UMD or UIUC ( MS CS ) ? Please help.

[thegurubase]

Hey,

I have MS CS admits from UMD ( College Park ) and UIUC for Fall 2011. Both are great univs. And there are profs in both univs whose research interests match mine. Additionally, both univs are generous when it comes to funding for masters students. I cant seem to decide on a final choice. If anyone is currently pursuing their grad studies at either of these univs, could you please share your thoughts?

From what I've been told, UIUC has better reputation and job opportunities. However, the research at UMD seems to be a slightly better fit to my interests as compared to UIUC. What I want to know is, from the POV of a masters student, to which factor should I give more preference?

Any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks!

Edited March 19, 2011 by thegurubase

[thegurubase]

Anyone there?

[frenzydude]

This might seem a pretty naive opinion, but if I were in your place, I would definitely choose UIUC because of higher reputation and ranking. Its among the top 5 in CS, and research interests often change after entering graduate studies so the fit might not be so important.

[thegurubase]

Yeah. I was kinda leaning towards UIUC for the same reasons..

[zep]

From what I've been told, UIUC has better reputation and job opportunities. However, the research at UMD seems to be a slightly better fit to my interests as compared to UIUC.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your specific interests? I attend UIUC, and I have a couple of collaborators at UMD, so I might be able to help if I know your specific research area.

Edited March 22, 2011 by zep

[thegurubase]

Can you tell us a little bit more about your specific interests? I attend UIUC, and I have a couple of collaborators at UMD, so I might be able to help if I know your specific research area.

My interests are mainly in HCI. The HCI work at UIUC is really good. However, the scale of research at UMD's HCI Lab seems to be much higher. Do you have any information about HCIL at UMD ?

[zep]

My interests are mainly in HCI. The HCI work at UIUC is really good. However, the scale of research at UMD's HCI Lab seems to be much higher. Do you have any information about HCIL at UMD ?

thegurubase,

Our department has roughly five HCI professors, some of whom are also involved in vision or graphics. HCI is a very broad field, and even the best professors generally specialize in a relatively small subset of the topics that fall into the category of HCI.

I recommend looking carefully at the websites for each of the HCI professors at UIUC and at UMD. If you have specific HCI areas or topics that you want to study, see if you can find a professor at UIUC or UMD who shares your specific interests.

I am very happy with my experience at UIUC, and much of my satisfaction comes from finding faculty who share my research interests. If you're equally intrigued with the projects and advisors at UIUC and at UMD, then I suggest going with UIUC (I'm biased though). If you see some projects or professors at UMD that are very exciting to you, then UMD will likely be a good choice.

[thegurubase]

Thanks for the info zep.I'll most likely attend UIUC. Seems like a much better option. Could you give my any info about funding for masters students? I've heard that all grad students are funded. Do you have any idea about that?

[OH YEAH]

I knew UMD had a strong HCI group, but I didn't even know UIUC had one.

[zep]

Could you give my any info about funding for masters students? I've heard that all grad students are funded. Do you have any idea about that?

All of my UIUC CS friends who are MS or PhD students have at least at TA if not an RA position. It is pretty common for MS students to get RA positions.

The things I said about funding are only true if you're doing research during your MS or PhD. There is a loophole that allows you can get a UIUC CS masters without doing a thesis (I believe it's called the "Professional Master's"). The professional masters program only has a few students, and these students are rarely if ever funded.

[zep]

I knew UMD had a strong HCI group, but I didn't even know UIUC had one.

Each UIUC HCI professor has his or her own research group. Each of these professors seems to have a fairly specific sub-field of HCI in which they work. It's not uncommon for an HCI grad student to be advised by more than one professor, though.

[scyrus]

I visited UIUC, so I figure I can chime in. I'm also under the HCI umbrella -- Maryland has a much bigger, broader, and certainly more well known HCI department. That said, I didn't apply to Maryland and did apply to UIUC because the few things UIUC does do, it does well. Karrie Karahalios is great at exploring social computing topics and recently graduated a rockstar student who got a faculty position at Georgia Tech. Brian Bailey does really cool work with creating tools to enhance design creativity, among other things. Alex Kirlik is exploring some interesting interdisciplinary spaces. I didn't get to meet Wai-Tat Fu but he also does interesting things.

Many of the things these professors do correspond to my interests, which is why I applied. However, if you aren't interested in the research they do, UIUC is probably not the best place for you to go. You'll have many more options at Maryland. And, if your ultimate goal is a PhD and you're just trying to explore the HCI domain for now, Maryland may also be a better option.

Btw, UIUC also has great Psychology and Information Science departments, which are important elements of HCI as well.

[thegurubase]

I visited UIUC, so I figure I can chime in. I'm also under the HCI umbrella -- Maryland has a much bigger, broader, and certainly more well known HCI department. That said, I didn't apply to Maryland and did apply to UIUC because the few things UIUC does do, it does well. Karrie Karahalios is great at exploring social computing topics and recently graduated a rockstar student who got a faculty position at Georgia Tech. Brian Bailey does really cool work with creating tools to enhance design creativity, among other things. Alex Kirlik is exploring some interesting interdisciplinary spaces. I didn't get to meet Wai-Tat Fu but he also does interesting things.

Many of the things these professors do correspond to my interests, which is why I applied. However, if you aren't interested in the research they do, UIUC is probably not the best place for you to go. You'll have many more options at Maryland. And, if your ultimate goal is a PhD and you're just trying to explore the HCI domain for now, Maryland may also be a better option.

Btw, UIUC also has great Psychology and Information Science departments, which are important elements of HCI as well.

Thanks for the info! I am very interested in the research being done by Prof. Karrie karahalios and Prof. Brian Bailey. The main reason I'm considering maryland is because of prof. ben shneiderman . He's a pioneer when it comes to HCI. So I'm kinda confused. I am not sure if I'll be going for a PhD. As of now, I am thinking of getting a job in the industry after graduation. I will be able to make a decision about PhD only after I begin my grad studies. That being said, from the POV of a masters students looking to get a good job after graduation, which one is a better choice? any suggestions? From what I've heard, UIUC is definitely a better option when it comes to this.