Duke VS Brown for tech startup environment

[Emma1994]

Hi All,

I was recently accepted into Duke and Brown's EE PhD programs. Although I will likely be doing EE, my mind is not 100% set and I can potentially jump into MechE or BioE if I have the opportunity.

As my ultimate goal is to create a technological startup based on the projects I do in grad school, the geography really matters. Duke is right by the Research Triangle Park, which can be great if I want to learn about what other companies are doing and talk to different kinds of scientists about research ideas. Duke is also famous for its biomed so I can do something Bio related. On the other hand, Brown is only an hour away from Boston, which is also great for entrepreneurs. Although Brown also has a medical school, it is not as esteemed as Duke, and I don't know what other subjects are good at Brown. But Brown has the PRIME masters program which facilitates grad students with the basics of startups.

Thank you for your time. Please help me compare and contrast which school and its geography will be better for a startup, or just general information about the schools and programs will be appreciated.

Some basic information about me: I lived in Texas for ~7 years so I am more familiar with the southern culture and warm weather, I've never lived in the north before, I don't really know how to handle cold weather, but I found new England culture interesting and charming.

 

 

[DasIstBradley]

CE PHD here, but I'd definitely appreciate your seat from brown consider I've heard absolutely nothing from them so far. (fyi, I assumed EE n CE are in the same dept and share the same admission cap.) lol. anyway, dont know about Texas since I live in PA, but trust me both DUKE and Brown are prestigious enough to impress potential investors, but I'd still recommend Brown over Duke cuz of the geographic location. Providence is not perfect, but it does have the benefits of being close to Boston. But keep this in mind: silicon valley is in California, wall street is in New York. Hope you can have tons of fun no matter where you end u choosing,  

[juilletmercredi]

An hour can be short or long depending on transportation options. I'm assuming the Northeast Corridor can get you from Providence to Boston - looks like Amtrak is about an hour and 15 minutes. But be real: as a PhD student, how often do you think you're going to have time to travel the hour to go to Boston and make the contacts you need to make? Boston is great for entrepreneurs, but is it great for tech entrepreneurs? The Research Triangle has lots of tech companies that have significant presence there and ALSO has lots of pharmaceutical and biotech companies with significant presence.

I'd also take a look at the university resources themselves. There are some universities that are very invested in being tech incubators and potentially spawning the next Zuckerberg or Brin/Page. Those universities have set up open laboratories, formed relationships with companies and investors and mentors in the tech world, hired applied scientists into their departments, sponsor conferences and hackathons...I'd do some investigating and see whether opportunities like that exist at Brown and Duke and at which place they seem to be more robust.

I work in tech and I have to say that the Research Triangle + Raleigh is starting to get something of a reputation as a little tech hub. Providence not so much. Personally I would lean towards Duke. (I can't say that warm weather and socials aren't a factor, too - I'd rather live in the Triangle for 4-5 years than Providence.)

[cramerrao]

Right off the bat I'm gonna say I'm somewhat biased because I was also accepted to and considering attending Duke's EE PhD program. I also don't know a lot about Brown.

I agree with the points @juilletmercredi made. I would go to Duke. To add to what was said, Duke seems to have a better overall reputation and network in both EE and business, which won't automatically get you funding, a mentor, or other resources for a company, but it will probably create more opportunities to do so. I don't know if this is the case for Brown as well, but Duke appears to have a lot of professional development resources for students.

Did you attend the visit weekend? One thing that struck me was how all the grad students seemed very happy and content with their lives and no one seemed really stressed and/or overworked. And it's not like the students we got to interact with were cherry picked. The department also really cares about their students and will regularly go out of their way to help them out. I've been to my fair share of schools and I have to say I was really impressed with Duke.

[dinny]

I think you are underestimating the triangle. Don't forget that you have big pharma and many biotech companies, BUT in addition you also have UNC-CH (with one of the best biomed facilities in the country as well) and NC State. These 3 universities collaborate heavily with each other.

Brown doesn't even compete IMO if your goal is tech startup