RPI Applied Mathematics

[Nihar]

I recently got an admit from Rensselaer Polytechnic for masters in applied math. Can anyone tell me how good this program is, considering research activity and job prospectives?

I have also got an admit from CMU for mechanical engineering. I know that CMU is a much better university but an applied math program interests me more than a mechanical program. So I'm really confused between these two. Any help will be really appreciated. Thanks.

[Hanyuye]

Congrats!

Which one is funded?

Edited April 25, 2014 by Hanyuye

[SlantedAndDisenchanted]

Well, I'm a current Master's student in the computational aspects of engineering presently. I would say that depending on what you'd want to focus on, there could be a lot of overlap. For the mechanics side of things, finite element (especially in flow problems), as well as control theory and the linear algebraic applications therein can supply quite the hardy amount of applied math. Granted, not at the rigor of a graduate level applied math program. But my mechanical engineering master's classes (at the University of Minnesota) has very little in the form of requirements. I took 3 classes on the theory of finite elements which exposed me to a lot of numerical linear algebra, proving errors of certain discretization schema, and then my electives were in computing algorithms (numerical, and general) in the computer science department. I felt like my background tended towards the applied physics/math side of engineering and I felt like I could have got that in applied math, perhaps. On a side note of jobs, I know that there is a lot of work on the heavy-computational side of engineering (if you enjoy simulations) which allow you to do that sort of thing. Applied Math jobs I see are usually in finance, or signal processing/algorithm design on that end. Engineering is more stable, with a chance of getting a less math-y job. Your mileage may vary of course. I would say the MechE at a better university may be a better option UNLESS you're pursuing a PhD afterwards.