gammaxeon Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 Hi all, I am unable to decide between univs A and B for PhD in CS. I am mentioning a few points that I am considering in the decision process. Please let me know your opinions. Ranking: A - top 5, B - top 20 Research group I will be joining: A has only one prof (is relatively new) while B has a lab consisting of 3-4 profs (1 very experienced and others relatively new) who work on research relevant to me. Friendliness: Profs at both places seem to be very friendly - based on email/skype/phone conversation. Recent publications: B publishes a lot at top tier conferences. A also publishes - but less in number. But, B's research group has 18-20 grad students while A has 4-5. Alignment with my research interests (X): The prof at A works on slightly different stuff compared to my current interests. It is sort of a new field combining my interest X and some other area, Y. B offers a wide range of research topics and encompasses X. The conferences where B publishes are more relevant X while A publishes in top conferences on Y. Should I put much weight to this point? I am just starting my PhD - does it make sense for me to narrow down my research interests already? There is high probability that X might no longer be an active research topic in 3-4 years from now. Should I keep my research interests slightly more flexible to accommodate A? PhD Funding: A - RA/TA; B - 2 years fellowship followed by RA/TA - Should not matter much? Funding for the group: B has more industry sponsorship than A I have generalized some points so that it can be helpful to others as well. You can respond to individual points as well as the overall situation. To draw a rough overall comparison, I am thinking to assigning scores to A and B based on each criteria. Do you have any suggestions on how much relative weight should I assign to each of the points? Cheers! PS: If some of the questions have already been answered previously, please share the link to the discussion thread.
bsharpe269 Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 Definitely B. The reputation of the professor means everything.
hikaru1221 Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 I find this a bit odd: Is the prof at A the only one working in the large field you're interested in? Or basically how narrow is X? If A has more professors working in the field and you simply don't consider working with them because their works seem to be distant from X, then I suppose you might want to rethink. It is possible that the reason you're wavering between A and B is because you find yourself more familiar with the stuff at B, that B's stuff aligns with your old stuff. This may help a bit: http://jxyzabc.blogspot.com/2009/02/some-notes-on-picking-grad.html
Icydubloon Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 If you want to work in academia go to B. Otherwise you need the brand so go to A.
Nikos Evangelos Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 Who's doing the ranking and why does it matter? Seriously, are you telling me there's a standard that's measurable and valid and agreed on by consensus and permanent (or anyway: likely to be stable over time) for distinguishing "Top 5" from mere "Top 20"? Or that this will make a difference to prospective future employers or search committees when they're evaluating, say, 48 applications for 1 position? Or wait, are you perhaps telling me that some for-profit weekly publication on the brink of obsolescence that survives mainly because it's branded itself as an authority in judging academic programs has produced a list of "rankings" and you're worried about A being #4 whereas B is #16 out of XXX? Seriously? From your comments it's pretty obvious you like B better. You want B. Irregardless, go with what your heart and mind already tell you. On a separate question: Sure you should keep your research interests flexible. But don't let the market winds determine what interests you. Especially not in your dissertation! If no one's covered your passion by the time you're making your proposal, then that's what you should do. Or if you've got a major contribution brewing thanks to an idea that's yours and no one else's, then that's what you should do. You should think more in terms of great work that defines you (and might redefine a piece of your field) rather than twisting and turning to adapt yourself to uncertain vagaries of where the market might be in X years.
Cookie Posted February 21, 2014 Posted February 21, 2014 B is clearly the better one (based on the info given) Good luck!
reinhard Posted February 21, 2014 Posted February 21, 2014 I didn't even read after 3. The way I see it, A gives you better connection with the prof, while B you are going to learn mostly from your colleagues than from the prof.
gammaxeon Posted February 21, 2014 Author Posted February 21, 2014 Thanks, everyone! The general opinion is to prefer B over A. I find this a bit odd: Is the prof at A the only one working in the large field you're interested in? Or basically how narrow is X? If A has more professors working in the field and you simply don't consider working with them because their works seem to be distant from X, then I suppose you might want to rethink. It is possible that the reason you're wavering between A and B is because you find yourself more familiar with the stuff at B, that B's stuff aligns with your old stuff. X is a subtopic within computer networks. Obviously, A has profs working on computer networks, distributed systems and related stuff - but not on X. In general, I agree that I should not be very very specific to X and be ready to expand. I don't mean switching to different field just because A doesn't have enough research going on in X. Who's doing the ranking and why does it matter? Seriously, are you telling me there's a standard that's measurable and valid and agreed on by consensus and permanent (or anyway: likely to be stable over time) for distinguishing "Top 5" from mere "Top 20"? Or that this will make a difference to prospective future employers or search committees when they're evaluating, say, 48 applications for 1 position? Or wait, are you perhaps telling me that some for-profit weekly publication on the brink of obsolescence that survives mainly because it's branded itself as an authority in judging academic programs has produced a list of "rankings" and you're worried about A being #4 whereas B is #16 out of XXX? Seriously? Agreed. But, its not about #4 vs #16 according to some XYZ Rankings and I know it doesn't matter much. I put "Top 5" vs "Top 20" just to give a general sense of the reputation of the places. And somehow, the reputation of the university is there in the back of my mind. The way I see it, A gives you better connection with the prof, while B you are going to learn mostly from your colleagues than from the prof. Ok. So, do you think one is better than the other? Also, how much do the collaborations of the professors across univs matter? B collaborates with top researchers in X and related area. A - well, not as much. I see some of the students at B spending their summer with top researchers and have a lot of joint publications/projects.
Nikos Evangelos Posted February 21, 2014 Posted February 21, 2014 Sounds like you should just switch the letters so that A is B and B is A, and then you can take your top choice!
compiler_guy Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 Are you planning to attend PhD visit days? What about the location of the schools -- for some people it matters a lot.
dxfizzle Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 Um, this sounds like Cornell vs Purdue. lol. Anyways, if you are pretty sure that A doesn't have much then I'd recommend you go with B. Let's assume you go with A and you stick with it and remain in your chosen line. Whenever you encounter a major obstacle, you'd likely keep regretting while you never went to B... I'd look at what the students from both A and B go on to do after their PhD. If you see what you like more at A than at B then you need to reconsider A. Bear in mind that you can go to B, make crazy awesome research, and go to industry; or go to B, make crazy awesome research and pub and go do a postdoc in a much higher school. Still winning! In the end, ranking is good and I don't agree when ppl totally bash it but ranking should also be taken with a grain of salt. Personally, I'd go with this list of self-made list of priority: -potential interests -possible advisers -school's ranking -what students do after their PhD -What's my gut telling me Anyways Congrats! Good luck!
PhDerp Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Um, this sounds like Cornell vs Purdue. lol. New forum mini-game: guess the schools
Nikos Evangelos Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Hogwarts vs. Battle School. PhDerp 1
PhDerp Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Hogwarts vs. Battle School. Sounds like Oxford vs. West Point Either way, I want in on that compsci program.
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