Illinois).
Here are some top-10 schools and some specialties
----------
Stanford AI Theory NA Systems Architecture
MIT AI Theory Dataflow Systems
CMU AI Multiprocessing Systems
Illinois Supercomputing NA DA Architecture
Cornell Theory
Berkeley Theory DA Systems(4.2BSD) Architecture(RISC)
UCLA ?? Systems?
UT-Austin DA + ??
AI - Artificial Intelligence
NA - Numerical Analysis
DA - Design Automation
Theory - More than one of: Algorithm design, Program Semantics/Verification,
Formal Languages, Complexity, Discrete Math, Queueing Theory.
You really need to hustle to graduate in 1 year -- it probably isn't
possible at the top schools. Perhaps you should get a job in Palo
Alto/Sunnyvale, CA, and attend Stanford part-time? Stanford has a BIG
off-campus M.S.-only program, and many employers in Silicon Valley
will reimburse your educational expenses.
Disclaimer: I have undoubtedly exaggerated some programs and
accidentally forgotten others. I apologize, for I do not intend to
offend anyone.
Don Gillies, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Illinois
1304 W. Springfield, Urbana, Ill 61801
ARPA: gillies@cs.uiuc.edu UUCP: {uunet,ihnp4,harvard}!uiucdcs!gilliesandy@cayuga.Stanford.EDU (Andy Freeman) (09/11/88)
In article <82400017@p.cs.uiuc.edu> gillies@p.cs.uiuc.edu writes: >Stanford has a large part-time M.S.-only program. Part-time is an OPTION for the M.S. C.S. program here. >You should perhaps choose a school based on your sub-interest in >computer science. This is very good advice. Read the article "And What Did You Do in Your PhD Program" in the July 88 issue of The Journal of Chemical Education for more. -andy UUCP: {arpa gateways, decwrl, uunet, rutgers}!polya.stanford.edu!andy ARPA: andy@polya.stanford.edu (415) 329-1718/723-3088 home/cubicle