MS CS in UWashington (Bothell) vs MS CS in UCSD

[nart]

Hi all,

I have got admission to the MS in Computer Science & Software Engineering at the University of Washington Bothell for 2013 Fall. Also I have got admission to M.S. program in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at UCSD.

I see that UW Seattle is the main campus. How does UW Seattle compare with UW Bothell?

My area of interest is Systems. Any advice on which one I should go for will be of immense help to me.

Thanks!

[EngiNerd-12]

Any funding from either schools?

[bluestskies]

Have you visited the campuses yet? 

UW Bothell is much, much smaller than UW Seattle and feels like a community college (and actually is joined right next to one: Cascadia CC). Here is a link to Bothell's campus map: http://www.bothell.washington.edu/getattachment/visitors/directions/uwb-constructionroute-campusmap-updatenovember.pdf and an aerial shot: http://www.djc.com/news/enviro/11123747.html (old photo) and Seattle's campus map: http://www.washington.edu/maps/ (you can click the building icons and see actual photos) and an aerial shot (again, old photo but you can see the size...the ring of trees in the middle of the photo circles the main campus with the hospitals at the bottom left and Husky Stadium on the bottom right): http://staff.washington.edu/gabegms/UW_airshot.gif.

 

The Bothell campus is about 30-40 minutes further away from downtown on the 'east side' of the city and is kind of in the middle of nowhere. It definitely feels more rural: you look out windows and see marsh and trees and land and I know a lot of people love it for that reason, as well as it's a more tight-knit community because of the smaller size. 

 

I did a quick search and it looks like student body-wise, Bothell is at about 4,000 vs UW Seattle at 43,000 and UCSD 30,000.

Edited April 3, 2013 by bluestskies

[nart]

EngiNerd-12 : Not yet. And I am yet to start TA/RA discussions with the professors.

 

bluestskies : Thanks for the info. I can get the feel of Uw seattle vs Uw bothell now. In terms of location of the universities, does UCSD have an upper hand since its in CA. Like more intern/job opportunities than UW bothell?

[bluestskies]

I have no idea as to how the job market is in CA, but I do know it's quite good here in Seattle, especially for techie things. Microsoft, Amazon, and Starbucks are headquartered here, and Google is rumored to be adding a 3rd campus in the city, and all are constantly hiring (less Starbucks than the other three), especially in the CS field. I also believe Facebook is expanding here into bigger office spaces and we are this hub for startups...lots and lots of small companies are popping up, backed by massive investors. It's crazy how many people I know know who are coming straight out of their undergrad CS degrees with no experience and jobs starting in the 6 figures. Makes me wish I could rewind the clock and start again haha! 

 

I work right by the Amazon campuses in Seattle and not only have they just spent close to 1 billion dollars on building/leasing in this area over the last 5 or so years (adding something like 2 million square feet of office space), but are expected to keep on growing (and I can attest to at least one other huge campus coming in as it's quite literally across the street from my building and we are watching them demolish the current space and begin construction now).

 

I think if you come to town to visit the school, you should definitely try to tour some of these companies and get a feel to see if it's a culture you could see yourself in. 

Edited April 7, 2013 by bluestskies