vraman

Was wondering on what people's thoughts are on USC's CS PhD program (and specifically the theory group) are. I've been admitted to the theory group and am debating between USC (CS PhD) and UM (Stats PhD)

@csheehan10 I was just finishing up undergrad, so I hit up some of the Professor's at my institution and they were willing to work with me. I did try emailing Professors at other schools, but most of them didn't reply

I was exactly in your position a year ago, except I wasn't in a masters. I took a gap year, did research with a couple Professors, wrote a publication, then reapplied and have been admitted to several schools this cycle. But I agree with @bayessays above. You need to have some tangible improvement to your application to increase the odds. That said, I was fortunate to be able to fund myself, as I wasn't paid.

Right, I plan on pretty much doing the same stuff whether or not I go CS or Stats, so I guess I need to figure out whether the extra relevant coursework is worth it

@RyukYup its not uncommon for CS students to publish in their first year. This is because: 1) coursework is very flexible 2) you get admitted basically with an advisor since you are typically not funded by the department (but rather by an advisor). Btw, I did a bit of stalking on your posts on grad cafe, and you got into some pretty amazing schools! Congrats and well deserved! I would love to collab

Thanks all for your insight! One thing to note is that after speaking with PhD Students in both programs, it seems like the coursework is more extensive for a Stat PhD. This may in turn slow research progress in the first couple years compared to a CS PhD. @Ryuk have you thought about this aspect of it? If so, how have you reconciled this "issue"?

Hi all, I'm interested in Machine Learning Theory and CS Theory and have been admitted to both CS (NEU, USC, BU) and Stats (UM) PhD programs. Which program is generally "better" for ML theory work? I am sort of leaning towards Stats because I feel the coursework would be more relevant (compared to like systems classes in CS). However, right now, I plan to go to industry after a PhD and can't help but feel that a CS PhD would make me more marketable. In the case I do decide to go the academia route, would a Stats PhD lower my chances of getting a TT position for ML theory work? My reasoning here is that I see a lot of ML theory peeps fall into the CS department

So I am currently an undergrad senior studying ChemE who very recently decided to tack on a CSE degree. Its not too bad as I will just need one more year to complete both majors. I enjoy CS a lot more, specifically the more mathy/theoretical stuff, and want to pursue a PhD in ML/DL, like everyone else haha. Problem is, the vast majority of my research experience is in ChemE, and so I really have no research experience in CS. On top of that, most of my LORs will probably be coming from ChE professors since I basically just switched over, and again do not have a ton of exposure to the CS department at my school. The only good news is that I go to a pretty competitive school, my GPA is pretty good, GRE is pretty good, and the research I do have in ChE is also decent(I will be submitting a first-author paper to a peer-reviewed journal pretty soon). I guess I want some insight into what y'all think my chances would be into getting in a CS PhD program at top5/top10 schools. With my background(or lack thereof), would a masters at a top10/top5 CS program be easier than PhD?