Graduate School in Computer Science

There are lots of good reasons for going to graduate school in computer science:

• It helps to have more credentials when you look for a job.
• People with advanced degrees often have more options in advancing their careers.
• Some jobs require an advanced degree. For example, you need a PhD to teach at the college level.
• You often get paid more if you have a graduate degree.
• Many companies will pay tuition fees for graduate education.
• It avoids having to work for a living (at least for awhile).

Checklist of Things To Do

• [Fall, Junior Year] Talk to some of your teachers about subjects that interest you in order to figure out what you might study in grad school. Often these discussions lead to suggestions of schools where good work is being done in those areas. Visit the web sites of people at those schools to see what kinds of projects they are doing.

  
  

• [Fall, Junior Year] Apply for an undergraduate research experience over the summer. This is a great way to find out if you like research, and you will learn more about the grad student lifestyle. There are also several government labs that sponsor research internships.

  
  

• [Junior Year] Do some research to find out where you want to apply. For example, check out this list of the top 26 computer science departments as ranked by US News and World Report in 2001. (They have taken their complete listings off their website so that they can sell their print and online versions of the complete rankings.) Another source of rankings is a study sponsored by the National Research Council in the early 1990s. It is about ten years out of date, but most of the rankings are still accurate. Their website allows you to produce rankings by many different attributes, such as percentages of women and minorities, publications, median years to PhD, etc. There are many other schools worth considering. Most departments are stronger in some areas than others, so look for a department that is strong in your area of interest. The Career Services office holds a Graduate School Fair in the fall each year to go over the admissions process. About a dozen graduate schools send representatives to that fair. Finally, the best catalog of grad school programs is Peterson's Guide. Their site provides good links to schools and their programs. If you are worried about your chances of getting into schools, check out this Acceptance Estimator. It uses publically-available statistics to determine whether your GRE scores and GPA are typically accepted by individual schools. It also gives somes hints on criteria used by many schools.

  
  

• [Fall, Senior Year] Download application forms or apply online.
• [Fall, Senior Year] Take the Graduate Record Exams (GRE). This is a multi-step process:
  • Go to the GRE website to find out where and when the General Test and the Computer Science Subject Test will be given. Some computer science departments require both exams.
  • Register for an exam date. You can do this online at the GRE website or by mail.
  • Take the exams.
• [Fall, Senior Year] Ask for recommendation letters from faculty. Keep in mind that faculty are busy, too, so ask early. Be sure to give them a copy of your resume, a description of your interests, and some information about why you are different from all the other students that are applying. Collect all of the recommendation forms or instructions and give the whole packet to the faculty member well in advance of the deadlines.

  
  

• [Fall, Senior Year] Request copies of your college transcripts.
• [Fall, Senior Year] Apply for financial aid. Some schools have a separate process for applying for financial aid, or they require that applications be completed earlier. Be sure to check these details.

  
  LI> [Winter, Senior Year] Visit some of the places where you have applied. Departments will often pay for some or all of your travel expenses, so ask before making plans. Some departments have special "visit days" or weekends.

  
  

• [Spring, Senior Year] When the acceptance letters start arriving, consider visiting again. Departments are delighted to sponsor trips by accepted students. You can use this trip to investigate housing options.

  
  

• [Spring, Senior Year] After you decide on a school thank the faculty who wrote you letters of recommendation and tell them where you are going. You never know when you may need another letter of recommendation from them.

  
  

Recommended Reading

Here are some links with more advice or information:

• Should I go to grad school? -- from the Oregon Graduate Institute
• CRA Forsythe List -- Computing Research Association's list of graduate departments
• Embark -- useful information about programs and schools
• Gradschools.com -- more useful information