Penn State vs. Lehigh

[dianina5]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying for PhD programs in computer science. Two schools I'm looking into right now are Penn State and Lehigh. I know Penn State has a great reputation, but I find many more research opportunities that I am interested in at Lehigh. Does anyone know how Lehigh even ranks for computer science (in particular, computer vision/robotics/AI)? I can't find much data. What is the overall impression people have of Lehigh? Same questions for Penn State.

Thanks and good luck to everyone

[MrRoboto]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying for PhD programs in computer science. Two schools I'm looking into right now are Penn State and Lehigh. I know Penn State has a great reputation, but I find many more research opportunities that I am interested in at Lehigh. Does anyone know how Lehigh even ranks for computer science (in particular, computer vision/robotics/AI)? I can't find much data. What is the overall impression people have of Lehigh? Same questions for Penn State.

Thanks and good luck to everyone

I don't know too much about Lehigh's program, but they did compete (and tie for 5th place) in the DARPA Urban Challenge (as part of the Ben Franklin Racing Team). This leads me to assume that they would have access to the autonomous vehicle, which would certainly be an interesting platform for Vision/AI research. Only know one person who went to Lehigh (he was EE), but he is a very successful executive for a chip-manufacturing company now.

[LifeIsGood]

I'm not in CS and was at Lehigh for part of my undergrad, so please take my input with a grain of salt. It's a nice campus in the middle of a small formerly-steel town. There are a couple of bars just off campus, but otherwise social life revolves around the fraternities (which are frequent and open to everyone for parties). My understanding is that the CS and Engineering programs are well-regarded and rigorous. I don't think you should hesitate to attend based on program strength or ranking, and if the research fit is better, it would be a good choice. Just be prepared to suffer through a social/city life that might not be ideal, and live far enough from campus that the drunk idiots won't puke your your front stoop every weekend.

[mish4]

I don't know much about lehigh but can talk for penn state. In terms of the school i think its pretty well known and respected. Certainly a lot of major companies come and recruit at psu. As for computer vision research there is one group in the CSE dept that does that. One of the people Dr. Collins is a great professor and from what i know a good researcher. There is also Yanxi Liu who does vision / pattern recognition type work. So overall i don't think penn state has the most options for your area, but they do exist.