MS in CompLing 2018

[keratin]

Hey everyone,

 

Anyone with admits/rejects to the Washington computational linguistics or other similar programs? 

[Mirith]

Hi, not sure if you're still interested but I can't sleep so I'll answer!

 

Applied to Rochester comp ling, got rejected from that but offered a spot in their regular ling masters program. With 50% tuition paid, and promises that there will be lots of comp ling classes involved haha. 

Applied to uw comp ling and waitlisted. 

[ebs]

I've now heard back from the three programs I applied to. I've been accepted at all three -- Brandeis, University of Washington, and Indiana University. Happy to answer any questions folks might have about any of those programs. 

Does anyone know if there will be an admitted students day at UW? I'm planning to fly over there to visit but want to make sure there isn't a specific day before I buy my ticket....

[fuzzylogician]

4 hours ago, ebs said:

Does anyone know if there will be an admitted students day at UW? I'm planning to fly over there to visit but want to make sure there isn't a specific day before I buy my ticket....

I'd recommend simply asking the school this question. And at the same time, ask if they can reimburse at least some of your travel expenses, and maybe you arrange for a student host to help you with accommodations. Congrats on your acceptances! 

[ebs]

8 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

I'd recommend simply asking the school this question. And at the same time, ask if they can reimburse at least some of your travel expenses, and maybe you arrange for a student host to help you with accommodations. Congrats on your acceptances! 

Ooo thanks for the recommendations about travel/housing! I sent an email to the program coordinator a couple days ago about an admitted students day but haven't heard back yet. I figure it's because of the holiday 

[ebs]

Hello again, not sure if anyone is actively following this thread at this point, but to followup to my last post: there will be no admitted students day at UW this spring. If you reach out to them, though, they will send an email to their listserv inquiring about couches available for crashing on (I was able to find lodging this way).

I'm flying to Seattle today and will be meeting with the temporary head of the program tomorrow. If anybody has questions they'd like me to ask her about the program, I'd be happy to pass them along and let you know what she has to say. 

[panda4]

Hi all. I also have an admit (big surprise) from University of Washington's Computational Linguistics Master's degree. Do you have more information on it? How is the course, job placements, research etc.

[Gnome Chomsky 2.0]

Reposting what I posted in another thread:

 

I graduated from UW CLMS program a few years ago. I had a BA in linguistics and a few CS classes including Data Structures and a probability/statistics class. I completed the MS in one year and did the internship option instead of the thesis.

 

You can complete the program in one year once you start the core classes. A lot of people spent a year taking prereqs in CS and probability/statistics. They're pretty lenient about probability/statistics and will let you self-learn it if you can pass the placement exam. But you pretty much have to take up until Data Structures. You can do this at a community college or at UW. UW has a very well respected CS program and teach Java. You can still take the linguistics and elective CLMS classes in the first year while taking the CS prereqs.

 

As far as the core classes go, it's a lot of programming. There's a programming assignment each week. You're probably best off doing them in Python since it's a simple language and has a lot of NLP libraries. One of the core classes requires Python since you have to use NLTK. Although there's a lot of programming, you aren't held to any standards like you'd be in a CS class. Your code basically just has to run. 

 

As far as after you graduate, there are many routes you can go. A lot of people go on to do NLU/NLP at the big companies like Amazon and Microsoft. A lot of people, including myself, went on to just do straight up Software Engineering. Some other people have gone the more machine learning route. Other people go on to do research.

 

Overall, it's a very diverse field and program. There's about a 50/50 mix of people coming in with linguistics vs CS. There are a lot of group assignments and people can play to their strengths. Even if you're not the strongest programmer, you can team up with someone who can handle more of the technical bulk. They're aware of the fact that people come in with different levels of experience, which is why they're pretty lenient, but they still have some minimum programming standards.

[lail2018]

On 4/11/2018 at 8:30 PM, ebs said:

Hello again, not sure if anyone is actively following this thread at this point, but to followup to my last post: there will be no admitted students day at UW this spring. If you reach out to them, though, they will send an email to their listserv inquiring about couches available for crashing on (I was able to find lodging this way).

