Applying for Grad School in CS*

Applying for Grad School in CS* Adam Wierman> Caltech *much of this was blatantly poached from MorHarchol-Balter’s advice http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf

Outline Do you really want a PhD? The application process Funding a PhD Choosing the right program

What is a PhD? A long, in depth research exploration of one topic by the end, youare the world experton one narrow problem 6 years! Very different from classes

Classes ≠ Research No clue how hardthe problems are You know the HWs are solvable Picking the rightproblem is half of the difficulty You are given well-defined problems There’s always someone to ask for help You’re the expert!Often work alone Purely internal motivation External motivation(grades, etc)

Getting a PhD is hard check out www.phdcomics. com

Life after a PhD? Most PhDs either go to a research lab or become a professor(if these don’t appeal to you, a PhD probably isn’t necessary) your life is • research (100% self guided) • applying for grants • working with students • teaching • conferences, etc. your job is • doing research (~50% self guided) • company responsibilities • travelling to conferences, etc

Should you get a PhD • A PhD is not for everyone • It requires ~6 years (opportunity cost is high) • Don’t apply unless you’ve tried and enjoyed research • It helps a lot if you like teaching • You need to be a particular type of person (driven, …) • You need to be sure you want it • You need to be smart •  If you’re not sure, it’s a good idea to work for a few years

A PhD application • Transcript • GREs • Personal statement • Previous research experience (industry/academic) • Recommendation letters • Awards & extracurriculars

Grades are important …but not too important - Perfect grades with weak research won’t be enough - Grad courses are only impressive if they lead to research

GREs Top schools only check to make sure they are “good enough”  You should study  (if you are planning to work for a year, take the test now)

The personal statement …i.e. the research statement A template: • Describe the general areas that interest you and why • Describe a project you’ve worked on • Describe a project you’ve worked on • Say why you want a PhD • Why do you want to be at school X Don’t - Regurgitate your grades - Describe pre-college triumphs

Previous research experience …you’re doing it now Do SURFs Do research during the year Do research as part of classes Do work with more than one faculty Do research somewhere besides Caltech (try an REU) Do submit a paper(s) to a conference/journal  Remember that these advisors will be your recommenders

Recommendations …the most important piece Letter 1 “I highly recommend student X for your graduate program. Student X received an A+ in my undergraduate algorithms class. He was ranked Number 2 out of 100 students. He got the highest score on the final. He worked very hard all semester, never missed a class, and was always able to answer the questions that I asked in class. This conscientious attitude makes him an excellent candidate for any graduate program. ” DWIC

Recommendations …the most important piece Letter 2 “I highly recommend student Y for your graduate program. Student Y received a B in my undergraduate algorithms class. He was ranked Number 29 out of 100 students. Halfway through the semester we started working on network flows. Student Y seemed extremely excited by this topic. He disappeared for 4 weeks and even missed an exam. However when he came back, he showed me some work he had been doing on a new network flow algorithm for high-degree graphs. He had done some simulations and had some proofs. I’ve been working with student Y for the past couple months since then and he is full of ideas for new algorithms. I think student Y’s initiative makes him an excellent candidate for any graduate program.” self-motivated, independent, good potential

Recommendations …the most important piece Of the four letters, a good candidate has • 2-3 research advisor letters • 1-2 teacher letters that say more than just DWIC

Asking for recommendations Ask “do you feel comfortable writing me a strong letter” Give each person a packet • statement of purpose • summary of each research project • resume • class listing with grades • directions (including deadlines) • confirmation information  Send them a thank you afterwards

Awards & Extracurriculars … provide a way to be memorable

A PhD application • Transcript • GREs • Personal statement • Previous research experience (industry/academic) • Recommendation letters • Awards & extracurriculars

How many schools to apply to? 6-10, including some safeties

The rankings 1) MIT, Stanford, Berkely 4) CMU 5) Illinois 6) Cornell, Princeton, Washington 9) Georgia Tech, UT Austin 11) Caltech, Wisconsin-Madison 13) UCLA, Maryland, Michigan 16) Columbia, Harvard, UCSD, 19) Purdue 20) Brown, Duke, Rice, Umass-Amherst, UNC, Penn

Funding a PhD You get a “livable” stipend and tuition paid for you Ideally, you just do research (and TA occasionally)  This costs your advisor 60+k per year Having a fellowship virtually guarantees admission

Fellowships …can make the difference Applying for a fellowship • Same process as grad school applications • WARNING: Fellowship deadlines are before grad school deadlines • Some to check out: • NSF graduate research fellowship • NDSEG graduate fellowship • Hertz fellowship • National Physical Science Consortium (NPSC) • NASA • DOE • Homeland Security •  If you don’t get them now, apply again your 1st & 2nd years

Choosing the right program You will get to visit each school you are accepted to Most important - Good rapport with your advisor - Good atmosphere in the department - Graduate students treated well (do students graduate) Also pay attention to • - requirements for degree • - overall rank • - stipend  Talk to faculty here about the decision

Applying for Grad School in CS* Adam Wierman> Caltech *much of this was blatantly poached from MorHarchol-Balter’s advice http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf

Applying for Grad School in CS*