qub

The non-academic pros and cons are mostly related to leaving the area here. I have some networking connections, a friend group, and a relationship that I'd be leaving if I were to move. Also, from what I know of the areas, I think I prefer southern California in terms of general culture and things to do when I'm not working. My focus will be studying and research where ever I end up, so I don't want to weight these things too heavily, but they are on my mind.

I'm trying to make a decision between two very different programs, UC-Irvine and North Carolina State. It's turned into a tough choice for me in part for non-academic reasons, but I'm looking for some input regarding whether it's justifiable to choose UCI over such a highly ranked program. My main research interest is Bayesian computation, and I'm leaning towards a career in academia, but am still considering industry. Some of the pros and cons I've been considering: Pros for NCSU: Large, well-established, and highly-ranked program. Lots of opportunities for networking and academic collaboration in the research triangle. Very good placement history, good career prospects overall, either in academia or industry. Cheap cost of living and decent weather. Cons for NCSU: I'm not sure about the strength of their Bayesian work outside of spatial statistics, which isn't my particular interest. Requires a cross-country move. Pros for UCI: Departmental emphasis is pretty well-matched with my intended research interests. Professor of interest is jointly appointed with the CS department, which is highly-ranked. Offering significantly more money than NCSU (offset by much higher cost of living). Already living in southern California, so it's a very easy move. Cons for UCI: Unranked and very new program, only had about 8 PhDs granted so far. Small department, many classes are mixed with non-stats PhDs (as opposed to NCSU where classes are largely only stats PhD students). Unclear how competitive the degree will be when viewed against other stats PhDs for jobs. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

Hi Lucky815, Congrats on your acceptances. I'm currently deciding on an admission offer to their Stats PhD program. I would say that the professors and program overall are fairly reputable, but the program is very new (started ~10 years ago I think, with about 8 PhDs granted so far), so it's still proving itself for the most part. The professors do research and publish frequently in reputable -journals, and there is significant collaboration with some of the other departments, such as computer science, which is fairly highly-ranked on US News. Biggest drawback is that the department is pretty small, which limits some of your study options, but if you're interested in Bayesian statistics you should be fine. I live near Irvine currently and I grew up in Michigan, so I can compare the locales a bit. Ann Arbor is an amazing town, one of my favorites, and culture-wise is probably the closest you'll get to California in the Midwest. If you don't mind the weather, you'll probably love living there. The campus is great, and department itself is one of the top in the country. Irvine and the OC is a beautiful area with plenty to do, perfect weather, and lots of jobs and networking opportunities for statisticians. On the other hand, compared to Michigan, it's ridiculously expensive, pretty crowded, with lots of traffic. I'm facing a similar choice between UCI PhD and NC-State PhD programs. I've visited both places, and it's still a tough choice. In the end, it comes down to your priorities and research interests, but hope this helps.

I selected Machine Learning as my interest, and mostly talked about applications of Bayesian machine learning in my statement of purpose.

Thanks. I applied to the PhD program. There's no mention of a grad information day or anything like that, so I'm not sure if they have one.

Just received my acceptance to UC-Irvine today, I'm in the same situation wondering about the quality of the program. My current advisor suggested that the level of instruction and research is good (maybe comparable to UC-Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara?), but that the department is somewhat disorganized at times. I met a current student there last summer, and he seemed to like the program, I don't recall him having any significant criticisms. He was four years into the program and wrapping up his dissertation (something to do with biostatistics and clinical trials). I live in the area and will visit the department soon, I'll post back here if I get more information about placements and such.

Hi, I'm interested in applying to PhD Statistics programs, hoping to specialize in Bayesian data analysis in biostatistics. Profile: MS in Applied Statistics from Cal State-Long Beach, GPA 4.0 In progress, completing a thesis involving research in genetic microarray analysis MA in Pure Mathematics from UC Davis, GPA 3.88 BA in Mathematics from University of Michigan-Flint, GPA 3.95 GRE: Quant 165; Verbal 169 Schools I have in mind (Stats PhD unless otherwise noted): UCLA UC-Irvine UC-Santa Cruz, Comp Sci UC-San Diego, Comp Sci Duke NC State Emory, Math/CS Bioinformatics PhD Univ. of Washington Texas A&M Oregon State, Comp Sci I'm mostly interested in strong programs with at least a few Bayesian bioinformatics people, preferably in warm locales. I'm looking for input regarding whether this is a good range of schools to apply to, and for recommendations on any other ones I should check out or exclude. Are Duke and UWashington too much of a reach? Is UCSD Comp Sci worth trying for? Thanks for any input you have!

I have a Masters in Mathematics, and I'm finishing up a second Masters degree in Applied Statistics this fall. I'm planning to apply to some CS PhD programs to pursue a Statistical Learning/Machine Learning track. I had been planning on pursuing a Stats PhD, but it seems there's more opportunity for my interests in CS departments. I'd like to get into a decent program, but I'm not sure how someone with a very math heavy background fares in the admissions process for CS programs. Does anyone have any experience with switching into a CS PhD program from a Math background? Any programs to recommend? I like the look of UC-Irvine since it has a Stats specific track within its CS department, and am looking for similar types of departments. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! Profile: M.S. Applied Statistics, Cal State-Long Beach GPA: 4.0 Completing a thesis on topics in machine learning and genetic data analysis, submitting for publication. M.A. Pure Mathematics, UC-Davis GPA: 3.88 GRE: 800 Quant/710 Verbal Fairly strong programming skills, but mostly self-taught or learned through applied math courses. I've previously taken a couple proof-based algorithm analysis courses.