Velvet Ghost

MCA stands for Master of Computer Applications, a degree awarded in India. MSc denotes Master of Science. @Arushirai: This is an international forum. Most members will not be Indian or familiar with Indian degrees. Please keep this in mind when posting! Now for your question. I am assuming that you have a choice between an MCA degree or an MSc degree in CS, from the same institution, or institutions having equivalent reputation or offering equivalent quality of education. The MCA and MSc (CS) degrees have different purposes. The MCA is designed to prepare the candidate for a career in the IT industry in various development / administration capacities. It is intended as a professional qualification, rather than an academic degree. Theoretical or mathematical topics are omitted or marginalized in favour of topics which can be directly applied in an industrial job. It is a 3 year degree. Most of the third year is spent interning in the industry, producing a 'project report' at the end, rather than a thesis. The MSc (CS) degree is an academic degree in CS, meant to prepare the candidate for a career in research. A CS PhD would be a natural continuation. It is a 2 year degree, at the end of which an academic master's thesis is expected (although it may be waived at less-competitive institutions). Expect much more mathematical rigour and theory than in an MCA. In spite of all this, it is possible to go into research after an MCA (but don't expect the degree to prepare you adequately for it!), or go into the industry after a CS MSc (much easier than the former). Keep in mind that the MCA is generally considered a less difficult degree, and carries somewhat lesser value than an MSc. Some prestigious institutions (notably the IITs) do not permit MCA holders to apply to their PhD programs (i.e. they do not consider it a 'proper' master's degree).

I had no relevant research experience. Worked for a year as a software developer (cannot be considered relevant work experience either). Undergrads stats and rank are marginally important. What I did have was an excellent fit of research interests with my potential advisor. This is very important. Write to professors whose research and interests matches with yours, explaining why you would be a good fit in their lab. If they ask you to apply, go ahead and apply.

@NYScholars: Sure, but exactly what info do you need?

Maybe he wants information on a University with a good CS program, which does not require a high score on the TOEFL?

Thanks very much. While all this information has certainly been very useful, I'm still looking for someone who has direct experience with the RPI CS dept and ideally the RAIR lab. Any such person on GradCafe?

Thanks. Apart from academic.research.microsoft.com, where can I get information about where a professor publishes / has published? From academic.research.microsoft.com, I get the information that my potential advisor has published in both AAAI and IJCAI, but has only 1 publication in AAAI and 2 in IJCAI. This seems very low to me - would you consider it low?. However, it is possible that the data there may be incomplete / out of date - that's why I'm looking for more sources of such information.

I may be joining RPI (CS, PhD) this fall. I will be a TA. I applied to the RAIR (Rensselaer Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning) lab, so I will be starting my work there. Interdisciplinary AI / Cogsci research, both theory and interesting applications, is very much what I want to do in grad school. I'm looking for someone familiar with the RPI CS department (and ideally with the RAIR lab as well) to advise me on the quality of research (is it competitive with the best schools), and the overall experience of being an RPI CS grad student. I'd be very grateful for any replies. Thanks!