On the right track for computer science PhD applications?

[Frat Programmer]

Background

Hi everyone, despite coming from a different area of study I am hoping to apply for computer science PhD programs by the end of this year.  I just want to make sure that I am on the right track.

I graduated in 2015 from a top 20 undergrad with a bio major and am currently working in biochemistry/immunology research as a research tech.

I am hoping to start a postbac program this summer to take courses such as discrete math, data structures, and an algorithms class.

I am also spending the time until this summer studying for GREs.

Some basic math/CS qualifications include: 3.7 GPA (A's and A-'s in all sciences except three B's), Calc I and II coursework, statistics (which exposed me to R programming), and an intro to computer science class that taught python.  One full year of physics as well.  I'm a fairly good standardized test taker and scored in the top 3% on my MCAT with little studying (irrelevant in the case of admissions but I'm hoping to do as well on the GRE).  Moral of the story is to follow your heart haha.

Questions:

1) Will I need computer science research?  I have three years of biochemistry research, where I utilized my statistics coursework to make sense of data and wrote scripts in R.  I have two publications as well (not first author).

2) Can I ask my PI's in biochemistry for LORs for a CS PhD program?

3) Given my timeline, can I realistically apply later this year for Fall 2017 entry?

 

Thank you everyone for your time, sorry for the long post!

 

 

[emmm]

I recently applied and was accepted into a CS PhD program from a biology background. However, I had taken quite a few CS classes and other related classes. You may need to work on getting more CS background before you'll be considered competitive. The CS subfield you apply for will also come into play -- there are some that are really not going to be as accessible to you without a much stronger CS background, including, probably, the most popular (hence competitive) subfields. You'd be well served to take some more classes and form relationships with people who might be willing to work with you as a grad student and who would support your application to their programs. Given your bio background, you do have something unique to offer, provided you have the CS foundation to convince the programs you apply to that you will be able to keep up with the required coursework. To me, it doesn't sound like you have nearly enough. As comparison, how would you react to someone who said I am a CS major with research in CS. I took an intro bio class and now I'd like to apply for a PhD in immunology?  It's a pretty similar scenario.

To answer your other questions, yes, you can have professors in non-CS fields write you LORs, but I limited my non-CS letters to ONE. You have some time to work on whatever weaknesses you think you can address in your background before applications start being reviewed (late Dec/early Jan timeframe). You will need to determine whether that gives you enough time or not. You should be able to go to the CS graduate program office at your school and talk to someone about what preparation they generally want to see, at a minimum, from non-CS applicants. I did this, and it was very helpful.

Edited March 28, 2016 by emmm
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