anakin5760

If you are looking for something giving you an edge while applying to a PhD program later, then apart from CMU's MSDS, no other data science program would prove useful. A masters degree in statistics with content from Computing/ML would be better. I was going to apply for NYU & Columbia's data science program too, but after meeting some of the current students, I decided against it. These are great programs, no doubt, but only in case you do not have any plans to continue to research. A lot of their content is business focused or introductory so as to get the students at least a basic know-how of verticals & techniques. CDS(NYU) & DSI (Columbia) promote research a lot, but its not for their MS students, usually Fellows & PhD's from other departments working with DS departments are the ones actually involved in research. Also, if you have any plans for PhD, you might want to take a look at overall cost of the programs+ living exp vs the scholarship offered. It would be nearly impossible to jump into a PhD with ~30$ debt (in case of NYU as its not full scholarship + living expenses are extremely high in NYC) Hope this helps! Let us know what you finally choose.