Ren76

Thanks for your reply! At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with Georgetown. Even though the Comp Ling section is on the smaller side, I think the research is well aligned with my interests, so I think it will be a good fit.

Ooh interesting. As far as which is the better program/opportunity, I'd have to say the Cornell program, hands down (in my uninformed opinion). But if you're not sure you want to do a PhD in cs, or you think you'd be unhappy with the fit of the Cornell program, it's not crazy to consider something else. Since they're both funded programs, they both seem like good options.

Not sure I'll be much help, but maybe you're just looking to kick some ideas around. From your description, it sounds like you're more interested in the UW program, but there are some things giving you pause (money, distance, etc.). I would say knowing where you'd most like to be is an excellent place to start from, and then you could think through the factors that give you pause and whether or not they are enough to sway your judgement. If money isn't a prohibitive factor, and they both seem like good programs, I would say to go where you feel you'd have the best experience. And just from your description, I'd guess that's UW.

Hi friends, I have most of my admissions results in, and I'd love to hear people's thoughts on my options! About me: I have an academic background in linguistics and computer science, and I've been working as a software engineer for a few years. I like what I've been doing, but I want to be able to focus more specifically on research in the domain of human language technologies (maybe in academia, probably in industry). I'm aiming to get a PhD in an area relating to Computational Linguistics. Here are my options so far: 1. CMU: This is a research orientated masters program, and I think it has a very good reputation. It's part of CMU's SCS, which is very well ranked, and it has a large number of faculty working in HLT. I think this program is also more CS focused, and would prepare me to re-apply to CS PhDs. The main issue is that I was hoping to start a PhD, not a masters program (I applied to their PhD program, but was admitted to the masters), and that this program doesn't guarantee funding. They say people often find at least some funding from research projects once they come to campus, but you won't know anything until you've committed to the program and the semester has already started. This set up makes me somewhat uncomfortable. 2. Georgetown: This is a PhD program in Linguistics that offers a Computational Linguistics track. I think the department has a good reputation in Linguistics, but the department's strength is more Sociolinguistics rather than Computational Linguistics. There are only 2 main Comp Ling faculty, but I'm very interested in both of their research, and with the adjunct faculty, there is a good variety of Comp Ling course offerings (this is notable because it's a somewhat coursework heavy program for a PhD). The program offers 5yrs fully funded, which is also significant to me. 3. UW: This is also a PhD program in Linguistics that offers a Computational Linguistics track. I'm actually still waitlisted at UW, but I'm trying to consider it now. I think UW has a good reputation for Comp Ling research, but I think that generally refers to NLP work in the CS department, and my degree would be in the Linguistics department. UW also as a pretty well known Comp Ling professional masters program, which is actually offered by the Linguistics department, so there are a good amount of Comp Ling courses (again notable because this program requires a good amount of coursework as well). There are a few professors that I think would be good to work with, and about half the PhD students in the program are interested in Comp Ling. Not being admitted, I don't have as much info on this program, but I think they also try to ensure that their students have full funding for 5yrs. There are also 2 CS PhD programs that I'm still waiting to hear back from, but it's so late that I'm assuming they're both rejections. I'm also trying to think about whether I would be better off in a CS program or a Linguistics program as someone who wants to do research in Computational Linguistics. I think it would be happier in a Linguistics program, but it's hard to deny that a CS program would be better for career prospects. I'm currently leaning towards Georgetown because it's a PhD program with full funding, and even though the Comp Ling section of the department is small, I like the curriculum, and I'm interested in the research going on there. So what would you choose in this situation? I'd be interested in hearing any advice on my options, including general opinions on the schools, or additional factors that I should consider in my decision making process. Thanks!

Hi everyone! It seems like the linguists are gathered here so I hope it's okay if I ask some questions ☺️ I was recently accepted into the linguistics program at Georgetown, and I am considering going. I was wondering if people have thoughts or opinions on the program, or if anyone else here applied. Thanks!