PhD Program Decision

[qub]

I'm trying to make a decision between two very different programs, UC-Irvine and North Carolina State.  It's turned into a tough choice for me in part for non-academic reasons, but I'm looking for some input regarding whether it's justifiable to choose UCI over such a highly ranked program.  My main research interest is Bayesian computation, and I'm leaning towards a career in academia, but am still considering industry.

 

Some of the pros and cons I've been considering:

 

Pros for NCSU:

• Large, well-established, and highly-ranked program.
• Lots of opportunities for networking and academic collaboration in the research triangle.
• Very good placement history, good career prospects overall, either in academia or industry.
• Cheap cost of living and decent weather.

Cons for NCSU:

• I'm not sure about the strength of their Bayesian work outside of spatial statistics, which isn't my particular interest.
• Requires a cross-country move.

 

 

Pros for UCI:

• Departmental emphasis is pretty well-matched with my intended research interests.
• Professor of interest is jointly appointed with the CS department, which is highly-ranked. 
• Offering significantly more money than NCSU (offset by much higher cost of living).
• Already living in southern California, so it's a very easy move.

Cons for UCI:

• Unranked and very new program, only had about 8 PhDs granted so far.
• Small department, many classes are mixed with non-stats PhDs (as opposed to NCSU where classes are largely only stats PhD students).
• Unclear how competitive the degree will be when viewed against other stats PhDs for jobs.

 

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

[Stats2015]

I've found that NC State seems to be more focused on industry placement than most schools but that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't go into academia with a degree form NC State. I just know that they're really good at industry placement and that a lot of faculty have research ties with industry in the area.

I'm not sure about where UCI places their graduates bur I know the UC system is pretty good and that with UCI being so close to Los Angeles that there would most likely be opportunity for jobs in industry there as well.

That being said, my general impression was that NC State seemed to have a stronger presence in Biostatistics and UCI seemed to have a stronger presence in machine learning and a slight emphasis in Bayesian Stats.

I have a friend that is going to NC State and he loved the school and the area. I guess it depends on if you want to leave Cali and if there are professors that you want to work with at NC State. Otherwise I'd go with which one has the best research fit.

[jujubea]

Did you list all of the non-academic pros and cons you're considering?

[qub]

The non-academic pros and cons are mostly related to leaving the area here.  I have some networking connections, a friend group, and a relationship that I'd be leaving if I were to move.  Also, from what I know of the areas, I think I prefer southern California in terms of general culture and things to do when I'm not working.  My focus will be studying and research where ever I end up, so I don't want to weight these things too heavily, but they are on my mind.