Graduate School in Computer Science Dr. Daniel Ernst / Dr. Paul Wagner UWEC Department of Computer Science

Messages Graduate school in CS is an option you should consider – there are many rewards for the work you do There are a variety of graduate programs fitting various needs and goals If you’re an A or B student who works hard, you can be very successful in graduate school

Topics Reasons to consider graduate school in computer science Types of graduate degrees What graduate school is like / how it’s different than undergraduate Moving on from courses to research How to succeed in graduate school Application procedures and deadlines Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Jobs in graduate school Jobs after graduate school

Reasons To Consider Graduate School Good You want to study one or more areas of computer science in more depth You’re interested in teaching computer science at the university level You’re interested in research Medium You want to increase your marketability in the work force May want to get some work experience first Note: some employers pay for graduate study (more so for Masters, area that helps in your job)

Reasons Not To Consider Graduate School Several Variations on a Theme You’re not ready for the real world You want to postpone the decision about which job to take You’re not sure what you want to do If Not Sure, Go to the Other Side of the Fence Work for a while Come back to graduate school later

Types of Graduate Degrees Masters Course-Only Project Thesis Professional Ph.D.

Masters – Coursework Only Example U of M MSC degree 31 credits of coursework Advantages Can take advanced courses in new areas Higher level work Courses may fit for particular purposes (e.g. work) Disadvantages No significant work outside of courses Extension of undergraduate work

Masters - Project Example: U of M MS in CS, Plan B and Plan C Plan B – 31 credits, 3 cr. project course Plan C – 31 credits of coursework, includes 100 hours of project work, including presentation Advantages Project allows for application of courses Project involves focused interest area Disadvantages Project is not same as research May not be original idea, may not need to show benefits, etc.

Masters - Thesis Example U of M MS in CS, Plan A 31 credits, including 10 thesis credits Advantages More likely to do advanced research Disadvantages Less coursework Masters thesis may grow in scope to Ph.D. thesis Personal suggestion (PJW): save thesis for Ph.D.

Masters - Professional Example U of M MSSE Must be an industry professional with >= 1 year of experience 2-3 courses for 4 semesters, all on Friday or Saturday Capstone project (similar to Masters Plan B) Advantages More applied program Excellent fellow student body Overall excellent degree for those in industry Disadvantages Not a research degree

Ph.D. Example: U of M Ph.D. in CS 43 credits of coursework (varies) 24 credits of thesis Advantages Good combination of coursework and research Chance to work in depth with thesis advisor Disadvantages Research is difficult, no guaranteed end point Large time commitment (2-10 years)

Ph.D. Steps Breadth Requirement Usually satisfied by course work Preliminary Written Examination Often on one major area, several minor areas Given large reading list in advance Preliminary Oral Examination (committee) Can be on all coursework or thesis proposal Thesis Proposal and work Final Oral Examination (committee) Present and defend your thesis

Advisor and Committees Choosing an Advisor Consider the instructors you get along with in the areas you’re interested in them Talk to them about their interests and yours If fit is good, ask if you can work with them Committee Membership Often several CS members, several outside (non-CS, but related department) members Work with your advisor to build a compatible group

Thesis Thesis definition A large written paper on an original topic Smaller for Masters, less expectation of original work Larger for Ph.D., must be original work Components Identify topic area Something of interest to you and your advisor An area where you can make a contribution Background research Development of ideas (Often) development of prototype system Measure of contributions Identification of issues, future work Writing it up, presenting it

Which Type To Apply For? Ph.D programs generally offer more support Scholarships TA and RA opportunities If any possibility of Ph.D., apply for this Can always stop with Masters if don’t want to continue Many students sign up for Ph.D. program, get a Masters “along the way” Many Masters programs can be viewed as roughly a subset of a Ph.D. program

What is Graduate School Like? Students Higher level – more even playing field More diverse Courses Often more theory, not as applied at UWEC CS Assignments tend to be larger, less direction, but still manageable Often use teaching assistants (advanced grad students) Instructors Diverse Focused on research, may be harder to access out of class

Moving On From Courses To Research Instructor-driven Fixed schedule Ends in fixed time Research Student-driven Open schedule Won’t get done if you don’t do it

How To Succeed In Graduate School Realize that you’re not an imposter You can do it! Get all work done Need to multi-task, start early Talk to TAs and professors Getting to know people makes it easier Keep up with reading Network with other students

How To Succeed In A Ph.D. Program Remember that there’s no fixed deadline You need to try to set a schedule, keep making progress Your advisor should help you with this Success stems from persistence, not brilliance Keep at it You’ll have successes and failure along the way; keep moving

So you want to go to graduate school… How to choose a grad school, get admitted, and how to pay for it

Evaluating Schools Basic Information: Specific Interests: Rankings USNews annual graduate school rankings http://phds.org/rankings Program information on each school’s website Specific Interests: Look through research periodicals and proceedings Ask people who know Faculty Industry researchers

Scouting a Specific School Two general levels to look at for a school Department level: What are the requirements for the degree? What is the average time for a degree? (PhDs, mostly) How are the graduate students funded? (what %?) Program Strengths level: Are there any faculty that work in an area that you’re interested in? If you don’t have a specific interest – do they have good breadth?

