Funded MS in U of Arizona Mining vs unfunded Masters in Purdue Geotech

[sharan]

Hey, I'm an International student with a Bachelors in Mining Engineering and I've been accepted to 5 of the 6 programs I applied to. My research is in Rock Mechanics. I currently have a funded offer from the Mining Engineering department of The University of Arizona and an unfunded offer from Purdue civil. In both cases, the degree is a master's by research and I'll be working on rock/soil mechanics.

 

At Purdue, I have the option to continue on to a PhD after completion of the masters. The prof I want to work with at Purdue is going on a semester long sabbatical starting August 2014. So, he's told me to look for funding elsewhere until he gets back and that he cannot guarantee funding even after he gets back, but that most Geotech students typically get funded (60-70% of the students).

 

I'm not sure which offer to take. Is the funding at Arizona a sufficient parameter to offset the quality of education at Purdue? A civil Masters will also open more options for me since I want to enter academics after a PhD. My parents can fund my masters education but it will be a significant dent on their long term savings. I also feel guilty for being dependent on them.

[bsharpe269]

University of Arizona is a greally good school and will open lots of doors too. I would say it has a pretty comprable reputation to purdue so you arent comparing a great school with a horrible school here... they are both really good.

 

I would go with the funding at U of Arizona for sure.

[peachypie]

unless you can outright pay for your masters now without loans, I would take the funded masters overr an unfunded anything.  You can always apply to Purdue or many other schools for a funded PhD after your masters.  

Edited April 5, 2014 by peachypie

[GeoDUDE!]

U arizona is a great earthscience school. Purdue isn't in the realm of U arizona. Why is this a debate ?

[skyentist]

University of Arizona is definitely one of the best (if not the best) place for geology. Go there. Follow the money.

[Geologizer]

Looks like others beat me to the punch, but u of a is a top tier geoscience program. Now, fit and speciality of faculty is something rankings (which are totally bogus in my mind anyway) don't capture, but I don't think there's any risk of an"offset" in quality at Arizona in the way you think. If anything, you have it backwards. Plus u of a is funded...the decision is really one sided on paper, but I know that's only part of the story sometimes.

[sharan]

Looks like others beat me to the punch, but u of a is a top tier geoscience program. Now, fit and speciality of faculty is something rankings (which are totally bogus in my mind anyway) don't capture, but I don't think there's any risk of an"offset" in quality at Arizona in the way you think. If anything, you have it backwards. Plus u of a is funded...the decision is really one sided on paper, but I know that's only part of the story sometimes.

Thank you :-) that was very helpful.

 

I thought Purdue civil is top class based on its rankings alone and no other parameter. Also, the faculty in the geotech division there are from MIT and Berkeley. I also know that Arizona Mining faculty are amazing, having interacted with them on various occasions. You make my decision seem easy :-). Hypothetically now, what about if a funded master's from West Virginia Uni and Lulea University of Technology, Sweden were to enter into the equation?

 

Also, note that my admission in Arizona is not in their Geoscience program (which is top-tier) but in their geological engineering program (which, as per my knowledge, is unranked). Both these programs are offered by completely different departments.

Edited April 6, 2014 by sharan

[Geologizer]

Ahh I assumed that it was going to be through the same department (geoscience). If that's not the case (through the engineering school?) I'm not sure how the two schools stack up. But funded is huge and because u of a is so well respected for earth science, I'm sure that'll open a lot of doors into mining. Not to mention all of the big mines right near there.

[sharan]

Ahh I assumed that it was going to be through the same department (geoscience). If that's not the case (through the engineering school?) I'm not sure how the two schools stack up. But funded is huge and because u of a is so well respected for earth science, I'm sure that'll open a lot of doors into mining. Not to mention all of the big mines right near there.

Yeah, I've been admitted to the engineering school (Mining and Geological Engineering). The research in Geosciences is very different from that in Rock Mechanics (which is very field oriented rather than theoretical). The thing is, I'm skeptical about continuing on with a mining degree because I believe a Civil Engineering degree opens many more avenues. On the other hand, I'm not sure if money is such a big parameter in the long run. Also, the sabbatical at Purdue bothers me. What if he decides to undergo a life/career changing sabbatical? I'll be screwed because he's the only rock mechanics guy in the CEE department there.