What major should i choose in Grad school for Machine learning

[sante951]

Hello everyone,

I am a Physics and Mathematics undergrad. I want to get into the field of Machine Learning and AI. Based on my background, what major should I choose in graduate school? I am confused between Computer Science and Statistics. Being a math and Physics major, how hard will it be for me to get into a good CS school?

[Stat Assistant Professor]

43 minutes ago, sante951 said:

Hello everyone,

I am a Physics and Mathematics undergrad. I want to get into the field of Machine Learning and AI. Based on my background, what major should I choose in graduate school? I am confused between Computer Science and Statistics. Being a math and Physics major, how hard will it be for me to get into a good CS school?

You can study machine learning in either a CS or a Statistics department -- indeed, there is a great deal of overlap between the two fields when it comes to machine learning, and a lot of the faculty will be cross-listed between Stat and CS/EE. That said, I would say there is a bit of a cultural difference in ML between Statistics and CS departments, in that CS people tend to be more focused on algorithmic aspects and predictive accuracy of point estimates (so models that work well in practice and that can be implemented with greater computational efficiency are preferred). Computer scientists seem to approach problems from more of an engineering perspective: how do we build a system that works to solve whatever problem we have? In contrast, Statistics people tend to be more interested in statistical inference (confidence/credible sets that quantify uncertainty of estimates) and theoretical properties of estimates like asymptotic/large-sample behavior, risk bounds, etc. There is of course still a great deal of overlap, with many computer scientists studying theory of machine learning and many statisticians becoming increasingly interested in scalability and computational complexity (which often involves borrowing tools from systems design, like distributed/parallel computing, etc.). But in general, it seems as though the underlying mathematical foundations and statistical properties are emphasized a bit more in Statistics departments, while the algorithmic aspects and empirical predictive quality are emphasized more in CS. 

Additionally, the admissions process for CS is quite different from Statistics. For CS, strong research experience is basically a requirement for getting into a reputable PhD program, and a slightly lower GPA is often forgivable in PhD admissions if you have excellent research experience and worked on papers with well-known faculty. Admissions in Statistics programs focuses less on research experience (though it is a plus) and more on "hard" numbers like GPA, grades in upper division math classes, breadth of math courses taken, and GRE scores. "Research potential" is assessed more often by letters of recommendation in Statistics, and there are a lot of students accepted into Stat PhD programs who have no experience with undergraduate statistics and little research experience, but a lot of academic experience in pure mathematics.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc

[Spaghettini Plot]

Since you are majoring in Physics and Math I am guessing you are on the more theory side of Physics and I would think you would have a better chance in a Stats department.  Many if not most stats PhD's come from a math undergrad anyway.  Make sure your GRE scores are strong, particularly the quantitative section and try to get a solid score on the Mathematics Subject test GRE.  Stanford is the only Stats department that requires the Mathematics GRE, but it's highly recommended for Washington & Columbia  (which are also both very strong in ML).  

However if you have a lot of experience in computational physics you may be better suited for a CS program.  Without knowing more details like GPA, Domestic/International status, undergrad reputation, GRE scores if available and research experience it may be hard to determine which path is best.  You also want to have some very strong letters of recommendation either way.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Spaghettini Plot