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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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

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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

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

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

22. 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?

23. 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

24. Getting Accepted by Graduate Schools
Example websites:

25. 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.”

26. The GRE – Yes, another standardized test
There are 3 categories on the GRE:
Verbal Reasoning ( )
Quantitative Reasoning ( )
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

27. 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
Take a sample exam
The exam is taken through UWEC Testing Services
Call early to make an appointment!

28. 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

29. 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!

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

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

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. 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)

37. 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

38. Good Luck!