Upenn vs U Maryland Park

[charlesandjoy]

I got offers from both schools in doctorate program and I have been going through a hard decision process. Upenn enjoys relatively higher overall reputation while Maryland is better in Engineering and in my field.

As I understand, the professor that will be my research advisor in Upenn is a little bit 'push' and lead a very small group(2 PhDs) and the professor from Maryland is very famous and of course very busy, which means he gives limited directions himself to students and require the independent research from his students. My career plan after PhD degree is to enter industry and start with a job somewhere. Which one do you think would be better choice for me?

[newms]

Those are both excellent choices - congrats! I'm not exactly in your field, but I would go with the one that I thought was the better 'fit'. At UPenn, your POIs group is smaller so you will get more attention, but at UMCP, a famous professor will be able to give your more contacts which could lead to better job prospects in the long run, so both have advantages and disadvantages. How does each match up with your research interests? Which group do you think would give you a better opportunity to pursue your interests? What if your POI were to leave in the next couple years - are there other profs that you could work with?

[charlesandjoy]

Those are both excellent choices - congrats! I'm not exactly in your field, but I would go with the one that I thought was the better 'fit'. At UPenn, your POIs group is smaller so you will get more attention, but at UMCP, a famous professor will be able to give your more contacts which could lead to better job prospects in the long run, so both have advantages and disadvantages. How does each match up with your research interests? Which group do you think would give you a better opportunity to pursue your interests? What if your POI were to leave in the next couple years - are there other profs that you could work with?

Thank you for your analysis. The current research interest of the Upenn group is what I am interested in but I don't like the proposal the professor made for future researches. The group from UMCP covers a wide range of research topics and the advisor gives his students freedom to choose from the topic pool during their first two years. I am pretty sure I will find my real interest there. So, in terms of research interest itself, UMCP fits me better. And the possibility of changing research advisor in Upenn is slim Actually, I tend to choose UMCP right now. But....I just cannot give myself any assurance of this choice....

Edited February 24, 2011 by charlesandjoy

[newms]

Well it sounds like you're definitely leaning towards UMCP. Maybe if you visited the campuses or talked with students there it would help you to confirm your thoughts. I wouldn't pay much attention to which school is more prestigious overall in this case, because industry and schools will recognize that they're both highly ranked programs.