University of Virginia, Electrical and Computer Engineering

[Manson]

Hi All,

Feels great to be a part of the gradcafe community and I wanted to use the forum here to gather some information.

I recently got selected for my graduate studies at the University of Virginia, Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering. My Primary area of interest is Image Processing and the department seems to be doing pretty good research in that area. Although apart from the information provided on the UVa website and the US News ranking stats, I have absolutely no idea about the place and the university in general.

It would be great if you guys could pitch in with any thoughts on the department and graduate life at UVa. I was hoping to get more information on the following:

• Department reputation particularly in my area of interest i.e Multimedia Processing
• Considering the financial slump the economy is in, the recruitment scenario at UVa in terms of both internships and full time employment?
• Life at UVa and Charlottesville
• Expenses and cost of living

Also, please feel free to add in any other points that you might feel should be looked into before making a final decision. Looking forward to replies!