Msc EE for international student

[ece_student28]

Hi all of you,

My name is Jim and i am currently in the 5th year of a 5 year Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. Here in Greece, we have to pass 60 courses and finish  and  deliver our dissertation thesis. I am currently having a 8/10 Gpa and i belive i can publish part of my thesis in a conference or in a journal. Also my gpa  corresponds to the 5% of the class. During my bachelor years i haven't  been involded in any research project. I would like to ask some questions about graduate studings in US.

I am willing to apply for Msc/Phd but there two major problems. Even though being admitted in a phd programm gives you a tution waiver plus a salary, it is harder to get admitted than a Msc and pursuing a phd is a big commitment for at least 5 years. On the other hand, Msc is easier to get in, you get a taste of how the system works,helps you decide either gettin a job or continue for a phd but it costs a fortune. So  i would like to ask you if there is any change to apply for a Msc and get a tution waiver, by getting involved in R.A ans T.A? Also, although i am in the end of my stydies, i haven't made my mind clear which sectors of EE, i love most. I am very interested in AI, Digital Electronic Systems as well as Microprocessors. Are there any EE Masters with a wide ranges of courses in order to decide what career path to pursue?

Thank you and excuse me for my bad English

[Edge]

Hi Jim,

 

It is certainly possible to obtain funding while obtaining only a Masters degree, however it is much less likely.  The way funding for student fellowships/assistantships works in most universities is that phD students get funded first.  If a phD student declines to attend, then Masters students could benefit from that funding.  Sometimes, Masters students are funded separately from phD students, typically it means a research topic is short term (less than two years) and so it is structured for Masters student research instead of a phD student.  As far as Teaching Assistanships are concerned, they are rarely given to first year students because they don't know anything about you.  If you take the class and excel in it, it is possible to become a teaching assistant the next semester or following year.  I can't help you with the EE questions, I'm a CivE.  Hope I helped.

[spec789]

Many Masters programs are set up with breadth and depth requirements. That is, while you have to take a certain number of your courses in a specific area of EE (sometimes referred to as your "concentration"), your other coursework can come from other areas. For example, at Stanford's Masters program, a few (I believe 3) of your courses MUST be areas that are different from your concentration.

 

However, from your profile, it sounds like you might be interested in either "embedded systems" or even "computer engineering".

 

If you really aren't sure of which area of EE you would like to concentrate in, it might be better to work first at a company. Some companies may even sponsor your Masters degree.

 

As for funding, I second everything Edge said above. PhD students will usually get priority over Master's students for funding because it a better investment from the perspective of the university and professor (the PhD student is at the university longer). 

 

 

 As far as Teaching Assistanships are concerned, they are rarely given to first year students because they don't know anything about you.  If you take the class and excel in it, it is possible to become a teaching assistant the next semester or following year.

 

This is also true for RA's. RA's typically come straight from the professor, so the norm is for the student to volunteer for the professor (usually supported by a fellowship or a TA in the meantime) for a semester/quarter before being funded (during which the professor evaluates the student and decides if the student is worth funding).

 

If tuition is a problem, and you are already in Greece, have you considered a Masters in other European countries? At least in Germany, most of the Masters programs are in English, and the tuition is usually much cheaper than the programs in the US.

Edited August 12, 2014 by spec789