[Computer Science] Oregon state univ vs Stony Brook

[Alexx_Ng]

I've just recently received offers from bot Oregon State Univ and Stony Brooks. Research projects at both schools are pretty good and suit me well. The reputation of 2 POIs is quite the same regarding the h-index on google scholar. Now, I'm taking school's reputation into consideration. According to the ranking of usnews 2018, SBU is way more better than OSU. However, when I look for their ranking on csranking, OSU is a little better. Therefore, I'm really confusing right now.

Can anyone give me an advice on this problem? Which school is better at AI (computer vision, machine learning, deep learning, etc)?

[juilletmercredi]

Different rankings have different methodologies, so you really have to pay attention to the methods when comparing across them. U.S News' ranking of programs is based purely on a reputational survey - they essentially ask professors at CS programs what they think about other CS programs, which has a lot of pros and cons. CSrankings is based on the number of publications from a particular program/department (and not their impact or importance).

I'm looking at CSrankings right now, and Stony Brook (#30) is ranked a bit higher than Oregon State (#36). However, if you just look in AI, Oregon State (#20) is ranked a bit higher than Stony Brook (#34). I'm also looking at the National Research Council rankings, which are older but far more comprehensive; according to them, Stony Brook is ranked somewhere between #7 and #39, whereas Oregon State is ranked somewhere between #52 and #110.

Ranking isn't everything, of course; there are lots of other factors to take into consideration. And there are a lot of other things to consider about the PIs aside from their h-index...you also can think about their personality, what they do research in, whether you think their style will be a good fit for your style.

[aakhere]

I think if you are able you should visit both campuses. I know this gets left behind alot but even its a research masters is atleast 2 years of your life. If PhD its more like 5. The locations and the very feel of a campus and its students is unique. Go where you would enjoy your time well. Your performance in the degree will also benefit if you are happier!

My opinion is based of my research masters experience. Ive chosen my top PhD uni based on research school, past graduate students and several hours of campus videos ( even corny student union ones).