<p>I've recently received offers for these programs and would appreciate any input on your perception of them with respect to their reputation in the robotics/AI/computing and related industries, ranking comparison for the specified areas of study, as well as quality of education, research opportunities for MSs, student satisfaction, etc. I know Columbia is a prestigious Ivy League school, the CS department has a good reputation, but UCSD's ECE/CS departments are making quite an impact as well in the last few years.</p>
<p>Some background on me: I graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering (Machine Intelligence and Controls) from UCSD (3.5+ GPA) and really started to gravitate / gain a liking for what I guess is more related to CompSci than EE because from what I understand, machine intelligence / robotics is typically not offered in EE departments at most universities.</p>
<p>One of my main hesitations with entering a graduate Computer Science department is that I might be at a disadvantage compared to other students at least when it comes to algorithm analysis and mathematical-programming/optimization. I'm not so worried about my coding abilities as it's always been a personal interest of mine so I am proficient when it comes to that. Is this even worth taking into consideration given the schools in question?</p>
<p>As for personal preferences on location, I am familiar with UCSD and would be content with remaining in San Diego... at the same time the prospect of a whole new experience in the Big Apple is exciting and I'd welcome it. It really comes down to the programs' faculty, their teaching style, student-teacher interaction, class sizes, rankings, etc. and I don't know much about Columbia when it comes to these criteria.</p>
<p>Any input helps!
Thanks!</p>