slores@umiami.miami.edu (Stanislaw L. Olejniczak) (05/02/89)
I would very much appreciate, on my and many other prospective
graduate students' behalf, your comments on graduate software
engineering programs. I have been reading brochures from various
schools, collected various rankings and read a couple books about
graduate programs in software engineering or computer science.
What I am asking for in this message are personal opinions,
observations and comments.
Which school and department do you think is a good place to study
Software Engineering or Computer Science with Software
Engineering emphasis? Why do you think a particular department
is a good place to spend a couple years getting a Master's, and
later, a Ph.D.? What are its strength? What are its weaknesses?
Where do the graduates go? What kind of research is being
conducted? Who (if not yourself) is a good person to contact
there? What are other comments you would like to make that I
have not asked about? All comments you will send will be
appreciated.
Let me apologize for posting this message again, and for posting
it this time to numerous newsgroups. When I have initially
posted this request, I have offered to send summaries to any
interested person. I have received several dozens of requests
for the summaries. I have received a small handful of replies on
the subject. After waiting now a considerable, for Newsnet,
time, I have decided I did not post it to the right groups; or
all the right people did not get to see this. Thus, this second,
and final, attempt.
To those who had previously replied, my many thanks. For those
who had requested or will request summaries, I will post them to
you after I feel reasonably certain I have received all replies
to this second posting. To those who will reply, many, many
thanks, from me and from the numerous prospective graduate
students who will embark on more successful graduate studies
thanks to the time you take off your busy schedules to advise.
P.S. If you are so kind as to send your comments but would NOT
want be identified in the summary, please let me know.
--
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Stan Olejniczak Internet: slores@umiami.miami.edu
University of Miami UUCP: {uunet!gould}!umbio!solejni
Miami, Florida, USA BITNET: SLORES@UMIAMI
Voice: (305)-547-6571 FAX:305-547-6412
My opinions cannot possibly represent the views of anyone else!gjs@ZOHAR.AI.MIT.EDU (Gerald Jay Sussman) (05/03/89)
You ask:
I would very much appreciate, on my and many other prospective
graduate students' behalf, your comments on graduate software
engineering programs. I have been reading brochures from various
schools, collected various rankings and read a couple books about
graduate programs in software engineering or computer science.
What I am asking for in this message are personal opinions,
observations and comments.
I believe that this is the wrong mailing list for this message, but I
feel that it is important that I try to respond as best as I can. Of
course, this is not the official position of my school (MIT), it is my
personal opinion.
I do not think that the way to choose a graduate school is by
abstractly evaluating departments and programs. Graduate study is
fundamentally different from undergraduate education in that it is
based on apprenticeship rather than on classwork. Thus, one should
choose a graduate school by finding a master craftsman (professor) who
you would be happy to be apprenticed to (sorry for the split
infinitive).
You must first find out what you would like to work on. Then you
should do a bit of research on that topic in the library and find out
who are the appropriate masters. You should read their works and
interview their graduate students (perhaps by phone, but better in
person) to determine which master is most compatible with your a
priori goals AND your personality. Finally, you should interview the
master directly to determine if you hit it off with him.
Remember, you are about to spend about 5 years apprenticed to that
master. It is important that you can stand each other -- as a
marriage. When you find a compatible match you should apply to the
appropriate graduate program. Of course, you may not get into the
program of your choice (the professor you contacted has less control
of the admissions process than I may have implied and there may be
competing goals of the department that you apply to, but a
well-informed professor can help you estimate your chances of
success). Thus you may have to cut several such deals for the
contingincies.
Gerald Jay Sussman
Professor of Electrical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.