Oxford or Georgia Tech?

[lyes]

So I have an admit for an MS in Computer Science from both Oxford and Georgia Tech.

Given that I plan to pursue a Ph.D afterwards, Where do you believe pursuing my MS will give higher chances of getting me into a top Ph.D program in the US?

Some relevant info:

- Both universities have a large number of Masters students as well as Ph.D students

- Oxford's a 1-year program, GA Tech's a 2-year program

- I have to self-fund (parents/loan/scholarship) either way, with one year's cost being almost the same for both

- GA Tech has more people working in my area of interest (Data Mining/Information Retrieval) than Oxford (which is more into semantic web and ontologies)

- Oxford's 1-year ends with a research project while GA Tech's ends with a thesis

Also has anyone here done their MS at Georgia Tech? What was the research like?

Thanks!

[jjsakurai]

The 2-year MS (instead of just 1 year at Oxford) at GaTech will probably give you a lot more opportunity to do research and will improve your chances at a top PhD program. Also, I believe GaTech is better regarded in CS than Oxford (though I may be wrong on this point).

So if funding is not an issue, I'd say go for GaTech. Even if it's an issue, GaTech might be a better choice as Oxford's program is so short. Word of caution regarding loans - do find out whether the loans can be deffered interest-free while you're pursuing your PhD. If not, then you'll have to work for a few years after your MS to pay them off. I believe US Federal loans are usually deferrable but are limited to US citizens and permanent residents only.

Edited April 27, 2012 by jjsakurai

[Pauli]

There's so many amazing research projects going on at Georgia Tech, and I have quite a number of friends that did their Masters there and they seem to like it. I'm not familiar with Oxford's program, but for the conferences that my classmates and I attend at my current school, I often see other GT people but haven't met any from Oxford.

[kartik.thapar]

The 2-year MS (instead of just 1 year at Oxford) at GaTech will probably give you a lot more opportunity to do research and will improve your chances at a top PhD program. Also, I believe GaTech is better regarded in CS than Oxford (though I may be wrong on this point).

So if funding is not an issue, I'd say go for GaTech. Even if it's an issue, GaTech might be a better choice as Oxford's program is so short. Word of caution regarding loans - do find out whether the loans can be deffered interest-free while you're pursuing your PhD. If not, then you'll have to work for a few years after your MS to pay them off. I believe US Federal loans are usually deferrable but are limited to US citizens and permanent residents only.

It's not a two year MSc or is it? I thought it was 3 semesters?

[Adamah]

The Georgia Tech MS in CS is a terminal degree not intended to prepare you for a PhD. Generally, MS programs in other countries are viewed as preparation for a PhD, and are also a lot cheaper. I'd go with Oxford.

[finknottle]

The Georgia Tech MS in CS is a terminal degree not intended to prepare you for a PhD. Generally, MS programs in other countries are viewed as preparation for a PhD, and are also a lot cheaper. I'd go with Oxford.

Isn't it the other way round? That's what the OP highlighted. Oxford's is a one year program. Georgia Tech on the other hand is flexible. You can choose to write a thesis if you wish. That would take you two years. Otherwise you can get out in one and a half too if you are just interested in coursework.

[Adamah]

Isn't it the other way round? That's what the OP highlighted. Oxford's is a one year program. Georgia Tech on the other hand is flexible. You can choose to write a thesis if you wish. That would take you two years. Otherwise you can get out in one and a half too if you are just interested in coursework.

I don't know too much about Georgia Tech's program, but the website states: "The Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) program is a terminal degree program designed to prepare students for more highly productive careers in industry."

It may still be decent preparation for a PhD program, but you should look to see if research assistantships are a viable option. Maybe ask the admissions staff how many MS students get RAships, and how many continue on to PhD programs. Hopefully they will have post-graduation stats on hand.

[finknottle]

I don't know too much about Georgia Tech's program, but the website states: "The Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) program is a terminal degree program designed to prepare students for more highly productive careers in industry."

It may still be decent preparation for a PhD program, but you should look to see if research assistantships are a viable option. Maybe ask the admissions staff how many MS students get RAships, and how many continue on to PhD programs. Hopefully they will have post-graduation stats on hand.

I think most Master's programs say that. Even if you look at Stanford, Princeton or CMU's MS websites, they'll all say that. I'm feeling too lazy to dig up links, but I'm speaking from first hand experience. An MS program is always a springboard. More often for the industry than a PhD. That is quite true universally. And that's what all websites say. That shouldn't stop you from engaging in research if that's what you want to do. As long as the program is flexible enough, it doesn't matter what the website says. The website is made by a different team altogether keeping in mind a different target audience.

[Pauli]

The Georgia Tech MS in CS is a terminal degree not intended to prepare you for a PhD. Generally, MS programs in other countries are viewed as preparation for a PhD, and are also a lot cheaper. I'd go with Oxford.

To lyes (the original poster), please disregard Adamah's statement above. It is incorrect for several reasons. First of all, every competitive Master's program states that in order to highlight that the program is also accommodating to industry-minded prospective students. Secondly, Adamah is not familiar with George Tech's MSCS program at all, so is also not aware of GT's huge strengths over Oxford on the research areas you're interested in. Thirdly, Adamah doesn't seem familiar with how MS programs in CS are run, and his existing comments are inaccurate at best.

[StatArbML]

I am a current CS student at Oxford. Trust me go for GT; it is a much better choice for CS and students are probably much more highly recruited for CS-related jobs.

If you were doing philosophy or economics, etc, then Oxford is the clear choice. Otherwise in engineering/CS fields there is no competition, unless if you have a strong UK preference or some family attachments here, or if costs is an issue.

Another thing to consider is that CS jobs are not very lucrative in the UK as it is in the US; typical Oxford CS grads make around £25-30k pounds (= $40-48k USD, even though UK living cost is generally higher), and many more are not employed upon graduation.