PhD in EECS without research experience

[Casper14]

I am applying for a PhD in Computer Engineering for Fall 2013. I currently only have a Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering, with no research experience except for my final-year undergraduate project. Naturally this also means that I do not have any publications or anything like that.

Will this lack of research experience significantly decrease my chance of admission? Applying for a MS and then continuing to a PhD is not an option for me, because I need to secure funding, which is apparently much more difficult in the MS programs.

[intirb]

Yes, it will significantly decrease your chance of admission. Grad school admissions are mostly about your research experience and the letter of recommendations written by professors with whom you've done research. If you can't afford an MS (which I completely understand), you could maybe see if you could work as a research technician in a lab for a few years?

That said, it's not like your chances are completely shot. If you got really good grades and can play up your final research project, with a letter of recommendation from that project commenting on your fabulous potential to do more research, you could get into an ok school. Have you talked to a trusted advisor/mentor about your chances? They're usually the best source for an honest evaluation, since they know more about your situation than we do.

[Casper14]

My problem is mainly that I do not really have anyone to talk to, as I am studying in South Africa. Thus it is very hard to get an accurate evaluation about my chances at a university in the US. However, I do have a potential scholarship available at my home university that will pay for a full 2-year MS and cover my living expenses. (Which I was recommended for by my professor partly due to my final-year project.) Naturally I would prefer to study in the US, because even though my university is ranked 3rd in Africa, it is not even closely comparable to those in the US which I want to apply to.

For the record, my grades are a 4-year 3.5 GPA, and 2-year 3.9 GPA. My GRE scores are 160 verbal, 162 quantitative, and 4.5 analytical writing. I suppose if I could do very well at my MS at my home university it would greatly improve my chances for a PhD in the US, but ideally I would do my entire PhD there.

Thanks for your answer, it really helps, as I do not have a lot of sources for information.

[intirb]

Oh, you're not American? In that case, it will unfortunately be even harder to get a position in the US. International students are harder to fund, so there are less spots available for them, and the competition is extremely high.

Sorry for just assuming you were from the US before - I should have checked your location!

[emmm]

Yes, the MS sounds like a good idea. As the poster above noted, it will be even harder for you as an international student, even if you had impeccable credentials. And when you do apply, you should probably retake and try to get a higher Q score (your score is certainly good, but for EECS, the score averages are just crazy).

[Casper14]

Yes, I was a little disappointed with my Q score, I did better in both PowerPrep tests beforehand. Sorry, I also forgot to mention that I am not actually an international student, I am originally from the US but living in South Africa for quite some time now. So as far as I understand I would not actually be considered an international student?

[intirb]

Ah, cool. Yeah you're not considered an international student then, because you can be funded all the usual ways as an American citizen. Well you can always apply to US programs (and US fellowships) alongside applying to your MS program. I think you'll probably have a really tough time without a strong research background, though.

I was in a similar situation last year, where I had been studying abroad for quite some time and didn't really have any idea of my chances. It can definitely be a stressful and gut-wrenching process without any kind of feedback, but in the end you'll never know unless you try.

[Casper14]

Yes, I agree. I might as well apply and see what happens, if I do get admitted it will be a big bonus, and if I don't I'm sure I'll be more prepared for it after an MS. I'm only applying to universities I would really like to go to, so on the off chance that I do get admitted it will be an easy decision to make whether I should go or not.

Out of curiosity, how do so many applicants have research experience straight out of undergrad? I've been so busy with coursework I couldn't even think about getting involved in some research, and with our summer holidays so short, the most I've been able to fit in were a couple of internships with local tech-companies.

[intirb]

I can't speak for everyone - personally I started the summer after my freshman year, researching full-time over the summers and part-time (10 hours a week) during the year. For me, though, it was a struggle as I was overloading on credits to finish early, and I didn't really put in the time/effort to do quality work. For that reason, I went abroad, got an MS and a lot of research experience - that helped a ton when applying to PhD programs. It took me longer, but I spent less (money and time) on undergrad and got to experience the rest of the world for a while . I guess that doesn't really answer your question, since I didn't apply straight out of undergrad.

I think it makes sense to apply to any program you'd genuinely want to go to. Some people pick "safety" graduate schools that they wouldn't really like to attend, and I'm not really sure why.. but I guess they just have different goals than I did.

[EECommsPhdApp]

Kind've in a similiar boat, was wondering chances.

GPA: 3.66

Undergrad: RIT

Been employeed for 2.5 years at a R&D Defense contractor

GRE: 157/163/4.5 V/Q/A

I TAd in undergrad and did a 6 month biomedical NSF REU coop, but never published anything from it.

Was wondering my chances at getting into a top school and if I should retake my GREs (I didn't study at all)

I'm interested in doing communications type work and interested in these schools:

MIT (super reach, but why not)

Ohio State

UC San Diego

Univeristy of Rochester

Cornell

UC Berkeley (again a reach)

UT Austin

[Casper14]

Kind've in a similiar boat, was wondering chances.

GPA: 3.66

Undergrad: RIT

Been employeed for 2.5 years at a R&D Defense contractor

GRE: 157/163/4.5 V/Q/A

I TAd in undergrad and did a 6 month biomedical NSF REU coop, but never published anything from it.

Was wondering my chances at getting into a top school and if I should retake my GREs (I didn't study at all)

I'm interested in doing communications type work and interested in these schools:

MIT (super reach, but why not)

Ohio State

UC San Diego

Univeristy of Rochester

Cornell

UC Berkeley (again a reach)

UT Austin

It seems to me that you at least have some research experience, even if you don't have any publications. I'm sure that will count in your favour.

As for my applications:

UC Berkeley (a very long shot, but I've got my fingers crossed. The program looks amazing.)

UW Seattle

UC San Diego

UT Austin

Brown University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

UC Irvine

UC Riverside

Naturally, I am aware that there is a reasonable chance that I won't be admitted to any of these universities, but I'm hoping for the best with a backup plan at my current university.

EEPhdCommsApp, if I were you, I would study and take the GRE again if you have time and funds to pay for it. I only studied for a week, and I could see a significant increase in my scores on the practice tests over that week. Especially the Verbal section is easy to improve on if you learn some techniques and learn some word lists.

As a final thought, I have also heard that getting into the top programs is pretty much luck of the draw to a certain extent, so maybe that will favour us underdogs.

[victor.s.andrei]

Will this lack of research experience significantly decrease my chance of admission?

Significantly...that's hard to tell. But, yes, it will decrease your chances.

Of course, graduate admissions can at times feel like academic Russian roulette, so...

Applying for a MS and then continuing to a PhD is not an option for me, because I need to secure funding, which is apparently much more difficult in the MS programs.

Yes, it is.

Apply to a Canadian university - Toronto, British Columbia, Waterloo - for a MS and then apply to a PhD, either in the US or Canada.

In the US, master's degrees are generally unfunded while PhDs are funded, while in Canada, you start with a funded MS and continue to a PhD if you're any good. Or, at least, that's what the folks at Alberta told me a few years back.

YMMV.