CU Denver vs CU Boulder Graduate Engineering

Graduate School
1

<p>So I have a bit of a dilemma. I've been working full-time as an Electrical Engineer in Denver. I finished my undergrad about a year ago now. My company has encouraged me to pursue my Masters to help with more advanced projects (and they will cover the costs) ... so I'm heading back to school. I've been accepted to both Boulder's and Denver's MS Electrical Engineering programs (Comm. and Signal Processing). But I am having a heck of a time deciding where to go.</p>

<p>Optimally, I would prefer to go to Boulder as I assume that their professors and the prestige of the degree will be of a substantially higher quality than at Denver (whether or not this is a good assumption is unknown to me). I still plan on working 35 - 40 hours / week with my current employer (we have a flex schedule). From where I currently live, it would take approximately 45 minutes to an hour drive from Boulder's campus to my work (in medium traffic). Not an attractive prospect. Denver on the other hand is about 30 minutes away (most of which is on public transit which is "free" to their students). I also have an apartment lined up near the campus that would reduce the distance to campus to only 10 minutes (via public-transit).</p>

<p>What I'm really asking for is advice from anyone with first hand experience of CU-Denver or CU-Boulder's Electrical Engineering grad programs. Is the quality of Boulder's grad program that much better than Denver's to warrant the much longer commute? Keep in mind that I will have to deal with the commute for 2.5 - 3.5 years as I will continue to work full-time. It should be noted that I can combo online-classes at Boulder to avoid the extra commute (although I prefer classroom instruction). </p>

<p>While I recognize that Boulder is probably better academically, I am also a firm believer that a degree is what you make it... which really only muddies the waters in my decision-making process.</p>

<p>Honestly, any advice will be much appreciated. I'm looking for anything to help tip the scales of my pros-cons list. </p>

2

<p>Since you are staying with your employer, it might be worthwhile to see what they think of the two programs. In addition, look at the specifics of each program to determine what differences exist. I presume that this is a professional masters degree so the quality of the research (which is the main factor in ranking graduate programs) is not terribly relevant.</p>

<p>With that information it should be possible to make a more informed decision. By the way, i agree that the value of a degree is what you make it.</p>

3

<p>I’d choose the one closest since you’re staying with your employer. Also since you’re in industry so I’d assume your work experience and performance on the job in the end is going to make or break your career. I’m in a EE/Physics PhD program in the Northeast at a prestigious institution and I can tell you our curriculum is not much different than any other EE program. The research and researcher (you) is what matters in the end. Also unless you’re planning on becoming a researcher note that your education always shows at the bottom of a traditional cv/resume not at the top. Even in academia few research/teaching roles care where you went to school. They care more about the papers you produced while in your program. </p>