Adwait Nadkarni

Hi all,My name is Adwait Nadkarni, and I am an Assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at the College of William & Mary. Before W&M, I did my MS and PhD from North Carolina State University, Raleigh. Here is my website for more info:http://www.adwaitnadkarni.com/My Research: I have multiple funded positions available at my Systems Security Research group at W&M. The primary focus of my group is the security of emerging operating platforms (e.g., mobile platforms such as Android, IoT platforms such as Google Weaveor SmartThings). Specifically, we will be evaluating the security of existing systems, modifying them to make them secure, or building novel security systems. I am looking for dedicated and creative students interested in breaking and building secure systems and protocols, starting as early as Fall 2018. Please apply to W&M Computer Science (PhD), using the following link:Apply: http://www.wm.edu/as/graduate/admission/.../index.phpThe deadline for Fall 2018 admission is March 15, 2018. About W&M: W&M is the second oldest universities in the USA, and the first of the 8 public ivies. It is located in Williamsburg, Virginia; a place with pretty good weather, and a lot of historical significance.Also, if you have any questions about MS/PhD, be it the scope, future options, or questions about my research or security research in general, feel free to contact me via email (my contact information is on my website).Regards,Adwait

Staying an extra year may or may not help you; it all depends on what you do (i.e., research, coursework, looking for a job, ...). That said, its definitely not burning a bridge to say that you are planning to stay back another year at Stanford, but are very interested in applying the next year. I am a faculty now, and I wouldn't mind if I student I am trying to recruit wants to wait a year.

UIC and USC are close to ambitious. NEU might be ambitious as well. However, you need to have more safe schools: SUNY Buffalo Indiana University Bloomington

Well, you have an undergrad CS degree. Just given that, an MS in CS should not be a hurdle (where depends on the rest of your profile, but you would be eligible to apply everywhere). Plus, the research papers and some relevant work exp. make it slightly better. I am saying slightly better because I am not sure of the research area, and of the reputation of the conference(es)/journal(s) where the papers were published. Now if you take a short break (say <3 years), everything should be fine. However, if the break is long, some schools may give you trouble.

What you are looking for is a school where the courses generally have a research component and faculty are actively involved in research, which is the case in most good programs. However, here is a small list at the top of my head: 1. William & Mary --> moderate (I am a faculty here. The CS dept. is strong in terms of research. Small department, but _very_ research-focused.) 2. NC State --> moderate (I did my PhD here. Huge department; many faculty are actively involved in research, but you will have to look. Most courses are not very research-oriented, but great coursework nevertheless). 3. UC Boulder --> moderate 4. USC --> ambitious