Getting Accepted by Graduate Schools A typical graduate school application will ask for: Undergraduate Transcripts GRE Scores Letters of recommendation (usually 3) Statement of Purpose “My goal is to get a MS/PhD degree because…” A basic interest survey (sometimes) TOEFL scores (international applicants) There will typically be 2 deadlines for applications The first is for admission and consideration for financial aid (assistantships) The second is usually for admission only

Getting Accepted by Graduate Schools Example websites: http://www.cs.umn.edu/admissions/graduate/index.php http://www.eecs.umich.edu/eecs/graduate/cse/csehome.html https://gradapp.cs.wisc.edu/grad-app/

The GRE – Yes, another standardized test All graduate programs will ask for you to take (and report the score) for the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) “The GRE® General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study.”

The GRE – Yes, another standardized test There are 3 categories on the GRE: Verbal Reasoning (130-170) Quantitative Reasoning (130-170) Critical Thinking and Analytical Writing (0-6) These scales have changed multiple times in the last few years 5 years ago: 3 categories, each 800 points each (a la SAT) 3 years ago: 3 categories, two are 800 points, one is 0-6 This year: new scoring This may make it tricky to compare your scores to what departments are looking for – the percentiles may be a better indicator

Preparing for the GRE You will be much more comfortable with the GRE if you do a little preparing before taking the exam Look at the samples and scoring criteria on the ETS website http://www.ets.org/gre/ Take a sample exam http://www.uwec.edu/advising/testing/ets.htm The exam is taken through UWEC Testing Services Call early to make an appointment!

Inside the Graduate Admissions Committee What graduate schools are looking for: Good students - GPA > 3.0 (at the lowest) Good letters of recommendation! PhD students Interested (Motivated) Students

Visiting Campus If you are admitted as a student, many campuses will coordinate official visit weekends, or help you schedule a personal visit to campus You’ll get information about the: Department structure Course requirements for your degree Financial Aid availability In addition, you will often be scheduled to meet with several faculty members who do research in your area of interest Learn about what projects there are If you find something that’s interesting, say so!

Affording Graduate School The preferable ( if you can get it ) funding method is an assistantship Funding for your education provided by NSF, DARPA, the college or department Usually includes a tuition waver and a stipend (salary) Along with this usually comes health insurance, etc. Usually preference (for first years) to PhD students Working outside of graduate school is another option Often done by Masters degree students ( generally “frowned upon” for PhDs ) Many companies will pay (or help pay) for graduate studies while you are working Difficult to pursue the degree full-time

Assistantships Fellowship ( i.e. scholarship ) Research Assistantship Your funding comes from (usually) a 3rd party The NSF, a company (Intel, IBM, etc), the graduate college, etc. Ideally, this would free you up to focus on your research Reserved for top students (or very motivated ones!) Research Assistantship Your funding comes from the resources of a faculty member You are paid to work on a research project This project may or may not be what you’re doing for your own thesis Teaching Assistantship Your funding comes from the department You are paid to teach (or TA) a department course

Financial Aid “Package” Quite a few schools are now giving out a semi-guaranteed package of funding that comes with your admission i.e. “We guarantee that you will have an assistantship (of some type) for the first year” After that, its your problem (although if you do well, you should be ok) Some graduate schools are becoming aggressive in recruiting excellent students Have been known to offer up to 5 years of guaranteed funding

Congratulations, you’ve got a graduate degree! (Now what?)

Intellectual Freedom Rule-of-Thumb The “higher-level” your degree is, the more flexibility and freedom you will have to decide the direction of your future work. Degree Boss Work B.S./B.A. A manager who has a BS and maybe an MBA Whatever project fire needs to get put out today. Handed down directly from above. M.S. M.S.Eng A higher-level manager or PhD researcher Longer-term development projects. A role in architecting and designing systems at a higher level. Still dictated by what the company wants PhD Yourself or another PhD or a company executive You are the one setting the direction. Researching new ideas in the very long term. Corporate direction is (sometimes) optional.

Masters Degree If you’ve been funded by a company, often they will have a new position in mind for you (that you’ve been “training” for in grad school). Depending on how much they supported you, this may or may not be binding Otherwise, finding a job can come from a variety of directions The usual “career fair”-type resume/interview process Through meeting people at conferences, meetings, or departmental speakers Often involves your research interests lining up with theirs Through contacts your research advisor has Teaching options: If you want to teach in college you will be able to with a masters degree – but only at smaller colleges, and not in a tenure-track environment.

PhD Degree Option 1 Industry Research Be part of a company’s research and development These will usually be technology “bread and butter” firms (Directly involved in creating technology, not in using it) May range from being in a research group at a major company lab … (IBM, Google, Intel, Microsoft) …To starting a new company based on your research… Google & Yahoo, for example, were started by graduate students …To leading the technical development direction of a company (with time)

PhD Degree Option 2 Academia The “Research I” University The “ultimate” in freedom for choosing your work (Also the “ultimate” in self-motivation!) The “Research I” University Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, etc. Your major job is to be a leader in research and mentor graduate students You teach ~ 1 class per term, just to keep the taxpayers happy The Regional University Teach ~2-3+ classes per term and focus on undergraduate students Try to keep up in your research area Or do research about how to teach! Several levels in-between

Good Luck!