mathboy Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 What are the general reputations of BU and Northeastern for a PhD in theoretical computer science? Is one significantly better than the other? I like them both so its a tough decision... and funding is nearly identical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinescholar Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 (edited) Generally, BU is ranked a little higher than Northeastern for Computer Science PhD: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings http://www.chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124721/ That being said, the ultimate factors to choose a PhD programme is your advisor and the fitness with the research projects. Have you visited both departments ? If yes, how do you feel about them ? Edited February 19, 2017 by machinescholar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathboy Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Won't visit until March. You're right that visiting will help the most, just thought I'd try asking to see if there was something pertinent that I was missing that one school might be trying to hide you know. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pascal_barbots_wager Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 (edited) I don't know much about BU, but I would suspect that the USNWR rankings are a bit outdated from their last update in 2014. Northeastern has been expanding their CS theory group since then, in particular hiring a couple of good (or at least well-known in their respective fields of differential privacy/learning theory and crypto) faculty in Jonathan Ullman and abhi shelat. They may be hiring more this year, I'm not sure. At any rate, I think this is a good reason to take the USNWR rankings with a grain of salt in this case. I would also caution against placing *too* much emphasis on visits. Advisors are generally good persuaders, so while "clicking" is nice it's hard to assess accurately in the compressed timeframe of a visit. Definitely talk to current students of potential advisors - most departments will have some students-only event where you can, ostensibly, pump students for unbiased info away from their advisors. Attend this if possible! Edited February 26, 2017 by pascal_barbots_wager mathboy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathboy Posted February 27, 2017 Author Share Posted February 27, 2017 Thanks pascal-barbots_wager! Unfortunately I can't make it to the admitted students event but i'll still talk to students of potential advisors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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