I'm flying to Seattle today and will be meeting with the temporary head of the program tomorrow. If anybody has questions they'd like me to ask her about the program, I'd be happy to pass them along and let you know what she has to say. 

Hi 

I was wondering if you could tell us a little background about you...Did you study linguistics or computer science as an undergrad?   Did you have some experience in the field before applying for a Master's in compling? 

 

[ebs]

On 1/8/2019 at 1:41 PM, lail2018 said:

Hi 

I was wondering if you could tell us a little background about you...Did you study linguistics or computer science as an undergrad?   Did you have some experience in the field before applying for a Master's in compling? 

 

I started undergrad focusing on linguistics, primarily syntax but a little bit of everything. Junior year I began taking computer science courses and by the end of senior year I was pretty much only taking courses in cosi/NLP. I attended Brandeis as an undergrad so I was able to take grad-level CL courses as an undergrad. Prior experience outside of coursework was limited to some basic annotating I did remotely for a tech company. 

I should add that CL MS programs (and pretty much all master's programs in any field) are easier to get in to than many assume. They largely function as a money-maker for the school due to their limited financial aid. UW has the most competitive CLMS program out there and the year I applied I was told by one of the professor's there that the acceptance rate was ~20%, which was their most competitive year yet. My guess is Indiana has an acceptance rate of ~80%. Brandeis is ~40%. 

[Tanaya]

Hello all,

I have a low CGPA ~ 3.1 but my overall profile with technical projects, LORs etc. is strong and I am expecting at least 324+ on my GRE

Will I have a shot at MS in comp ling in UW at Seattle or Rochester?? If not, where else should I apply?

Also how are the placement/career opportunities like for MS Comp Ling?

Thanks in advance

 

[Chirag Soni]

On 6/19/2018 at 8:51 AM, Gnome Chomsky 2.0 said:

Reposting what I posted in another thread:

 

I graduated from UW CLMS program a few years ago. I had a BA in linguistics and a few CS classes including Data Structures and a probability/statistics class. I completed the MS in one year and did the internship option instead of the thesis.

 

You can complete the program in one year once you start the core classes. A lot of people spent a year taking prereqs in CS and probability/statistics. They're pretty lenient about probability/statistics and will let you self-learn it if you can pass the placement exam. But you pretty much have to take up until Data Structures. You can do this at a community college or at UW. UW has a very well respected CS program and teach Java. You can still take the linguistics and elective CLMS classes in the first year while taking the CS prereqs.

 

As far as the core classes go, it's a lot of programming. There's a programming assignment each week. You're probably best off doing them in Python since it's a simple language and has a lot of NLP libraries. One of the core classes requires Python since you have to use NLTK. Although there's a lot of programming, you aren't held to any standards like you'd be in a CS class. Your code basically just has to run. 

 

As far as after you graduate, there are many routes you can go. A lot of people go on to do NLU/NLP at the big companies like Amazon and Microsoft. A lot of people, including myself, went on to just do straight up Software Engineering. Some other people have gone the more machine learning route. Other people go on to do research.

 

Overall, it's a very diverse field and program. There's about a 50/50 mix of people coming in with linguistics vs CS. There are a lot of group assignments and people can play to their strengths. Even if you're not the strongest programmer, you can team up with someone who can handle more of the technical bulk. They're aware of the fact that people come in with different levels of experience, which is why they're pretty lenient, but they still have some minimum programming standards.

Hey, I already have a bachelor's degree in CS and ~2 years of industry experience (outside of US). I'm right now waitlisted at CLMS. I have apprehensions that the salaries after this course wouldn't be as much as after a plain MS in CS degree and I'll be shooting myself in the foot if I pursue this course. How do you compare salaries after this course vs a regular SDE at FAANG? Also, are there any questions raised from recruiters that why do you want to do straight up software engineering (like you did) when you've pursued a computational linguistics degree? Basically how easy it is to get into SDE roles after this degree?